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Cheap ESR Meter
Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44
US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... |
Cheap ESR Meter
wrote in message oups.com... Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44 US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... The Dick Smith meter is the one designed by Bob Parker, who pops up on here from time to time. I have had one in daily use now for several years, and I can recommend it without reservation. It has a very clear unambiguous readout, and is autoranging. It also has an automatic offset feature to zero out the probe and lead resistances. It has withstood everything that a busy workshop has thrown at it, without once failing on me. It paid for itself in the first couple of repairs that it was used for. The kit does not contain any particularly small parts, and is well documented. If you can solder reasonably well, and your iron has a reasonably small tip, and you can carefully follow a set of instructions, I think that you would be able to manage it just about. I think that it is also available ready built for a very reasonable extra amount, if you really weren't confidant to build it. Arfa |
Cheap ESR Meter
My worst experience with the Dick Smith one was that I screwed up and
grabbed those leads instead of my VOM. Consequently I put 120VAC across it and severely let the smoke out - time for a new one. Now I have two red leads on it to make it more apparent that I don't have the VOM leads. Other than that, it has worked well for me. Oh, the kit was also fine - just follow the directions and put on the smallest items first. That way it's easier to have the board be stable for soldering. I also decided that I would take one value of resistor, and install all of that value at one time. Kind of helped me make sure that I got the right ones in the right places. I knew that I had to find enough homes for them until I ran out. WT "Arfa Daily" wrote in message ... wrote in message oups.com... Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44 US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... The Dick Smith meter is the one designed by Bob Parker, who pops up on here from time to time. I have had one in daily use now for several years, and I can recommend it without reservation. It has a very clear unambiguous readout, and is autoranging. It also has an automatic offset feature to zero out the probe and lead resistances. It has withstood everything that a busy workshop has thrown at it, without once failing on me. It paid for itself in the first couple of repairs that it was used for. The kit does not contain any particularly small parts, and is well documented. If you can solder reasonably well, and your iron has a reasonably small tip, and you can carefully follow a set of instructions, I think that you would be able to manage it just about. I think that it is also available ready built for a very reasonable extra amount, if you really weren't confidant to build it. Arfa |
Cheap ESR Meter
Arfa Daily wrote: wrote in message oups.com... Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44 US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... The Dick Smith meter is the one designed by Bob Parker, who pops up on here from time to time. I have had one in daily use now for several years, and I can recommend it without reservation. It has a very clear unambiguous readout, and is autoranging. It also has an automatic offset feature to zero out the probe and lead resistances. It has withstood everything that a busy workshop has thrown at it, without once failing on me. It paid for itself in the first couple of repairs that it was used for. The kit does not contain any particularly small parts, and is well documented. If you can solder reasonably well, and your iron has a reasonably small tip, and you can carefully follow a set of instructions, I think that you would be able to manage it just about. I think that it is also available ready built for a very reasonable extra amount, if you really weren't confidant to build it. Arfa I'll second that, my experience with this meter is exactly that of Arfa's. It's paid for itself 50 times over. I would emphasize "solder well" tho' Richard |
Cheap ESR Meter
Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44
US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... I just built the Dick Smith kit. Very nice kit, I thought. The parts seemed high quality, except for the battery holder arrangement, which I thought was pretty lame (two multiple AA cell holders "mechanically connected" by soldering a pin of one to the other). The instructions weren't bad, although the reference numbers for the figures were mismatched, which was a bit confusing at first. The PCB layout matched the provided parts very well, and it ran perfectly the very first time I powered it up (which, I should probably add, does not happen to me very often.) Cheers. |
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Wayne Tiffany wrote: My worst experience with the Dick Smith one was that I screwed up and grabbed those leads instead of my VOM. Consequently I put 120VAC across it and severely let the smoke out - time for a new one. Now I have two red leads on it to make it more apparent that I don't have the VOM leads. Other than that, it has worked well for me. Oh, the kit was also fine - just follow the directions and put on the smallest items first. That way it's easier to have the board be stable for soldering. I also decided that I would take one value of resistor, and install all of that value at one time. Kind of helped me make sure that I got the right ones in the right places. I knew that I had to find enough homes for them until I ran out. WT What!?! For shame! Total disregard for the *supposed* to be parts left over rule? :) Ken |
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OK, sounds like the Dick Smith kit is the way to go. Now to decide
whether to get it from Canada or our world cup bound friends at the end of the earth... |
Cheap ESR Meter
Please post the source ... at $44 for the kit you found a bargain.
