esr or cap tester

[celica]

hello alll

i need to know if someone making himself one anatek blue cap tester , because like i see in the forum , it is perfect for motherboard stuff testing cap ...
so maybe there are more than blue tester to do ?
can you tell me what tester and if you have layer pcb will be great ...
me i find that in the web and this

may be will this can to be enouth for making one

thank you very much

[lucky13]

Re: esr or cap tester

Are you saying you want to use the picture and make your own PCB and build it?

I don't think so. I recall there is a programmed chip on it. IC2?

You need to buy the kit!

I haven't budget enough for a ESR meter yet. I can test the caps at work, however.

[celica]

Re: esr or cap tester

i have programmer for this kind of chip i can to reprograming all chip eprom , atmal ,atmega or microchp ...
may be have some one to use this kind of cmponente
thank you very much

[PlainBill]

Re: esr or cap tester

I would think the circuitboard layout is copyrighted. Even is that is not the case, there would still be the problem of getting the code.

While the Blue ESR meter is handy, it's not the only option available to someone who has the capability of etching pc boards and programming ICs.

There are many circuits available on the web. Granted, they do a lot less, but then you get what you pay for.

PlainBill

[sofTest]

Re: esr or cap tester

I bought the assembled EVB ESR meter a few months ago. It's based on the same Bob Parker design as the Blue ESR meter, and you can buy it as a kit and fully assembled. In both cases, the price is much lower than the Blue. Before I bought the EVB, I checked out various ESR meter designs I found on the net, but for me buying the components for them came to more or less the same as a EVB meter.

I first bought ordinary probes for the EVB, but replaced them with these probes. They are much easier to work with for testing capacitors.

[willawake]

Re: esr or cap tester

guys, please do not discuss copying the pcb or the software of the bob parker meters.
the designer has been very helpful to people here building the kits.

[celica]

Re: esr or cap tester

hello ,
i don t want to copy anything , just to find one solution for see if cap is bad or not very easy to help me ...
So i m new in this world i just to find some informacion that is all ...
thank you very much ...

[Krankshaft]

Re: esr or cap tester

As for the EVB meter I think it uses known bad caps like Lelons and such in it's design.

Testing bad caps with bad caps is pretty funny IMO .

While they're not really stressed and probably would fare fine still I would never use the crappy caps with the kit.

[sofTest]

Re: esr or cap tester

As for the EVB meter I think it uses known bad caps like Lelons and such in it's design.

Testing bad caps with bad caps is pretty funny IMO .

While they're not really stressed and probably would fare fine still I would never use the crappy caps with the kit.

I don't know why you keep bashing the EVB about the capacitors, as even Bob Parker has said in this thread that for this use, the capacitors will do just fine. Even if you would worry about the capacitors, change them out, and you still will come out at a much better price than the Blue. I don't have anything against the Blue, but it's always good to have competition. It didn't seem that Bob Parker had anything against the EVB either. For those of us who electronics is a hobby, the price + shipping might be the difference between owning a meter or not. The thread I linked to might be interesting for the comparison and links for anyone considering a meter anyway.

[Bob Parker]

Re: esr or cap tester

guys, please do not discuss copying the pcb or the software of the bob parker meters.
the designer has been very helpful to people here building the kits.

Gee Willawake, your avatar still makes you look like you desperately need a beer! I wonder if I'd be allowed to send you some famous Australian Fosters ale to make you look better.

As I keep telling people, I'm not an ESR meter guru but just an ordinary technician who designed that meter for my own use. I don't mind at all if people copy my board layouts. The only thing which is a bit touchy is the firmware because of its 'commercial value' if you know what I mean.

I still keep trying to be helpful to people who are interested in ESR meters and dealing with bad capacitors.

[Krankshaft]

Re: esr or cap tester

I don't know why you keep bashing the EVB about the capacitors

Check the domain name of this site .

Turd caps are still turd caps no matter where they're sitting. A Fujiyuu cap is still a Fujiyuu cap and if I had them I wouldn't use them ANYWHERE. It wouldn't have costed much more for good quality caps nuff said.

9 times out of 10 you can tell about a products quality from the components used.

The snap together casing is another issue a dedicated battery compartment and cover would have been better. Even better (as Willa said in another thread) a screw together case would be ideal in case repairs need to be made in the future.

I can also see if you're not real careful the case claws can be broken during battery replacement.

So you say how often will you replace the battery ok.

Let's say you're not going to use the meter for an extended period removing the battery so you don't get terminal corrosion would be wise. I am pretty confident the case won't take too many disassembly cycles.

I've worked on alot of Ipods and know these annoying snap together cases well. Mar marks from using a screwdriver to disengage the tabs to open it wouldn't look pretty either.

The power switch extension will also eventually wear through the upper sticker until it's poking through with heavy use.

One thing I can say in its defense (what the Blue doesn't have) is the built in back to back protection diodes.

Fix those points and this meter will be on par with the Blue.

For light use this meter is great but you can clearly see where they cut corners.

[PlainBill]

Re: esr or cap tester

hello ,
i don t want to copy anything , just to find one solution for see if cap is bad or not very easy to help me ...
So i m new in this world i just to find some informacion that is all ...
thank you very much ...

If all you want to do is check a few caps, Google ESR tester. You'll find many schematics for simple testers.

PlainBill

[celica]

Re: esr or cap tester

OKI i didn t want to make one polemic about esr meter ...
i live in chile and in here you don t have almost nothing for electronic stuff ...
thank you for all , because its very good to find one site like your , because we can share all , stuff and other thing to do make more easy the way electronic...

[sofTest]

Re: esr or cap tester

Check the domain name of this site .

Turd caps are still turd caps no matter where they're sitting. A Fujiyuu cap is still a Fujiyuu cap and if I had them I wouldn't use them ANYWHERE. It wouldn't have costed much more for good quality caps nuff said.

9 times out of 10 you can tell about a products quality from the components used.

The snap together casing is another issue a dedicated battery compartment and cover would have been better. Even better (as Willa said in another thread) a screw together case would be ideal in case repairs need to be made in the future.

I can also see if you're not real careful the case claws can be broken during battery replacement.

So you say how often will you replace the battery ok.

Let's say you're not going to use the meter for an extended period removing the battery so you don't get terminal corrosion would be wise. I am pretty confident the case won't take too many disassembly cycles.

I've worked on alot of Ipods and know these annoying snap together cases well. Mar marks from using a screwdriver to disengage the tabs to open it wouldn't look pretty either.

The power switch extension will also eventually wear through the upper sticker until it's poking through with heavy use.

One thing I can say in its defense (what the Blue doesn't have) is the built in back to back protection diodes.

Fix those points and this meter will be on par with the Blue.

For light use this meter is great but you can clearly see where they cut corners.

As Bob Parker said in the other thread, the capacitors in the meter lives a really easy life. The more pragmatic of us, select the quality of our tools and components for the use we got for them for. Following your argument about telling a products quality by the components, I gather that you regard a car without ceramic disc brakes as crap, since you are a first rate components all around kind of guy, right?

The snap together case of the EVB is of a softer plastic than the iPod, so it's less likely to break the claws. I've opened mine twice with a screwdriver, and there are no mar marks, as there are slots that the screwdriver slides into. And who really cares about mar marks on the side of a instrument on a work bench? I sure don't have the instrument fashion police roaming me. And if the claws should ever break, a cable tie around the unit will do fine by me, and again damn the instrument fashion police.

If the power switch should wear through, that would hurt what? My finger? The instrument fashion police?

Sure the finish of the case could be improved, but to what end? Driving the cost? The thread starter clearly considered building his own from scratch, and I'm quite sure the finish of the EVB is many times better than that would have been, considering the builds I saw during the research I did before I bought the EVB.

I knew about these "short cuts" before I ordered the EVB, and I could not see them worth spending more than US$50 extra on the Blue, for my use. I was actually about to order the Blue, when I found the site with the comparisons, and the link to the EVB site. And by the way, I also thought the probe system on the EVB to be a better solution.

If I was doing electronics for a living, I would probably shell out for a Blue or even one of the more expensive multi function meters/testers. For hobby use, and for someone considering building an ESR meter from scratch, the EVB is an excellent alternative. I wouldn't hesitate buying it again, for the same use, after using the EVB for several months.

