For quite a while, this is one piece of test equipment I've wanted to add to the workshop. As you all know, a Zener cannot be tested with a multimeter. 28-Years ago @michael-dranfield came up with a solution for this by designing his own tester, this was published in July 1996 Television magazine, read here.
Michael's tester can apply a test voltage up 200V so not limited to what Zener can be tested. I considered the Peak the ZEN50, that can test up to 50V Zener and I may well get one as I already have the SCR100 (Thyristor/Triac), ESR70 (capacitance/ESR) and the DCA55 (Transistor/diode).
The peak is £75, I then spotted a relatively local chap in Yorkshire selling one that can test up to a 30V Zener, and it only costs £19.99. Zener I've dealt with for the most part have been within that range, with but a few exceptions higher. For twenty quid, I thought I'd have a punt.
Not a lot to say other than I tested a number of Zener, and it correctly reported the breakdown voltage. At the heart of this tester is XL6009 DC-DC Buck Boost Converter, and it costs just £2.25!
Built-in 4A efficient MOSFET switches enable efficiency up to 94%; Working frequency: 400khz. Regardless of the input voltage 5V , 12V or 32V the output can be stabilised to the adjusted voltage. When adjusted, the output voltage on this DC-DC converter will automatically determine whether it should reduce or increase the voltage (output voltage will stay the same).
Output power: natural cooling 15W, plus heat sink 25W (MAX) actual power
MAX output power = input voltage * 3A * conversion efficiency
Output ripple: Input 12V output 24 0.5A ripple 30MV 20M bandwidth
Operating temperature: industrial grade (-40 ° C to +85 ° C) (ambient temperature exceeds 40 degrees, please reduce power usage, or enhance heat dissipation)
Full load temperature rise: 45 ° C
Working frequency: 400khz
Specifications of XL6009 dc dc converter adjustable output:
Input Range: 5V – 32V
Output Range: 3V – 32V
Model Specification: DSN6000AUD Automatic Buck module
Module Properties: Non- isolated boost (BOOST)
Rectification: Non- Synchronous Rectification
Input Current:3A ( max ) , no-load 18mA (5V input , 8V output , no-load is less than 18mA. Higher the voltage, the greater the load current. )
Conversion efficiency:<94% ( the greater the pressure, the lower the efficiency )
Output Ripple:50mV ( the higher the voltage, the greater the current, the greater the ripple )
Load Regulation:± 0.5%
Voltage Regulation:± 0.5%
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Hi, Chris, not a widely known fact but it was me who gave Jeremy the idea for a Peak Zener tester, I lent him my tester many years ago for evaluations and quite a while after he came up with the Peak one, there is a reason his tester is limited to only 50 volts, I can't say for sure but it's something to do with a low voltage directive and any voltage above this requires more certification for safety.
You may not be aware of this but the Chinese who have no safety standards at all have a tester that will go to about 3KV,I have one of these if you want a photo tomorrow.
Yes that's right. Up to 50V is considered 'safe' and no special precautions are required.
Hi, Chris, not a widely known fact but it was me who gave Jeremy the idea for a Peak Zener tester, I lent him my tester many years ago for evaluations and quite a while after he came up with the Peak one
Hi Michael, fascinating, thanks for the insight.
You may not be aware of this but the Chinese who have no safety standards at all have a tester that will go to about 3KV,I have one of these if you want a photo tomorrow
I've seen a very similar reformer with the same high voltage, via eBay, out of Hong Kong. I was very tempted, but wary of trusting it as I bought a function gen from a similar source that I subsequently learned was downright dangerous with the potential to catch fire.
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Hi, Chris, not a widely known fact but it was me who gave Jeremy the idea for a Peak Zener tester
I know John Bann of Peakco, but via a different medium; model railways.
You may not be aware of this but the Chinese who have no safety standards at all have a tester that will go to about 3KV,I have one of these i
Guess that's one of these? £17.98 and free delivery, that's A ridiculously cheap way to kill yourself. Have you looked inside? Bet those supplied leads are waiting to bite.
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Prob same one in a different case I would say.
