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Typical scenario:
The newly assembled prototype gizmo wouldn't start up. It took
a while, but you finally found the problem with your scope, after noticing
some signals had compromised logic levels. The continuity beeper
confirmed the diagnosis that D7 is shorted to D6, somewhere on the PC board.
All you have to do is find where the short is located. It
shouldn't be too hard, since those two lines are only parallel for 15
inches, and only 4 of those inches are under chips or on inner layers . .
.
No problem . . . Now, where did you put that ShortSniffer?
Click here to see the ShortSniffing
troubleshooting process: |
The ShortSniffer
locates short circuits in electronics circuits, projects, and
and is specifically designed for working with fine-pitch surface mount PC
boards.
The ShortSniffer
injects an audio current into a conductive circuit, allowing the current Path to
be followed with the non-contact inductive pick-up Probe. The basic short
circuit locating principle can be reproduced with a signal generator, an
inductive pick-up coil, an amplifier, and a speaker. The ShortSniffer SS3 has
been designed for convenience and optimized for PC board short circuit locating
performance.
The ShortSniffer is
not a short circuit detector, but a short circuit locator. You'll have to
rely on your troubleshooting techniques to determine that you have a short
circuit. You can check out the
video presentation for
some steps to determine which nets are shorted. Once you know which nets
are shorted together, connect the ShortSniffer, and "follow the Sound to the
Short".
History:
- The original design was produced in the early 90s and has been used successfully ever
since. I compliment myself for making it, every time I rapidly
pinpoint a short.
I have even fixed shorts on inner layers of PC boards, after first verifying the location
to 1mm (radius), then drilling at that location. The newest design is
the ShortSniffer SS3, which senses the direction of the current flow to help
with some of the trickiest shorts. The inductive pick-up probe has an
LED that lights to indicate direction, and the stereo headphone jack provide
stereo imaging to indicate direction. Together, with the increased
gain and drive features, the SS3 is your best PC Board short circuit
locating choice.
Operation:
Key Benefits
- locates PCB shorts under solder mask,
under
components, and even on inner PCB
layers
- non-contact (inductive) pickup wand
- pinpoint short to within 2mm radius
- rapid location with audio feedback
- "follow the sound to the short"
- no need for relative or reference measurements
- battery operated
- diode clamped current drive, won't harm your circuitry
- edge-slope control to reduce effects of parallel path components
- stereo audio imaging to reduce confusion on complicated short circuit
paths
Please note: Sales of the ShortSniffer products are handled by
Cipher Engineering LLC. Clicking on the purchase links will open a new
window on the Cipher Engineering website for the purchasing process.
Products: |
Price (w/o shipping) |
ShortSniffer SS3 Basic
- includes Probe Cable and Normal Probe,
Test Clip Cable, Headphones*, Practice Board |
$290
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
ShortSniffer SS3 Pro Kit
- includes the ShortSniffer Basic components, along with
Sensitive, Tiny and Voltage Probes, and the Connection Kit for
easier connections to small components |
$380
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
Sensitive Probe
(replacement)Highest sensitivity, lowest spatial resolution
|
$45
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
Normal Probe
(replacement)Best mix of sensitivity and
spatial resolution
|
$45
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
Tiny Probe
(replacement)Best spatial resolution, lowest
sensitivity
|
$45
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
Test Clip Cable
(replacement)Current injection cable with
alligator clips
|
$50
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
Connection Kit
(replacement)Pairs of extension clips to aid connection to
smaller features, includes 0.25" square pin sockets, mini,
micro, and nano grabbers
|
$65
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
Practice Board
(replacement)Intensive training exercises
use this board to demonstrate SS3 features and train user in the
finer details of locating the most difficult short circuits
(download PDF document for review) |
$65
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
Voltage Probe
An alternate use of the SS3's
high-gain amplifiers is using a voltage sensor for
troubleshooting and tracing circuits, allowing you to hear
signals above 10uV.
|
$45
Click Here to Buy From the ShortSniffer.com Website
|
*Headphones: 1 set of low-cost, low quality stereo headphones is
free with each ShortSniffer
(limited warranty on headphones: 30 feet or 30 seconds, whichever comes
first)
Shipping methods can be selected after credit card information has been
entered. Here is the typical range of shipping charges:
US Shipping
UPS Next Day
|
US Shipping
UPS 2nd Day
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US Shipping
UPS Ground
|
US Shipping
USPS
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Shipping UPS
International
|
Pickup Domestic
or
International
|
$80
|
$41
|
$19
|
$17
|
$40 to $180
|
$17 (using your shipping account)
|
ShortSniffer SS3 products are constructed with ROHS materials, using
Pb-Free solder.
Warranty: 1 year, against defects in parts, materials, and
workmanship.
Click here to email a request
for additional information or to ask questions.
If you are buying engineering services from Testec, please select the
appropriate job size, and then click the Buy Now button:
Contact Information
- Telephone
- 503-648-2682 (Home answering machine, Pacific Time)
- FAX
- 503-681-8283 (shared answering machine and Fax line)
- Postal address
- 359 NE Hillwood Drive
- Hillsboro, OR 97124-3440 USA
- Electronic mail
General Information and Sales:
Sales-Email Customer Support:
Support-Email
This product is also featured at
www.shortsniffer.com
- Privacy Policy
- Your privacy will be protected. We won't give your name or
information to anyone. Any private information you give to us will
only be used to support our direct business relationship with you.
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