ESR Capacitor tester

Look in the September 2003 QST. Regards - Mike

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Mike B. Feher, N4FS

89 Arnold Blvd. Howell, NJ, 07731 732-901-9193

pocket

pocket

The Dick Smith ESR meter, designed by Bob Parker, is one of the cheapest, best, easiest to use units available. John's Jukes at

has a kit available at for $49.95 US, or a fully assembled unit for $99.95 US. I bought one of the kits a couple of years ago, and have been very impressed at its accuracy and usefullness. It's one of the most useful pieces of test equipment I have. Cheers!!!

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Tweetldee
Tweetldee at att dot net  (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.

"Tweetldee" wrote

impressed

test

Thanks for the tip, Ive looked for such a esr for a resonable price for a long time. Also the LOT-tester seems very usefull..

/ Per-Olof

cheapest,

$49.95

YVW As a matter of fact, Bob frequently chimes in on this NG when his name or a reference to his ESR meter pops up. If you have any questions related to that tester, post it here. There are a bunch of folks here that have one of them, and can offer lots of tips and answers to your questions. No, I'm not one of Bob's close relatives, nor a marketer of the ESR meters; just a very satisfied owner. Cheers!!!

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Tweetldee
Tweetldee at att dot net  (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.

It looks bogus. **"Some meters measure the capacitance at two different frequencies, and show it as two different readings!"** I have only seen this on defective capacitors, and if you check the ESR at a higher frequency, you get a higher resistance. they claim their test frequency is higher than everyone else, but don't state what it is. I prefer to test with what is on the manufacturer's data sheet which is usually 100 KHz, as used in the DSE kit.

The wording in the description sounds like it was written by someone who doesn't understand how to use the equipment, as well.

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Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

It is DCR not DSR, and it is the DC resistance of the circuit includeing the capacitor under test. This will indicate any shorts or excessive leakage in the circuit. It could be the cap, or something else in the circuit. If the DCR is lower than the setting on the meter it will sound an alarm and not do a ESR test. The in circuit ESR would be useless if the circuit was shorted. The meter automatically discharges the cap under test (something not all meters do) then checks circuit DCR, and then if all is well checks the cap under test for ESR.

to

Well I did not have time to build one. If I add the cost of my building time the kit would be just as expensive, and would not do as much.

Don't know about these claims, it is very popular.

I use on of these every day in the shop. It is the most used piece of equipment other than the DMM. There is nothing bogus about it. It works great.

The meters they were refering to are like the B&K sorting meters. They do read at two different freqs. The Capanalyzer reads at only one freq.

I have

Mine tests at 108.557 khz to be exact. I am sure there is some tolerance here, but it is over 100 khz.

The wording is ok. It does everything they claim.

The DSE kit is a good meter and also very popular. I just didn't want to build it, and the capanalyzer does do more than just ESR test. I'm sure you would be happy with either one, since they are both good at what they do.

Bill Renfro Christian Technology

pocket

Cheapest one: A signal generator and a voltmeter. Set the generator to 100KHz, 1 volt. Put generator and voltmeter in parallel with the capacitor.

A good capacitor is going to put a BIG dip into the reading, at least 95% down. Try it with some good capacitors to get a feel what you should see.

Bad capacitors are going to let more thru.

If you're going to test BIG capacitors, you'll need a lower impedance signal generator. A transformer from a junked PC power supply makes a really good down-converter for this.

There is also an expression going like this : "Time IS money"

So why reinvent the wheel ??

/ Per-Olof

It is the difference between a service shop meter and hobbyist use in some respects. The EDS meter is a fine meter and does what it claims, the Dick Smith kit ALSO does what it claims. We like the Dick Smith kit as it is pretty accurate and if used carefully will provide accurate reading on most situations. Plus it has great battery life! - I must confess the probes packed with it by DS are cheesy. Invest in a good probe set - these are really just for initial testing...

If you are worried about the possibility of shorted capacitors skewing the reading (LOW DCR) then simply connect a digital ohm-meter in parallel with the DS kit and then if you have low DC resistance you will get a beep (if you use a ohm-meter with continuity test active).

Oh, and thanks for ordering the kit from us (shipping today - Post) I'm sure you will be happy with it - just be sure to discharge large value caps before hooking the unit up. I forgot to recently and blew a protection diode. Easy to fix, but should have been more careful.

John :-#)#

(Please post followups or tech enquires to the newsgroup) John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9 Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)

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