Methods and systems for detecting esd events in cabled devices

An audit device, comprising:

• a printed circuit board (PCB);
• at least one test element coupled to the PCB, wherein the at least one test element is a resistor or a resistance-inductance-capacitance (RLC) circuit having an equivalent circuit value to a device that is normally connected to a cable and for which electrostatic discharge (ESD), electrostatic overstress (EOS), and/or cable discharge event (CDE) characteristics are desired to be determined, and wherein the equivalent circuit value is selected from a group consisting of:
• inductance, capacitance, resistance, and impedance;
• a connector adapted for coupling the at least one test element to leads of the cable;
• a probe for detecting at least one of:
• voltage across or current through the at least one test element;
• and
• a microprocessor or an oscilloscope coupled to the probe for collecting data from the probe,
• wherein the data collected from the probe includes at least one of:
• signal pulse waveform during a time period, signal magnitude, signal pulse width, polarity, and frequency of events.

A method, comprising:

• coupling an audit device to a cable, wherein the audit device includes a test element that is coupled to a first signal line and a second signal line or a ground;
• and
• measuring a circuit value through the test element using a probe adapted for detecting at least one of:
• voltage across or current through the test element.