DSE ESR meter

    you dont need a regulated power supply it uses less than 50ma a 9v
100ma plugpack would work just fine  :)

bob

Thanks also I got 1n4002 diodes even though they should be 1n4004 are they
ok to use?

   If you mean the ones in the kit, that is perfectly OK.

Bob

Hi Bob, is DSE still selling your Meter?
I know Jaycar used to sell it, mine 'Blewup' a while ago (Bloody TV tech
used it and forgot to discharge the cap, and then Did not tell anyone he
stuffed it, could not workout why all these caps where stuffed..:>)
So I have been looking for a replacement.
Allan

G'day Allan,
    As far as I know, DSE's still selling both the Mk1 and Mk2 kits for
the ridiculously cheap price of $24.99 each.
    You better grab one fairly quickly because the rumour going around
is that they mightn't be making any more of them, or any other kits either.
    Woolworths management has apparently decreed that Dick Smith
Electronics in future won't have any connection with either Dick Smith
or component-level electronics. :-(
    BTW, probably only C6 (47uF bipolar) and the microcontroller (IC2)
are damaged in your meter. Both are replaceable, you know.


Rgds
Bob

*gasp*
They aren't going to drop the infamous Dick Head symbol are they?

Perhaps they will do a Kentucky Fried Chicken and simply become "DSE"?
Perhaps there was a 25 year deal on the use of the Dick Head?

Dave :)

    Who knows what the Woolies bean counters who run the company will do
next? Even that logo isn't the one they had originally.
    They really should give it a new name which reflects what the
company really stands for. "Big W Consumer Electronics" would be accurate.


Bob

Where can one buy spare parts?
Tom

    DSE should still be able to sell you a 47uF 50V bipolar capacitor.
It's catalog number R4650. Don't ask the staff for help though - they
don't know what a capacitor is.

    I can help you with the microcontroller chip. Remove ".deletethis"
from my e-mail address to contact me. Click on the link in the
Bluebottle anti-spam e-mail you'll get, and I'll get it.


Bob

Thanks for your answer Bob. I was mainly asking about microcontroller as I don't
recall seeing any sort of firmware for it anywhere. So far I don't need one
(I've only built my ESR meter just a week ago) but it's good to know there are
spares available.
Tom

    No worries! DSE also sells the micro as a spare part, though I don't
know what its catalog number is.
    The firmware hasn't been made public. Even if it was, there aren't a
lot of programmers for Zilog Z8 micros around.

Rgds
Bob

Now thats unfair....I stupidly thought I could buy components from the local
DSE store last year (wanted them then, not after the WES order
arrived)...The young chick behind the counter had no idea what a capacitor
was, or even what electronic components were, so she went & rounded up the
manager....he fumbled around for a while saying " I think we have them over
here somewhere"..yes, they had two values of electrolytics and nothing else.
I'd told him what I values I was after, and his reply after he'd found the
solitary parts bin...."What size were you after? Big or small?". I had no
choice but to piss myself laughing and walk out.

The moral to this story is, yes, some of them do know what capacitors are,
they stumbled accross them in the catalogue one day when they were looking
for batteries :)

James

    Thanks for the laugh. I stand corrected! :)

Bob

either.

What's the bet it costs as much to buy a programmed controller as DSE is
selling the kits for at the moment :-)

MrT.

On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:54:57 +1100, Bob Parker



Components are not going. Infact there are more to come soon. Not sure what
you mean by Woolies decreeing DSE wont have any connection with Dick Smith,
because the man himself has not had any say in the company since 1982, when
he sold his half of the company. So how DSE and Dick Smith could have less
involvement is beyond me!

Mike

   Are you a DSE employee?




    I was simply saying that DSE has no involvement with Dick Smith
himself. I didn't mean that this was something new!

Bob

On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:02:41 +1100, Bob Parker



Hi Bob,

Yeap, i'm a DSE employee. Started in 1990 in sales and was also in the Vic
Service Centre until it was closed about two years ago, now i'm back on the
floor so to speak.

So many people still think he runs and owns it, which i guess is natural
for those outside of the electronics industry. I suppose Woolies haven't
gone to any lengths to dispel the myth, although they don't hide it in any
of their corporate information.

Mike

    Thanks for elaborating, Mike.  I expect that the average person on
the steet assumes that Dick Smith not only runs the stores with his face
on them, but also makes peanut butter and produces a nature magazine. :)

Cheers
Bob

I find that surprising. I know the mark-up on components is massive,
more than any other consumer item, but they must represent a very
small proportion of sales? A classic case for slashing the inventory
and cutting costs. I'm surprised they have lasted all this time
stocking components, as they are as everyone knows, shocking at it.

Do you have any more details?

Dave :)