Having seen the "tame" version of this in some eBay listings (just a box with a switch and speaker terminals), I went on eBay looking for one, and found something much more exciting.
This is a lamp tester for use in Chinese factories where they assemble the lamps and then test them to see if they light. This unit also does a fast power test that will beep a warning if the lamp deviates from a preset power range.
It's really exciting feature is the auxiliary mains voltage test facility that gives you the option of stuffing wires into speaker connectors or just using flying test probes with full mains voltage on the tips. It makes me wonder how many innocent Chinese factory workers have passed pant-filling amounts of electrical current, or simply had the probes explode on contact with either faulty equipment or random metalwork in the vicinity. Not helped by the unpolarised power connector.
I have found the little 8 pin chip data, and it's actually quite an exciting little chip for use in power monitoring applications. It does all the dirty work of measuring current, voltage and phase relationship for accurate power measurement. The processor only has to read it, process the results and then present them on the multiplexed display.
Here's the data sheet in English:-
https://www.belling.com.cn/media/file_object/bel_product/BL0937/datasheet/BL0937_V1.02_en.pdf
Soldering the detached wire back on proved to be a bit tricky, as the wire is definitely not copper and would not take solder well.
Note that for obvious reasons this is not suitable for use in factories in the majority of other countries. Test equipment normally has to have safety systems built in to avoid accidental electrical contact.
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#ElectronicsCreators

Ah yes, eBay yields the goodies once again and this time it's a treat. Especial As Eve would say, it is something very special indeed. So I'll get straight to the point here: I'll plug this in. Here's a little UK Complaint: Adapter the fuse I'll plug this non-polarized plugin and this is a device with a nice Stitch reader and it beeps and it was described as LED Quick Test Light Box Voltage Power Tester for E27b22 E14 Lamp Bulb with Buzzer It does have a buzzer, you can hear the buzzer going beep and this thing is used for testing lamps.

Let me demonstrate. you turn the power on and you can just shove lamps in. And the high number of beeps there meant that it was out of compliance because when you plug in a lamp that you've programmed it for like this little one, here, it does a couple of beeps and it shows you it's 1.75 Watts If you press the button briefly, it shows the mains voltage, which is currently apparently 248 6 volts. Not sure how accurate that is, but if you set it to that and then you press and hold the button, you can go through five.

I Think it's five percent tolerance, ten percent tolerance 15 tolerance. You can set the tolerance so when you put another lamp in it, it will depend on the base. It doesn't matter. In parallel, it will measure the power and if it is within the rated power range, it will make a double beep.

Sometimes it does the multiple beeps and then does the double beep, but the idea is you can quickly, just, uh, put lamps in and you can attest to see if they're compliant or not and also test them. So very handy for testing. Labs You don't have to use that sort of continuity tester thing. You've also got a couple of uh, loudspeaker terminals here that also put out 240 volts.

You've got a little socket here, so 240 volts. and when it said continue to test, there's a thing or beeper I Thought this was just going to be a continuity test. No, no it's not. because when you have a lamp like this, a little LED module like this that you need to test and it operates at 240.

then you need not turn it off. For this, you need the special probes that come with it. In goes the first probe. in goes the second probe.

We have our probes at Cloud handling them gingerly. notice, not shrouded tips, not uh with finger guards or anything. Turn the power on and it doesn't really matter the polarity here. just probe directly onto the circuit board and the LED works.

You can test it. but what you do with probe, you have to turn the power off because these probes are live at 240 volts. Lovely. That's excellent.

That's perfect. And these things are actually used in China in factories. I've seen videos showing the little mama papa type lamp shops where someone's just started up their own company and they've basically just bought like things like circuit boards and housings and they assemble the lamps themselves and then if sometimes not, it's not even like this. They've got a couple of nails on the bench and she Stuffs the lamp.
There's always a woman doing it. She Stuffs the lamp across the nails to see if it lights up. it's it's very good. I Don't think they really comply with local regulations, but anyway, let's open it up.

It needs the California warning sticker. I've had this open already I Just had to see what was inside it. That's why I've invalidated my warranty on the certificate of this product has passed the test. Excellent.

It's not past my test I Mean it works. Noting that because it's not polarized. uh, if you're actually pushing the lamps in, this may be live or it may be neutral exciting I'm guessing these things it looks like they're almost for a strap I think they're for screwing it down to the bench because they really do, genuinely, uh, have a fairly slack approach to electricity. in China I think they work in the basis that use common sense and if you get shock, you've got a shock.

And if you die, you die and they're just going to have to employ somebody else, There is that attitude towards labor in China It's very odd. Doesn't happen here. Maybe they're a bit too soft here. Maybe we need more test equipment like this, right? A lot of screws? maybe I should take some out for Android Love the construction.

it gives me. what's that game that they gotta catch them all Pokemon it's got that two-tone color tip. So inside is the little circuit board. I'll put up this way I've got the cable coming in the the neutral is just popped off.

Okay, then you just popped off. That's okay. I think it came from down there. Uh, but live is looks as though it's going out via the shunt here.

Let's Zoom down this and maybe brighten the image up because it is just a bit. Uh, it's it's not going to brighten up one moment, please. It has brightened up quirky. So inside we've got a little current shunt and what looks probably like an Op amp.

I'm going to guess that's an Op-up or a dedicated current monitoring device. Let me just see if there's a number on it. Oop is it even. It does.

look how it's connected to that two one, two, one eyh. don't immediately recognize BL Wait, who knows I'm not sure what that is. that's strange. Anyway, that's a little microcontroller and over here there is a little Buck regulator based on a um Sm7035p Buck regulator chip.

there's an inductor, there's the output capacitor for the power supply and what it's doing is it's measuring the voltage drop across this current shunt and using it to probably buffering up. With this trip here I would guess I'll double check what that is, see if I can find any information on it, but then it's a presenting as analog signal to the microcontroller which will then just basically then Multiplex the LEDs cridly if you use the minimum of components possible here, it's very cheap, which means that the segments are all different intensities and just display the value. I Suppose it's quite useful. It means they don't have to look up if you can basically calibrate it for that and then just stuff lamps in.
but here. uh, the uh, the fuse is in the neutral I Suppose it's better that it doesn't help if you poke the probe onto a grounded metalwork. Does it? But they've got the fears on what appears to be the neutral Am I right here. No actually I'm talking crap.

The fuse is actually in the live. this is good and then it just goes in parallel to the speaker connectors, your output probes, your little socket and then all the lamp holders. Hmm, little George Michael They're a careless whiskers sticking out. Also notable that it looks a bit mashed down here because when I first opened it up, this wire was right across here and it had been mashed during manufacturer so that passed its inspection.

Also, little lamp or the vent holes are for the Audio I guess but that is it. Yeah, this is going to be super small too, isn't it? Yes, it's going to be kind of swamped out better, but that is it. It is a quite handy in the right environment, but I Don't think it would really be compliant with a American European British or any other regulations maybe in India as well as China. They might allow such things, but uh, it's definitely not the probes.

I mean the probes Are it? It doesn't matter. you can put your fingers in these because you can poke your fingers and lamp holders anyway. but it's the fact that the speaker terminals are not compliant. The probes are just ridiculous, but hilarious at the same time that make it kind of special and that as I say, might be okay in China and India but it's not really too acceptable anywhere else.


13 thoughts on “Scary ebay chinese factory test equipment”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars ShrekHas Covid19 says:

    put a hot dog in the lamp sockets when its on

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Fraser Wilson says:

    Euthenasia in a box!! Lovely

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Frogz says:

    this is scary chinese factory test equipment
    it tests chinese factories
    if all sla…..employees survive, the factory has passed

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Marvin T P Android says:

    Shocking !

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Alan Abbott says:

    Our local ironmongers had a simpler version on the bench to test light bulbs before selling. It was a wooden board with lamp sockets of all types and sizes and was always live. They just quickly put the bulb in to make sure it was ok.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Andarvid Avohits says:

    "A little George Michael there, a careless whisker sticking out…" 😄🤣

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Nicolas Sales says:

    “That’s what RCDs and RCBOs are for” I tell my electrician when I see products like this. Foul and abusive language is always the reply!

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Pneumantic says:

    Fun fact those warranty stickers aren't actually a lawful process.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Rena says:

    European plugs are unpolarized as well, so table/floor lamps have the same “issue”

    Further more I know people who turn their lamp on and off by screwing the lamp in or out cuz the switch is somewhere difficult to reach 😅

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Cemprotecta says:

    Quite funny. You made me laugh before sipping my morning tea. Those live probes are scary indeed! 😅 Thanks for sharing

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars hornetIIkite3 says:

    I'm an avid supporter of removing all safety warnings. Let natural selection do it's work. We might even drastically lower the world population

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars getyerspn says:

    Current shunt always makes me remember many years ago at Hewlett-Packard a colleague of mine got his words mixed up and said shurant c+nt .. the American's didn't like the c word one bit you'd think he'd done something terrible to they're mums (mom's) … whilst all the British and Australian staff fell about pissing them selves with laughter…he became a legend.

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Simon Crabb says:

    246V! They're spoiling you!

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