If you have a lot of the same thing to test, test equipment that has been designed specifically for the job can really reduce test time and provide much better coverage.

AV Cable Tester

Above is an AV cable tester for a company that buys cables, 500 at a time. They wanted to quickly screen HDMI, USB and 1/8″ TRRS (Tip, Ring, Ring, Sleeve: Right, Left, Control and Ground) audio cables for opens and shorts. Off the shelf cable testers wouldn’t test the TRRS cables, so it justified a custom tester.

Buck Regulator Tester

Shown above on the left is a PC driven tester that tests a small DC-DC Buck regulator that is used in an adapter cable. It also tests the assembled cable. Shown above on the right is a typical display when the test is running. If a failure is detected, the test stops and the fault is described, often suggesting that a particular component be checked. The test is driven by a script that is easily changed for different cables. The script interpreter can also control other types of test beds, or talk directly to serial printers to generate test patterns and operate paper cutting mechanisms.

The client sold about 4,500 of these cables. Each cable was tested on one of these testers.

Bed-of-Nails Tester

This is used to verify PCBs before attaching cables or integrating into an assembled unit. This one is for testing and programming Li-Ion battery pack protection circuits.

Voltage and Current Logger

Above is a voltage and current logger built from off the shelf parts used to analyse battery usage by portable equipment. The firmware was enhanced to support the LCD display, provide more configuration options and to reduce noise in the readings.