Sep 102016
  

Do you ever use a transistor in an electronic project then pull all the components back off the breadboard and put them back in stock. And then when you’re ready to use them again you’re just not really sure it’s still in working condition. It’s a frustrating learning situation when building an electronic project and for one reason or another it just doesn’t work, and you’re not confident all your components are working as they should.

Well here’s a project you might find handy to have on your workbench. It’s a simple transistor tester and if you have a dead 9VDC battery lying around then that would be the perfect power source for this project.

Components:

  • LED
  • 10K ohm Resistor
  • 680 ohm Resistor
  • 180 ohm resistor
  • SPST tactile momentary button/switch
  • Breadboard
  • 3VDC – 9VDC power source
  • Transistor to test

Schematic:

Here is how you connect the components

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tester laid out on the breadboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tester in action. Showing the NPN 2N2222 transistor is fully functional.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assorted buttons you can use.

Basic momentary tactile button is perfect for this project

Bottom view of NPN 2N2222 pins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This project requires  less than $1 worth of components and can save you from much frustration. I hope you find it helpful. Now I need to make one that will test PNP transistors. So much to learn.

Happy electronic project building!

 

 

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