There are many components and I have a difficult time knowing exactly what I have in my hands. Do we have equipment for testing fets and electrolytic caps, that would help me diagnose? Thank you for reading, TJ
http://www.electronics-diy.com/esr-meter.php
[Edit: to clarify … we may have a ESR meter and/or transistor tester in the electronics lab. However, this is a handy toy to have at home when identifying unknown components.]
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Which is based on this design. Found it via a story over on HaD.
The shop does have an ESR meter, and the manual is on the wiki page. Whether it has walked off or been relocated is an open question.
What should be done to test component with more than two leads? I am used to the spice models or nodal equations. maybe graph theory? Perhaps this is a silly question.
If it looks like a transistor (3 leads), plug it into a transistor tester and see what you get. You can also use the diode check function on a regular multimeter to find the two “back-to-back” diode arrangement, and then you’ll know if it is PNP (cathodes point to the same pin) or NPN (cathodes point to two different pins).
Determining collector and emitter pins is an exercise left to the reader. 
When dealing with parts, like transistors, it is usually best to determine what numbers are written on the part then do a google search with that number followed by data sheet. You then look at the data sheets which will help you orient the part properly in the tester. It also gives you the specifications for appropriate use of the part.
If anyone is in the market for an ESR meter or other component testers, check out the following link.
About a year ago I purchased the Peak Atlas ESR70 meter and it has served me well in easily testing lots of caps while repairing pinball boards, CRT arcade monitors, and LCD monitors. It is able to quickly detect and analyze the cap under test. It is also good at helping to find shorts like a wisp of solder bridging traces.
I plan to pick up the Peak DCA75 component tester and some additional accessories in the near future. http://anatekinstruments.com/collections/peak-technology-component-testers/products/peak-atlas-dca75-pro-semiconductor-tester
I’ve used this particular device with some success: New LCR-T4 ATmega328 Digital Transistor Tester 12864 LCD Capacitance ESR Meter | eBay. It even identifies the leads for you.
If this would prove useful, I’ll be glad to hand it over to you at the Space.
jb
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