Engineering Test Equipment Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

Engineers use an arbitrary waveform generator for high level testing on circuit board designs. They are larger and much more expensive than a function generator, by thousands of dollars. Waveform generators can create standard sine-like waves or square waves depending on the engineer's needs.

Answer: Multimeter

A multimeter can serve as an ammeter (current) or a voltmeter (voltage), among other functions. It is a very useful tool for the engineer to identify how much current is going through a component on a circuit board. A multimeter is very handy to check for shorts between battery and ground and to verify that a component is making contact with the trace on the circuit board.

Answer: To measure the temperature of a component.

Thermocouples are about the size of a lifesaver. Engineers use a very heat resistant epoxy to attach a thermocouple to a circuit board. At this point, they can measure how much the components heat up when they are under test in their enclosures. The failure temperature of the component can then be measured and recorded by a computer that is attached to the other end of the thermocouple wire.

Answer: Oscilloscope

An oscilloscope is very useful for the engineer to diagnose whether the engine of a vehicle will interfere the signal of the radio in a car. Engineers view the voltage drops from components by using test probes. They can then tell whether the component is doing what it is supposed to do. Oscilloscopes can range from very simple 100 megahertz scopes to scopes that measure into gigahertz.

Answer: False

Schematics are used to show how the components are electrically connected. It also displays the value of the component and the reference designator.

Answer: Hip Strap

ESD can seriously damage circuit boards. By holding the circuit boards along the edges the engineer can prevent electricity from being directly discharged into an integrated circuit. Just by walking along the carpet, a person can generate enough ESD to destroy a brand new integrated circuit.

Answer: A drawing that shows how the electrical components are to be placed on the circuit board.

An assembly drawing is a useful drawing that shows the torque specifications for tightening the screws to the enclosure; it also shows the circuit boards in the correct orientation so that a person who has to disassemble or reassemble a finished product can do so more easily. This is useful when an engineer needs to take part a product so they can diagnose a failure.

Answer: Benson jumper

I made up the Benson jumper. All the other clips can be attached to parts on the circuit board and the other end can attach to a multimeter. Some multimeter accessory kits already contain wires with the banana jack, test clip, and alligator clip ends.

Answer: True

I bet you didn't know pink noise existed! We have all heard of white noise, which is an equal amount of noise produced per frequency; but, in contrast, pink noise is an equal amount of noise produced per octave. So if you are testing a speaker you will hear if it is dysfunctional within our hearing range using pink noise.

Answer: False

Heat sinks are usually large pieces of aluminum or steel that help distribute excessive heat generated by the circuit board. Some components get very hot in amplifiers, and if the excessive heat is not fanned or heat sunk, the board can catch fire or the components will just be so thermally stressed that they no longer function.