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:

Operation:

Key Benefits

 

Please note: Sales of the ShortSniffer products are handled by ShortSniffer.com  Clicking on the purchase links will open a new window on the ShortSniffer.com 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 for the  ShortSniffer Sales 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 for the  ShortSniffer Sales Website

Sensitive Probe
(replacement)

Highest sensitivity, lowest spatial resolution

$45

Click Here for the  ShortSniffer Sales Website

Normal Probe
(replacement)

Best mix of sensitivity and spatial resolution

$45

Click Here for the  ShortSniffer Sales Website

Tiny Probe
(replacement)

Best spatial resolution, lowest sensitivity

$45

Click Here for the  ShortSniffer Sales Website

Test Clip Cable
(replacement)

Current injection cable with alligator clips

$50

Click Here for the  ShortSniffer Sales 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 for the  ShortSniffer Sales 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 for the  ShortSniffer Sales 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 for the  ShortSniffer Sales 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)

 

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 download the ShortSniffer Practice Board Instructions

(a document with extensive information about the operation of the ShortSniffer capabilities)

 

Click Here to jump to the ShortSniffer Practice Board Videos

(a group of videos showing quick segments of the Practice Board lessons)

 

 


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:

Job Size

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

 


 
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