First... you need a digital multi-meter (DMM). How much you choose to spend is entirely at your budgetary discretion.
A word of caution before we begin. Make sure that your meter is set correctly before any test. If you forget to switch from resistance to voltage and apply live voltage, you will pop the fuse in the meter... and unless a spare came with the meter, I doubt you'll have a back-up.
The terms conductivity and continuity I tend to use interchangeably, as they tend to be two sides of the same coin when it comes to resistance, but... in electrical terms, continuity is defined as an unbroken circuit, while conductivity is the ability of something to conduct electricity.
In other words... a copper mech mod conducts electricity better than one made of iron, but neither will conduct electricity if the conductive pathway has poor continuity.
Moving right along...
With the meter set to it's lowest Ω resistance range, touch the probes together and hold them. The lowest test reading you get should be zero to maybe 0.4Ω (at worst)... this is the baseline resistance in your meter and test leads. You will subtract it from any future resistance readings.
1. Measure the resistance from the rda body to any bolt-on, screwed or press fit post (negative posts that are machined from the base are immune from conductivity issues)... it should be the same as your test baseline.
Measure from the positive post to the 510 positive pin... again, should be the same as the meter test number.
Some positive post/510 pins are made from once piece... and some are made of two components.
If you have measurements greater than the resistance baseline, you have an internal resistance problem with the rda. This would be pretty rare, but you needed to eliminate as a source of resistance.
2. Again, on your lowest resistance setting... you can test the entire mech, or individual sub-assemblies for continuity. For example, with one probe on the mech top cap and the other on the button itself... press the button. This tests the entire ground conductive pathway from the button to the top cap, all at once. The resistance should be the same as your original meter baseline test... in other words, no additional resistance. If there is, then somewhere between the two probes, you have poor conductivity causing excessive resistance.
3. Next is a "no load" conductivity test. With the meter set to the lower voltage position (usually 10 or 20 volts DC), measure the voltage of a freshly charged, "known good" battery. Install it into the mod - carefully place the positive probe on the 510 positive pin and the negative on the mech case - fire the mod. You should have voltage identical to the bare battery. If you had less than battery voltage with no load... that's an indication you have terrible conductivity through the mod.
4. Next is an applied load voltage test, or "voltage drop" test. Because the meter, load, atomizer and battery are unique to you and not a universal constant, this test is not for comparison purposes to anything you see or read on the interweb... especially the testing conducted by Jon Kuro (see below).
This test is to allow you to "see" the conductivity loss or resistance in your kit, with a load applied. Got it? Good.
In a perfect world, there would be no resistance in our kit that would create a loss of voltage delivered to our atomizers... then reality sets in, and very few mods in day to day use have zero voltage drop.
5. Build a coil on your RDA at approximately 1.0Ω. With the meter set to the lower voltage position, again measure the voltage of a freshly charged battery. Install the battery in the mech and the RDA to the mech, with the cap off. This next part you may want help from a second set of hands.
Holding the positive probe firmly to the center or positive RDA pin, hold the negative firmly to either of the negative posts. Now fire the mod until the volt reading is relatively stable... preferably no more than 5 seconds.
The alternative, and far more convenient method of VD testing, is to obtain a 510 threaded, "in-line" volt meter. These too can have internal resistance to consider, but seldom in excess of 0.005v.
Referring to the Kuro Concepts (Jon Kuro) spreadsheet, a genuine BCV XXIX, under objective, repeatable testing - with a controlled 1.0Ω load has a VD of 0.00v. The absolute worst VD measurement I've ever seen or personally taken, with any mod, has been no more than 0.70v.
The difference between the battery only reading and the reading at the RDA is your voltage drop. Considering the circumstances, if you have a difference greater than 0.3 volts, you have conductivity issues with, in order of likelihood... your button, your contacts, your tube/cap threading and your atomizer.
More often than not, if you mod is of good quality, the most frequent cause of voltage drop is contamination (dirt, hand sweat) and/or tarnish & corrosion of conductive pathway parts.
Mild tarnish is easily removed with a pencil or ink pen eraser. Corrosion may require a bit more aggressive abrasive... like scotchbrite pads or 1000 or finer grit wet/dry sandpaper.
Finish up with a good cleaning with IPA (isopropyl alcohol - great for copper and brass) or just plain old hot, soapy water...
