IC tester

Part 1: circuit description

and construction
In the January 1998 issue we promised
a full-blown and tested version of the
IC Tester, complete with PCB layouts
and a ready-programmed GAL and
EPROM. Many of you will have
eagerly looked forward to the present
article, which, we hope, lives up to
expectation.
The IC tester is a fairly complex
project, and an interesting combina-
tion of mixed-mode (analogue/digital)
electronics on the one hand, and soft-
ware (microprocessor as well as PC-
hosted), on the other. The IC tester is
capable of working in stand-alone
mode, i.e., any connection to a PC is
entirely optional. The standard version
of the tester is capable of testing all ICs
listed in Table 1. A number of software
utilities are available which allow
advanced users to add ICs to the
library as listed in Table 1, and this
subject will be covered in detail in
part 2 of this article. We do, however,
reckon that the default library will be
sufficient in the majority of cases
extending it with new devices is spe-
cialist work!
This tester is a great tool for anyone
whos ever had to do go/non-go testing
on a vast amount of integrated circuits
from the 74 TTL and 4000 CMOS
series. These ICs are still extensively
used by hobbyists because (1) they can
often be salvaged from surplus equip-
This article describes a stand-alone IC tester for ment or bought ten a penny or at least
logic ICs (with up to 24 pins) from the well-known at knock-down prices, and (2) their
datasheets are widely available, so you
74xx (TTL) and 40xx (CMOS) series. The elemen- know how to use them in a design of
tary building blocks that make up the design are your own. As a matter of course, the
tester is also perfectly suitable for use
an 80C535 microcontroller, a large EPROM, an in an electronics repair shop, where it
will be necessary from time to time to
LCD display, a small keyboard and an RS232 check suspect devices. Lastly, the IC
interface. In this first instalment, our main subjects tester may also be used to identify
unknown ICs, i.e., those with obscure
will be hardware-related. print or a label someone painstakingly
ground off

HOW IT WORKS
The circuit diagram of the IC tester is
This design was awarded the International First prize in the Elektor Electronics shown in Figure 1. It may be divided
1997 Design Competition. A condensed description of the project appeared in into a digital control (microcontroller)
the January 1998 Supplement on prize-winning contest entries. section, a precision power supply, an
RS232 interface, a zero-insertion-force
(ZIF) socket (which receives the device
under test, DUT), a keyboard section,
Design by L. Lamesch an LCD and a power supply.

