3/23/13

ESR meter hints

HintsfortechsusingtheESRmeter.
Clickhereifyournewlybuiltmeter'snotworkingproperly.
ClickheretoseeAnatekCorp'sprotectorfortheESRmeter.
Clickhereifyoudon'thaveavariableDCpowersupplytosetupVR1.

NewESRmeterusersandthefrontpanelchart...
PeopleregularlyaskmeformorespecificESRfiguresandforfiguresrelatingtocapsnotshownonthe
frontpanelchart.
ThechartisreallyonlymeanttobearoughguidetowhattoexpectuntilyougetusedtoESR
measurementsyou'llencounterinrepairsituations,andhere'spartofanemailIrecentlysentinreplyto
thesequestions,whichIhopeexplainsthisabitmoreclearly:
Onceyou'vebeenusingthemeterforawhileandgetusedtothekindsofreadingsyougetfromelectrolyticcaps,
you'llseethatthere'squitealargeamountofvariabilityinthefiguresyou'llget.ESRvariesbetween
manufacturersanddifferentcapacitortypes,suchasnormalandhightemperatureratedcaps.ESRalsovarieswith
ambienttemperature.Whatthismeansisthatifyouencounteracapnotshownonthefrontpanelchart,allyou
reallyneedtodoismentallygofortheaverageofthefiguresofthecapswhichareshownoneithersideofit.
Iexpectthisisgivingyouthefeelingthatit'sgoingtobeimpossibletoknowwhetherthecapyou'recheckingis
goodornot.InfactinmyownexperienceandthatoflotsoftechsI'veheardfrom,whenacap'sESRishigh
enoughtocauseaproblem,itwillgenerallymeasureatleast10timesthevalueonthechart,andmorecommonly30+timesthechartvalueorgiveno
readingatall.Sickelectrolyticcapsusuallystandoutreallyclearly.
Idon'thavealotmoreESRinformation,butifyouwanttofinddatasheetsonspecificelectrolyticcaps,DougJoneshasapageoflinksonhisCapacitor
Wizardwebsitewhichshouldbehelpfultoyou[Thanks,Doug!!].IhopethishasbetterexplainedthesituationwithESRfigures....

Caution...notallelectrolyticcapsfailduetohighESRorleakage.
KevinofKevin'sTVRepairgavethisimportantwarning:"YourESRmetersometimesmissescapsthatshowagoodESRreading,buthavea
capacitancevalueofhalforlessofwhattheyshouldbe.Thishasonlyhappenedtwice,butIrelysoheavilyonyourESRmeterthatIdrovemyselfcrazy
tryingtofindtheproblemelsewhere!NowIknowifeverythingchecksoutOK,topullthecapsoutofcircuitandmeasuretheirvalue."
I'veheardofthishappeningmaybe3timestoothertechs,sopleasekeepitinmindifnothingseemstomakesense,thattheESRmetermightbegetting
fooledbyoneoftheseveryunusualcaps.

Nowhere'sthecurrentlistofhints.IfyouhaveanyhandysuggestionsIcanputonthispage,pleaseEMAILME
(1)Thewaytoholdthe9Valkalinebatteryinplace(intheMk1meter)istolayitinthebottomofthecaseandplaceasuitablesizedpieceofthickfoam
plasticoverit.Thenthecircuitboardwillholditsnuglyinplacewhenthefrontpanelisscreweddown.DickSmithElectronicsnowincludesapieceof
foaminthekitsforthispurpose.
Alternately,AndyinPerthWestAustraliasaid:"Usedoublesidedtape(asIhave)tosecurethebattery.Place2stripsoftapeonthebatteryonadjacent
sides,thenpressintoplaceagainstthebottomandonesideofthebox.Asemipermanentfix,whichallowsfairlyeasyremoval,butnomajor
modifications."
OrasDeaneMcIntyresuggested:"Ifoundthatthesmallcardboardboxesthatpilotlightscomein(boxesoften47'sforexample)aretheexactsizeto
containthebatteryandtofitsnugglyintotheenclosureundertheboard."
(2)The"ApproximateworstESRvalues"tableonthefrontofthemeterweretakenfromafairlyoldcapacitorcatalog,andcapacitortechnologyhas
evolvedabitsincethen.Forexample,many105CelectrolyticshaveanESRuptonearlydoublethosevaluesevenwhenbrandnew,andother
electrolyticshavealowerESRevenwhenold.FrommyexperienceifanelectrolytichasanESRmorethandoublethetablevalueforitscapacitanceand

members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrhints.htm

1/5

3/23/13

ESR meter hints

voltagerating,it'swisetocheckitagainstanewoneand/orreplaceittoremovethechanceofitcausingproblemsinthefuture.
ThebestwaytobeconfidentaboutwhetherasuspectcapacitorisgoodornotistomeasuretheESRofoneormorebrandnewonesofthe
samevalueandworkingvoltage!
(3)HankSieverssaid,"BobParker'smetercanalsobeusedasagonogotype.IhavefoundthatIcanconsidereverythingbelow3ohmsasgood,and
allover10asbad,withveryfewfallinginthedoubtfulcategory'.Iagreethatexceptforverylargeandverysmallcaps,thisisauseful'ruleofthumb'".
Thanks,Hank!
(4)The"DISCHARGECAPACITORBEFOREMEASURING!"warningonthemeterfrontpanelisalittleovercautious...."Testonlydischarged
capacitors!"wouldhavebeenbetter.Nearlyallelectrolyticsaredischargedbytheirsurroundingcircuitrywithinafewsecondsofthepowerbeing
disconnected,soyoucangenerallypokearoundwiththemeterwithoutworryingaboutthis.Theonlycapswhicharelikelytoneeddeliberate
dischargingarethemainfiltersinamplifiersandotherlargepowersupplies.
(5)GlennWatkinshaspointedoutthatashortedorpartiallyshortedcapcancheckOK(ie:lowresistance),soifyoucheckacapandtheindicatedESR
seemstoogood(low)tobetrue,it'swisetocheckitoutwithanohmmeter.OryoucanparalleltheESRmeterandanohmmeterandlookforshortsat
thesametime...see#13below.
(6)Glennalsosaid,"It'sveryhardtopressthetestleadtipstogethertogetasteadyreadingbeforepressingthebuttontozerothedisplay.Ifoundthatif
thetestleadshavesharptips,youcanpressthembothonasolderpad(onaPCboard)andtheleadswillpenetratethesolderalittlegivingagoodsolid
reading".ThanksGlenn!
(7)Davidaka'Starwriter'providedthisalternativewayofshortingthetestleads:"Tozerothemeter,Ipoketheprobetipsinto1ofthephilipsscrews
onthefrontofthecase.It'seasytoholdtheleadstogetherthiswaywhileyoupushthebutton."Goodideaandthankyoukindly,David!
(8)Themeterputsoutregularburstsof10uspulsesata2KHzrate,atanopencircuitamplitudeofabout600mVPP.Atapinchyoucanuseitasan
audiosignalsourcetocheckspeakers,amplifiersetc.Thepulseshaveafastrise/falltime,soitwouldprobablymakeacrudeRFsignalinjectoraswell.
Thanksto'Kiwi'JoeLussyforsuggestingthis!
(9)Varyingcontactresistancebetweenthebananaplugsandsocketscancauseunsteadyreadings,butifyougiveeachplugabigsquirtofCRC"CO
ContactCleaner"thenrapidlyjiggleitinitssocketforafewseconds,thisreducestheproblemconsiderably.Alsobeawarethatthenutsholdingthe
bananasocketscanworkthemselveslooseovertime,causingavariableandgraduallyincreasingindicatedtestleadresistance...thishappenedonmy
ownprototypemeterandothersI'veheardabout.
(10)Ifyou'dliketogetmorebatterylifeoutthemeter(andarefeelingabitadventurous),youcanreplaceIC1(78L05)withanLP2950CZ5.0and
replaceR25(47k)with27k.ThenadjustVR1sothelowbatterywarningtriggersat5.6Vinsteadoftheoriginal7.0V.ThankstoG.FreemaninSouth
AustraliaforthisideawhichwaspublishedintheAugust'98issueofElectronicsAustraliamagazine.Note:WhenusingtheMK2ESRmeter'sself
testfunctionafterdoingthismodification,itwillneedtobepoweredfrom6.26.8V,not9Vasitoriginallywas.
(11)MarkStevensonhasdevisedsomeingeniousmethodsofinstallinga'LowOhms'buzzerintheESRmeter,whichmakeitlessnecessarytowatch
thedisplayswhileyou'reusingit.Clickheretogethisinstructionsonhowtodoit,asatextfile.Andclickherefortheschematic.Thanksforthat,
Mark!
(12)Ihaven'ttrieditmyself,butI'veheardfromseveralsourcesthattheESRmeterisquitegoodatindicatingtheconditionofbatteriesofboththe
normalandrechargeablekind.ClickheretovisittheJohn'sJukeswebsitewhereJohnRobertsonhassomeinformationaboutthis.
(13)JohnRobertsonalsomadethishandysuggestionwhichshouldworkOK:"IthoughtyoumightwanttomodifyyourESRmeterhintspagetohave
folkstryoutmyuseoftheESRmeterandaregularOhmmeterinparalleltofindthosepeskyshortedcaps.Ifoundthatthecheapshopdigitalmeter
workedjustfineandusingitslowohmbeeperfunctionfindstheshorts!".Thanksagain,John!
(14)ColHardysaid:"Lovethemeter,buthadafewquirkswiththebananasockets
provided.IsolderedatwincabletothethePCBterminalsandranitoutofoneofthe
sockets,solderedsewingpinstothewires,worksgreat.Toincreasebatterylife20fold,
cutthetrackfromthedisplaymplexemitters(Q12/13)andaddaresistorinseries.Iused
a500ohm,soa470or390wouldbegoodstartingpoints.Batterylifeisextendedfrom
afewweeksto6monthsorso(thoughthedisplaysaredimmer)."Col'sextraresistorisin
thetopleftcornerofhismeterboardhere.Thanks,Col!
(15)Mike(Moby)Diackmadethisusefulsuggestion:"Haven'tneededtotestasingle
capyet,but(beingafixerofbigPAamps)it'sjustfinefor1/Findingapunchedthrough
transistorinabigparallelbankand2/Findingacrookbypasscapamongstdozens
between+5andgnd."Ihadn'tthoughtofthat,sothanksMike!
(16)Ifyou'reswappingbetweenpoweringthemeterfromabatteryandanexternal9VDCpowersupply,there'salittlemodificationyoucandowhich
disablesthemeter'sautomaticswitchofffunctionwhenrunningfromthepowersupply.Clickhereforthecircuitasa.giffile.TheextraNPNtransistor
canbeanysmallsignalone,suchasBC548etc.DaveBurlaassuresmethatitdoeswork!
(17)ESRmetercarrycase!TomChipmanrecommended:"IpurchasedacaseatWalmartfor$8.88.LookintheWomen'spursesection.Itisactually

members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrhints.htm

2/5

3/23/13

ESR meter hints

sometypeofmakeupcase,configuredintheformofaminiaturefootlocker,butwithoutatray,justarectangularboxwithalining.Itisjusttherightsize
toaccomodatethemeter,withenoughroomtotucktheleadsalongside.Becauseitisrigid,thereisnodangeroftransferringtheon/off/zeroswitch,when
thecaseisclosed,orhandlingit."ThanksTom,itsoundslikeagreatidea!!
(18)Stopthepushbuttonfrombeingbumpedinyourtoolbox...
RickyLeePondersentthisideaandexcellentphototoillustrateit:"Ihavealittletipforpeoplewhomightwantto
carrythisinatoolboxorbag.Igotconcernedthatsomethingwouldalwaysbepushingthebutton.SoItookaplastic
housingoffofaD.C.barrelpluganditslidesrightdownovertheredbuttonandthreadsontotheswitchthreads.This
preventsanythingfrompushingthebuttonuntilyoutakeitoff.Ididhavetoleavethelockwasheroffsoenough
threadsremainedforthecovertothreadonto."
Oryoucouldtry
MarkTwitchell[N2WAE]hadthissimilarthought:"SomethingIwasgoingtotrywiththeESRmeteristoputa
washedoutcap(noteImeanaCAP,asinbottlecap,notcapacitor)fromaspenttubeoflipbalm(Chapstik,Blistex,
etc.)onthepowerswitchbutton.Makesurethatthecapisplastic,NOTmetal.Youcantryandcutorpunchaclean
holeinthecenterofthebottomtopassthepowerswitchthreadedshaft,andthenscrewdownthenutusinglongnose
pliers,toprotecttheswitchfrombeingpushedaccidentallyinyourpocketortoolkit(maykeepthebatteryfresh
longer).Ifthecapistootall,tryputtingitbackontheoriginalcontainer,andcuttingitaroundwitharazorknifeatthelowerheightandrefitit."
Orthis
BobEcclestonediditthissimpleway:"IalsohadproblemswiththefirstunitswitchingoninthetoolbagandIgluedatubecapovertheswitch,butthis
caughtonotherthingsinthebag.Soonthesecondunit,Icutthebuttonofftheswitchstemandfiledthestemdownsoitwasjustbelowtheswitchbody
whenpushedin.Nowtheswitchdoesnotturntheunitonifinadvertentlybumpedinthebag,butitisstillquiteeasytoturniton."
Thanks,guys!
(19)FromIainEmerson:"LikeColHardyItoohadaproblemwiththetestleadsonloosecaps.Fixingasmallpiece
ofPCB(twopads)justabovethedisplayandconnectingthemtotheterminalsthroughthecasingallowedtheleadsofa
captobeplaceddirectlyonthepadsandtested,andit'salsoaquickwaytozerothemeterwithjustonehandfree."
Thepadmeasures40mmx8mmwitha3mmgap(copperremovedwithacraftknife)halfwayalong.Thepadsitsona5mmthickpieceof
foamrubberheldinplacebytwosidedstickytape.Two2mmholeswerethendrilledinthefrontpanelfortheleadsthataresolderedtothe
twotestleadsocketsandpadsrespectivelyieleftpad,leftsocketetc....ThanksIain!