That's it... take it as it is, do with it what you will. ;-)
Cheers
A word of caution before we begin. Make sure that your meter is set correctly before any test. If you forget to switch from resistance to voltage and apply live voltage, you will pop the fuse in the meter... and unless a spare came with the meter, I doubt you'll have a back-up.
The terms conductivity and continuity I tend to use interchangeably, as they tend to be two sides of the same coin when it comes to resistance, but... in electrical terms, continuity is defined as an unbroken circuit, while conductivity is the ability of something to conduct electricity.
In other words... a copper mech mod conducts electricity better than one made of iron, but neither will conduct electricity if the conductive pathway has poor continuity.
Moving right along...
With the meter set to it's lowest Ω resistance range, touch the probes together and hold them. The lowest test reading you get should be zero to maybe 0.4Ω (at worst)... this is the baseline resistance in your meter and test leads. You will subtract it from any future resistance readings.
1. Measure the resistance from the rda body to any bolt-on, screwed or press fit post (negative posts that are machined from the base are immune from conductivity issues)... it should be the same as your test baseline.
Measure from the positive post to the 510 positive pin... again, should be the same as the meter test number.
Some positive post/510 pins are made from once piece... and some are made of two components.
If you have measurements greater than the resistance baseline, you have an internal resistance problem with the rda. This would be pretty rare, but you needed to eliminate as a source of resistance.
2. Again, on your lowest resistance setting... you can test the entire mech, or individual sub-assemblies for continuity. For example, with one probe on the mech top cap and the other on the button itself... press the button. This tests the entire ground conductive pathway from the button to the top cap, all at once. The resistance should be the same as your original meter baseline test... in other words, no additional resistance. If there is, then somewhere between the two probes, you have poor conductivity causing excessive resistance.
3. Next is a "no load" conductivity test. With the meter set to the lower voltage position (usually 10 or 20 volts DC), measure the voltage of a freshly charged, "known good" battery. Install it into the mod - carefully place the positive probe on the 510 positive pin and the negative on the mech case - fire the mod. You should have voltage identical to the bare battery. If you had less than battery voltage with no load... that's an indication you have terrible conductivity through the mod.
4. Next is an applied load voltage test, or "voltage drop" test. Because the meter, load, atomizer and battery are unique to you and not a universal constant, this test is not for comparison purposes to anything you see or read on the interweb... especially the testing conducted by Jon Kuro (see below).
This test is to allow you to "see" the conductivity loss or resistance in your kit, with a load applied. Got it? Good.
In a perfect world, there would be no resistance in our kit that would create a loss of voltage delivered to our atomizers... then reality sets in, and very few mods in day to day use have zero voltage drop.
5. Build a coil on your RDA at approximately 1.0Ω. With the meter set to the lower voltage position, again measure the voltage of a freshly charged battery. Install the battery in the mech and the RDA to the mech, with the cap off. This next part you may want help from a second set of hands.
Holding the positive probe firmly to the center or positive RDA pin, hold the negative firmly to either of the negative posts. Now fire the mod until the volt reading is relatively stable... preferably no more than 5 seconds.
The alternative, and far more convenient method of VD testing, is to obtain a 510 threaded, "in-line" volt meter. These too can have internal resistance to consider, but seldom in excess of 0.005v.
Referring to the Kuro Concepts (Jon Kuro) spreadsheet, a genuine BCV XXIX, under objective, repeatable testing - with a controlled 1.0Ω load has a VD of 0.00v. The absolute worst VD measurement I've ever seen or personally taken, with any mod, has been no more than 0.70v.
The difference between the battery only reading and the reading at the RDA is your voltage drop. Considering the circumstances, if you have a difference greater than 0.3 volts, you have conductivity issues with, in order of likelihood... your button, your contacts, your tube/cap threading and your atomizer.
More often than not, if you mod is of good quality, the most frequent cause of voltage drop is contamination (dirt, hand sweat) and/or tarnish & corrosion of conductive pathway parts.
Mild tarnish is easily removed with a pencil or ink pen eraser. Corrosion may require a bit more aggressive abrasive... like scotchbrite pads or 1000 or finer grit wet/dry sandpaper.
Finish up with a good cleaning with IPA (isopropyl alcohol - great for copper and brass) or just plain old hot, soapy water...
That's it... take it as it is, do with it what you will. ;-)
Cheers