Elektor Electronics 3/98

50
 Visit our Web site at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/elektor_uk

Around the DUT
Lets start with a look at the electron-
ics around the ZIF socket, position
IC12. All input pins of the DUT
inserted in the zero-insertion force
socket may be pulled to the logic high
(H) or logic low (L) level using current
limiting resistors and appropriate con-
trol levels at the outputs of two
Z80PIO I/O blocks, IC2 and IC4. The
output states of the DUT may be inter-
rogated via the same PIOs for subse-
quent evaluation by the CPU (IC3).
The power supply pins of DUTs with
14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 pins may be
connected to ground or a current-lim-
ited supply voltage via BC639/BC640
switching transistors. These are con-
trolled by outputs on counter cascade
IC1-IC9. While the PIOs enable the
exact logic states of the DUT outputs
to be checked (i.e., 0 or 1), ports P1, P4
and P5 of the 80C535 are used to
detect which DUT pins represent a
high impedance (high-Z).
DUT power supply
The voltage source used to power the
DUT is built around quad opamp IC6.
It supplies an accurately regulated
voltage of 5.2 V, and its output current
is limited to about 0.2 A. The output
current is converted into a propor-
tional voltage for measurement by the
80C535 CPU via its AN0 (analogue)
input. The current-sense resistors are
R94 and R95. The output voltage is
5.2 V rather than 5.0 V (the typical sup-
ply voltage of all TTL ICs) in order to
compensate the collector-emitter drop
of the BC640 transistors when they are
switched on.
Logic circuitry and firmware EPROM
The control program of the IC tester
and the test vectors for the ICs that
may be tested are contained in a sin-
gle 27C512 EPROM, which may be
obtained ready-programmed from the
Publishers under order code 986507-1.
Larger (32-pin) EPROMs like the
27C020 or 27C021 may also be used in
this design. For the 27C021 EPROM,
jumper JP1 has to be set to the A17
position. More about this in next
months concluding instalment. The
selection between the 64-kByte banks
in the EPROM is accomplished by out-
puts B6 and B7 of IC2. These lines are
applied to GAL IC5, which contains
logic to control the A16 and A17
address lines of EPROM IC7. Basically,
when a 28-pin EPROM is used, JP1 is
set to the bevelled edge position (A).
When a 32-pin EPROM is used, the
A17 signal is required, so JP1 is set to
the other position.
The 80C535 CPU runs at a clock
speed of 12 MHz. The CPU does not
contain firmware code, and fetches all
of its instructions and data from the
system EPROM. None the less, it
directly controls the LC display and a
keyboard with 6 keys. The GAL, IC5,
looks after the address decoding, and
also generates the PHI signal for the
Z80PIOs, as well as other essential con-
trol signals in the circuit. The GAL, like
the EPROM, is supplied ready-pro-
grammed by the Publishers, the order
code is 986506-1.
The reason for using the Z80PIO to
control and monitor the DUT inputs
and outputs is that this chip is the only
widely available 16-bit parallel port IC
of which all port line directions are
individually controllable, while the
output drivers for all port lines consist
of push-pull circuits.
User I/O
The system interacts with the user via
a small keyboard (circuit diagram in
Figure 2), an LED, D6, and an LCD
(liquid crystal display). The LCD is a
general-purpose type with 216 char-
acters, optionally with back-lighting.
Its contrast is adjustable with preset
P1. The LED lights to inform the user
that the DUT is being powered and
should not be removed from the ZIF
socket.
An RS232 serial interface, tradition-
ally designed around the MAX232,
enables the IC tester to (optionally)

Table 1. Index of ICs that may be tested (default EPROM contents)

Library: 74xxx 74:38 74:139 74:239 74:386* 74:596* 74:758 74:7541* 4050** 40161
74:00 74:39* 74:140* 74:240 74:390 74:620* 74:759* 4051 40162
74:01* 74:40 74:147 74:241 74:393 74:621* 74:760* Library: 40xxx 4052 40163
74:02 74:42 74:145* 74:242* 74:412 74:622* 74:762* 4001 4053 40174
74:03 74:45 74:148 74:243 74:425* 74:623* 74:763* 4002 4056 40175
74:04 74:46* 74:150 74:244 74:426* 74:638* 74:810* 4009* 4060 40192
74:05 74:47 74:151 74:245 74:445* 74:639* 74:811* 4010* 4066 40193
74:06 74:48* 74:153* 74:247* 74:447* 74:640 74:1000* 4011 4067 40194
Parent: 74:05 74:49* 74:154 74:248* 74:465* 74:641* 74:1002* 4012 4068 -RCA* 4502
74:07 74:51 St,S* 74:155 74:249* 74:466* 74:642* 74:1003* 4013 4068 RCA* 4508
74:08 74:51 LS,L 74:156* 74:250* 74:467* 74:643* 74:1004* 4014* 4069 4510
74:09 74:54* 74:157 74:251 74:468* 74:644* 74:1008* 4015 4070 4511
74:10 74:55* 74:158* 74:253 74:518* 74:645 74:1010* 4016 4071 4512
74:11 74:73 74:159* 74:257 74:519* 74:646 74:1020* 4017 4072 4514
74:12* 74:74 74:160 74:258* 74:520* 74:647* 74:1032* 4019 4073 4515*
74:13 74:75 74:161 74:259 74:521 74:648* 74:1034* 4020 4075 4516*
74:14 74:76 74:162 74:260* 74:522* 74:649* 74:1035* 4021 4076 4518
74:15* 74:83 74:163 74:266 74:533* 74:668* 74:1036* 4022* 4077 4520
74:16 74:86 -C,-L 74:164 74:273 74:534* 74:669* 74:1240* 4023 4078 -RCA* 4522
74:17 74:86 C,L* 74:165 74:280 74:540* 74:670 74:1244* 4024 4078 RCA* 4526
74:18* 74:90 74:166 74:283 74:541 74:682 74:1245* 4025 4081 4529
74:19* 74:92 74:168* 74:290* 74:563* 74:683* 74:1640* 4027 4082* 4539
74:20 74:93 74:169 74:293 74:564* 74:684 74:1645* 4028 4093 4543*
74:21 74:95A,B 74:170 74:299 74:573 74:685* 74:2240* 4029 4094 4555
74:22* 74:100 74:173 74:323 74:574 74:688 74:2241* 4030 4099* 4556*
74:24* 74:107 74:174 74:347* 74:576* 74:689* 74:2244* 4040 40014* 4584
74:25 74:109 74:175 74:348* 74:580* 74:699 74:2540* 4041* 40102 4724
74:26 74:119 74:180* 74:352* 74:590 74:746** 74:2541* 4042 40103
74:27 74:125 74:184* 74:353* 74:591* 74:747** 74:7245* 4043 40105
74:28* 74:126* 74:185* 74:365 74:592 74:756* 74:7266* 4044* 40106
74:30 74:128* 74:190 74:366* 74:595 74:757* 74:7540* 4049** 40160
74:31* 74:131* 74:191 74:367
74:32 74:132 74:192 74:368* * Test vector for this IC not yet verified with a correctly operating IC.
74:33 74:133* 74:193 74:373 ** This IC has not been fully tested using the IC test vectors.
74:34* 74:136* 74:194 74:374 : Any TTL family identifier, except if the type number has a suffix.
74:35* 74:137 74:237* 74:375 -X Test vectors not valid for X family device of this IC (e.g. 74:86 -C means not for 74C86).
74:37 74:138 74:238* 74:377* X Test vectors apply only to X family device of this IC (e.g. 74:86 C means for 74C86 only).

