Cap Meter

[clel miller]

Any of you guys have experience with in-circuit cap meters.?
Like the Capacitor Wizard for example.....
Just wondering which ones work the "best"....... perhaps you have found that some are a better meter than others.?
https://www.howardelectronics.com/ieinc/cwinfo.html

Thank You

 

[debe]

This is what I use & wouldnt be with out it & been using it for several years now. Its still avalable as a kit from Altronics. ESR Capacitor Test Meter Kit (MK11) $89.95. K2574. www.altronics.com.au

 

[clel miller]

Thanks for the info on that Mk11. Do you happen to know what frequency it tests at.?
Thanks

 

[debe]

Heres a bit more info on it, Ive built & use 2 of these units. Mk1 & Mk2.

 

[clel miller]

Great.....thanks for that info.....I appreciate it....!

 

[Mr RB]

Ill second that ESR meter the Debe uses, I have 2 of them that have provided many years of good service. They also measure low ohms, like resistors and wires down to 0.01 ohms.

Thye are a little heavy on 9v battery use so it's worth putting a DC jack on the side enabling you to use a 9v DC wall-wart (plugpack).

 

[clel miller]

That is a good idea. I do have a small, 2A, 2-18 VDC power supply.
I have been contemplating the Capacitor Wizard, but they are 200 dollars. So be it. I do not mind spending the money, if they are worth it.
Trouble is, there does not seem to be a whole lot of reviews of these meters, from actual users. Kind of hard to know how well they work in the "real world".
I know there is/was a Russian cap meter that was pretty popular for the last couple of years.
Anyway.....Thanks Again for your input.

 

[squishy36]

A few years ago I was able to get a B&K 886 LCR meter (for less than half of what they cost now and I got it in a trade where I didn't have to come up with any cash). It has been surprisingly useful, much more so that I thought it would be. It measures resistance with a Kelvin 4 wire clip to 1 mΩ (but I doubt it's accurate to that level), along with capacitance and inductance at a variety of test frequencies. It will measure a capacitor's ESR. I've checked its inductance measurements against calculated inductances for simple coils and straight wires and it's always been within a percent or so of the calculated value. If you've ever used an impedance bridge like the GR 1650B, it beats balancing a bridge all to hell speed-wise.

An LCR meter may be more than what you're looking for right now, but if this unit is reliable, I'll be putting it to good use for a number of years. However, it is currently at $800 and I can say I'd never spend that much for such a meter today. I think you can find much better deals elsewhere.

 

[Mr RB]

The kit debe linked to at $90 is ideal for testing caps in circuit. It uses a high freq test waveform of very low voltage so it does not activate any diode or transistor junctions in the board under test. It is a well proven design.

 

[ghostman11]

i just been looking at a atlas esr meter. good job i read this first!! actualy if you look at the add at the moment its on special! https://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?area=item&id=K2574 for $79 that seems very good value. i might drop them a mail see if they post to the UK.
thanks for the link

 

[Zerotolerance]

Whats wrong with the atlas? I was thinking about purchasing one myself

 

[ghostman11]

nothing is wrong with the Atlas it's superb bit of kit but it also costs alot more, for what i need the kit would be a better way to go. if money was no object then i would go for a Atlas but the money i save is more money for other bits of kit for the workshop

 

[debe]

Bit more info, would post more but theres 15 pages.