Cheap ESR Meter

I can't comment on those ESR meters, but if you are willing to consider something a bit more costly, take a look at the Peak ESR60

It reads both the capacitance and ESR which can be handy if your DVM doesn't have a capacitance scale.

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James T. White

I was just thinking. What are all the other uses one could use the meter for. Like measuring resistors, coils, ??? I have used mine to measure low ohms resistance in wiring.

greg

I have both the DSE (made from kit) and the Atlas. I carry the Atlas and use it almost exclusively because of the size. If you get one get the hands free kit.

Building the kit is time comsuming but not hard. Great value product.

Leonard

Bob Parker wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Bob.did the ESR meter kit change from using one 9v battery to 6 AAA cells? I haven't had much problem with the 9V's battery life.

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Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

It's good for reading non-dynamic resistances, like low value resistors, but maybe not some wirewounds, which have significant inductance. You can also use it, if you use very sharp tipped probes and make sure that it is correctly zero'd, to chase down rail shorts on PCBs. There is enough resistance in the copper tracks to be able to see the resistance dropping, as you probe the tracks, and get closer to the shorted IC or decoupling cap, or whatever is causing the short. Put a deliberate short across a board and try it. Obviously, the thinner the tracks, the more it shows up. You can't measure coils with it because these represent a dynamic resistance, of opposite characteristic to a capacitor, when tested with an AC source, as the ESR meter produces. They will represent a high AC resistance when excited in this way, and it will be outside the 100 ohm range of the meter. Even if it came up less than that, it would still not be an accurate representation of the true DC ohmic value of the coil. It is fairly easy to put together a low ohms meter with an opamp, for measuring coils. Could be useful for checking things like EW modulator coils for shorted turns.

Arfa

Must be my twisted sense of humour ... I was being facetious when I said the battery only lasted 2 years !! The battery life is really very good, and I honestly haven't got any complaints with it lasting 2 years. Personally, I prefer the digital display to the analogue one on the other ESR meters. It is completely unambiguous, and when it says " zero ", it really is. Also, I don't think that you can call Bob's meter ' cheap ' by any stretch of the imagination. For sure, it doesn't COST a lot, but CHEAP, it's not. Remember that it is uP controlled, and does some clever calculations to arrive at the result. Most of the analogue ones don't work on that principle.

The meter is available in the UK from Satcure. Go to

It's called the " Genie " in the UK

Arfa

I knew what you meant- I was being a bit silly when I apologized. I should have put a "wink" smiley there instead!

I thought I'd make a few general comments about battery life and extending it while I had the chance. :)

Glad your ESR meter's working well for you!

Regards Bob

Hi again Jim, You've had that meter for a long time now! Yeh, when we decided to do a minor upgrade of the meter, we thought that the battery needed to be looked at. Not so much because of operating life, but because so many people either didn't like or couldn't understand the idea of holding the 9V battery in place with a piece of foam plastic between it and the bottom of the circuit board. It's worked perfectly for me since 1995. :) The only practical alternative we could think of was to use 6 x AAA cells in holders stuck to the bottom of the plastic case. So the Mark

2 meter kit contains two AAA holders which have to be connected in series. Rgds Bob

I'd have preferred AA cells. They cost the same in the UK but last twice as long. They're also easier to get.

The other alternative would have been a case mounted PP3 battery holder so you could quickly change the battery.

However, thanks for the kit. It's super.

--
*Hard work has a future payoff.  Laziness pays off NOW.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk:

I was thinking about kludging up some sort of 9V battery clip to glue to the case bottom. (say,if you ever get to Orlando,Florida,check out Skycraft Surplus;it's a hobbyists wet dream.Oh,the Disney/Universal/SeaWorld attractions are fun,too.)

I also wonder how one of the 9V lithium batteries would last comparable to an ordinary 9V alkaline? It'd cost more,but longer life and less chance of leakage might be beneficial.

SIX AA's mean you'd need a bigger case.

In the case of the DSE ESR meter,battery life with AAA's(vs AA's) is not going to matter much;the cells will probably LEAK first.

Agreed!

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Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

No - plenty room in my one. Perhaps the design of the case has changed?

I'd not expect any quality battery to leak in three years or so.

--
*Errors have been made.  Others will be blamed.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Jim, can you mail me direct with the location of that place. I go over there at least once a year, and I'm getting fed up of Disney now ...

Arfa

"Arfa Daily" wrote in news:iRsHf.61701$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe5-win.ntli.net:

Skycraft's on Fairbanks Ave.about 500 feet east from I-4.(in Winter Park) Coming from I-4,get off at Fairbanks Ave.

You can't miss it,it's got a red rocket bolted to the building.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Do you own either of these instruments, or on what basis do you make your recommendation?

I have the Bob Parker one and it is perfect for the job.

Chris

On my one I put some very very big diodes anti-parallel directly across the

4mm terminals, (not on the PCB). I am not sure what would happen if it were connected to the mains (line) but I think it now has at least half a chance of surviving until the main circuit breaker disconnects it, since diodes often fail short circuit. Anyway I hope not to test this.

Chris

Do you own either of these instruments, or on what basis do you make your recommendation?

Yes i have had a Cap Wizard for years . When i was looking into buying one i studied the internet and peoples reviews of several testers . The Bob Barker is of coarse a very good unit no doubt . The Cap Wizard is quicker to use and detects even the hard to detect caps under circuitry . Its like going from the ``test light`` to a deluxe instrument . You dont need to read and calculate any numbers , just listen for a beep or/and look at the meter I have the Bob Parker one and it is perfect for the job. Chris

Hi Dave, We'd have preferred AA cells too! Unfortunately their holders are too large to fit in the case. We considered changing the case, but there weren't any with a 9V battery door with suitable dimensions for the PCB etc. With this kind of thing, a lot of compromises have to be made. Back in 1995, everyone assumed that a kit for an ESR meter would never become popular because it's such a specialized instrument. If I'd known it was going to take off like it did, I'd have designed it differently. :) I'm very pleased that it's been helpful to so many of my fellow technicians!!

Cheers Bob

When I met up with the guys in the Dick Smith Kits Dept to plan the Mark 2 revision of the ESR meter, we checked the size of available AA cell holders and concluded that there was no way they'd fit in the space available. Possibly the ones you've seen are more "slimline" than the kind DSE sells? AAA cells are just as expensive down here, and it's probably the same in the USA too. :(

I don't remember seeing any Energizer or Eveready alkaline cell or battery ever leak. But Duracells are a different story, unfortunately. I stay away from them now.

Cheers Bob

You can get a satellite's view of the whole area. If you have Google Earth installed, downloading and running this tiny file should make it all happen:

Parts & Surplus.kmz

Bob