Elektor Electronics 3/98 51

 1
SSTR 1
C2
SOE 15 IC9
EN3
5V SRG8 * R25 ... R48 = SMD 5V
SCLK 3 C8
C1/

SD 2 4 V17 100n
16 C20 16 C11 1D 2D 3
5 V19
IC1 IC9 26 26
8 100n 8 100n 6 V21
Z8 *
180
R48 15
PA0 D0
19 D0 D0 19
D0 PA0
15 R40 *180 Z24
7 V20
Z7 R47 14 20 D1 D1 20 14 R39 Z23
14 180 PA1 D1 D1 PA1 180
Z6 R46 13 1 D2 D2 1 13 R38 Z24
13 V16 180 PA2 D2 D2 PA2 180
Z5 R45 12 40 D3 D3 40 12 R37 Z21
12 V22 180 PA3 D3 D3 PA3 180
Z4 R44 10 39 D4 D4 39 10 R36 Z20
11 V24 180 PA4 D4 D4 PA4 180
Z3 R43 9 38 D5 D5 38 9 R35 Z19
180 PA5 D5 D5 PA5 180
5V Z2 R42 8 3 D6 D6 3 8 R34 Z18
9 10 74HC4094 180 PA6 D6 D6 PA6 180
Z1 R41 7 IC2 2 D7 D7 2 IC4 7 R33 Z17
C13 180 PA7 D7 D7 PA7 180
18 18
ARDY ARDY
100n SSTR 1 16 23 5V 23 16
C2 ASTB INT INT ASTB
SOE 15 IC1 24 24
20 EN3 IEI IEI
Z80-PIO Z80-PIO
XTAL 1
I0 F0
12 PIO1 SRG8 V9 27
PB0
IEO
22 22
IEO
PB0
27 R32 * Z16
SCLK 3 180
SD 2 13 PHI C1/ V10 28 28 R31 Z15
I1 F1 PB1 PB1 180 5V U
A13 3 14 EPROE 2 4 G22 V12 29 4 PIO1 PIO0 4 29 R30 Z14
I2 IC5 F2 1D 2D 3 PB2 CE CE PB2 180
A15 4 15 IORQ 5 G21 G24 30 35 RD RD 35 30 R29 Z13
I3 F3 PB3 RD RD PB3 180 P1
WR 5 16 PIO0 6 G20 31 36 IORQ IORQ 36 31 R28 Z12
I4 GAL F4 R80 PB4 IORQ IORQ PB4 180
PSEN 6 16V8 17 LCDE 7 G7 32 37 SOE SOE 37 32 R27 Z11
I5 F5 390 PB5 M1 M1 PB5 180 10K
RD 7 18 A16 14 G10 B6 33 5 A11 A11 5 33 R26 Z10
I6 F6 PB6 C/D C/D PB6 180
B7 8 19 A17 13 G17 B7 34 6 A14 A14 6 34 R25 Z9
I7 F7 PB7 B/A B/A PB7 180
B6 9 12 G12 21 21 K3
I8 BRDY BRDY
11 11 G15 17 25 PHI PHI 25 17
I9 BSTB CLK CLK BSTB 5V
LED
10 9 10 74HC4094 11 11
A14
A15
LCDE LCDE
D0
D1
EPROE
D2
5V 5V
D3
C1 C2 D4
5V
D5
R100 1 8x 4k7 R82 1 4x 4k7
100n 10
D6
C5 16V
D7
100n IC8
11 37 68
32 31 74HC573
VAREF VCC VCC 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5
12 A0 A0 12 9 D0 D0 52 9 R1 Z1
A0 1D P0.0 P4.7 10k
11 A1 A1 13 8 D1 D1 53 8 R2 Z2
A1 P0.1 P4.6 10k
24 10 A2 A2 14 7 D2 D2 54 7 R3 Z3
OE/VPP A2 P0.2 P4.5 10k
9 A3 A3 15 6 D3 D3 55 6 R4 Z4
A3 P0.3 P4.4 10k
IC7 8 A4 A4 16 5 D4 D4 56 5 R5 Z5
A4 P0.4 P4.3 10k IC12
D0 13 7 A5 A5 17 4 D5 D5 57 3 R6 Z6
D0 A5 P0.5 P4.2 10k
D1 14 6 A6 A6 18 3 D6 D6 58 2 R7 Z7
D1 A6 P0.6 IC3 P4.1 10k
D2 15 EPROM 5 A7 A7 19 2 D7 D7 59 1 R8 Z8 Z1 1 24 Z24
D2 A7 P0.7 P4.0 10k
D3 17 27 A8 Z2 2 23 Z23
D3 A8 50 60 R9 Z9
D4 18 27C512/ 26 A9 ALE P5.7 10k Z3 3 22 Z22
D4
D5 19 27C021 A9 23 A10 C1
11
A8 41 P5.6
61 R10
10k
Z10
Z4 4 21 Z21
D5 A10 1 P2.0 62 R11 Z11
D6 20 25 A11 EN A9 42 P5.5 10k Z5 5 20 Z20
D6 A11 P2.1 63 R12 Z12
D7 21 4 A12 A10 43 P5.4 10k Z6 6 19 Z19
D7 A12 P2.2 64 R24 Z13
28 A13 A11 44 P5.3 10k Z7 7 18 Z18
A13 P2.3 65 R23 Z14
29 A14 A12 45 P5.2 10k Z8 8 17 Z17
A14 P2.4 66 R22 Z15
3 A15 A13 46 P5.1 10k Z9 9 16 Z16
A15 P2.5 67 R21 Z16
2 A16 A14 47 80C535 P5.0 10k Z10 10 15 Z15
A16 P2.6
30 A15 48 29 R20 Z17 Z11 11 14 Z14
A17 P2.7 P1.7 T2 10k
30 R19 Z18 Z12 12 13 Z13
CS P1.6 CLKOUT 10k
31 R18 Z19
A17

