What other kits became an 'industry standard'... like the EA ESR meter? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: peteb2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2020, 10:11:56 pm
content: Quite possibly mentioned here elsewhere, way back in the early 80s, EA magazine featured a project that tests an electrolytic's ESR. My experience at the time i was coming across many failures directly caused by them especially in SMPS units. (Around the same time (although we didn't know it) the infamous bad seal issue for just about all cap manufacturers saw the 'juice' physically puked out of the cap resulting in terrible damage to nearby PCB tracks... i even saw glass body diodes dissolved internally by what was effectively an acid...Enter a build project by Bob Parker in the EA magazine, a tool that would allow you to test the electrolytics often in-circuit on the board to reveal the device's Equivalent Series Resistance. The test unit was named "Genie" & i recall as young Tech Trainee virtually busting my savings to build the thing & finding just how great a gadget it was... Then the thing rolled out as a kitset (i bought two the day it came available at Dick Smiths & it continues to be available still)...Here's a link for the original article:http://www.your-book.co.uk/design/genie.htmThe tester has of course spawned 1000s of other devices by different makers but it amazes me that this one excellent idea by one very clever designer (whom i have massive respect for) has continued to live on, including a few improvements (seehttps://www.altronics.com.au/p/k2574-esr-meter-kit/)I have to ask, has there ever been any other diy-able project that became so well regarded?Even the Mr Carlson features an EA logo unit in his latest youtube... (scoot to 42:22)

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2020, 11:58:31 pm
content: Bob Parker also did a ring tester which while not as popular as the ESR meter is still being sold in kit form and being made DIY style. I own the kits shown below, the Eprom programmer Dave wrote some software for back in the day. I have a Dick Smith transistor tester as well as a few others, though nothing too exciting.For DIY kits I think the AVR Transistortester (ESR/LCR component tester) has to be considered highly. Lots of features, low cost, open source and cheaply available Chinese clones. Dave has his uCurrent which can be DIY made. The TL866A universal programmer can be DIYed from scratch if you had to. Easier to buy it due to the adapters, but a popular tool with DIY potential.

author: austfox
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2020, 06:21:48 pm
content: Quote from: peteb2 on May 30, 2020, 10:11:56 pmIt was a little later than the 80's that this ESR meter was featured as a project in EA. It was 1996.Bob Parker, Jim Rowe (EA), and Bob Barnes (RCS Radio) all expected that the kit would sell a few hundred units and then be forgotten. Jim Rowe used to say that you could never tell which projects would become popular and which would fizzle out. As a testament to it's popularity, Dick Smith sold more than 13,000 kits, Altronics have sold 100's and still selling, and the Blue ESR meters have sold in their 1000s and still selling (same design, different style of case)!Amazingly the Bob Parker ESR Meter is still alive and well after almost 25 years! Last year Bob completely redesigned the meter with surface mount components. The new one is smaller, runs from AA cells, reads down to 0.001 ohms, and one of the models talks! For those interested, have a look at:http://bobparker.net.au/esr_meter/blue2-esr.htm