New ESR meter - MESR-100 V2 by 'Jingyan' - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2013, 12:05:18 pm
content: I ordered an interesting looking ESR meter recently. I already own a very nice Mastech MS5803, but this unit looked interestingI ordered mine from here:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360643330408?var=630113916367&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649The ESR meter is named the MESR-100 V2 and is made by Jingyan. This is the second Revision of this meter. It incorporates enhancements over its predecessor, the MESR-100 V1 and is built into a more attractive case.The units details are listed below (from an e*ay sellers page) :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JINGYAN MESR-100 V2 Auto-ranging capacitor ESR and Low Ohm MeterMeasuring range from 0.001 to 100.0R, support IN CIRCUIT Testing.Using true 100 KHz sine wave to measure the ESR value, which is equal to the testing method of capacitor manufacturer.In the market, there is some technique using short pulse method to testing, but the value will be varying vs the capacitance and sometimes reading is different from the manufacturer's value.What is ESR of capacitor?There is a series resistor inside capacitor, using 100kHz to remove the impedance 1/(2*pi*F*C), the impedance become small, and we can then measure the true series resistor value.A bad E-capacitor will have larger ESR and create large ripple rather than filtering noise. Normally, a big capacitor is larger than 3 ohm.Using this theory, we can measure the capacitor is bad/ damaged or good in condition.Because our ESR meter only applies less than 15mV DC or peak to peak on a good capacitor, as a result we can use it as in circuit test. Because this low testing voltage, it cannot turn on the semiconductor inside a circuit under testing.During repairing TV, LCD, Audio board, etc. we can in circuit testing the capacitor is good or not.*Dual terminal, for fast and easy inspect general capacitor or resistor, a printed ESR table for fast checkCompare MESR100 old V1 and new V2 Improvement:1) Change square wave to sine wave 100 KHz, reduce square wave’s high frequency component, and affect the reading passing the test leads and capacitor.2) Higher Resolution up to 0.001 ohm.3) 128X64 dot matrix LCD, with more larger value display and information4) Embedded 25V capacitor table at LCD, auto display the capacitor is good or bad reference to common 25V electrolytic capacitor.5) New plastic case, curve design for hand carrying. New stand for 60 degree stand on desk.6) Use 2X AA battery, more convenience and longer battery life than 9V battery.7) Support external USB power, using standard micro-USB port.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------My unit arrived this morning and was promptly dismantled to see what Chinese cleverness lurked insideOn first inspection the MESR-100 V2 looks to be a decent quality plastic case with rear bale for angled desk use. The immediate 'crap factor' that I noted was that the battery cover is retained in place with a small self tapping screw....a screw that cannot easily be accessed without removing the rear bale or bending it up ! A minor annoyance, but an annoyance all the same.The unit came with two AA cells fitted (poor quality 'heavy duty' cells). These were changed to Kodak Alkaline cells to reduce the chances of leakage damage in the months ahead.The unit has a nice large LCD display and three large rubber buttons. At the side of the unit there is a mini USB connector for powering the unit from 5V. A nice feature if the unit is to be used on the bench. I have no idea whether the batteries need to be removed when an external supply is used and the manual makes no mention of it. On the front panel there is a table that provides some guidance on expected ESR values for different values of capacitors and working voltages. This is in addition to the units internal electronic database of values for a 25V capacitor.Upon pressing and holding the on/off power button the user is rewarded with a white on blue start-up screen, then the operational display that contains all the information you need. Mode (Auto range or Manual), Selected Range, Present ESR Reading, Text recommendation on capacitor serviceability based on the measured Capacitance and ESR values. There is a 'Zero' button that starts the units self calibration routine. The leads or test socket are shorted and the unit zero's its display. The test frequency is 100kHz. Any short test leads terminated in 4mm un-shrouded plugs may be used, or leaded components may be connected to the front panel test socket that is located just below the 4mm sockets.The case is opened by removing four corner mounted self tapping screws. The PCB is secured to the rear case half with four more self tapping screws.The PCB quality and SMT soldering is of acceptable quality. There is some very average soldering of the interconnect leads from the 4mm sockets to the PCB but these may be reworked easily by the user if required. The PCB appears to have been designed for front panel mounting using the 4mm sockets as there are two large holes for such in the PCB. Interestingly the interconnect wires to the sockets have been soldered directly to the threaded 4mm tubes and not to the solder tabs. This is to reduce the contact resistance that the tabs would introduce into the measurement chain.... nice work ! I was impressed to find that the LCD is a COG type that is secured in place on its own custom mount rather than just 'hot glued' to the PCB as can sometimes be found in cheap Chinese test kit. One electrolytic capacitor has been 'laid down' on the PCB in order to meet the maximum height requirements of the case. Not great but no serious problem in such a piece of test kit. The manual states that the unit does incorporate double diode input protection, but that capacitors should be discharged before testing. At least some effort was put into input protection. The fact that diodes are used across the input does prevent this unit from being used to test battery internal resistance though so do not try using it for that application !There are unused component positions on the PCB that suggest that the unit may have an enhanced 'brother' in the pipeline or maybe it was just an option that the manufacturer has decided not to pursue ? On first glance it would appear that a USB data output may have been envisaged but not implemented on this unit. The missing chip and crystal would be a USB interface controller.Having looked at the internal parts, I am of the opinion that this unit is of decent build quality for the price. It has yet to be tested fully but initial indications are that it will do what it claims, and measure ESR. The additionally provided Go/No-Go ESR guidance on the display is novel but of limited use as it is based on generic 25 V capacitors ESR values only. A novel idea thoughI personally use a nice large ESR value paper chart as a reference when manufacturer data sheets are not available.Pictures below:

