LCR meter recommendations?

Cursitor Doom

unread,

Nov 20, 2015, 8:26:51 PM11/20/15

to

Hi all,

I'm looking to acquire a new LCR meter to replace the old bridges I've
been formerly using, which can be a bit cumbersome. Can anyone recommend
one from personal experience? I've watched all sorts of 'tear down'
videos on YT but it's not clear if the people reviewing are involved in
some way with the manufacturers and therefore biased, hence I'd like to
hear from regular, independent users on their personal experience with
these devices.

thanks,

CD

Dimitrij Klingbeil

unread,

Nov 21, 2015, 9:27:42 AM11/21/15

to

On 21.11.2015 02:24, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> I'm looking to acquire a new LCR meter to replace the old bridges
> I've been formerly using, which can be a bit cumbersome. Can anyone
> recommend one from personal experience?

I've been using an "LCR700" for a while now.

http://overseas.sanwa-meter.co.jp/items/detail.php?id=333

Frequencies: 100, 120 Hz, 1, 10, 100 kHz

Works well so far, can resolve single-digit milliohms ESR too (although
for such low values one really needs to run the self-calibration just
before making the measurement). Has limits at very high capacitances in
the tens of thousands microfarads (where it can only measure ESR but not
the capacitance itself). Battery life is ok, but not stellar. I would
recommend taking the battery out of the meter when it's kept in storage
for longer periods of time (and also to use rechargeable batteries).

Unfortunately quite expensive at official Sanwa overseas distributors,
but at much more reasonable prices in online shops in Japan (even with
package forwarder fees, import duties and taxes still basically 2/3 of
the official distributor price here).

Regards
Dimitrij

Ralph Mowery

unread,

Nov 21, 2015, 10:28:49 AM11/21/15

to

"asdf" <as...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:n2p7pg$r2i$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

> On Sat, 21 Nov 2015 01:24:25 +0000, Cursitor Doom wrote:
>
>> I'm looking to acquire a new LCR meter to replace the old bridges I've
>> been formerly using, which can be a bit cumbersome. Can anyone recommend
>> one from personal experience? I've watched all sorts of 'tear down'
>

> I'm happy with this one purchased years ago.
>
> http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_lcr40.html
>
> Today there are some really interesting and much cheaper multi
> purpose testers (transistor, lcr, esr etc.) on Ebay.
> All reviews I read so far are very positive about their accuracy.
>
> Here is just one example, search for "lcr tester" to find more.
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/252035832599
>

Ther is no real difference in the Peak meter and the other one off ebay
other than the case. Many of the ones on ebay for around $ 15 to $ 25 test
LCR and solid state devices where Peak tries to sell two seperate meters.

The one I bought off ebay a couple of years ago seems to work very well. I
did put it in a plastic case. While not lab quality, it is good enough to
test devices to see if they are close to their specified values or not any
good at all.

Ron D.

unread,

Nov 26, 2015, 2:09:21 PM11/26/15

to

You really need to define what the intended use is. A <$20 component tester kit(bangood,com) could suffice if your need is troubleshooting.

Friends had a Sencore that they were happy with.

I have a handheld HP/agilent.

At work, we had two HO/Agelent LCR meters. We had to characterize devices with a DC bias. It's no match for the little guys.

jeanyves

unread,

Dec 9, 2015, 3:19:39 PM12/9/15

to

today the DEREE DE-5000 is the best bang for buck considering LCR
meters precision
those $20 multi testers are not precision instruments, but can be
sufficiant for troubleshooting, not more.
for me they are not lcr meters.

you can find deree de5000 on ebay ( in japan) for some $100 shipped
dont forget the tweezers probes it is useless without.

example link here :
http://kripton2035.free.fr/LCR%20meters/lcr-deree5000-cl.html

--

Jean-Yves.