Test Point

A test point is a location within an

electronic circuit An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. It is a type of electri ...

that is used to either monitor the state of the circuitry or to inject test signals. Test points have two primary uses: * During manufacturing they are used to verify that a newly assembled device is working correctly. Any equipment that fails this testing is either discarded or sent to a '' rework station'' to attempt to repair the manufacturing defects. * After sale of the device to a customer, test points may be used at a later time to repair the device if it malfunctions, or if the device needs to be re-calibrated after having components replaced. Test points can be labelled and may include pins for attachment of

alligator clip Alligator clip A crocodile clip or alligator clip is a plier-like spring-tensioned metal clip with elongated, serrated jaws that is used for creating a temporary electrical connection. This simple mechanical device gets its name from the re ...

s or may have complete connectors for test clips. Modern miniature surface-mount electronics often simply have a row of unlabelled, tinned solder pads. The device is placed into a

test fixture A test fixture is an environment used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software. Test fixtures can be found when testing electronics, software and physical devices. Electronics In testing electronic equipment such as circuit ...

that holds the device securely, and a special surface-contact connector plate is pressed down onto the solder pads to connect them all as a group. {{Electronics-stub Electronics manufacturing