Half splitting
Eight lights in series, all dark, one bad. Find it in three measurements instead of eight by always measuring in the middle of what is left.
Open it in the simulatorAll paths
Troubleshooting like a technician
Find faults nobody planted for you: power first, half splitting, signal tracing, opens and shorts, failed parts and intermittents. Ends with a repair ticket: three boards, one fault each.
0 of 7 done
What you will build
3 projects, built step by step
7 lessons in 4 chapters, about 6 hours on a simulated breadboard. Free, in your browser, every step checked by the simulator.
Opens and shorts
A board with a dead short and an open on it. What each looks like on a meter: a short is zero volts and all the current, an open is all the voltage and no current. Find both and fix them.
Open it in the simulatorIntermittents
Faults that come and go. Provoke a cracked joint with a tap test and repair it, then find a flicker that is not a bad part at all but a design with no margin, and fix the design.
Open it in the simulatorThe map
Chapter by chapter
Each lesson opens when the one before it is done, and each chapter ends in a project.
Chapter 1
Find it fast
A method that works on anything, and halving the search with every reading.
- Open200 XP
A method
A blinker that does nothing. Work it the way a technician does: symptom, power first, measure against what it should be, fix the cause, verify, and write it down.
0 of 6 steps
- ProjectLocked498 XP
Half splitting
Eight lights in series, all dark, one bad. Find it in three measurements instead of eight by always measuring in the middle of what is left.
0 of 7 steps
Chapter 2
Follow the signal
Signal tracing, and what an open and a short look like on a meter.
- Locked280 XP
Signal tracing
An amplifier with no output. Check its DC first, then follow the signal stage by stage from the source until it disappears, and replace the part where it died.
0 of 8 steps
- ProjectLocked498 XP
Opens and shorts
A board with a dead short and an open on it. What each looks like on a meter: a short is zero volts and all the current, an open is all the voltage and no current. Find both and fix them.
0 of 7 steps
Chapter 3
The hard ones
Parts that are not what they say, and faults that come and go.
- Locked280 XP
Failed parts
A transistor switch that will not switch. Read its junctions in circuit, then test the suspect and a spare out of circuit, and sort a drawer of parts that are not what their markings say.
0 of 8 steps
- ProjectLocked462 XP
Intermittents
Faults that come and go. Provoke a cracked joint with a tap test and repair it, then find a flicker that is not a bad part at all but a design with no margin, and fix the design.
0 of 7 steps
Chapter 4
Boss
A repair ticket with three boards on it.
- Locked280 XP
Boss: repair three boards
A repair ticket with three boards on it, one fault each: a supply putting out the wrong voltage, a blinker that only glows, and a driver whose LED never lights. Measure, fix, verify and write up all three.
0 of 8 steps
Syllabus
Every lesson in the course
All 7 lessons, in order, each with what it covers. Any of them opens in the editor right away.
Find it fast
- A methodA blinker that does nothing. Work it the way a technician does: symptom, power first, measure against what it should be, fix the cause, verify, and write it down.
- Half splittingEight lights in series, all dark, one bad. Find it in three measurements instead of eight by always measuring in the middle of what is left.
Follow the signal
- Signal tracingAn amplifier with no output. Check its DC first, then follow the signal stage by stage from the source until it disappears, and replace the part where it died.
- Opens and shortsA board with a dead short and an open on it. What each looks like on a meter: a short is zero volts and all the current, an open is all the voltage and no current. Find both and fix them.
The hard ones
- Failed partsA transistor switch that will not switch. Read its junctions in circuit, then test the suspect and a spare out of circuit, and sort a drawer of parts that are not what their markings say.
- IntermittentsFaults that come and go. Provoke a cracked joint with a tap test and repair it, then find a flicker that is not a bad part at all but a design with no margin, and fix the design.
Boss
- Boss: repair three boardsA repair ticket with three boards on it, one fault each: a supply putting out the wrong voltage, a blinker that only glows, and a driver whose LED never lights. Measure, fix, verify and write up all three.
Kits
Build it on your bench too
Every lesson runs in the simulator with nothing to buy. When you want the real thing, these kits have the parts.
Find your kit
Pick the starter kit you own and run every lesson in its manual with the same parts on the same pins.
See every kitQuestions
About Troubleshooting like a technician
Is Troubleshooting like a technician free?
Yes. All 7 lessons of Troubleshooting like a technician are free and run in your browser, with nothing to install and no parts to buy before you start.
Do I need any parts?
No. Every circuit is built on a simulated breadboard, and the simulator checks each step as you go. When you want to build it for real, the same parts and wiring work on a real bench.
How long does Troubleshooting like a technician take?
About 6 hours: 7 lessons in 4 chapters, each one a few short steps. Your progress is kept, so you can stop after any lesson and pick up where you left off.
What will I build?
Each chapter ends in a project that puts it together: Half splitting, Opens and shorts and Intermittents.
Where do I start?
With "A method", and each lesson builds on the one before it. New to circuits? Electronics basics is the course that starts from zero.