FADOS 9F1 Circuit Board Tester

The FADOS 9F1 is CBT Electronic’s flagship circuit board diagnostic system, designed for rapid fault detection on populated PCBs without requiring power, schematics, or test fixtures. The system operates on the principle of VI curve tracing: a controlled test signal is applied to each component or node on a powered-off board, and the resulting voltage-current (VI) characteristic curve is captured and compared against a known-good reference board. Any deviation between the reference and test curves indicates a fault, open circuits, shorts, wrong-value components, or degraded semiconductors are immediately visible as curve shape changes. Because testing is performed with the board powered off, there is no risk of damage to the DUT or the operator, and no schematic is required to begin diagnosis.

The FADOS 9F1 includes a built-in variable DC power supply, 100 mV to 16 V DC at 100 mV resolution and 10 mA to 1500 mA at 10 mA resolution, that enables powered testing for scenarios requiring voltage bias, such as verifying voltage regulators, Zener diodes, or circuits that only exhibit faults under load. In power ON analysis the software plots the voltage against current graph of the device under test as the supply is stepped, and the same graph recorded from a good board can be overlaid on the board being repaired, so a difference in current draw is visible before any probing starts. The non-contact IR temperature sensor monitors temperature rise on the DUT up to approximately 120°C above ambient, allowing technicians to identify shorted ICs, failed regulators, or parasitic current paths, then power the board off and confirm the suspect area with the V-I tester. The 12-bit ADC/DAC provides high-resolution measurements, ensuring subtle curve deviations caused by marginal or intermittent faults are captured with precision.

FADOS Analysis software provides automated point-by-point comparison between reference and test boards, generating clear pass/fail results with fault location reporting. Technicians can build and manage a database of reference boards, store measurement logs, and export detailed reports for quality documentation and traceability. Report saving and analytics are a FADOS 9F1 feature and are not available on the FADOS 7F1. Batch reporting across many test points in one pass belongs to FADOS MUX, the multiplexer equipped version of the FADOS 9F1, which is supplied with 100 channels as standard.

CBT Electronic states that the FADOS innovation received the Best Technological Certificate from Germany. Full specifications, software screenshots and the model comparison are in the August 2026 FADOS booklet (PDF) published by CBT Electronic and GSAS Micro Systems.

Technical Specifications

Specification	Value
Test Method	V-I curve tracing, analogue signature analysis in power OFF condition
DAC / ADC	12-bit
Step of Voltages	±1V, ±3V, ±6V, ±12V, ±24V
Step of Resistances	Low: 47 kΩ, Med1: 3.5 kΩ, Med2: 700 Ω, High: 250 Ω
Step of Frequencies for ±6V	Very Low: 2.16 Hz, Low2: 6.85 Hz, Low1: 20.56 Hz, Test: 54.82 Hz, High at ±1V (low inductor): 7.81 kHz, High at ±3V (low capacitor): 2.23 kHz
Number of Channels	2 (Channel 1, Channel 2)
Scan Modes	Manual / automatic selection of voltage, current and frequency steps
Memory Function	Yes, records data with board image and detects faults by comparison with stored signatures
Equivalent Circuit Diagram	Yes, R, C or diode diagram generated for the contacted point
Component Measurement	Yes, resistors, capacitors and diodes at the test point
Test Sound	Yes, different tones at different points
3 Graphs	Yes, three graphs at different settings on screen simultaneously
Report Saving / Analytics	Yes
Variable DC Power Supply	100 mV to 16 V DC (100 mV resolution) at 10 mA to 1500 mA (10 mA resolution)
Non-contact IR Temperature	Monitoring up to approximately 120°C above ambient temperature
Multiplexer Channels	No (FADOS MUX only)
Short Circuit Finder / Frequency Scanning	No (FADOS XI only)
Oscilloscope Sampling Rate	400 K/S
Oscilloscope Channel / ADC	2 channel / 12 bit
Oscilloscope Sensitivity	2.5 mV
Oscilloscope Image Rate	0.02 mS/div to 100 mS/div
Oscilloscope Instant Memory	64 Kbyte
Oscilloscope Input Voltage	Probe 1X: ±5 V, probe 10X: ±50 V
Square Wave Generator	0.2 to 25 kHz
Analog Output Signal	-12 V to +12 V
Dimensions	125mm L × 113mm W × 40mm H
Gross Weight	1400g approx
Software	FADOS Analysis Suite (Windows)
Interface	USB
Assembled	GSAS Bangalore (ODM)

Capacitor Quality Test and Component Identification

The FADOS 9F1 software adds two checks that work without a reference board:

• Capacitor quality test: switching on Capacitor Test draws an extra line across the V-I graph. A horizontal line indicates a high quality capacitor, and the more that line tilts, the lower the quality of the capacitor under test.
• Component identification: the software identifies transistors, triacs, thyristors, FETs and IGBTs from their V-I signature. Probe placement follows the booklet, red probe on the base or gate, blue probe on the collector or drain, and ground on the emitter.

Alongside these, the equivalent circuit diagram and component value measurement give the resistor, capacitor or diode seen at the contacted point, so a node can be characterised in place rather than desoldered.

Application Industries

The FADOS 9F1 is deployed across a wide range of industries where reliable circuit board diagnostics are critical to maintaining uptime and reducing repair costs:

• Aerospace and defence: depot-level repair of avionics boards, radar modules, and mission-critical control systems where schematics may be restricted or unavailable
• Telecommunications: fault diagnosis of exchange cards, base station modules, and network equipment boards during repair and refurbishment
• Industrial automation: troubleshooting PLC boards, motor drive controllers, and sensor interface modules in manufacturing plants
• Medical electronics: repair of patient monitoring, imaging system, and infusion pump controller boards under regulatory documentation requirements
• Automotive electronics: ECU and body control module diagnostics for repair centres and OEM warranty return analysis
• Education and R&D: electronics teaching laboratories and research groups requiring non-destructive board-level analysis

Why Buy from GSAS

GSAS Micro Systems is an authorized India partner for CBT Electronic, providing the full FADOS product range with local inventory, installation, and technical support. The FADOS 9F1 units supplied by GSAS are assembled at the GSAS Bangalore ODM facility, ensuring rapid availability and local quality assurance. GSAS provides pre-sales application consulting to help teams select the right FADOS configuration, on-site installation and training, and ongoing technical support including software updates and calibration services. With offices in Bangalore, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai, GSAS delivers responsive support for FADOS deployments across India.