Editing Electronic test equipment (section)

{{Short description|Testing appliance for electronics systems}}
[[File:Oscilloscope Tektronix 7854 on Tektronix lab cart with four smaller electronic measurement and test devices underneath.jpg|thumb|[[Tektronix]] 7854 [[oscilloscope]] with [[curve tracer]] and [[time-domain reflectometer]] plug-ins. Lower module is a mainframe of the series [[Tektronix TM500]] and has a [[multimeter|digital voltmeter]], a [[digital counter]], an old [[WWVB]] frequency standard receiver with phase comparator, and [[function generator]].]]

'''Electronic test equipment''' is used to create signals and capture responses from electronic [[Device under test|devices under test]] (DUTs). In this way, the proper operation of the DUT can be proven or faults in the device can be traced. Use of electronic test equipment is essential to any serious work on electronics systems.

Practical [[electronics]] engineering and assembly requires the use of many different kinds of electronic test equipment ranging from the very simple and inexpensive (such as a [[test light]] consisting of just a light bulb and a test lead) to extremely complex and sophisticated such as [[automatic test equipment]] (ATE). ATE often includes many of these instruments in real and simulated forms.

Generally, more advanced test gear is necessary when developing circuits and systems than is needed when doing production testing or when [[troubleshooting]] existing production units in the field.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}