This may be the right thing for my simple electronics repairs. Thanks. Normally I just guess and replace Capacitors. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not. I'm just hoping to save myself a little time and maybe money. It's frustrating destroying the environment because a few Capacitors went bad by throwing out tons of perfectly good electronics . It's a hobby not my life long profession, although I Know there are some serious hobbyists out there. I know many it seems either work for companies or are former employees of electronics firms. I'm just a shmuck fixing stuff. Thanks for your advice.
Capacitor Tester
Started by ●June 3, 2018
Reply by ●June 3, 20182018-06-03
Reply by ●June 3, 20182018-06-03
stevw> > > I dont have a capacitor tester. (Well a very small one on my Digital meter) > I want one that is good general use. > Some seem to only go to 100 or 200 uF. I think you really need something that goes to maybe 4000uF. I looked at some electronics I have they have for example 2200uf. > I want to spend less than 100 Canadian. > > I have seen a few Honeytek A6013L Capacitor Tester or Klein mm1000 which seem to fit the bill. Although some sites list the values differently. > > Any recommendations ?. I know if they are cheaper the quality is less but these seem to be decent for someone like me. testing a few things on broken routers and switches that may have bad Caps. > > I'm also confused, some reading tells me only to get ESR meters to test Caps. That an ordinary meter will not do the job properly. >** For *electro* caps, you need an ESR meter to determine if they are OK. Like this one. https://www.amazon.com/Blue-ESR-Tester-Fully-Assembled/dp/B00O0BMIYQ Google "Bob Parker" ESR meter for info. .... Phil
Reply by ●June 3, 20182018-06-03
On Sun, 03 Jun 2018 14:21:53 -0700, John Larkin wrote:> https://www.dropbox.com/s/hci7l2cy2rv0coc/DSC02062.JPG?raw=1 > > 500 MHz is a software thing which you can usually get free if you buy > the 350 Mhz (brain-damaged) version.Thanks, that's what I suspected. -- This message may be freely reproduced without limit or charge only via the Usenet protocol. Reproduction in whole or part through other protocols, whether for profit or not, is conditional upon a charge of GBP10.00 per reproduction. Publication in this manner via non-Usenet protocols constitutes acceptance of this condition.
Reply by ●June 3, 20182018-06-03
On Sun, 3 Jun 2018 18:57:21 -0000 (UTC), Cursitor Doom <curd@notformail.com> wrote:>On Sun, 03 Jun 2018 10:38:19 -0700, stevwolf58 wrote: > >> I dont think i will buy an scope as I would not know how to use it. I >> also think it falls outside my price range. >> Are there any inexpensive ESR units? >> >> Also why is it I see many electroic people on the net via utube for >> example with all sorts of testing equipment Scopes etc. yet they also >> seem to use Capacitor testers. When would they use them? > >They're so much quicker and easier than rigging up a scope to do it. >Here's the one I use, i know others here prefer other ones, but IMO this >one's hard to beat: > >http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_esr70.htmlIt's a nuisance to desolder caps to test them, especially surface-mount parts. It's easier to scope the circuit and look for symptoms of a bad part. -- John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc lunatic fringe electronics
Reply by ●June 3, 20182018-06-03
John Larkin wrote:> > > > > > >> I dont think i will buy an scope as I would not know how to use it. I > >> also think it falls outside my price range. > >> Are there any inexpensive ESR units? > >> > >> Also why is it I see many electroic people on the net via utube for > >> example with all sorts of testing equipment Scopes etc. yet they also > >> seem to use Capacitor testers. When would they use them? > > > >They're so much quicker and easier than rigging up a scope to do it. > >Here's the one I use, i know others here prefer other ones, but IMO this > >one's hard to beat: > > > >http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_esr70.html > > > It's a nuisance to desolder caps to test them, especially > surface-mount parts. >** There is NO need to do that for ESR testing of electros !!!. ESR meters use low currents and high frequencies ( 100kHz typ ) to asses the impedance near the component's series resonance. Electro failure is indicted by an unusually high reading, compared to similar parts.> It's easier to scope the circuit and look for > symptoms of a bad part. >** Not for ESR it isn't. ... Phil
Reply by ●June 3, 20182018-06-03
