Maker Pro
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ESR meter.. Where to buy what to get.

C

Chris Jones

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ken said:
At one time I had both the Capacitor Wizard and the CapAnalyzer88a.
Used them both for a while. I ended up _giving_ away the Capacitor
Wizard because I didn't like it.

I kept the CapAnalyzer88a and use it just about every day on video
arcade game monitors and switching power supplies.

Ok, but just to be clear, neither of those is the same device as the Bob
Parker design sold by Dick Smith.
 
B

Bob Parker

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi again,
Well we all agree that the ESR drops as the temperature rises.
:)
As one technician to another, I too prefer analog readout meters
to digital ones. A moving needle instantly tells you what you want to
know, without you having to mentally figure out what the speed of
change of some numbers is. I fully understand what you're talking
about. That's one reason why the Cap Wizard's so deservedly popular.
The DSE ESR meter uses a digital display because they have the
advantage of being small, cheap and mechanically rugged. They're also
more suited to the digital circuitry it uses. You win some and you
lose some. :)

Regards
Bob
 
G

GregS

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi again,
Well we all agree that the ESR drops as the temperature rises.
:)
As one technician to another, I too prefer analog readout meters
to digital ones. A moving needle instantly tells you what you want to
know, without you having to mentally figure out what the speed of
change of some numbers is. I fully understand what you're talking
about. That's one reason why the Cap Wizard's so deservedly popular.
The DSE ESR meter uses a digital display because they have the
advantage of being small, cheap and mechanically rugged. They're also
more suited to the digital circuitry it uses. You win some and you
lose some. :)

Analog stuff does make a difference. One can always make a led
bargraph. Both direction a speed, an analog meter is
almost a necessity. I was just thinking, if we grew up with
only digital clocks, my thoughts about time would be different.
I think I always convert the digital to round analog in my head.
greg
 
B

budgie

Jan 1, 1970
0
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:00:17 GMT, [email protected] (GregS) wrote:
(snip)
I was just thinking, if we grew up with
only digital clocks, my thoughts about time would be different.
I think I always convert the digital to round analog in my head.

We have a whole generation out there (to be followed by more) who don't know the
meaning of the term "clockwise".
 
A

Arfa Daily

Jan 1, 1970
0
budgie said:
On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:00:17 GMT, [email protected] (GregS) wrote:
(snip)


We have a whole generation out there (to be followed by more) who don't
know the
meaning of the term "clockwise".

To our everlasting shame at the way we have let eDyooKAyshUn go now, you are
right. We have had a young girl just start working for us, and the other
day, she asked if it was time for her to go home yet. My wife pointed at the
wall and said
" There's a clock up there " to which the girl replied " Oh, I can't read
that ... "

Sad, but absolutely true.

Arfa
 
B

Bob Parker

Jan 1, 1970
0
Analog stuff does make a difference. One can always make a led
bargraph. Both direction a speed, an analog meter is
almost a necessity. I was just thinking, if we grew up with
only digital clocks, my thoughts about time would be different.
I think I always convert the digital to round analog in my head.
greg

I'm the same. :)
I should own up and admit that originally I did try to design an
ESR meter with a LED bargraph, but it was a miserable failure....

Bob
 
B

Bob Parker

Jan 1, 1970
0
Pretty scary in a way. These days it seems that almost no-one can
spell properly and they're dependent on calculators for the simplest
arithmetic, and slackness is creeping in everywhere. Sorta makes you
wonder how it'll be in another 30 years or so.

Bob
 
L

Leonard Caillouet

Jan 1, 1970
0
Arfa Daily said:
To our everlasting shame at the way we have let eDyooKAyshUn go now, you
are right. We have had a young girl just start working for us, and the
other day, she asked if it was time for her to go home yet. My wife
pointed at the wall and said
" There's a clock up there " to which the girl replied " Oh, I can't read
that ... "

Sad, but absolutely true.

Arfa

"We" have not let education "go" at all. There are more educational
opportunities than ever for even the most unfortunate and the most
handicapped. The problem is that so many do not take it seriously and take
advantage of what is available.

Leonard
 
J

John Bachman

Jan 1, 1970
0
Pretty scary in a way. These days it seems that almost no-one can
spell properly and they're dependent on calculators for the simplest
arithmetic, and slackness is creeping in everywhere. Sorta makes you
wonder how it'll be in another 30 years or so.
Being an uncontrollable optimist I see this a bit differently. Yes,
many, maybe even a majority of young people slide by not learning very
much, just what they have to do to graduate from high school.

That presents a golden opportunity for those who chose the harder
path. I do some work with young people in several high schools. The
honors programs in all of them are jammed with students, eager to
learn.

When I was in high school, back in the dark ages BD (that's Before
Digital), a sophomore in the "college prep" track took Algebra for
half the year and triginometry for the other half.

In a local high school, the sophomore honors track has a full year of
Algebra and a half year of trig. Options include the second year of
engineering prep for those so inclined. A bit tougher than my time I
would say.

So today's kids who are the go getters will stand head and shoulders
over the others, be the leaders of their generation and will do well.
The others will grumble about how society never gave them a chance and
the "college kids" get all the breaks. Some things never change.

JMHO

John
 
A

Arfa Daily

Jan 1, 1970
0
John Bachman said:
Being an uncontrollable optimist I see this a bit differently. Yes,
many, maybe even a majority of young people slide by not learning very
much, just what they have to do to graduate from high school.

That presents a golden opportunity for those who chose the harder
path. I do some work with young people in several high schools. The
honors programs in all of them are jammed with students, eager to
learn.

When I was in high school, back in the dark ages BD (that's Before
Digital), a sophomore in the "college prep" track took Algebra for
half the year and triginometry for the other half.

In a local high school, the sophomore honors track has a full year of
Algebra and a half year of trig. Options include the second year of
engineering prep for those so inclined. A bit tougher than my time I
would say.

So today's kids who are the go getters will stand head and shoulders
over the others, be the leaders of their generation and will do well.
The others will grumble about how society never gave them a chance and
the "college kids" get all the breaks. Some things never change.

JMHO

John

If only it were like that here in the UK. Education has been getting worse
and worse, since the selective ability schooling system was scrapped in
about 1970, in favour of the comprehensive system, intended to be a leveller
of ability. All state schools are basically now of mixed ability, and there
is little incentive for clever kids to shine. There is no official streaming
within year groups, so kids of all abilities end up in the same classes.
This makes it difficult for teachers to go at anything greater than the rate
at which the least able can proceed. I know this intimately, because I have
put three kids through two of the better schools in recent years.

I would actually doubt that most kids here would even know what algebra and
trig are, let alone want to take them as subjects.

The other thing that has happened over here, is that parents have become
lazy, or just lacking in parenting skills, so expect the schools to teach
their kids absolutely everything that they need for life, and of course,
there is not enough time in the school day for them to do this. It has,
however, spawned *nonsense* time wasting subjects like "personal and social
development". I say time wasting because parents should be teaching their
kids this stuff, and the time spent by the school on doing it, would be put
to better use teaching maths or English. The reason that the girl I
mentioned cannot read a clock, is because her parents never taught her, and
her school didn't have time. So yes, we have let education go, by not doing
any of it ourselves, and allowing a clearly flawed education system, to be
perpetuated by the "PC-everyone's-equal" brigade.

Arfa
 
J

jakdedert

Jan 1, 1970
0
John said:
Being an uncontrollable optimist I see this a bit differently. Yes,
many, maybe even a majority of young people slide by not learning very
much, just what they have to do to graduate from high school.

That presents a golden opportunity for those who chose the harder
path. I do some work with young people in several high schools. The
honors programs in all of them are jammed with students, eager to
learn.

When I was in high school, back in the dark ages BD (that's Before
Digital), a sophomore in the "college prep" track took Algebra for
half the year and triginometry for the other half.

What days, what schools? I took geometry in 8th grade, algebra in 9th,
trig in 12th...graduated in 1971.

My daughter, in an academic magnet high school, took algebra in 8th,
geometry in 9th, on algebra II now as a sophomore. I don't know when
she'll take trig, but calculus is part of the program as well...probably
11th-12th.

She's in her third year of German, plays violin in the strings orchestra
and sings with the chorus. It's an exceptional school, to be sure, but
a public one.
<http://www.mlkmagnet.mnps.org/Page664.aspx>

jak
 
B

budgie

Jan 1, 1970
0
If only it were like that here in the UK. Education has been getting worse
and worse, since the selective ability schooling system was scrapped in
about 1970, in favour of the comprehensive system, intended to be a leveller
of ability. All state schools are basically now of mixed ability, and there
is little incentive for clever kids to shine. There is no official streaming
within year groups, so kids of all abilities end up in the same classes.
This makes it difficult for teachers to go at anything greater than the rate
at which the least able can proceed. I know this intimately, because I have
put three kids through two of the better schools in recent years.

I would actually doubt that most kids here would even know what algebra and
trig are, let alone want to take them as subjects.

The other thing that has happened over here, is that parents have become
lazy, or just lacking in parenting skills, so expect the schools to teach
their kids absolutely everything that they need for life, and of course,
there is not enough time in the school day for them to do this. It has,
however, spawned *nonsense* time wasting subjects like "personal and social
development". I say time wasting because parents should be teaching their
kids this stuff, and the time spent by the school on doing it, would be put
to better use teaching maths or English. The reason that the girl I
mentioned cannot read a clock, is because her parents never taught her, and
her school didn't have time. So yes, we have let education go, by not doing
any of it ourselves, and allowing a clearly flawed education system, to be
perpetuated by the "PC-everyone's-equal" brigade.

Zackly. Spot on. Absolutely.

(my wife is a primary teacher here in Australia, and bemoans these same things
on almost a daily basis).
 
D

DaveC

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thus spake Ken Layton:
Thus spake Chris Jones:
Ok, but just to be clear, neither of those is the same device as the Bob
Parker design sold by Dick Smith.

And that's where it lies for me. IT's a toss-up between the BP/DS and the
CA88a.

Who has had the chance to use both of these and can offer some comparisons?

And yes, I've seen the brief table of features on the 'net, URL posted
earlier.

Thanks,
 
J

John Robertson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thus spake Ken Layton:

Thus spake Chris Jones:

And that's where it lies for me. IT's a toss-up between the BP/DS and
the CA88a.
Who has had the chance to use both of these and can offer some comparisons?

And yes, I've seen the brief table of features on the 'net, URL posted earlier.
Thanks,

Both are good. The CA88A indicates shorted caps, that is something the
DS unit can't. The probes that come with the DS/BP kit are not very
good, but then they are 'free' as DS only added them after I nagged
them for a few years... the CA88A probes are very nice. The CA88A can
be turned on when stuffed into a tool kit, the DS turns itself off
after a few minutes.

I have added a MOV to the DS kits we sell to protect against charged
caps, otherwise I suspect either one would be fine for bench use.

We use the Bob Parker/DS ESR meter all the time, that's why I sell them!

John :-#)#
--
(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)
www.flippers.com "Old pinballers never die, they
just flip out."
 
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