On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 15:50:04 +0200 (CEST), Nomen Nescio
wrote:

I'm just starting the process of bringing back from the dead a very old
1950's RCA color television. The CTC-7 chassis is very ugly looking, with
over 75 paper capacitors. There are also two Sprague can-type
electrolytics, 3 caps in each can. Will have to make something to replace.
Powering on is out of the question until I can replace numerous components.

I want to buy a capacitance meter to check both the caps that I'm replacing
and the replacement parts I will install. I've been looking at a BK
Precision 810c Capacitance Meter. Or maybe I'll buy a Fluke 177. But then
I read this from a post in 2002:

"don't expect the Capacitance measurements (of a DMM) to equal that of even
the cheapest C meter. Even on the "expensive" meters." Paul Grohe,
sci.electronics.basics

My concern is that the capacitor checker function built into a
multi-purpose DMM isn't as good as a stand-alone capacitance meter. Is
there any truth to this statement?

Nearly everyone who is into restoring old radios or TV's (myself
included) replace all of the paper caps with polypropylenes or mylars
and all of the electrolytics with new ones. If one of them is still
good, it is likely to fail soon, so why not just replace them all?

Do that and you do not need a meter as the new caps are surely good.

But, if you really want a cap meter I can offer the ESR60 which
measures ESR and value at US$149.00. See
www.anatekcorp.com/testequipment/atlasesr60.htm for details.

John
The Electronic Repair Center at www.anatekcorp.com