Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

[withalligators]

Hey guys, what do you think of all the cheap ESR type meters on ebay from China? The ones that look like a hobby board with an LCD screen soldered on there for like 15 bucks shipped. I need a meter for testing caps, but not enough to want to buy anything significant if I can get away with a cheapo unit.

If not those, can anyone suggest something decent?

Cheers,
Alex

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

I got one similar but cost about $24

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D6BNDWM

It works fine for what I need and it's very useful for me. I soldered some curved wires to connect alligator test leads to so I don't have to fuss with the little pin jacks and that helps. It's a little clumsy not being in a box but it's useable.

[stj]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

that's the old design.
i think he meant these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251581148174
or these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251471851226

they look good - i plan to get one.
they do sell them cased btw.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

Yeah, those look nice. If I didn't already have the one I have I'd want one of those too.

[vinceroger69]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

Ive got the same one as you have steve does the job ok for me.

[jetadm123]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

Just curious, but on their specs page, they list the capacitance range of 30pf-100mf. Is the 100mf their way of stating 100uf?

[stj]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

i think it is.

[goontron]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

yes, a good example is valve radio diagrams where you will find caps marked as mf instead of uf.

[jetadm123]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

Interesting.... I looked a little more closely at the links stj posted and in one of the photos the cap measured at 408uf. Not bad if the ESR meter is rated at 100uf!

[stj]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

100uf is probably an error because it's way to low to be practical.
10,000uf would be more likely.

[ReverendJones]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

1 mf = 1000 uf
100 mf = 0.1 farad

[withalligators]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

coolio. ordering one. tired of replacing every single cap on a board just cause.

Thanks guys.

[stj]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

search sellers other items - get the one in a case for a few $ more.

[retiredcaps]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

You do realize that in order to get a reliable reading, you have to desolder the caps off the board (or lift one leg) in case they are in parallel (or possibly affected by some other components in circuit)??

[predator0357]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

Hi,
What do u think about this ESR meter?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Big-LCD-Tran...-/181164691633

[stj]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

same as my links - just more expensive.

there are 2 styles of that meter, big display and compact display.
and you can get it in a case.

and there are several sellers - do some searching before you buy.

[predator0357]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

same as my links - just more expensive.

there are 2 styles of that meter, big display and compact display.
and you can get it in a case.

and there are several sellers - do some searching before you buy.

Its the same as yours the second one and cost the same
But do u know if its good?
Cuz i checked the feedback and all say good things about it.

[selldoor]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

Nobody knows if those new big screen ones are good - no-one has one.

[predator0357]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

Hey,
If i desolder the wire of the 9[V] jack and put there a 9[V] 200[mA] power supply like this one it will work fine yes?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-Converter...-/221232824063

[stj]

Re: Cheap ESR meters on fleaBay, what do you think?

i will be getting the compact one, because the big one is not avalable in the case.
i think the display is the only difference though.