(20)AlastairMacGregorhasfoundthattheESRmetercanidentifysuspectinductors..."Ifaninductorhasshorted
turnsitlosesinductancebutmaymaintainresistance.SoifIhavealinedrivetransformerforexample,IcansticktheESRmeteracrossit.Ifgetareading,
thetransformerhasshortedturnsorshouldbeinvestigatedmore."
ChoongKeatYianaddedthathetestssmalltransformerssuchasTVdeflectionandSMPSpowersupplyonesbyfirstmeasuringtheirDCresistance
withhisFluke12DMM.Ifheseesaverylowresistance(maybe0.3ohms),nextheconnectstheESRmetertoit.IftheESRmeterdoesn'tshow""
(morethan99ohms),italmostcertainlymeansthattheinductorhasshortedturns.Hesaid,"Bestofall,allthiscanbedonewhileonboardwithout
desolderinginmostcases".
(21)'DICKSMITH'TIPbyJoeSopko,writingfor"THESPEAKER",thenewsletterofNesdaOhio."Afteracoupleyearsofuse,I
justhadthefirstfailureofmyprized'DickSmith'ESRMeter.Otherownersknowthatwhenyouusethemeter,thefirstpressofthepushbuttonswitchturnsit
on,thenyouputtheprobestogether&thesecondpressoftheswitchsubtractstheresistanceofthemeterleadsfromthedisplay&'zeros'themeter.Well,my
failurewasthatthesecondpressturneditoffinsteadofzeroingthedisplay.Bummer!Howcanyouuseameterthatturnsitselfoffwhenyougotouseit?That
makesitjustasbadasanemployee!AtleastMYemployeestendtoturnthemselvesoffwhenIgotousethem.Thecurewassimpleifyouknowit.IwishI
wouldhaveknownthisbeforeIdisassembledthemeter&lookedforaproblemthatwasn'tinternal.Overtheyears,theprobeshadslowlybuiltupaslight
coatingofoxidation.Theystilllookedbright&shiny,butinfactwhenIputthemtogether,theywerereadingabout2.1ohms.Thatwasenoughtotellthemeter
thattheprobeswereNOTtogetherandtoshutoffthemeteronthesecondpress.Thecure?Aquickwipeoftheprobes&jackswithtunercleaner.Problemsolved!Itmademeso
happyIjusthadtograbaSMPS&measuresomecaps."Thankyou,Joe!

(22)BrianGerberC.E.T.said:"Mosttechsknowtheycansometimesfindafaultycapwithacanoffreezespray.IfyouhaveacapthattheESRissay
marginal,itstillmaynotperformunderaloadconditionuntilitwarmsup.Ihavefoundifyouhavethisconditionandyoufreezeallthecapsandrecheck
withtheESRmeter,theystickoutlikeasorethumb!!!"Goodidea,Brian.:)
(23)TonyMarsillo(NutmegRepair)gaveusthisusefuladvice:"FormeasuringcapsincircuitusingonehandIpurchasedasetofTweezerProbes

members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrhints.htm

3/5

3/23/13

ESR meter hints

fromMCMelectronics,partnumber76001.Thetipsaresuchthattheycanbeshortedtogethertozerothemeter.Don'tgetthePomonatype,theirtips
donottouchwhensqueezedtogether.Ihavebeenusingthemeterforabout2yearsandithassavedmequitealotoftime.Thanks."Thankyoutoo,Tony!
However,asRichardSatosuggested,ifyou'regoodatusingchopsticksthenyoudon'treallyneedtweezerprobes.Justholdthenormalprobesinthe
sameway.It'ssurprisinglyeasyonceyougetusedtoit.I'vebeendoingthisforyears.
(24)PeterMorganfoundyetanotheruseforthemeter:"Hadoccasiontohavetotraceouttheschematicofaboardwhichhadnumeroustracks/vias
underthechipsarealPITA.Eventually(anhourormore)Ihadahanddrawnschematic.Nowtoverify...IrememberedthattheESRmeterpulsesare
belowthethresholdofdiodejunctionconduction,soIproceededtouseitasayes/nocheckofeverypintoeveryother.Musthavebeenalloffive
minutesandallpermutationshadbeentested.I'mprobablynotthefirsttouseitinthisway,butitisanotheruseforthisgreatdevice."Maybenotthefirst,
butthefirstI'vebeentoldabout.Thanksforsharingyourideawitheveryone,Peter.:)

(25)JohnRobertsonatJohn'sJukesnoticedanoldarticleaboutproblemscausedbypoorgroundingintubeguitaramplifiersandcommentedthatthe
ESRmeterisverygoodatlocatingbadconnections.Sothere'sanotheruseforit.:)

Extraprotectiondiodes
Quitealotofpeopleareinstallingapairof1N5404orsimilarhighcurrentdiodesininverseparallelacrossthetestleadjacks/sockets,togivemore
protectionifthemeter'sconnectedtoalargechargedcapacitor.SofarIhaven'theardofanymetersbeingdamagedafterthismodification,thoughit'snot
goodforthetestleadprobes,thediodesorthecapacitor.

RememberthatyoucannottesttheESRofbatteriesafterinstallingthesediodes!
StanLabinskyJrprovidedthesenicephotosofhisinstallation,whichisthebest&neatestI'veseen.ThanksagainStan!

Jacques Carrier's "new" ESR meter.

--------------------------------Upon reading your article about the new version of your ESR meter I finally decided to
tune-up my ESR meter.
After using it for about 3 years, it was time to finally remove a few annoyances:
1) I desoldered R25 to disable the 2 min. auto shut-off function. Great! No more powering up to do.
Time saver too.
2) I also installed 2 diodes (1N5404) across the inputs. It is so tight inside the meter......... no problem-----I simply
put them outside........ (They are mounted on a stackable banana plug in which the output leads are inserted.) It does
not look too bad and you do not have to open the case if you have to replace them. Great protection for this priceless
meter!
3) I removed the battery (power hungry meter)!!! Expensive 9V Duracell battery eliminated.
I installed a small 9VDC adapter (13 VDC unloaded) followed by an in-line 7808 regulator (mounted inside a plastic fuse
box).
I left the battery connector inside (properly insulated) just in case I ever need to use the battery again.
The adapter is connected to the meter through a small polarized male/female connector.
The ESR meter is now much user friendly (....for me). I am madly in love with my "new" meter!!!!

Graphs...Graphs...Graphs...!!

members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrhints.htm

4/5

3/23/13

ESR meter hints

MattWarrenhascreatedsomegraphsoftypicalnewcapacitorvaluevsworkingvoltagevsESRwhichareinterestingintheirown
rightandalsogreatforworkingoutvaluesinbetweenthoseinthemeter'sfrontpanelchart.Justclickonthefollowinglinkstoget
them:
Graph#1Graph#2Graph#3

AndifyouownanotherESRmetersuchasDougJones'highlyrespectedCapacitorWizardandwouldlikeacopyofthechartof
approximateworstcaseESRfiguresfromthefrontofmymeterforreference,CLICKHEREtodownloadoneasatextfileyou
canprintout!ThankstoMDavisforsuggestingImakethisavailable!

Andnowtheanswertothequestion'everyone'isasking...Whydoestheoriginal"Mark1"meterflash'EA'atswitchon?Answer:'EA'standsfor
'ElectronicsAustralia',themagazinethismeterappearedinasaconstructionproject,backinJanuary1996.Sadlythismagazinenolongerexists.The
"Mark2"ESRmeterdoesn'tdothis.

Finallyabig'THANKYOU'toallyoutechswho'veboughtthismeterkitandsaidgoodthingsabout(andconstructivelycriticised)it,bothon
thesci.electronics.repairnewsgroupandtomedirectly.Ireallyappreciateit!

[LeaveyourESRmetercomments][ReadESRmeterusercomments]

BacktotheESRmeterpage...
Backtothehomepage...

Lastupdate:14thJune,2011

members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrhints.htm

5/5