Author Topic: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013  (Read 54973 times)

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Offline BravoVTopic starter

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500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« on: March 11, 2013, 01:36:20 am »


Quick specifications*
L range: 0.1 nH - 100 H
C range: 0.1 pF - 100 mF
R range: 0.1 mOhm - 1 Gohm
Q or D range: 0 - 10,000
Phase ange range: -90 to +90 degrees
Rs, Xs range: 0.1 mOhm - 1 Gohm



I'm not a subscriber, its just I'm curious only at other details on the spec like test frequency, accuracy and etc, thats all.

Appreciate if any of you that is subscribing this could share just a sneak peek or summary on this device's capability please, tia.

Linky -> HERE

Offline psycho0815

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2013, 07:23:23 am »
Here are some more specs:

it measures on 100/120Hz, 1kHz, 10KHz. the 100/120 depends on whether your mains is 50 or 60 Hz.
the Voltage it's measuring at is 0.4Vrms +/- 5%, so it should be ok for in-circuit stuff.

Accuracy is:
0.05% to 0.3% +/- 1 digit each depending on selected Range.
It also does 4-Wire Measurement.

That seems to be all the important stuff.
If you like, check out my blog (german):
http://h-reg.blogspot.de
 

Offline Rerouter

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2013, 07:29:05 am »
and the golden question, how much are they selling the kits / products for... if its under $200, then I'd probably be inclined to straight up order one....
 

Offline firewalker

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2013, 08:24:59 am »
It uses an C8051F061 mcu. I didn't read top to bottom the article yet though.





Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline kripton2035

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2013, 10:02:33 am »
I read it, dont like it as it will be a closed firmware... and no real breakthrought in this meter.
I really prefer the GO rlc 2 meter totally open source and quite simplier components.
my 2 cts.
 

Offline BravoVTopic starter

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2013, 10:07:12 am »
Thanks for replies folks !  :-+

@kripton2035

Damn, I thought it was open soft & hardware, cause from the 1st glance I saw it is somehow using off the shelf components. Really, I was intrigued when seeing those 4 big bnc connectors for the 4 wires measurement, looks really serious stuff.

As Rerouter  mentioned, if the price is right, maybe its still worth considering, but if its way too high, those Cyrustek chip based LCR meters definitely are hard to beat.
 
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Offline kripton2035

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2013, 10:24:59 am »
it is a 4-5 parts article, will continue till mid 2013 at best
we only have a glance at it I also was waiting for it to compare with all I already know ...;)
but I'm disapointed about it, it will come as a closed firwmare kit as elektor knows to do it for years.
but yes if it is an affordable price for the kit it can be a good deal
as I already said, I prefer the GO rlc2 meter totaly open source, and quite as precise ?
I'm building it right now, I made pcb boards for it and I'm soldering it right now ... nice puzzle all smd 0805 !
will keep you up to date with the progression.
 

Offline BravoVTopic starter

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2013, 10:35:12 am »
Huh ? Until mid 2013  ? :palm:

Btw, offtopic about GO rlc2, did you purchase it in kit or you're building it from scratch ?

Must be interesting to watch the owner of the most complete ESR circuits repository on earth  ;D building his own LCR meter, can't wait to see the result of your rlc2 !  :-+

Offline EEVblog

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2013, 10:37:51 am »
It uses 0.01% resistors.
Accuracy is only claimed over +/-2 degC range
And I see a 0.01% 100R (and 1K, 10K, 100K) resistor in series with a 74HCT4052 mux  :-//

Dave.
 

Offline BravoVTopic starter

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2013, 10:41:58 am »
And I see a 0.01% 100R (and 1K, 10K, 100K) resistor in series with a 74HCT4052 mux  :-//
Pardon for being an enthusiast level, are you saying by using that mux defies the purpose of using those expensive resistors ? Again, CMIIW.

Offline firewalker

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2013, 11:14:02 am »
I can;t remember any full open source project by Elektor.

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #11 on: March 11, 2013, 11:16:59 am »
And I see a 0.01% 100R (and 1K, 10K, 100K) resistor in series with a 74HCT4052 mux  :-//
Pardon for being an enthusiast level, are you saying by using that mux defies the purpose of using those expensive resistors ? Again, CMIIW.

Those chips are in the order of 50-100ohm on-resistance depending upon voltage, and it varies a lot with temp too IIRC.

Dave.
 

