• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Cheap Component Tester

I do not like assuming a very low ESR using small flimsy contacts, I have seen values on the elcheapos lower than a multimeter having shorted inputs. I wonder how it would do this.

And compared to my two "real" RCL meters for electrolytics values suddenly such device can be 5 or more percent off......

I think the reason is it decides itself which measurement frequency to take since moving up/down frequency of measurement on the two LCR meters I have, then the measuring compares again against the elcheapo.

So it is nice to have one, but if nothing to compare against, as with all measurements these are YMMV devices. It is one of default drawbacks of "autorange".

So the only reason for me to use it is if I want a quick transistor HFE scan.

I still have to compare against the DCA75 component tester but the ZIF socket on my elcheapo is very handy for the small transistors.
 
I was reading page 2 of this thread, saw the posts indicating the price had dropped again, clicked on the link, ordered one, came back, and when I went to page 3, the banner ad at the top of the page had been replaced by one from this vendor, and was offering me two pieces of test equipment, a 3-D printer, or a "Portable Female Women Urinal Urination . . ." In purple (maybe lavender?). $1.09, and a bargain at twice the price if you have need for one, I feel certain.

I love the internet.
 
No, it worked; I was just amused by the interesting assortment of additional products Banggood thought I might be interested in.Screenshot_2017-01-22-13-06-19.png
 
Mine arrived today. Its a pretty handy gadget. I bought a charger too. I can always use the charger to charge my pad or phone also.
 
I bought one of these from Banggood in early Feb. Actually arrived in just under 2 weeks. Impressed so far, especially for capacitors, which I lacked a meter for previously.

The only issue I have come across is that when I was checking some crossover components I had replaced over the past year, it seriously under-reported the values of low-ohm resistors, such as 3- and 4-ohm crossover resistors, reading a small fraction of an ohm. I verified these resistors actually have their marked ohms with my Philips ECG meter, so it is the component tester that is off for those. Not a big surprise, I guess, as cheap meters often don't do well with low-ohm resistors. Resistance values seem fine on higher-ohm resistors.
 
northpaw said:
I bought one of these from Banggood in early Feb. Actually arrived in just under 2 weeks. Impressed so far, especially for capacitors, which I lacked a meter for previously.

The only issue I have come across is that when I was checking some crossover components I had replaced over the past year, it seriously under-reported the values of low-ohm resistors, such as 3- and 4-ohm crossover resistors, reading a small fraction of an ohm. I verified these resistors actually have their marked ohms with my Philips ECG meter, so it is the component tester that is off for those. Not a big surprise, I guess, as cheap meters often don't do well with low-ohm resistors. Resistance values seem fine on higher-ohm resistors.
Click to expand...

Very low caps also get weird, but that's acceptable for a $20 tester
 
Hello, I need a bit of help to choose from the newer models.

I burned my unit yesterday with a charged capacitor, and now I see the offer is very large..

What do you think of all this? What models have you tried, and which one would you avoid? I see some DIY kits also, I don't know if they have the chip already soldered, or if you need to solder the smd IC too.

( search for this whole sentence in e-bay "Transistor Tester GM328A M328 M328LCD MK-328 MK-168 LCR-T4 LCR-T5 TS-M8N EZM328" )

I was very happy with my $10 little tester, like this one, (no affiliation)
s-l1600.jpg

but always lacked test probes and a larger socket, so I think this one is almost the same with a case and probes:

s-l1600.jpg


I see there is a model with a square wave generator. ( http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Nk8AAOSwn9lXKYnC/s-l1600.jpg ) what is a very nice feature, but this one comes without probes...

What I prefer is capacitor, esr and inductance meter, and stay under $20-25
 
I tried three of the no-case open-design ones before switching to the with-case-and-leads version. I like the with-case one much more.

Transistor tester.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom