Got my new DCA75 in the mail today!

[AC_FX]

This is one of very few places in the world I can say that and expect anyone else to appreciate my excitement.

I'm looking forward to using it for matching, blueprinting, bucketing. .... ya know, semiconductor stuff.

[rocket88]

Nice. I can't wait to hear about how it is. Been thinking about upgrading my DCA55 for awhile, but no one seems to have made the jump yet. Seriously share in your excitement.

[AC_FX]

The main reason I chose it over the DCA55 is the USB connectivity.  I felt like buying a firmware-based device that I could update easily was a cool feature, and that for blueprinting vintage pedals, it might be good to be able to save info about components on the computer quickly and easily.

So I hooked it up and went through some of my transistor collection last night to see how things look.  BONUS:  you can control it from the computer while it's connected, so no scrolling to see different test parameters.  All the info is displayed at once on the PC app.

[IvIark]

Yes I've been wanting to update from the 55 too, I'll be interested to hear what you think of it, especially where JFETs are concerned.

[Frank_NH]

Nice unit, though a little above my price range.  What takes the most time for me is actually sitting down and doing the sorting/testing.  Having access to a computer to record the data is definitely a plus, but then you also need to tag and label the transistors for future reference.  I suppose you could do a relatively rough sort with BJT transistors according to hfe and bin them in trays, but for jfets, I tag them so I know what the Vp and Idss are for any given jfet.  Perhaps this is overkill, but for certain effects (like the Plexidrive) it is useful to know this info for the jfets you're using.

[AC_FX]

Here are a few screenshots from JFET testing.  First the ID tab, then one of the curve tracing tabs, then a shot of what it looks like when you paste curve tracing data into a spreadsheet.  

[Frank_NH]

Wow.  Everything you'd ever want to know about your jfet!  Thanks for sharing.

[rocket88]

well hot damn!!! that's amazing. i think it's time to upgrade, anyone want my old DCA55.....

[Chris60601]

Me, Me, Me, Me!!
How much??


Cheers
Chris

[dexxyy]

Yeah, makes me want to upgrade too. However, I don't know if it`s just me or if it`s only my dca55 that's like this but I find the clips on the leads to be next to useless. I get really pissed off with the clips springing off the component legs, I`ve had trannys flying across the room. So I`ve done a slight mod to mine. I took the front cover off, drilled 3 holes in it for a tranny socket and soldered short leads from the socket to the pads for the test leads, I left the test leads on in case I ever need to test a component with legs that are thicker than the socket. For me it works much better this way so I think I`d need to be certain I could do the same mod on the 75 before I would splash that much cash on one.

[AC_FX]

I don't know what the clips look like on your DCA55, but the ones on this rig are little spring-loaded hooks.  Once you grab on to a component lead with them, it's not going anywhere.  Maybe they've changed it.

[Travis]

That's how they are on the DCA55 too. I've never had anything fly out of the probes

I have had one of the probes fall off though and I had to take it apart to fix it. The socket idea sounds better except that once I use a socket a lot they tend to get a bit loose

[rocket88]

I haven't had any issues with things popping out, but I have had issues where the leads breaking off the clips. The wire is pretty cheap and design is pretty bad because there's a pinch point where the wire connects to the metal part of the clip, so if keeps breaking. I've had to reattach them and try to reinforce it to prevent it from happening.

I've gone looking for the DCA75 in the US, and it's $175 +shipping. I can find it on eBay from Japan for $150 free shipping. It's interesting that the DCA75 can be bad for double the DCA55. Aloe, I'm pissed cause I found the DCA75 for 92quid from a company the UK, which is about $130, but to get it shipped they want 52quid.

This is not as easy to get as the DCA55 reasonably.

[Travis]

I'd hit the Japan source. In my experience shipping from Japan to US is amazingly fast and not expensive at all. When I got my Maxon AD-9 Pro from Japan (such a sick pedal) it took maybe 4 days to get to my door

And yeah that's the problem with the probes.. The wire breaks right where it connects to the metal hook. Common problem, but not hard to fix for us DIYers. Anyway the thing is so useful to me that I overlook this design flaw. I've only had this problem once anyway but I've read about it online from many users

[rocket88]

Can't agree more. Once you get into Ge builds this tool is beyond useful. I'm probably going to order it, but you have to remember. You're going to get it really quick cause you're on the west coast. I'm on the other side of the county. Lol