I too built the kit and had no problems. Took about an hour or two as I recall and worked first time. My only complaint with the kit was the poor color coding on the resistors was hard to read and required constantly removing my glasses ... but then again my eyesight isn't what it used to be either. Bob wrote in message oups.com... OK, sounds like the Dick Smith kit is the way to go. Now to decide whether to get it from Canada or our world cup bound friends at the end of the earth... |
Cheap ESR Meter
In article ,
Wayne Tiffany wrote: My worst experience with the Dick Smith one was that I screwed up and grabbed those leads instead of my VOM. Consequently I put 120VAC across it and severely let the smoke out - time for a new one. Now I have two red leads on it to make it more apparent that I don't have the VOM leads. Yes. I've recently built one and it's very good. But why supply standard test leads while the sockets are the same colour? Surely you could open the test lead packs and pair them up to the same colour - wouldn't matter if red or black. -- *Errors have been made. Others will be blamed. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Cheap ESR Meter
The $44 US is $69 Australian dollars, the link is he
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.st...uct/View/K7214 I have an email in for shipping costs and whether they will ship to the US. The other source is $82 shipped and is in Canada. http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html |
Cheap ESR Meter
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in
: In article , Wayne Tiffany wrote: My worst experience with the Dick Smith one was that I screwed up and grabbed those leads instead of my VOM. Consequently I put 120VAC across it and severely let the smoke out - time for a new one. Now I have two red leads on it to make it more apparent that I don't have the VOM leads. Yes. I've recently built one and it's very good. But why supply standard test leads while the sockets are the same colour? Surely you could open the test lead packs and pair them up to the same colour - wouldn't matter if red or black. Just put some colored heat-shrink tubing on the ESR meter's leads at the probe end;that IDs them. Paint is not going to stick well to flexible plastic insulation. -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net |
Cheap ESR Meter
"Mr. Land" wrote in
ups.com: Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44 US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... I just built the Dick Smith kit. Very nice kit, I thought. The parts seemed high quality, except for the battery holder arrangement, which I thought was pretty lame (two multiple AA cell holders "mechanically connected" by soldering a pin of one to the other). The instructions weren't bad, although the reference numbers for the figures were mismatched, which was a bit confusing at first. The PCB layout matched the provided parts very well, and it ran perfectly the very first time I powered it up (which, I should probably add, does not happen to me very often.) Cheers. *My* DSE ESR meter is powered by a single 9v battery -with the usual 9v battery clip. (free-floating under a piece of foam) What's this about AA batteries? Did the meter kit change? -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net |
Cheap ESR Meter
In article ,
Bob Shuman wrote: I too built the kit and had no problems. Took about an hour or two as I recall and worked first time. My only complaint with the kit was the poor color coding on the resistors was hard to read and required constantly removing my glasses ... but then again my eyesight isn't what it used to be either. Don't think it's just you. Those metal film ones with the blue body are near impossible to read. I just measured them - after eliminating the obvious ones which were more than one and still on their paper links . ;-) -- *Real women don't have hot flashes, they have power surges. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Cheap ESR Meter
In article ,
Jim Yanik wrote: *My* DSE ESR meter is powered by a single 9v battery -with the usual 9v battery clip. (free-floating under a piece of foam) What's this about AA batteries? Did the meter kit change? Mine came with AAA holders. Something about there being a confusion about using a PP3 in the instructions. I don't like AAA unless size matters as in the UK they cost the same as AA. So I changed to AA since I had holders 'in stock' ;-) -- *(over a sketch of the titanic) "The boat sank - get over it Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Cheap ESR Meter
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Jim Yanik wrote: *My* DSE ESR meter is powered by a single 9v battery -with the usual 9v battery clip. (free-floating under a piece of foam) What's this about AA batteries? Did the meter kit change? Mine came with AAA holders. Something about there being a confusion about using a PP3 in the instructions. I don't like AAA unless size matters as in the UK they cost the same as AA. So I changed to AA since I had holders 'in stock' ;-) -- *(over a sketch of the titanic) "The boat sank - get over it Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. Mine's a few years old now, but came with a standard 9v battery holder. Mind, I did have to complain to Bob about poor battery life. My first battery only lasted about 2 years ... !! Arfa |
Cheap ESR Meter
On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 01:49:16 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Jim Yanik wrote: *My* DSE ESR meter is powered by a single 9v battery -with the usual 9v battery clip. (free-floating under a piece of foam) What's this about AA batteries? Did the meter kit change? Mine came with AAA holders. Something about there being a confusion about using a PP3 in the instructions. I don't like AAA unless size matters as in the UK they cost the same as AA. So I changed to AA since I had holders 'in stock' ;-) -- *(over a sketch of the titanic) "The boat sank - get over it Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. Mine's a few years old now, but came with a standard 9v battery holder. Mind, I did have to complain to Bob about poor battery life. My first battery only lasted about 2 years ... !! Arfa Hi, are these meters available in UK. |
Cheap ESR Meter
In article , Jim Yanik wrote:
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in : In article , Wayne Tiffany wrote: My worst experience with the Dick Smith one was that I screwed up and grabbed those leads instead of my VOM. Consequently I put 120VAC across it and severely let the smoke out - time for a new one. Now I have two red leads on it to make it more apparent that I don't have the VOM leads. Yes. I've recently built one and it's very good. But why supply standard test leads while the sockets are the same colour? Surely you could open the test lead packs and pair them up to the same colour - wouldn't matter if red or black. Just put some colored heat-shrink tubing on the ESR meter's leads at the probe end;that IDs them. Paint is not going to stick well to flexible plastic insulation. I use some short leads with two small alligator clips. greg |
Cheap ESR Meter
I don't know anyone who doesn't have difficulty reading those
atrocious blue-bodied 1% resistors, me included/especially. That's why the Mark 2 meter's kit notes includes this little caution: "Note that the kit for the Mk.2 version contains 1% resistors. It’s notoriously difficult to correctly identify the colour bands on these, so check each one’s value with an ohmmeter before soldering it to the board." Bob On Thu, 09 Feb 2006 23:03:41 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote: In article , Bob Shuman wrote: I too built the kit and had no problems. Took about an hour or two as I recall and worked first time. My only complaint with the kit was the poor color coding on the resistors was hard to read and required constantly removing my glasses ... but then again my eyesight isn't what it used to be either. Don't think it's just you. Those metal film ones with the blue body are near impossible to read. I just measured them - after eliminating the obvious ones which were more than one and still on their paper links . ;-) |
Cheap ESR Meter
Apologies about that! :)
I was replacing the batteries about once per 3 months with typical use, though some people complain that they hardly last any time at all. Maybe they always leave the meter on until it turns itself off? The 78L05 regulator can be replaced with a low dropout voltage one, which extends battery life a bit. Cheers Bob On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 01:49:16 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote: Mine's a few years old now, but came with a standard 9v battery holder. Mind, I did have to complain to Bob about poor battery life. My first battery only lasted about 2 years ... !! Arfa |
Cheap ESR Meter
In article ,
bigdaddy wrote: Hi, are these meters available in UK. Think I heard they are, but I imported mine from Canada. -- *When I'm not in my right mind, my left mind gets pretty crowded * Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Cheap ESR Meter
I see where the D.S. meter works well and gets great reports but i must
say cheap is not always better . I would scrape up the extra $ and get a Capacitor Wizard . Its got an analog meter and beeper . The 4AA batterys last a long time . I know many are on a budget but the luxury of the Cap Wizard is worth the extra $ . maybe these show up on ebay by now ? |
Cheap ESR Meter
wrote in message
oups.com Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44 US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... 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 (http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_esr60.html). It reads both the capacitance and ESR which can be handy if your DVM doesn't have a capacitance scale. -- James T. White |
Cheap ESR Meter
In article , Bob Parker wrote:
I don't know anyone who doesn't have difficulty reading those atrocious blue-bodied 1% resistors, me included/especially. That's why the Mark 2 meter's kit notes includes this little caution: "Note that the kit for the Mk.2 version contains 1% resistors. It’s notoriously difficult to correctly identify the colour bands on these, so check each one’s value with an ohmmeter before soldering it to the board." 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 |
Cheap ESR Meter
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 "James T. White" wrote in message ... wrote in message oups.com Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44 US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... 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 (http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_esr60.html). It reads both the capacitance and ESR which can be handy if your DVM doesn't have a capacitance scale. -- James T. White |
Cheap ESR Meter
Bob Parker wrote in
: Apologies about that! :) I was replacing the batteries about once per 3 months with typical use, though some people complain that they hardly last any time at all. Maybe they always leave the meter on until it turns itself off? The 78L05 regulator can be replaced with a low dropout voltage one, which extends battery life a bit. Cheers Bob On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 01:49:16 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote: Mine's a few years old now, but came with a standard 9v battery holder. Mind, I did have to complain to Bob about poor battery life. My first battery only lasted about 2 years ... !! Arfa 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. -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net |
Cheap ESR Meter
"GregS" wrote in message ... In article , Bob Parker wrote: I don't know anyone who doesn't have difficulty reading those atrocious blue-bodied 1% resistors, me included/especially. That's why the Mark 2 meter's kit notes includes this little caution: "Note that the kit for the Mk.2 version contains 1% resistors. It's notoriously difficult to correctly identify the colour bands on these, so check each one's value with an ohmmeter before soldering it to the board." 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 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 |
Cheap ESR Meter
"Bob Parker" wrote in message ... Apologies about that! :) I was replacing the batteries about once per 3 months with typical use, though some people complain that they hardly last any time at all. Maybe they always leave the meter on until it turns itself off? The 78L05 regulator can be replaced with a low dropout voltage one, which extends battery life a bit. Cheers Bob 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 www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page6.htm#esr It's called the " Genie " in the UK Arfa |