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2013, 12:35:36 pm
content: I think someone posed about these a couple of weeks ago. It 'looks' like the best low cost meter on the market at the moment. But what happens if you connect it to a charged capacitor? Is the Peak Atlas ESR70 at £94 still the best bang for buck?

author: Fsck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2013, 12:47:16 pm
content: that's an interesting way to mount a cap

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2013, 12:56:45 pm
content: Yes the MESR-100 V1 was reviewed recently on this forum ,and I commented on that thread that a new V2 had been released, and ordered one.ESR-70 = 0.01 to 40 OhmsMESR-100 = 0.001 to 100 Ohms (claimed)With sensible use there is no reason to believe the MESR-100 will be easily destroyed, but I know accidents do happen. I have seen several dead ERS-70's on e*ay so maybe they are not indestructible either ? I am sticking with my Mastech MS5803 as the preferred LCR/ESR meter in my labAs for the capacitor that's on its side....not niceI have seen this a lot in cheap equipment though. I may re-engineer that solution. I really hate the way the 4mm test socket interconnects have been attached to the PCB thoughThat will have to be sorted out properly before I use the unit in my lab.I just found some nice pictures of the ESR-70 internals here:http://www.audiovintage.fr/leforum/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=6039It has a relay protection system by the looks of it.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2013, 01:51:02 pm
content: The cap laying on its side could simply be that the specified cap was not in stock. There exist very squat caps. So they had no other option for this batch to install a slightly taller one.Why don 't they use axial you ask.... Well because, with a very few exceptions, nobody produces those anymore ! The reason is simple. Axials are not machine insertable...Not that it would matter in this design as all smd is one one side. They will reflow this board and solder the two wires and cap by hand.As for the wires used instead of nuts. Probably for two reasons. Nuts loosening over time .. Or , the sleeve of the sleeve of the connector being too short.. So if you tighten the nut it bends the board. You'd have to install two nuts, one below the board, one above.. Too much trouble.vApart from that i kanda like this design. The good point is they indeed measure it at manufacturers frequency. Input is protected and the measurement signal is small.

author: Salas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2013, 11:05:16 pm
content: Aurora, hi!So they put a look up table on its front in the end. V2 looks like good value VS V1 that I managed to get only few days before they released V2.Did you try any comparisons for evaluating its ESR accuracy yet?

