Analog transistor checker help!

[diydidi]

I recently acquired a Future Electronics FTC-401 transistor checker.
It was made in Japan.
i cant find a manual for it anywhere. There is a new company listed with the name “future Electronics “ but they know nothing of it.
I have attached a photo. Anyone know anything about these units or perhaps have a manual?
thank you.

 

[danadakk]

I worked for them, that is their logo, but they were and are mainly a
component supplier.

The meter looks pretty straight forward, for checking small signal diodes and
transistors. Do you have specific questions ?

Note I am guessing its small signal bipolar transistors only, not JFET or MOSFET or
TRIAC or SCR or.....

I think the range switch is, on left, for beta and Ico measurements, on the right for
collector current measurements. But latter measurement is done on some base current,
maybe its a saturation measurement of collector current.


Regards, Dana.

 

[betwixt]

These and similar units were around about 40 years ago. Inside they are nothing more than a few resistors. The range switch just selected the meter current and for testing beta all they did was inject a 'close guess' at base current (a fixed resistor) into the base pin and read the collector current. The idea was that if you injected say 100uA into the base and the collector current went from zero to 10mA, the gain was 10/.1 = 100. They did work as go/no-go testers and could crudely measure gain at specific currents but were never very accurate.

Brian.