Spehro Pefhany wrote:

On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 05:04:52 GMT, the renowned "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:

lurk wrote:

thanks.....dick smith makes one but is it like the creative electronics
one ?

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...
lurk wrote:

Hey speaking about ESR ....I have a Creative Electronics ESR
meter.....and a friend would like to buy one also but it seems like the
company went out of business anybody know about them or their
product... ? or maybe a comparable product ... thanks


The schematic is online. It took all of three seconds to find it:
http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/creative/esr

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrmeter.htm

No, the DSE ESR meter is dugital, and works a lot better on the low
ESR caps in switch mode power supplies. It reads from .01 ohms to 100
ohms on the digital display, and has an automatic zeroing, if the test
leads are clipped together when its turned on. I have, and use the
DSE. I've tried the Creative, but it was almost useless to troubleshoot
the CPU power supplies on computer motherboards

Isn't the DSE one basically an impedance meter though?


Probably. It is microprocessor based, but it works. The fact that
it reads to .01 ohm allows you to test those damn 6.3 VDC electrolytics
used on motherboards. I preferred the Sencore Z-meter I used about 20
years ago, but I simply can't afford one.


The Creative is analog, with all the low ESR readings cramped
together at the end of the scale.

What good/bad level are you typically looking for?


Personally, I consider them bad if its more than 10% above the OEM
specifications, but you can't find specs for a lot of the crappy
electrolytics used on motherboards.

The ability to compare all the electrolytics on a bad board give you
some idea of what they were. Usually, the board quits working before
all the caps die. I just make sure the new cap specifications are
better than the lowest cap pulled from the board. Its hard to find GOOD
105 degree low ESR electrolytics in small quantities, and I've used up
all the new caps that I had on hand. I have a pile of fairly new
motherboards with bulging electrolytics that may just go to a local
recycler.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida