Newbie - LCR meter under $200 build or buy? Advice? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: 7seas
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 16, 2013, 11:49:13 pm
content: Good evening to you all.I have a budget of approx US $200 for an LCR meter. I see many on eBay but being a newbie I cannot say if they are good or if their specs are too good to be true.On the other hand I am willing to build one myself as well. Perhaps a simple (or complex) bridge circuit? I admit I do not know much (yet) about how it would work, or what other approaches exist to measure LCR, ERS or Q or such, but I am pretty good at assembling circuits from components if there exists a good schematic with readily available components.Anything else the circuit or kit or ready made eBay instrument can do (like measuring Q or ESR or other things I don't yet know about with my limited knowledge) will be a bonus!I have searched on this forum as well as on the internet but I just get confused with all the smart people's arguments about pros/cons. I just want to buy or build a "good" and "accurate" LCR meter that will continue to suit my needs after I have a few years of circuit design experience.Any advice? Comments?Thanks in advance!

author: 7seas
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 12:07:04 am
content: Hello again,I would also like to ask if it is possible to accurately measure L and C with common test equipment (not LCR meters) and how to do it. For example my "lab" consists of the following equipment in total:Power supply:Protel 305D 0-30V (probably not accurate/stable)HP 6205C dual power supply 0-20 V/0-0.6 A (hopefully better than the Protel)Multimeters:Various, best one from Walmart, many worst ones from Harbor Freight (the red "free" ones)Function generator:Krohn-Hite 1200 Sweep Function Generator 0.2-3.5MHzOscilloscope:Tektronix 2445 analog 150Mhz quad-channelOscilloscope probes:Tektronix P6106 10X 250 MHzTektronix P6131 10x 300 MHz

author: ttp
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 01:10:18 am
content: Look athttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/yet-another-tonghui-th2822a-lcr-meter-review-in-pictures/, a little over budget but seems good quality.

author: egonotto
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 07:46:10 pm
content: HiI would you advice to buy a device with new Cyrustek chipset.Perhaps the Peaktech 2170. Seehttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/some-photos-from-a-peaktech-2170-teardown/In Germany Conrad seams to have a nice VOLTCRAFT LCR-300 LCR-Multimeter for € 177,31.With your equipment you can measure L and C in same area (value not too low or too high).There a several methods.With a known R and a known frequency you can measure the impedance.With an know C and an unknown L you can measure the resonance-frequencyWith an know L and an unknown C you can measure the resonance-frequencyThen you can calculate the value that you want.I think you can get a accuracy of 10%Best Regardsegonotto

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 08:21:31 pm
content: if you want to build one yourself, this one is good:http://kripton2035.free.fr/LCR%20meters/lcr-go-russian.html

author: 7seas
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 17, 2013, 11:58:18 pm
content: Thank you for your comments and suggestions egonotto, kripton2035 and ttp.Re: ttp's suggestion on TH2822A ... any idea how this compares to Mastek MS5308 in terms of accuracy and features?