ESR Capacitor tester

[Guest]

Can anyone recommend a good ESR Capacitor tester that won't kill the pocket
book?
Thanks,
Gary

 

[Mike Feher]

Look in the September 2003 QST. Regards - Mike

--



Mike B. Feher, N4FS
89 Arnold Blvd.
Howell, NJ, 07731
732-901-9193

 

[Tweetldee]

Can anyone recommend a good ESR Capacitor tester that won't kill the pocket
book?
Thanks,
Gary

The Dick Smith ESR meter, designed by Bob Parker, is one of the cheapest,
best, easiest to use units available. John's Jukes at
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html, 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!!!
--
Tweetldee
Tweetldee at att dot net (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.

 

[Per-Olof Ahl]

The Dick Smith ESR meter, designed by Bob Parker, is one of the cheapest,
best, easiest to use units available. John's Jukes at
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html, 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.

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

 

[Tweetldee]

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

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

Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

What about checking the DSR of cap's for leaks and shorts.....this meter
does not do this so what do you do...
I found this one that checks both but it is higher than I really wanted to
pay at this time...has 3 year warranty and 60 trial period....
Used by US Government and others:
http://www.eds-inc.com/cap.html

Any idea's or opinions?
Gary

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.

 

[Bill Renfro]

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.

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.

It looks bogus. **"Some meters measure the capacitance at two
different frequencies, and show it as two different readings!"**

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

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.

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

The wording is ok. It does everything they claim.

--


Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

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

 

[George R. Gonzalez]

Can anyone recommend a good ESR Capacitor tester that won't kill the pocket
book?
Thanks,
Gary

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.

 

[Per-Olof Ahl]

There's a pretty good article in the September issue of QST on
"Understanding and Testing Capacitor ESR", offering a simple test circuit
and the basics.

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

So why reinvent the wheel ??

/ Per-Olof

 

[John Robertson]

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 :-#)#

What about checking the DSR of cap's for leaks and shorts.....this meter
does not do this so what do you do...
I found this one that checks both but it is higher than I really wanted to
pay at this time...has 3 year warranty and 60 trial period....
Used by US Government and others:
http://www.eds-inc.com/cap.html

Any idea's or opinions?
Gary

(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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