16 22 5V P1.5 T2EX 10k

32 R17 Z20
5V P1.4 INT2 10k ZIF 24
20 33 R16 Z21
5V AN0 P1.3 INT6 CC3 10k
19 34 R15 Z22
AN1 P1.2 INT5 CC2 10k
K4 18 35 R14 Z23
JP1 AN2 P1.1 INT4 CC1 10k
20 C6 17 36 R13 Z24
A AN3 P1.0 INT3 CCO 10k
IC8 16 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5
AN4
10 100n
15
AN5
14
AN6
13
AN7
C16
R101 1 8x 4k7 R81 1 4x 4k7 10 / 16V

UIN 28 RD
T3
U+ P3.7 RD 2
R95 R94 27 WR 5V
P3.6 WR 5V 1 V+ 16
1 1 26 C17 C1+
C14 C4 P3.5 T1
1% 1% 25 SSTR
P3.4 T0 3 IC10
10 C1
BD139 10 25V 100n PSEN 49
P3.3 INT1
24 SCLK
16V
T1 PSEN 11 14
R98 23 SD T1IN T1OUT
P3.2 INT0 10 7 K1
47k R85 22 T2IN T2OUT
P3.1 TxD 12 13
RS232

1M 21 R1OUT R1IN
P3.0 RxD
10k

4 9 8
1% PE R2OUT R2IN
BC547 R86 12 10 4 C22
9 VAGND RESET 5V 5V C18 C2+
R92 100k R99
8 EA VSS X1 X2 R96 R79 MAX232
R87 1% IC6c 27 10 5 15 100n
10 51 38 40 39 C2
10k

10k

100k 16V V-
X1
R90 1% R93 6
2k2

C19 SOE
5V
10k

1k

C12 C9 T2
C15 R97 C21 D2
1n 10 / 16V
13 R83 1%
27p 27p
1N4001
D3 12MHz
14 47 16V
1k

R89 R88
XTAL

IC6d
BC547 U IN
39k

1M

12 IC11
1N4148
P2 D4 7805 5V
1%
K2
3 1k
IC6 = LM324 U IN 1N4001
D1
1 C10 C7
IC6a R91
2 5 4 C23 9 ... 15V
1N4148 100k
R84 7 IC6 470 100n
IC6b D5 35V
11 100n
6k8

C3 6

1n
1N4001
U

Figure 1. Circuit diagram of the IC

tester, an interesting mixed-mode communicate with a PC running spe- test vectors and debug them without
design based in the powerful 80C535 cially written programs. Details on removing the system EPROM. The
microcontroller from Siemens. these programs will be given in next link between the 9-way sub-D socket
months final instalment. Briefly, the and the MAX232 on the board is
PC may be used to write your own IC accomplished via pinheader K1 as

52 Elektor Electronics 3/98

 Visit our Web site at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/elektor_uk

Power supply Figure 2. RS232 con-

The on-board 5-volt power supply for 2 nection diagram and
Z7 the IC tester is based on a single 7805 circuit diagram of the
U+
T18 3-pin voltage regulator (IC11). A small keyboard.
R67
1k
G7
negative voltage is created mainly for
10k

R78
T11
older LCDs by a stealer diode (D5)
R74
V9
1k between the negative line of the
ENT
Z9 unregulated input voltage and the cir- 5V' S1

U+
cuit ground. This negative voltage pro-
vides a proper range for the LCD con- R102 1 8x 10k
UP2
10k

R77
T12 trast setting, P1. S2
R73
V10
1k The circuit may be powered by an K5
Z10 inexpensive mains adaptor with an 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UP
U+
T20
R65
output voltage between 9 VDC and S3
G10
1k 15 VDC. Battery powering is also pos-
10k

R76

R72
T13 sible. The unregulated voltage is also ESC
V12
1k applied to the DUT supply discussed S4

Z12 above. The current consumption of the

T22
R64 circuit will be of the order of 150 mA. DWN
1k
G12 S5
5V'
CONSTRUCTION D6
Z15 DWN2
T21
As you can see from the photographs S6
U+ R63
1k
G15 on this article and the artwork in Fig-
ure 3, the printed circuit board
10k

R62
LED
T10
V16
R55 designed for the IC tester is densely
1k
populated. The board being double-
Z16
sided and through-plated, production 1 DCD

with hobbyists tools will be almost DB9 6 DSR

2
U+ impossible, hence our recommenda- K1'
7 RTS RXD
tion to buy it ready-made through our
10k

R60 3 TXD
R53
T9
Readers Services or one of the kit sup- 8 CTS GND
V17
1k
pliers advertising in this magazine. 4 DTR
9
Z17
T19
Remember, successful construction
5
U+ R66
G17
almost entirely depends on accuracy
1k 980029 - 12
and soldering skills.
10k

R59

V19
R52
T8
Start by separating the keyboard
1k
from the main board. Put the key-
Z19
board section aside for later.
U+
Populating the main board may although you have to be careful not to
take quite some time as there are rela- mix up the BC639s and the BC640s. All
10k

R57
T7
V20
R50 tively many components to sort and ICs are mounted in sockets. With the
1k
solder in place. possibility of future extensions in
Z20
T17 Resistors, diodes, capacitors, crystal mind, it is recommended to fit a 32-pin
U+ R68
1k
G20 Start by fitting the SMD (surface- IC socket in position IC7. However, as
mount device) resistors, R25-R48. 32-pin wide-DIL are few and far
10k

R58
T6
V21
R51
1k
This should be done with a low- between, you may have to make one
Z21
power (8-watt) soldering iron and yourself by truncating a 40-pin socket.
T16 lots of care and precision. Use an If you use the ready-programmed (28-
U+ R69
1k
G21 ohm-meter to check your work on pin) 27C512 EPROM supplied through
each and every SMD resistor. All the Readers Services, its pin 14 should
10k

R56
T5
V22
R49
1k
other resistors are mounted upright go in socket pin 16. In other words, the
Z22
to save space on the board. Make EPROM is then inserted with its cor-
T15 sure you know the value of each and ner pins 14/15 close to the edge of the
U+ R70
1k
G22
every resistor and capacitor before board.
mounting it. If necessary, use your The CPU socket has a bevelled
10k

R61 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
T4
V24
R54
1k
DMM and the component overlay edge which is also indicated on the
Z24
printed on the board (and shown in overlay to assist in positioning.
R103 1 8x 10k
T14
R71
Figure 3) to be absolutely sure. Also, The socket in position IC12 is not
T4 ... T13 = BC640
R75
1k
G24
the SIL resistor arrays on the board intended for an integrated circuit and
T14 ... T22 = BC639
must be fitted the right way around, it is fitted at the solder side of the
10k

980029 - 11 so make sure you know where the
common terminal goes. Likewise,
observe the orientation of the elec-
trolytic capacitors and diodes. Capac-
itors C1 (100 nF miniature ceramic)
and C2 (10F, 16V, also miniature) are
mounted at the solder side of the
illustrated in Figure 2. Note that no board. The two presets are fitted and
active handshaking is used; the IC set to mid-travel.
tester only uses RxD (received data), Semiconductors
GND (ground) and TxD (transmitted Fitting the transistors and the voltage
data). regulator should not present problems,
board. You can (carefully) solder the
socket pins at the component side of
the board.
Do not insert the ICs in their sock-
ets yet.
Connectors and ZIF socket
Simple 3-way pinheaders are used in
positions K1 and JP1. The former
receives a mating socket, the second, a
jumper. There are two longer pin-
headers, K4 and K3. The latter is

Elektor Electronics 3/98 53

 C20
LED 980029-1

H1
H2

C8
1-920089
R80 P1

R48
R47
R46
R45
IC1

R44
R43
R42
R41
IC2
R79

R64
R65

R70
R71
R72
R73
R74
- - - -

IC5

IC8
R63

R84

IC7
JP1
R40
R32 R39
R31 R38
R30 R37

R28 R36
R27 R35
R26 R34
R25 R33
R76 IC4

R29
R103 R77 R83
C4 R78 C6 P2
R62 R91
T9 T10 T11 T12 T13

C13 A C3
R55 R24 R82 R99
R12
T14 T15 T16 T17 T18 T19 T20 T21 T22

D1

C23
- - - - - - - - - - - -
R11 K3 C5 IC6 C10
R10 C12
R9

R85
- - - - - -

R90
C9
IC12

D3
IC3 X1

R81
R8 R93
R7 C1 C21 C18 C17 R92

IC11
R6

C19
T8

R98
R5
K1

R100

R101
R4 C2 T1
T7

C16
R3
IC10

C22
R13 R2
T5 T6

R1
R60 T3
R53

D2
D4
D5
R94
R95
R59 R52
R75

R97

C11
C15 C14
R58 R51 IC9 K2
T4

K4 T2
C7

R96
R57 R50
R49

H3
H4

R61 R54 R56 + 0

980029-1

COMPONENTS LIST R93 = 1k 1% C2,C16,C17,C18,C21 = 10F 16V

R94,R95 = 1 1% radial
Resistors: R97 = 2k2 C3,C19 = 1nF
R1-R24,R56-R62,R75- R98 = 47k C9,C12 = 27pF
R79,R90,R92,R96 = 10k R99 = 27 C10 = 470F 35V radial
R25-R48 = 180 SMD R100,R101 = SIL resistor array 8 x C14 = 10F 25V radial
R49-R55,R63-R74,R83 = 1k 4k7 C15 = 4F7 16V radial
R80 = 390 R102 = SIL resistor array 8 x 10k
R81,R82 = SIL resistor array 4 x R103 = SIL resistor array 8 x 10k Semiconductors:
4k7 P1 = 10k preset D1,D3 = 1N4148
R84 = 6k8 P2 = 1k preset D2,D4,D5 = 1N4001
R85,R88 = 1M 1% D6 = LED
R86,R87 = 100k 1% Capacitors: T1,T2 = BC547
R89 = 39k C1,C4-C8,C11,C13,C20,C22,C23 = T3 = BD139
R91 = 100k 100nF T4-T13 = BC640

54 Elektor Electronics 3/98

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980029-1
H4
H3

R102 K5

DWN2
UP2

S2

S6

DWN
S3

S5
UP
ESC

ENT
S4

S1
980029-1
1-920089

LED

D6

H2

H1

Items available from the Publishers:

PCB, disk, GAL and EPROM; set, order code 980029-C.
Figure 3. Copper track layouts and component
PCB only, order code 980029-1.
overlays (actual size) of the double-sided,
GAL 16V8 only, order code 986506-1.
through-plated printed circuit board.
EPROM 27C512 only, order code 986507-1.
Disk only, order code 986014-1.

980029-1

T14-T22 = BC639 Miscellaneous: mounted at the solder side of the

IC1,IC9 = 74HC4094 X1 = 12MHz quartz crystal board (and soldered at the component
IC2,IC4 = Z80PIO K1 = 3-pin SIL header side). Its long pins receive a mating
IC3 = SAB80C535-N K2 = 2-way PCB terminal block socket whose pins are soldered to the
IC5 = GAL 16V8 (order code (pitch 5mm) 14 copper spots on the LCD module.
986506-1) K3 = 14-pin SIL header Doing so allows the LCD to be given a
IC6 = LM324 K4,K5 = 8-pin SIL header
IC7 = EPROM 27C512 (order code S1-S6 = Digitast push button (ITT
slant angle for optimum viewing.
986507-1) (but use 32-pin socket!) Schadow), 4 black caps, 1 white Insert a second 24-pin socket into
IC8 = 74HC573 (Ent), 1 red (Esc) the one you soldered at the solder side
IC10 = MAX232 JP1 = 3-pin SIL header + jumper in position IC12, and then insert the
IC11 = 7805 LCD module, 2x16 characters ZIF socket to make a nice stack.
IC12 = 24-pin ZIF-socket (wide slots; 9-way sub-D socket (female) K2 is a two-way PCB mount termi-
Aries, Farnell) nal block which receives the mains
adaptor output voltage.

