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ESR meters (again)

 

I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death but it has been awhile

I am in the process after several moves in the last two years of getting my lab set back up before I tackle a sick FG504. To my dismay my old ESR meter has become the victim of battery leakage to the point of not trusting it even if i could restore it , Several green and possibly missing traces etc

I went out to Evil-Bay to look for a new one to a bewildering array of "new and improved" models. Anyone have hands on experience with a an ESR Meter they purchased in the last 6 months?

Please, please do not respond unless you have purchased something in the last 6 months, Please reviews of recent purchases ONLY. No anecdotal stories about how much you love your Geewhiz Model 300 you bought 5 years ago (Which is no longer available)

Dave

--
Dave
Manuals@...
www.ArtekManuals.com
 

Dave,
I'm not sure how helpful I can be with my little knowledge (relative to most everyone else here) but I did purchase a Blue ESR meter kit just a few months ago and enjoyed putting it together myself. I have been successful in accurately testing caps while still in circuit with same results out of circuit so its claim of being able to accurately test caps in-circuit without energizing other components seems accurate in many cases. There obviously may be cases where out of circuit is still better.

The only thing I found that I didn't like about it was that the auto shutoff would activate too soon. As such, I'd have to re-zero it each time it auto shut off. There is an option to disable auto shut off when you build it by disconnecting R25, a 47ohm resistor. Instead of just doing that, I slightly modified a very small switch I bought from Mouser and added it to the top of the board, next to the on-off switch, and ran wires down to R25 so I now have the option to either make it stay on all the time if I'm testing multiple caps, or it can be in the auto shutoff mode for battery saving if I'm only testing one or two caps. A bit of extra work but makes it more versatile.

From the documentation: "The Blue ESR is an AC ohmmeter with an equivalent test frequency of about 100kHz and capable of measuring non-inductive resistances from 0.01 to 99 ohms. It creates a 500mV P-P (open circuit) burst of 8usec pulses at a 2kHz rate, repeated several times per second so it can also be used as a signal source." I was able to connect my 475 to it and see that signal.

One thing the instructions say is that it can produce unsteady indications if its test leads pick up strong horizontal deflection signals so you need to keep it away from CRTs when making measurements.

It has done what I've needed it to do but my requirements may be much more basic than yours. It's probably a little bit expensive compared to building one yourself...there are many home-made instructions out there...but this one is pretty nice.

John


To: tekscopes@...
From: TekScopes@...
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2016 13:43:12 -0400
Subject: [TekScopes] ESR meters (again)


























I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death but

it has been awhile



I am in the process after several moves in the last two years of getting

my lab set back up before I tackle a sick FG504. To my dismay my old ESR

meter has become the victim of battery leakage to the point of not

trusting it even if i could restore it , Several green and possibly

missing traces etc



I went out to Evil-Bay to look for a new one to a bewildering array of

"new and improved" models. Anyone have hands on experience with a an

ESR Meter they purchased in the last 6 months?



Please, please do not respond unless you have purchased something in

the last 6 months, Please reviews of recent purchases ONLY. No anecdotal

stories about how much you love your Geewhiz Model 300 you bought 5

years ago (Which is no longer available)



Dave



--

Dave

Manuals@...

www.ArtekManuals.com



---

This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.





















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 

On Sat, Mar 26, 2016 at 11:43 AM, Artek Manuals
<manuals@...> wrote:
I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death but
it has been awhile
You might find this thread helpful:
've-seen-all-chinese-stuff-on-ebay/

I don't have one of the newer Chinese dedicated ESR meters (e.g.
"ESR01", very tempting at $10), but I have and can recommend either of
these options:

1. The German AVR "component tester" has evolved into a good ESR
tester, and does many other useful tests. The standard version
doesn't have charged capacitor protection... but you can add a simple
relay circuit for that if you like.

To see what version people are currently buying, check near the end of
this thread:



Or, any of these would be good options:

$19 kit, no case, with encoder:


$23 kit, with case, with encoder:


$32 assembled, with case, no encoder:


2. You could also consider upgrading to a DER-EE DE-5000, which is an
excellent full function 100kHz LCR meter, and of course measures ESR
as well. This will cost about $120, and you can just buy it from the
current cheapest eBay seller:
 

Hello,

I second both of the later opinions having had them for slightly over and
under 6 months for either.

