All paths

Technician capstone: your own repair bench

Faulty units come in, and you send them back working: intake, a diagnosis plan, schematic reading, repair, verification, a repair log and a customer report, with the meter, the scope and the component tester.

Free7 lessons7 h3 chapters3,640 XPElectrical · Expert+400 XP

0 of 7 done

Start the course freeIntake: log the unit, test the partsLesson plan for teachers
What you will build

3 projects, built step by step

7 lessons in 3 chapters, about 7 hours on a simulated breadboard. Free, in your browser, every step checked by the simulator.

Chapter 1 project

Schematic reading: predict every node

A reference divider reads high. Trace the meter onto the schematic, predict the healthy reading from the parts, find the drifted resistor, learn why one reading can point at two suspects, and close the chapter with a predict-the-reading quiz.

Open it in the simulator
Chapter 2 project

Verification: prove it under load

A transformer power supply hums and sags. Find the dried-out smoothing capacitor with the meter and scope, replace it, then prove the repair: DC output, ripple on the AC range, a heavier load, and a predict-the-reading quiz to close the chapter.

Open it in the simulator
Chapter 3 project

Customer report: no fault found, and why

A bench supply "reads 10 V when set to 12". Measure it, find it is doing exactly what it was told, protect the customer's load, then write the report a customer can understand and finish your portfolio write-up.

Open it in the simulator
The map

Chapter by chapter

Each lesson opens when the one before it is done, and each chapter ends in a project.

Chapter 1

Intake and diagnosis

Log the unit, test the parts, write a plan and read the schematic before you touch anything.

  1. Open320 XP

    Intake: log the unit, test the parts

    Your bench opens for business. Take in a bag of loose parts the way a shop does: write the ticket, then let the component tester name each part, its legs and its numbers, and catch a wrong substitute before it goes in.

    0 of 6 steps

  2. Locked350 XP

    Diagnosis plan: reproduce, then halve the problem

    A 5 V supply comes in with a dim light and a gadget that keeps resetting. Reproduce the complaint, write a plan that splits the circuit in half, measure in that order, and confirm the cause by substitution.

    0 of 6 steps

  3. ProjectLocked700 XP

    Schematic reading: predict every node

    A reference divider reads high. Trace the meter onto the schematic, predict the healthy reading from the parts, find the drifted resistor, learn why one reading can point at two suspects, and close the chapter with a predict-the-reading quiz.

    0 of 6 steps

Chapter 2

Repair and verify

Let the readings pick the part, change one thing, and prove the repair under load.

  1. Locked380 XP

    Repair: one change, one reason

    Two 555 timer units come in running at the wrong rate. Use the meter's frequency and duty ranges and the scope to work out from the readings alone whether the capacitor or a resistor is wrong, then fix each with one change.

    0 of 6 steps

  2. ProjectLocked800 XP

    Verification: prove it under load

    A transformer power supply hums and sags. Find the dried-out smoothing capacitor with the meter and scope, replace it, then prove the repair: DC output, ripple on the AC range, a heavier load, and a predict-the-reading quiz to close the chapter.

    0 of 7 steps

Chapter 3

Hand it back

As-found and as-left logs, a customer report in plain words, and your bench portfolio.

  1. Locked350 XP

    Documentation: as found, as left

    An LED light bar comes in dim. Record every as-found reading before you touch it, fix the one wrong resistor, record the same readings as left, and write a repair log another tech could follow.

    0 of 6 steps

  2. ProjectLocked740 XP

    Customer report: no fault found, and why

    A bench supply "reads 10 V when set to 12". Measure it, find it is doing exactly what it was told, protect the customer's load, then write the report a customer can understand and finish your portfolio write-up.

    0 of 7 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.

Chapter 1

Intake and diagnosis

  1. Intake: log the unit, test the partsYour bench opens for business. Take in a bag of loose parts the way a shop does: write the ticket, then let the component tester name each part, its legs and its numbers, and catch a wrong substitute before it goes in.
  2. Diagnosis plan: reproduce, then halve the problemA 5 V supply comes in with a dim light and a gadget that keeps resetting. Reproduce the complaint, write a plan that splits the circuit in half, measure in that order, and confirm the cause by substitution.
  3. Schematic reading: predict every nodeA reference divider reads high. Trace the meter onto the schematic, predict the healthy reading from the parts, find the drifted resistor, learn why one reading can point at two suspects, and close the chapter with a predict-the-reading quiz.
Chapter 2

Repair and verify

  1. Repair: one change, one reasonTwo 555 timer units come in running at the wrong rate. Use the meter's frequency and duty ranges and the scope to work out from the readings alone whether the capacitor or a resistor is wrong, then fix each with one change.
  2. Verification: prove it under loadA transformer power supply hums and sags. Find the dried-out smoothing capacitor with the meter and scope, replace it, then prove the repair: DC output, ripple on the AC range, a heavier load, and a predict-the-reading quiz to close the chapter.
Chapter 3

Hand it back

  1. Documentation: as found, as leftAn LED light bar comes in dim. Record every as-found reading before you touch it, fix the one wrong resistor, record the same readings as left, and write a repair log another tech could follow.
  2. Customer report: no fault found, and whyA bench supply "reads 10 V when set to 12". Measure it, find it is doing exactly what it was told, protect the customer's load, then write the report a customer can understand and finish your portfolio write-up.
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.

Have a kit already?

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 kit
Questions

About Technician capstone: your own repair bench

Is Technician capstone: your own repair bench free?

Yes. All 7 lessons of Technician capstone: your own repair bench 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 Technician capstone: your own repair bench take?

About 7 hours: 7 lessons in 3 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: Schematic reading: predict every node, Verification: prove it under load and Customer report: no fault found, and why.

Where do I start?

With "Intake: log the unit, test the parts", and each lesson builds on the one before it. New to circuits? Electronics basics is the course that starts from zero.