On Sun, 3 Jun 2018 16:55:23 -0700 (PDT), Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> wrote:>John Larkin wrote: > >> >> >> >> > >> >> I dont think i will buy an scope as I would not know how to use it. I >> >> also think it falls outside my price range. >> >> Are there any inexpensive ESR units? >> >> >> >> Also why is it I see many electroic people on the net via utube for >> >> example with all sorts of testing equipment Scopes etc. yet they also >> >> seem to use Capacitor testers. When would they use them? >> > >> >They're so much quicker and easier than rigging up a scope to do it. >> >Here's the one I use, i know others here prefer other ones, but IMO this >> >one's hard to beat: >> > >> >http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_esr70.html >> >> >> It's a nuisance to desolder caps to test them, especially >> surface-mount parts. >> > > >** There is NO need to do that for ESR testing of electros !!!.> >ESR meters use low currents and high frequencies ( 100kHz typ ) to asses the impedance near the component's series resonance. > >Electro failure is indicted by an unusually high reading, compared to similar parts. > > >> It's easier to scope the circuit and look for >> symptoms of a bad part. >> > > ** Not for ESR it isn't.For a power supply filter, just scope the ripple. If there's too much ripple, the cap is bad; too little C or too much ESR, still bad. You can learn a lot by probing and thinking. Provided you understand the circuit. I tell my kids: Measure and think; don't solder. -- John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc lunatic fringe electronics
Reply by ●June 4, 20182018-06-04
On 06/03/2018 07:55 PM, Phil Allison wrote:> John Larkin wrote: > >> >> >> >>> >>>> I dont think i will buy an scope as I would not know how to use it. I >>>> also think it falls outside my price range. >>>> Are there any inexpensive ESR units? >>>> >>>> Also why is it I see many electroic people on the net via utube for >>>> example with all sorts of testing equipment Scopes etc. yet they also >>>> seem to use Capacitor testers. When would they use them? >>> >>> They're so much quicker and easier than rigging up a scope to do it. >>> Here's the one I use, i know others here prefer other ones, but IMO this >>> one's hard to beat: >>> >>> http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_esr70.html >> >> >> It's a nuisance to desolder caps to test them, especially >> surface-mount parts. >> > > > ** There is NO need to do that for ESR testing of electros !!!. > > ESR meters use low currents and high frequencies ( 100kHz typ ) to asses the impedance near the component's series resonance. > > Electro failure is indicted by an unusually high reading, compared to similar parts. > > >> It's easier to scope the circuit and look for >> symptoms of a bad part. >> > > ** Not for ESR it isn't. > > > .... Phil >Depends where in the circuit. In a power supply or audio output, sure--there are probably PN junctions isolating the cap from the rest of the circuit when it's powered off. In a low-Z RC circuit, not so much. I have a set of Smart Tweezers that I use for debugging and troubleshooting. I like them pretty well. Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net
Reply by ●June 4, 20182018-06-04
On Sun, 03 Jun 2018 16:29:02 -0700, John Larkin wrote:> It's a nuisance to desolder caps to test them, especially surface-mount > parts. It's easier to scope the circuit and look for symptoms of a bad > part.For you perhaps, but not, I suspect, the OP. Anyway, that Peak meter I linked to is able to carry out in-circuit measurements, so except in certain circumstances, it's not necessary to lift a lead. -- This message may be freely reproduced without limit or charge only via the Usenet protocol. Reproduction in whole or part through other protocols, whether for profit or not, is conditional upon a charge of GBP10.00 per reproduction. Publication in this manner via non-Usenet protocols constitutes acceptance of this condition.
Reply by ●June 4, 20182018-06-04
On Mon, 04 Jun 2018 12:53:04 -0400, Phil Hobbs wrote:> Depends where in the circuit. In a power supply or audio output, > sure--there are probably PN junctions isolating the cap from the rest of > the circuit when it's powered off. > > In a low-Z RC circuit, not so much. > > I have a set of Smart Tweezers that I use for debugging and > troubleshooting. I like them pretty well.I've found some switchers with ripple on the output and it was due to some obscure issue with the feedback path; fortunately it was easy to establish that all the caps were fine and that saved a lot of time. -- This message may be freely reproduced without limit or charge only via the Usenet protocol. Reproduction in whole or part through other protocols, whether for profit or not, is conditional upon a charge of GBP10.00 per reproduction. Publication in this manner via non-Usenet protocols constitutes acceptance of this condition.
Reply by ●June 4, 20182018-06-04
Cursitor Doom wrote:> > > For you perhaps, but not, I suspect, the OP. Anyway, that Peak meter I > linked to is able to carry out in-circuit measurements, so except in > certain circumstances, it's not necessary to lift a lead. > >** The Peak meter is not generally able to measure capacitance while the part is still in circuit - the instructions leaflet says exactly that. See final sentence under "Great Service Aid" . However, it CAN test the ESR of electro caps while in-circuit with rare exceptions and that is the reading you need when hunting for bad or almost worn out ones. .... Phil