Elektor Electronics 3/98 55

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Keyboard Figure 4. The LCD is

This is a simpler and smaller board 4 mounted at a slant
which should not present any diffi- angle of about 15
culty. Although a connector (K5) is degrees at the solder
indicated on the overlay, the 8-way side of the board.
flatcable between the keyboard PCB
and the main board may be soldered
directly to the spots at the solder side.
One separate wire is used to control
the LED, D6. It goes to a solder pin
marked LED on the main board.

That concludes the construction of the

PCBs. Nows a good time to review
your work so far. Any blatant errors?

TESTING
With the ICs still waiting to be inserted
in the respective sockets, connect-up
the input voltage and run a quick
check on the presence of the 5-volt
supply voltage at the relevant pins of
all IC sockets. Switch off and insert the
LM324 (IC6). Connect the DMM to
ground and the top wire of R61,
switch on again and adjust P2 for a
reading of 5.2 V. only those test vectors are used that 8. Remote Mode: connect a PC to the
Switch off and carefully insert all have the GND and Vcc pins at the RS232 interface and debug test vectors
ICs. Note their orientations on the same positions. The GND/Vcc pin using the DOS program TVCHK.EXE.
board! Switch on again. The LCD entry is optional. Next, you can select
should read the libraries that have to be scanned. The up/dn keys are used to scroll one
3. Retest IC: once an IC has been item up or down. The up2/dn2 keys
IC Tester tested or identified, it may be tested do the same, but then five items at a
1:Test again without having to pick it from time. The Ent key is used to confirm a
the libraries. selection. Esc, finally, jumps to the
Okay so far? Congratulations! 4. Trace: all test vectors and the main menu.
response of the DUT to these vectors
ADJUSTMENTS appear in succession on the LC dis- NEXT MONTH
The DUT supply output voltage, U+, play. Next months second and final instal-
has to be set to 5.2 V 0.05 V using 5. Options: here, you can define global ment will discuss the structure of the
preset P2. Next, P1 is adjusted for opti- options. various menus which appear on the
mum contrast of the texts that appear 6. Info: information on version and LCD, as well as the ins and outs of test
on the LCD. copyright. vector creation, downloading, debug-
7. Self Check: the IC tester hardware ging and EPROM programming.
OPERATION may be checked using this function (980029-1)
The tester is operated using six keys and a voltmeter.
labelled Ent (enter), Esc (escape), dn
(scroll down), up, dn2 (fast scroll
down), and up2 (fast scroll up). The up
and dn keys have an auto-repeat func- 5
tion which causes the repeat rate to be
automatically increased as the key is
held depressed. LED D6 lights to indi-
cate that the IC under test is being
powered, and should not be removed
from the ZIF socket. All ICs to be
tested should be aligned towards
pins 12/13 of the ZIF socket. Their
top notch is at the side of the ZIF
socket lever.
Pressing the Esc (escape) key takes
you to the main menu. There, the fol-
lowing functions may be selected:
1. Test IC: the user picks an IC from an
IC library, and the DUT is checked for
correct operation. The test may be
repeated. If indicated by the test vec-
tors, the current consumption of the IC
under test is measured and displayed. Figure 5. General view
2. Identify: this allows you to identify of the completed main
the type number of an unknown IC. If board and keyboard.
the GND and Vcc pins are unknown,

Elektor Electronics 3/98 57