The AVR gadget is very handy once you know its limitations, I use it almost
as much as a multimeter, it is quite accurate.
It will measure very large capacitors.
The downsides are the battery gauge being a bit erratic, capacity
measurements under 20pF get inaccurate. It will only test small SCRs for
lack of trigger current.

The DE-5000 I got from the bay, seller "akibashipping" it was selling a lot
cheaper than his current price.
It does kelvin measurements, the only think that could be better for the
price is the function calls but that's also quite subjective.

Paul





Le samedi 26 mars 2016, David DiGiacomo telists@... [TekScopes] <
TekScopes@...> a 茅crit :
On Sat, Mar 26, 2016 at 11:43 AM, Artek Manuals
<manuals@...> wrote:
I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death but
it has been awhile
You might find this thread helpful:
've-seen-all-chinese-stuff-on-ebay/

I don't have one of the newer Chinese dedicated ESR meters (e.g.
"ESR01", very tempting at $10), but I have and can recommend either of
these options:

1. The German AVR "component tester" has evolved into a good ESR
tester, and does many other useful tests. The standard version
doesn't have charged capacitor protection... but you can add a simple
relay circuit for that if you like.

To see what version people are currently buying, check near the end of
this thread:



Or, any of these would be good options:

$19 kit, no case, with encoder:


$23 kit, with case, with encoder:


$32 assembled, with case, no encoder:


2. You could also consider upgrading to a DER-EE DE-5000, which is an
excellent full function 100kHz LCR meter, and of course measures ESR
as well. This will cost about $120, and you can just buy it from the
current cheapest eBay seller:




------------------------------------
Posted by: David DiGiacomo <telists@...>
------------------------------------


------------------------------------

Yahoo Groups Links




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Bob Albert
 

Building an ESR meter is very simple.聽 Just make an Ohmmeter that runs at a high frequency, and probably make it 4 terminal if you want accuracy below an Ohm.聽 Look on the web for DIY projects.聽 I actually started to build one until I discovered that my GR Digibridge measures ESR, but the highest frequency is 1 kHz so it limits how small a capacitor can be tested.
In addition, the Chinese $20-30 universal measuring unit Mega328 indicates ESR, but I don't know the accuracy.聽 I use mine a lot, but mostly for active devices to identify the leads.聽 If I want precision I use other instruments.
Bob

On Saturday, March 26, 2016 1:08 PM, "paul huguenin tigrol.lechat@... [TekScopes]" <TekScopes@...> wrote:


聽 Hello,

I second both of the later opinions having had them for slightly over and
under 6 months for either.

The AVR gadget is very handy once you know its limitations, I use it almost
as much as a multimeter, it is quite accurate.
It will measure very large capacitors.
The downsides are the battery gauge being a bit erratic, capacity
measurements under 20pF get inaccurate. It will only test small SCRs for
lack of trigger current.

The DE-5000 I got from the bay, seller "akibashipping" it was selling a lot
cheaper than his current price.
It does kelvin measurements, the only think that could be better for the
price is the function calls but that's also quite subjective.

Paul

Le samedi 26 mars 2016, David DiGiacomo telists@... [TekScopes] <
TekScopes@...> a 茅crit :
On Sat, Mar 26, 2016 at 11:43 AM, Artek Manuals
<manuals@...> wrote:
I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death but
it has been awhile
You might find this thread helpful:
've-seen-all-chinese-stuff-on-ebay/

I don't have one of the newer Chinese dedicated ESR meters (e.g.
"ESR01", very tempting at $10), but I have and can recommend either of
these options:

1. The German AVR "component tester" has evolved into a good ESR
tester, and does many other useful tests. The standard version
doesn't have charged capacitor protection... but you can add a simple
relay circuit for that if you like.

To see what version people are currently buying, check near the end of
this thread:



Or, any of these would be good options:

$19 kit, no case, with encoder:


$23 kit, with case, with encoder:


$32 assembled, with case, no encoder:


2. You could also consider upgrading to a DER-EE DE-5000, which is an
excellent full function 100kHz LCR meter, and of course measures ESR
as well. This will cost about $120, and you can just buy it from the
current cheapest eBay seller:




------------------------------------
Posted by: David DiGiacomo <telists@...>
------------------------------------


------------------------------------

Yahoo Groups Links



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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On Sat, 26 Mar 2016 12:54:44 -0600, you wrote:

...