[Huckfinn]

Re: esr or cap tester

Gee whizz, I have to go with Krankshaft on this one. sofTest indicates that the price differential between the EVB unit and the Anatek Blue unit is "more than $50 dollars US". This is not true. As of today, the respective web sites indicate $75.37 for the EVB kit including shipping; and $85.50 for the Anatek kit including shipping. The difference is $10.13, which is valid for a US purchase.
In my opinion, the extra $10 dollars is negligible, and the Blue unit is a far superior unit [read Willawake's reviews of both units if you don't believe me ].
And for those who do not want to assemble a kit, the pricing is $78.95 for the EVB including shipping, but with no battery and no test leads. The Blue costs $115.50 including shipping, and it comes with battery and test leads. That is a differential of $36.55, and subtracting $3.50 for a battery and $16.95 for a set of high flex test leads [yes Virginia, the Blue unit comes with high quality high flex test leads, not that China made "cheap stuff"] the comparison yields a difference of $16.10 for the assembled and ready to rock option. Nuff said.

Huck

[Huckfinn]

Re: esr or cap tester

Correction: the kit EVB is $64.73 and not $75.37 [I messed up the Euro-to-dollar conversion]. This gives a differential of $20.77 for the kit comparison. Is $21 dollars a negligible amount ? It depends on the individual. The kits do not come with batteries, but the Blue unit does include the test leads.

Huck

[sofTest]

Re: esr or cap tester

Huckfinn;

Gee whizz, most of the world don't live in the USA, so shipping will vary on individual basis. Even sales tax and duty might come into consideration here, as will varying currency rates. I live in Norway (Europe), and if I remember correct, the thread starter lived somewhere in South America. You also forget that for the Blue to be really useful, you'll also want to buy the Precision Probes, that adds another US$12. I like the cheap China probes a lot better, for most uses, than the more expensive standard "high flex" ones I first bought here in Norway. Otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned them. Most such standard stuff, of varying quality, is produced in China or other low cost countries anyway. And lastly, the more than US$50 difference was for myself at the time of purchase for a fully assembled unit delivered to me.

You might want to read the "review" AnaTek them self had on the units, and explain how the Blue can be seen as a "far superior unit". Yes the case might be a little bit better, otherwise the units are pretty much the same, except that the EVB actually got high voltage protection. So please list the "far superior" points.

[Huckfinn]

Re: esr or cap tester

Not a problem sofTest. Here goes: [ It is neat when a Norwegian Badcaps.net member "throws down the gauntlet". I rather like Norway, it is a very beautiful country. I also like Chile as well ]

The Blue unit is far superior to the EVB unit for a number of reasons as listed below. This listing is in no way meant to imply that the EVB unit does not have its merits. The EVB unit is a very good unit priced very reasonably. I am also stating again, as in my previous posts in other threads on this same subject, that these are my opinions.

1] The Blue unit uses good quality capacitors to assist in the task of evaluating the quality of capacitors whose quality may well be suspect. The EVB unit uses capacitors in its innards that are brands that have been determined to be substandard, and this determination was not made by me, it is a consensus developed by Badcaps.net members. Yes, the caps can be desoldered from an assembled EVB unit and replaced with Nichicons ect., but that is extra work and expense.

2] The EVB case snaps together and has no battery compartment door. The EVB instruction manual cautions users to be careful not to put much pressure on the delicate display lens. The Blue unit uses a relatively more rugged case held together with screws and incorporates a battery door, and the blue display shines through the translucent case, nicely eliminating something that is a weak spot with many meters in general.

3] The EVB unit needs a better on-off-sequence switch as per Willawake's rather thorough review. I can personally vouch for the Blue unit's tactile switch as being well placed and well designed.

4] The EVB unit is not supplied with test leads. The Blue unit is supplied with what I rate as very good test leads. The $12 extra cost you refer to as " Precious Probes" are actually Croc Clips for optional use with any test leads. You either love or hate Croc Clips. If you hate them or find them too expensive, Anatek will in no way force you to buy them. I can personally vouch for the fact that the Blue unit will work just fine without them.

5] The EVB unit has an easy to read high brightness red display. The Blue unit has an easy to read high brightness blue display that I personally like even better than the very good EVB display.

And now I will address your final two points.
1] Regarding Anatek's own review of these two units [one of which they sell, and the other they do not sell]: Anatek guys are smart enough to know that if they just " let er rip " with sharp scrutiny, they possibly would offend a number of fine people who should not be offended. Sharp scrutiny and passionate review are the tasks assigned to Badcaps.net members who wish to join such discussions. [ As a footnote to this point, I did indeed read the Anatek review you invited me to read; and I did this a number of moons before your invitation. It was a nice review, but I still enjoyed Willawake's review much more ].