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On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 22:41:26 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: "Bob Parker" wrote in message .. . Apologies about that! :) Must be my twisted sense of humour ... I was being facetious when I said the battery only lasted 2 years !! 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 |
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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 On 10 Feb 2006 16:38:07 GMT, Jim Yanik wrote: 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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In article ,
Bob Parker wrote: 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. 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 London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Cheap ESR Meter
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in
: In article , Bob Parker wrote: 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. :) 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. 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. I'd have preferred AA cells. They cost the same in the UK but last twice as long. They're also easier to get. 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. 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. Agreed! -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net |
Cheap ESR Meter
In article ,
Jim Yanik wrote: I'd have preferred AA cells. They cost the same in the UK but last twice as long. They're also easier to get. SIX AA's mean you'd need a bigger case. No - plenty room in my one. Perhaps the design of the case has changed? 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. I'd not expect any quality battery to leak in three years or so. -- *Errors have been made. Others will be blamed. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
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"Jim Yanik" wrote in message .. . "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in : In article , Bob Parker wrote: 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. :) 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. 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. I'd have preferred AA cells. They cost the same in the UK but last twice as long. They're also easier to get. 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. 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. Agreed! -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net 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 |
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Ken G. wrote:
I see where the D.S. meter works well and gets great reports but i must say cheap is not always better . I would scrape up the extra $ and get a Capacitor Wizard . Its got an analog meter and beeper . The 4AA batterys last a long time . I know many are on a budget but the luxury of the Cap Wizard is worth the extra $ . maybe these show up on ebay by now ? 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 |
Cheap ESR Meter
Wayne Tiffany wrote:
My worst experience with the Dick Smith one was that I screwed up and grabbed those leads instead of my VOM. Consequently I put 120VAC across it and severely let the smoke out - time for a new one. Now I have two red leads on it to make it more apparent that I don't have the VOM leads. Other than that, it has worked well for me. Oh, the kit was also fine - just follow the directions and put on the smallest items first. That way it's easier to have the board be stable for soldering. I also decided that I would take one value of resistor, and install all of that value at one time. Kind of helped me make sure that I got the right ones in the right places. I knew that I had to find enough homes for them until I ran out. WT "Arfa Daily" wrote in message ... wrote in message oups.com... Looking at two budget meters, the Dick Smith, available from AU for $44 US + shipping and the MATelectronics MUL-3333 for $50 + shipping. Anyone have experience with either? Is the kit doable for a rank beginner? I do have a Weller station, will travel... The Dick Smith meter is the one designed by Bob Parker, who pops up on here from time to time. I have had one in daily use now for several years, and I can recommend it without reservation. It has a very clear unambiguous readout, and is autoranging. It also has an automatic offset feature to zero out the probe and lead resistances. It has withstood everything that a busy workshop has thrown at it, without once failing on me. It paid for itself in the first couple of repairs that it was used for. The kit does not contain any particularly small parts, and is well documented. If you can solder reasonably well, and your iron has a reasonably small tip, and you can carefully follow a set of instructions, I think that you would be able to manage it just about. I think that it is also available ready built for a very reasonable extra amount, if you really weren't confidant to build it. Arfa 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 |
Cheap ESR Meter
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 |
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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 On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 10:31:09 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote: 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. |
Cheap ESR Meter
On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 18:12:50 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote: In article , Jim Yanik wrote: I'd have preferred AA cells. They cost the same in the UK but last twice as long. They're also easier to get. SIX AA's mean you'd need a bigger case. No - plenty room in my one. Perhaps the design of the case has changed? 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. :( 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. I'd not expect any quality battery to leak in three years or so. 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 |
Cheap ESR Meter
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: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/Skycraft Parts & Surplus.kmz Bob On 11 Feb 2006 22:27:47 GMT, Jim Yanik wrote: 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. |
Cheap ESR Meter
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