2. You could also consider upgrading to a DER-EE DE-5000, which is an
excellent full function 100kHz LCR meter, and of course measures ESR
as well. This will cost about $120, and you can just buy it from the
current cheapest eBay seller:

The DER-EE DE-5000 would be my first choice and recommendation
although I do not know how it performs for in-circuit tests.

The idea of using ESR to test capacitors strikes me as poor compared
to using D (dissipation). ESR is roughly inversely proportional to
capacitance while D is constant so it is easier to spot a bad or at
least marginal capacitor using D than ESR.
Bob Albert
 

ESR and D are somewhat independent.聽 If ESR is low, D can still be high due to dielectric problems.聽 And high ESR isn't always a problem.
I guess there is no all encompassing parameter that can characterize a capacitor.聽 Much depends on the frequency and other aspects of the application.
Further, small capacitors can indicate high ESR when that isn't the case; it depends on the frequency.聽 In other words, if the capacitive reactance at the test frequency is of the order of magnitude of the ESR, ESR readings are worthless.聽 The best test is to run a frequency sweep.聽 Well, maybe the best test is to install and use the capacitor and see if it works.
Sometimes there will be an intermittent, say a loose termination inside the DUT that shows up occasionally.
Series inductance is important as well, especially at higher frequencies.聽 This includes lead inductance and internal interconnections.聽 Electrolytic capacitors have their own set of problems, including occasional punching through of the electrolyte that only shows up at higher voltages.聽 So a voltage test is called for sometimes.
For tuning capacitors we also must deal with temperature coefficient of capacitance, something only measurable by varying the temperature.
And on and on....
Bob

On Saturday, March 26, 2016 7:53 PM, "David davidwhess@... [TekScopes]" <TekScopes@...> wrote:


聽 On Sat, 26 Mar 2016 12:54:44 -0600, you wrote:

...

2. You could also consider upgrading to a DER-EE DE-5000, which is an
excellent full function 100kHz LCR meter, and of course measures ESR
as well. This will cost about $120, and you can just buy it from the
current cheapest eBay seller:

The DER-EE DE-5000 would be my first choice and recommendation
although I do not know how it performs for in-circuit tests.

The idea of using ESR to test capacitors strikes me as poor compared
to using D (dissipation). ESR is roughly inversely proportional to
capacitance while D is constant so it is easier to spot a bad or at
least marginal capacitor using D than ESR.
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Hello,


I purchased the DE-5000 from one of the ebay sources about 2 months ago, took about a month to get here(NC, USA). after unwrapping popped a battery in it and started using it immediately mainly for going through pile of dropped 603 smd caps ( yea im cheap that way). I got it with the smd probe which is spring loaded after a while your hand gets tired. Measures my lowest value caps 20pf no problem, also has auto component detect.

Anyway I still have alot to learn about this product and reading the post on this topic was very helpful thanks to all the members that replied.
 

Hi,


There are several ESR meter designs on the EEVBlog forum.
If you want a simple analog ESR meter look at:


5 Transistor ESR Meter Design - Page 1




5 Transistor ESR Meter Design - Page 1 5 Transistor ESR Meter Design - Page 1



View on www.eevblog.com
Preview by Yahoo








Or if you want a digital ESR Meter:


ESR Meter Adapter Design and Construction - Page 1




ESR Meter Adapter Design and Construction - Page 1 ESR Meter Adapter Design and Construction - Page 1



View on www.eevblog.com
Preview by Yahoo









This one is really well protected against charged capacitors and applied voltages.


Regards,


John
[email protected]
 

Hi Dave,
I purchased two ESR meters a couple weeks ago, after doing a ridiculous amount of web-surfing/research.


The convention wisdom I found on the web was "if you are a hobbyist and need to do accurate L,C,R, and ESR, then the DE-5000 offers the best value for the price". However, I bought the AnaTek Blue / DaveParker ESR meter last week (in kit form),


Anatek Blue ESR Meter - Full Kit for Self Assembly



Anatek Blue ESR Meter - Full Kit for Self Assembly Blue ESR Meter Kit for capacitor equivalent series resistance (ESR) measurements.



View on anatekinstruments.com
Preview by Yahoo





and just for giggles, I ordered an el-cheapo ESR meter from banggood.com (also in kit form).