2] The eternal debate of " To Diode Or Not To Diode " might rage on for many years to come. Since EVB will now build you a unit with or without internal discharge diodes [ your choice ] , and since a diode set can be quickly plugged on to the Blue unit's harness, this really is a moot point. If you never intend to read the ESR of batteries, and you are a Forgetfull Jones, you will want the internal diodes. If however, you do plan to test batteries, you will want to use any appropriate removable and/or separate discharge system that is convenient to your measuring techniques, using either diodes or a resistor.

Huck

[sofTest]

Re: esr or cap tester

Huckfinn;

As to your point:

1) Bob Parker said in another thread that with the really easy life the capacitors lives in a ESR-meter lives, the capacitors used in the EVB shouldn't be a problem. Hardly a matter of far superiority.

2) I think my thoughts about the question of the case have been covered above.

3) As for the on/off sequence of the Blue, I really have no opinion, as I have not tried it. I don't however have any problem with the EVB one. Probably mostly a matter a taste, and not of far superiority.

4) No, the $12 Precision Probes are these. I wouldn't think of buying a Blue without them. Without them the Blue would be of limited use for me, and I would think most others. Being able to use any industry standard probes on the EVB is a plus for me. AnaTek should also offer some kind of tweezer type probes, as they are really useful for one handedly probing most everything. But again, a matter of taste and personal use, not far superiority.

5) That's a matter of taste, and have not anything with to do with superiority in terms of functionality. Personally I don't care about the colour, as long as it has god readability.

6) (your second 1) There are nuances in the language in the AnaTek-"review", that paints the Blue in a slightly better light, where they perform the same. For instance for the EVB; "Less accurate on low value capacitors", and for the the Blue; "Less accurate on low value capacitors but ESR is a minor characteristic for low values".

7) (your second 2) Yes, to diode or not, it's a matter personal use and taste. To me, for my use, the diodes is a benefit. To others, they are not useful.

If your use of "far superior" refers to your highly subjective opinion of the two units, I will not argue the points any more. But if the term is used as in the difference between a generic TV set and a B&O TV set, you have not made your case.

[Huckfinn]

Re: esr or cap tester

sofTest:

Your example of a Bang & Olufsen vs some cheap but passable set, say a Chinese made Konka [ yes, I wrote Konka, and not Konica ] is actually quite relevant to our little "what the heck is quality" kerfuffle. The funny thing is that neither you or I really know what the snot we are actually comparing in a TV vs ESR meter comparison for illustrative purposes, and that is because Americans do not have B & O TV sets here [for the most part], and you do not own a Blue Anatek unit. But, that little disclaimer being gotten out of the way, I think I know what you mean. We Americans do have relatively easy access to B & O Hi Fi equipment. And that brings us to the heart of the disagreement that you and I seem to be having as to what is "far superior or not" in an ESR meter. There are plenty of Americans who have personally told me many times over for years that a B & O "receiver" is vastly superior to the general line of nice receivers made by Yamaha, Kenwood, etc. Having owned 2 B & O units, as well as several Yamaha, Sony, Optonica, etc.., I am well aware of the concept of perceived vs "actual" vast superiority [uh oh; there is no actual, it is all subjective, ha ha ]. I disagree with the group that says the B & O unit if far better. My personal opinion is that while the B & O units are nifty in their own way, they are actually a bit inferior to your average Yamaha [ I have sucessfuly repaired quite a few of both brands ]. The units I am writing about are not the crappy newer style Yamaha "black boxes" or SOME of that funky pop art B & O stuff that does not look at all like a receiver. I am thinking of the magnificent wood case silver aluminum front face Yamaha units being compared to the best of the B & O stuff [ funky or not ]. And yet, despite my firm belief that the B & O unit is not far superior, many B & O owners continue to happily think so.

Under your point 7], you state that I have not made my case, because all of the many relevant and significant points I made are merely highly subjective [ read emotional ]. Gosh, that is so sad. I now feel that due to my limited capabilities in the area of verse and prose, I have somewhat failed at least one of my European brothers-in-capacitance. And I so wanted you at some very near future time to experience the full glories and joy of graduating from some passable-but-inadequate piece of test gear to the finesse and power of the worlds first [to the best of my knowledge ] hobbyist-priced truly PRO grade unit [ that of course being the Blue Anatek unit ].

But all is not lost, because some other fellow capacitor tester may just decide to spend a hobby level price to get the PRO level Blue unit after reading our little discussion. And said fellow or gal may do this, despite the fact they have been amply warned by you and others that the Blue Anatek unit does indeed cost just a little more money.

Huck