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2013, 09:04:09 am
content: Hiya,That is called Murphy's law in the UK !I regret that I have not done any performance testing yet. I will as soon as I get some free time. I have bought lots of new 'toys' recently and sadly they are all sat in their boxes awaiting tests as other duties presently have priorityI was pleased to see that they placed the table on the front panel. A small addition but very useful for a quick check. There is no longer a 'compensation' wire fitted so I guess they have made the Zero Cal capable of compensating for the test leads or the internal sockets.I will test it out asap and report findings here.

author: sotos
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2013, 02:23:04 pm
content: So they hear what customers are suggesting, how to make it better etc.Then they sit down and make the changes for a better meter. Like other who don’t give a sh….t what technicians are suggesting and keep on selling cr..ap.

author: hgg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2013, 01:16:37 pm
content: I have just received mine today.Not bad, nice display, fast, repeatable measurements but only down to 2 decimals.Its not a square wave, but a type of sine wave.100kHz, but the peak to peak voltage is 488mv. The specs say that it outputs 15mV.Are the 488mV because I measured it without a load?photo sharing software

author: Salas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2013, 02:25:58 pm
content: Its signal drops when there is a capacitor loaded up and measuring they say. You may check.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2013, 06:00:27 pm
content: Thanks Hgg and Salas.I have not had a moment to do anything with mine yet and I need to find some suspect or faulty capacitors for it to see how it performs. I have a PC motherboard in my lab that definitely has some dead capacitors as they have bulged., I will use that first and will also test some 30 year old 'new old stock electrolytics that I have to see how the readings stack up against my Mastech 5803 unit. I just need some spare time.

author: Salas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2013, 06:15:03 pm
content: Or low voltage and low capacitance unused ones from a reputable manufacturer with published 100KHZ impedance values to compare. V1 was spot on for Panasonic FC 47uF cap I tested against its published spec. But now its not here anymore. Counter Murphy happened.It came with a front panel scratch I had fed back originally and never saw the reply that I may send it back till yesterday I put some Ebay feedback about some MOSFETS. It will be exchanged for V2 and its traveling right now.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2013, 07:01:32 pm
content: Salas,That is good newsI do have some decent quality Panasonic capacitors against which to test it. they are destined for one of my spectrum analysers as part of a routine capacitor refresh but will not happen any time soon.I will advise when I have done the tests. Maybe this weekend, but I have to replace the exhaust on my Wife's Nissan X-Trail so that may eat up my spare time

author: Salas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2013, 07:45:26 pm
content: The MIB instruments people proved quite reliable and the substitution V2 came in today. It gives out this kind of open test signal. If loaded with a capacitor also and measuring ESR a very faint triangle like dance about thing remains. It took heavy averaging and 500uV scale to bring it out well on the scope. Now, Aurora how do I pull away the hard plastic bail to change batteries without breaking its hinges? I don't have any good ESR capable LCR meter to compare results also, so we wait for your evaluation.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 08, 2013, 09:21:33 am
content: I used a long shaft screwdriver and gently bent the bail enough to allow access to the screw. Nothing was damaged but its a real faff and a design error. I think there is more risk trying to remove the bale so I advise against that.

author: Salas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 08, 2013, 11:45:40 am
content: Hmm, maybe a mini watchmaker's screwdriver could also do. They show just one picture with the bail missing but no further info and it feels very dodgy to forcibly pull indeed.

author: KARADENIZ
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 03:36:48 pm
content: HiI'm new here and I want to buy a ESR Meter but I won't pay for it >50$ because I will use it only one time to test the capacitors.Has anyone tried these ESR Testers from china for ~25$ ?I want to test capacitors from 4,7uF - 1000uFhttp://goo.gl/KqXlSS

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 04:11:12 pm
content: seems thant you cannot test the esr of capacitors in circuit with these esr metersotherwise they are fine and cheapby the way did you take a look at my esr repository, you will have plenty of DIY esr meters, very cheap andmost of them are in circuit testers.regards,

author: fluxcapacitor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2013, 12:04:49 am
content: hi ,the mesr-100 can be used as an in circuit tester.Its the jy6013 that can`t afaik.Capacitor Capacitance Cap ESR Meter Tester Combo DMM MESR-100 + JY6013ebay item number : 330938342334

author: Rory
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2013, 07:31:27 pm
content: How practical would it be to drill a hole in the bail so the battery cover screw(s) are accessible without the chance of damaging the hinge?