DIY Multifunction Transistor Tester Kit For LCR ESR Transistor PWM Signal Generator M328



DIY Multifunction Transistor Tester Kit For LCR ESR Tra... This is Meter Tester DIY Kit for Capacitance ESR Inductance Resistor. Measurement Range: Resistor: 0.5惟 ~ 50M惟. Capacitor: 30pF ~ 100mF. Indu...



View on www.banggood.com
Preview by Yahoo



But banggood sent me a DIY DDS function generator kit instead, so I'm in the process of getting that resolved.



The AnaTek Blue ESR works great and is reasonably accurate (I checked some 1% resistors with it).
I'll do some comparisons once I receive and assemble my banggood ESR meter.


Now, a little story about the AnaTek Blue ESR:


During the assembly, I swapped out the supplied leads with some really nice silicon wire. Next I attempted to "upgrade" its blue 3mm decimal point LEDs. The supplied LEDs are a noticeably dim relative to the brightness of the 7-segment display. I had some very bright 3mm blue LEDs in my parts bins, and being a smart guy, I knew I could swap out the dim LED for a bright one, and if it was too bright, I could tone it down just by putting an appropriate resistor in series with the new LED.


Well, it was not that easy... "Brightness-matching" went okay, but new LEDs had a problem. When displaying something like (.05) it looked beautiful ! But When displaying something (0.5) the 1st LED would not go completely dark, but only when the 2nd LED was being illuminated to its proper level. I ended up with this (.0.5) on the display. I spent the next few hours looking at the schematic, probing the drive voltages and timing with my oscilloscope, soldering resistors and even 1N4148 diodes in series with the my bright LEDs, and generally trying to debug why that darn LED would not go out completely. Long story short: I understand how the display driver circuit operates, and I think there is small error in the design. I ended up putting the original "magic blue LEDs" back in the meter and all is well.


Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
-Steve
 

Thanks Steve! Now I feel vindicated for also buying the Anatek Blue ESR meter! It was a bit expensive but I like it and had fun putting the kit together. I didn't get as deep into it as changing the display, but as I mentioned earlier, adding the auto shutoff on/off switch next to the power switch has worked very well and I just used it last week fixing my wife's 22 year old Oster 4811 breadmachine that liked to shut off somewhere in the middle of kneading the dough (makes the wife quite unhappy when she comes home and finds the dough for her dinner rolls not done!) Ended up replacing all 4 electrolytic caps that were in it. Two on the power supply board and two on the logic board. Only one was over it's ESR but replaced all of them anyway. Put a new seal in the bottom of the bread pan while I was at it. Should last her another 22 years! She loves her breadmaker and I love my Blue ESR meter!

John

To: TekScopes@...
From: TekScopes@...
Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2016 14:24:40 -0700
Subject: [TekScopes] Re: ESR meters (again)


























Hi Dave,


I purchased two ESR meters a couple weeks ago, after doing a ridiculous amount of web-surfing/research.








The convention wisdom I found on the web was "if you are a hobbyist and need to do accurate L,C,R, and ESR, then the DE-5000 offers the best value for the price". However, I bought the AnaTek Blue / DaveParker ESR meter last week (in kit form),








Anatek Blue ESR Meter - Full Kit for Self Assembly











Anatek Blue ESR Meter - Full Kit for Self Assembly Blue ESR Meter Kit for capacitor equivalent series resistance (ESR) measurements.











View on anatekinstruments.com


Preview by Yahoo

















and just for giggles, I ordered an el-cheapo ESR meter from banggood.com (also in kit form).














DIY Multifunction Transistor Tester Kit For LCR ESR Transistor PWM Signal Generator M328











DIY Multifunction Transistor Tester Kit For LCR ESR Tra... This is Meter Tester DIY Kit for Capacitance ESR Inductance Resistor. Measurement Range: Resistor: 0.5� ~ 50M�. Capacitor: 30pF ~ 100mF. Indu...











View on www.banggood.com


Preview by Yahoo











But banggood sent me a DIY DDS function generator kit instead, so I'm in the process of getting that resolved.











The AnaTek Blue ESR works great and is reasonably accurate (I checked some 1% resistors with it).


I'll do some comparisons once I receive and assemble my banggood ESR meter.