Offline kripton2035

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2013, 11:17:35 am »
I can;t remember any full open source project by Elektor.
Alexander.
:) projects that does not have any mcu inside ... there are still some !
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #13 on: March 11, 2013, 11:17:55 am »
I can't remember any full open source project by Elektor.

That's probably one of the reasons why they turned down my uWatch project  :-//

Dave.
 

Offline kripton2035

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #14 on: March 11, 2013, 11:19:57 am »
And I see a 0.01% 100R (and 1K, 10K, 100K) resistor in series with a 74HCT4052 mux  :-//
Pardon for being an enthusiast level, are you saying by using that mux defies the purpose of using those expensive resistors ? Again, CMIIW.

Those chips are in the order of 50-100ohm on-resistance depending upon voltage, and it varies a lot with temp too IIRC.

Dave.
+1
in the go rlc2 there are "only" 1% resistors in series with the 4052
and as I understood it the software calculates the error
so yes why did elektor use 0.01% resistors in such a configuration ?
 

Offline kripton2035

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #15 on: March 11, 2013, 11:22:01 am »
Btw, offtopic about GO rlc2, did you purchase it in kit or you're building it from scratch ?

Must be interesting to watch the owner of the most complete ESR circuits repository on earth  ;D building his own LCR meter, can't wait to see the result of your rlc2 !  :-+
I build from scratch, there is no kit available that I know of.
and my lcr repository is not bad at all too !
 

Offline kripton2035

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #16 on: March 11, 2013, 11:26:08 am »
@kripton2035

Damn, I thought it was open soft & hardware, cause from the 1st glance I saw it is somehow using off the shelf components. Really, I was intrigued when seeing those 4 big bnc connectors for the 4 wires measurement, looks really serious stuff.

As Rerouter  mentioned, if the price is right, maybe its still worth considering, but if its way too high, those Cyrustek chip based LCR meters definitely are hard to beat.
another thought : elektor can also sell this as a complete build board
they often do so when there are a lot of smd components ... and this one is a really good candidate !
 

Offline firewalker

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #17 on: March 11, 2013, 11:27:23 am »
I can;t remember any full open source project by Elektor.
Alexander.
:) projects that does not have any mcu inside ... there are still some !

Just "open" hardware. Although I am not sure they give away cad, gerber etc files.

I stopped buying Elektor years ago when bought a kit and located a bug on the firmware. They refused to address the issue or give me access to the source code to fix it my self.

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline notsob

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #18 on: March 11, 2013, 11:27:36 am »
So as I read this, the elektor unit has closed code for the kit, I wouldn't bother and also 4 x $US7.90 for the article series plus prob $200 for the kit, so if you want to build, go with kripton, or save your $230 and put it towards something better.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2013, 11:29:08 am by notsob »
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #19 on: March 11, 2013, 11:35:36 am »
So as I read this, the elektor unit has closed code for the kit, I wouldn't bother and also 4 x $US7.90 for the article series

I paid 10 "elektor credits" for the article, whatever that's worth (I have a bunch from when I got something published).

Dave.
 

Offline firewalker

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #20 on: March 11, 2013, 11:49:48 am »
Huh ? Until mid 2013  ? :palm:

Btw, offtopic about GO rlc2, did you purchase it in kit or you're building it from scratch ?

Must be interesting to watch the owner of the most complete ESR circuits repository on earth  ;D building his own LCR meter, can't wait to see the result of your rlc2 !  :-+

Any link for the GO rlc?

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline kripton2035

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Offline firewalker

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #22 on: March 11, 2013, 11:53:49 am »
Thanks.

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Online Marco

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #23 on: March 11, 2013, 12:36:13 pm »
I can;t remember any full open source project by Elektor.

Huh ...  and there goes the chance of me ever subscribing. How are you supposed to learn anything if they don't thoroughly explain the firmware? It's over half the effort of the design.

PS. why the hell would you use a 8051 and use mains frequency of your reference in this day and age? Unless you need ultra-low power you can't beat 32 bit chips for convenience and cost isn't an issue any more and you can't run off batteries if you use mains as your clock source.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2013, 12:37:52 pm by Marco »
 

Offline Nermash

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Re: 500 ppm LCR Meter at Elektor March 2013
« Reply #24 on: March 11, 2013, 02:05:14 pm »
It does not use mains frequency as reference, it generates its own square signal and filters it to sine...
 


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