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 16, 2013, 09:33:15 pm
content: Quote from: KARADENIZ on August 21, 2013, 03:36:48 pmSee theThreand on these ESR Testers. Bottom Line: They're a well proven design from a German micro controller board. Open source hardware and so some are manufactured in China. If you don't need much accuracy or fanciness they're worth their twenty odd bucks. But as always with Chinese sellers: Watch the build quality and apply common sense.

author: _ar_
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2018, 10:25:55 pm
content: Hi, Just recently purchased one device, mine came with V2.3. There's one thing I'm interested in though. When I short the included clips and zero the device, if I move the clips around with the clips still shorted, the zero (-0.000) changes. Mostly to -0.013 or -0.026 (I move the clips towards the unit). Is this normal or I have a defective unit? It seems odd to me that basically bending the test wire (which I'm sure will do when trying to test caps in circuit) would change the zero this significantly.

author: Lanaki
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2019, 09:02:59 pm
content: I have the same thing happen. When I zero the unit (v 2) sometimes it will zero sometimes not. Just depends where the clips on the leads are. After it has been on zero for a few seconds the reading will change (after button is pushed and if you do not separate leads right away). Does not seem to affect reading of caps however and I always use my own look up table to check the condition of the caps. My table lists voltages and sizes not listed on the small list on the case such as for 50 volt caps etc. I do not believe there is a fault with the meter because it does not exactly zero. Or am I totally wrong? Aloha

author: Miti
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2019, 12:03:41 am
content: Quote from: _ar_ on June 05, 2018, 10:25:55 pmWhat you see there, is a change in resistance of 13 - 26 mOhm between the two banana jacks, so basically in the clips somewhere. I have the meter, the clips are not the best, they are pretty loose so a variation of few tens of mOhms is normal when you wiggle/ move them.

author: Vicarious
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 03, 2019, 02:47:43 pm
content: I'm looking for test leads for the mesr-100 meter.it seems that all my test leads have high resistance so the meter is impossible to zero them.any recommendations?

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2019, 04:00:55 pm
content: Make your own. That way you select the quality of connectors, clips/probes and lead wire. Go for short ‘extraflex’ Leads with soldered terminations and you should be fine.Fraser

author: Vicarious
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 03, 2019, 04:20:42 pm
content: thanks! is there an instructional video to get some ideas?

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2019, 04:33:16 pm
content: Quote from: Vicarious on May 03, 2019, 02:47:43 pmYou can troubleshoot leads by removing one and see if you can zero the other directly into the empty socket. When you think about it this should halve any resistance immediately. So try various leads and even a plain piece of wire to see if you can get a zero at all. If you cannot zero them what measurement do you get when you short the leads? If it's in the low milliohms you are very close.A really common problem with a high resistance on the leads is that the connections are dirty, so buff them with a clean dry cloth first if you can.

author: sijmen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 27, 2020, 05:20:37 am
content: Hi,I'm looking to get a MESR 100, and AliExpress searches suggest the "MESR 100" and "MESR 100 V2". How can I tell the difference between them?Does anyone have a photo of the original MESR 100, so I can compare it to the V1.Regards,Sijmen.

author: porlock
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2022, 03:10:04 pm
content: Quote from: sijmen on July 27, 2020, 05:20:37 am+1 on this question, im also doubt what version they are currently selling.

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2022, 04:38:42 pm
content: There's a photo of the old version here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/q-to-dave-why-do-you-use-bob_s-esr-meter-instead-of-agilent-lcr-meter-for-caps/