Now, a little story about the AnaTek Blue ESR:








During the assembly, I swapped out the supplied leads with some really nice silicon wire. Next I attempted to "upgrade" its blue 3mm decimal point LEDs. The supplied LEDs are a noticeably dim relative to the brightness of the 7-segment display. I had some very bright 3mm blue LEDs in my parts bins, and being a smart guy, I knew I could swap out the dim LED for a bright one, and if it was too bright, I could tone it down just by putting an appropriate resistor in series with the new LED.








Well, it was not that easy... "Brightness-matching" went okay, but new LEDs had a problem. When displaying something like (.05) it looked beautiful ! But When displaying something (0.5) the 1st LED would not go completely dark, but only when the 2nd LED was being illuminated to its proper level. I ended up with this (.0.5) on the display. I spent the next few hours looking at the schematic, probing the drive voltages and timing with my oscilloscope, soldering resistors and even 1N4148 diodes in series with the my bright LEDs, and generally trying to debug why that darn LED would not go out completely. Long story short: I understand how the display driver circuit operates, and I think there is small error in the design. I ended up putting the original "magic blue LEDs" back in the meter and all is well.








Anyway, that's my 2 cents.


-Steve



































































































[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 

Hi John, and others,

After some researched I confirmed the following >>>> below,

Your info is incorrect, as well as the manual info on this modification,
R25 is a 27K not 47 ohms as you mentioned, nor is it a 47k as the manual
mentioned, the parts list confirmed it as a 27k, I also checked it and it
is a 27k, so both you and the manual are misleading,

I have both the Blue ESR and the EVB ESR, which are both the same Bob
Parker design, I don't have a Dick Smith ESR, but I have the manual for it
and the other two I mentioned and all three ESR meters, are the same design
by Bob Parker, with the components in different locations and numbering,

I hope this will help someone here,

v44kai.....Joel.

On Sat, Mar 26, 2016 at 2:31 PM, John Clark johnclark05@...
[TekScopes] <TekScopes@...> wrote:


Dave,
I'm not sure how helpful I can be with my little knowledge (relative to
most everyone else here) but I did purchase a Blue ESR meter kit just a few
months ago and enjoyed putting it together myself. I have been successful
in accurately testing caps while still in circuit with same results out of
circuit so its claim of being able to accurately test caps in-circuit
without energizing other components seems accurate in many cases. There
obviously may be cases where out of circuit is still better.

The only thing I found that I didn't like about it was that the auto
shutoff would activate too soon. As such, I'd have to re-zero it each time
it auto shut off. There is an option to disable auto shut off when you
build it by disconnecting R25, a 47ohm resistor. Instead of just doing
that, I slightly modified a very small switch I bought from Mouser and
added it to the top of the board, next to the on-off switch, and ran wires
down to R25 so I now have the option to either make it stay on all the time
if I'm testing multiple caps, or it can be in the auto shutoff mode for
battery saving if I'm only testing one or two caps. A bit of extra work
but makes it more versatile.

From the documentation: "The Blue ESR is an AC ohmmeter with an equivalent
test frequency of about 100kHz and capable of measuring non-inductive
resistances from 0.01 to 99 ohms. It creates a 500mV P-P (open circuit)
burst of 8usec pulses at a 2kHz rate, repeated several times per second so
it can also be used as a signal source." I was able to connect my 475 to
it and see that signal.

One thing the instructions say is that it can produce unsteady indications
if its test leads pick up strong horizontal deflection signals so you need
to keep it away from CRTs when making measurements.

It has done what I've needed it to do but my requirements may be much more
basic than yours. It's probably a little bit expensive compared to building
one yourself...there are many home-made instructions out there...but this
one is pretty nice.

John


To: tekscopes@...
From: TekScopes@...
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2016 13:43:12 -0400
Subject: [TekScopes] ESR meters (again)


























I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death
but

it has been awhile



I am in the process after several moves in the last two years of getting

my lab set back up before I tackle a sick FG504. To my dismay my old ESR

meter has become the victim of battery leakage to the point of not

trusting it even if i could restore it , Several green and possibly

missing traces etc



I went out to Evil-Bay to look for a new one to a bewildering array of

"new and improved" models. Anyone have hands on experience with a an

ESR Meter they purchased in the last 6 months?



Please, please do not respond unless you have purchased something in

the last 6 months, Please reviews of recent purchases ONLY. No anecdotal

stories about how much you love your Geewhiz Model 300 you bought 5

years ago (Which is no longer available)



Dave



--

Dave

Manuals@...

www.ArtekManuals.com



---

This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.

























------------------------------------

------------------------------------


------------------------------------

Yahoo Groups Links




--
Trevor J. Liburd (N.T.R.C. St. Kitts/Nevis)

v44kai.....Joel.
 

So noted. I didn't have my meter opened up, nor the parts list handy. I just went by the manual but mistakenly omitted the "k". Whatever resistor R25 is, apparently a 27k, disconnecting it does cause it to not auto shut off and adding a switch on that does make it more user friendly to me.

John

To: TekScopes@...
From: TekScopes@...
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2016 20:08:04 -0400
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] ESR meters (again)


























Hi John, and others,



After some researched I confirmed the following >>>> below,



Your info is incorrect, as well as the manual info on this modification,

R25 is a 27K not 47 ohms as you mentioned, nor is it a 47k as the manual

mentioned, the parts list confirmed it as a 27k, I also checked it and it

is a 27k, so both you and the manual are misleading,



I have both the Blue ESR and the EVB ESR, which are both the same Bob

Parker design, I don't have a Dick Smith ESR, but I have the manual for it

and the other two I mentioned and all three ESR meters, are the same design

by Bob Parker, with the components in different locations and numbering,



I hope this will help someone here,



v44kai.....Joel.



On Sat, Mar 26, 2016 at 2:31 PM, John Clark johnclark05@...

[TekScopes] <TekScopes@...> wrote:



Dave,
I'm not sure how helpful I can be with my little knowledge (relative to
most everyone else here) but I did purchase a Blue ESR meter kit just a few
months ago and enjoyed putting it together myself. I have been successful
in accurately testing caps while still in circuit with same results out of
circuit so its claim of being able to accurately test caps in-circuit
without energizing other components seems accurate in many cases. There
obviously may be cases where out of circuit is still better.
The only thing I found that I didn't like about it was that the auto
shutoff would activate too soon. As such, I'd have to re-zero it each time
it auto shut off. There is an option to disable auto shut off when you
build it by disconnecting R25, a 47ohm resistor. Instead of just doing
that, I slightly modified a very small switch I bought from Mouser and
added it to the top of the board, next to the on-off switch, and ran wires
down to R25 so I now have the option to either make it stay on all the time
if I'm testing multiple caps, or it can be in the auto shutoff mode for
battery saving if I'm only testing one or two caps. A bit of extra work
but makes it more versatile.
From the documentation: "The Blue ESR is an AC ohmmeter with an equivalent
test frequency of about 100kHz and capable of measuring non-inductive
resistances from 0.01 to 99 ohms. It creates a 500mV P-P (open circuit)
burst of 8usec pulses at a 2kHz rate, repeated several times per second so
it can also be used as a signal source." I was able to connect my 475 to
it and see that signal.
One thing the instructions say is that it can produce unsteady indications
if its test leads pick up strong horizontal deflection signals so you need
to keep it away from CRTs when making measurements.
It has done what I've needed it to do but my requirements may be much more
basic than yours. It's probably a little bit expensive compared to building
one yourself...there are many home-made instructions out there...but this
one is pretty nice.
John
To: tekscopes@...
From: TekScopes@...
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2016 13:43:12 -0400
Subject: [TekScopes] ESR meters (again)
I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death
but
it has been awhile
I am in the process after several moves in the last two years of getting
my lab set back up before I tackle a sick FG504. To my dismay my old ESR
meter has become the victim of battery leakage to the point of not
trusting it even if i could restore it , Several green and possibly
missing traces etc
I went out to Evil-Bay to look for a new one to a bewildering array of
"new and improved" models. Anyone have hands on experience with a an
ESR Meter they purchased in the last 6 months?
Please, please do not respond unless you have purchased something in
the last 6 months, Please reviews of recent purchases ONLY. No anecdotal
stories about how much you love your Geewhiz Model 300 you bought 5
years ago (Which is no longer available)
Dave
--
Dave
Manuals@...
www.ArtekManuals.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Yahoo Groups Links


--

Trevor J. Liburd (N.T.R.C. St. Kitts/Nevis)



v44kai.....Joel.























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 

Most definitely it does make the meter a more user friendly handy unit, R25
is the correct part number, it's just the value screwed up,

v44kai.....Joel.

On Fri, Apr 8, 2016 at 9:09 PM, John Clark johnclark05@...
[TekScopes] <TekScopes@...> wrote:

So noted. I didn't have my meter opened up, nor the parts list handy. I
just went by the manual but mistakenly omitted the "k". Whatever resistor
R25 is, apparently a 27k, disconnecting it does cause it to not auto shut
off and adding a switch on that does make it more user friendly to me.

John

To: TekScopes@...
From: TekScopes@...
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2016 20:08:04 -0400
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] ESR meters (again)


























Hi John, and others,



After some researched I confirmed the following >>>> below,



Your info is incorrect, as well as the manual info on this modification,

R25 is a 27K not 47 ohms as you mentioned, nor is it a 47k as the manual

mentioned, the parts list confirmed it as a 27k, I also checked it and it

is a 27k, so both you and the manual are misleading,



I have both the Blue ESR and the EVB ESR, which are both the same Bob

Parker design, I don't have a Dick Smith ESR, but I have the manual for it

and the other two I mentioned and all three ESR meters, are the same design

by Bob Parker, with the components in different locations and numbering,



I hope this will help someone here,



v44kai.....Joel.



On Sat, Mar 26, 2016 at 2:31 PM, John Clark johnclark05@...

[TekScopes] <TekScopes@...> wrote:



Dave,
I'm not sure how helpful I can be with my little knowledge (relative to
most everyone else here) but I did purchase a Blue ESR meter kit just a
few

months ago and enjoyed putting it together myself. I have been
successful

in accurately testing caps while still in circuit with same results out
of

circuit so its claim of being able to accurately test caps in-circuit
without energizing other components seems accurate in many cases. There
obviously may be cases where out of circuit is still better.
The only thing I found that I didn't like about it was that the auto
shutoff would activate too soon. As such, I'd have to re-zero it each
time

it auto shut off. There is an option to disable auto shut off when you
build it by disconnecting R25, a 47ohm resistor. Instead of just doing
that, I slightly modified a very small switch I bought from Mouser and
added it to the top of the board, next to the on-off switch, and ran
wires

down to R25 so I now have the option to either make it stay on all the
time

if I'm testing multiple caps, or it can be in the auto shutoff mode for
battery saving if I'm only testing one or two caps. A bit of extra work
but makes it more versatile.
From the documentation: "The Blue ESR is an AC ohmmeter with an
equivalent

test frequency of about 100kHz and capable of measuring non-inductive
resistances from 0.01 to 99 ohms. It creates a 500mV P-P (open circuit)
burst of 8usec pulses at a 2kHz rate, repeated several times per second
so

it can also be used as a signal source." I was able to connect my 475 to
it and see that signal.
One thing the instructions say is that it can produce unsteady
indications

if its test leads pick up strong horizontal deflection signals so you
need

to keep it away from CRTs when making measurements.
It has done what I've needed it to do but my requirements may be much
more

basic than yours. It's probably a little bit expensive compared to
building

one yourself...there are many home-made instructions out there...but this
one is pretty nice.
John
To: tekscopes@...
From: TekScopes@...
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2016 13:43:12 -0400
Subject: [TekScopes] ESR meters (again)
I know over the years we have flogged the topic ESR meters to death
but
it has been awhile
I am in the process after several moves in the last two years of getting
my lab set back up before I tackle a sick FG504. To my dismay my old ESR
meter has become the victim of battery leakage to the point of not
trusting it even if i could restore it , Several green and possibly
missing traces etc
I went out to Evil-Bay to look for a new one to a bewildering array of
"new and improved" models. Anyone have hands on experience with a an
ESR Meter they purchased in the last 6 months?
Please, please do not respond unless you have purchased something in
the last 6 months, Please reviews of recent purchases ONLY. No anecdotal
stories about how much you love your Geewhiz Model 300 you bought 5
years ago (Which is no longer available)
Dave
--
Dave
Manuals@...
www.ArtekManuals.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Yahoo Groups Links


--

Trevor J. Liburd (N.T.R.C. St. Kitts/Nevis)



v44kai.....Joel.



























------------------------------------

------------------------------------


------------------------------------

Yahoo Groups Links




--
Trevor J. Liburd (N.T.R.C. St. Kitts/Nevis)

v44kai.....Joel.

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