EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: bitbanger on July 31, 2016, 04:12:28 pm
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Hi Folks -
I've been doing bench repair and design for many years and got by just fine without a dedicated LCR/ESR meter. However there have been instances where I wished I had one and so I have been casually researching and shopping around for the past year. Just couldn't justify the cost (you know that slippery slope of feature creep going from wishing I had a simple ESR all the way to full fledged high precision bench LCR), but didn't really want to go 'value' either. For my needs the adjustable excitation voltage was an absolute necessity, and this isn't found in most meters out there.
Closest I could find was in the SmartTweezers, but it just seemed too gimmicky for me. All the new Keysight meters are fixed at 0.74Vrms, plus more expensive, less incl. accessories....There's an older model BK 885 and 886, but they fetch a premium even used.
Anyway long story short, tequipment (I have no affiliation) has the BK 880 model on sale, down from the MSRP of $399. If you include the eevblog discount total before shipping came to less than $320. This is the only meter in this price range, of (reasonably) reputable brand and in active production that has adjustable voltage level this low (0.3/0.6/1Vrms) and frequency up to 100kHz. Includes 4-wire clips and tweezers to boot.
Personal opinion of course, but I don't have a problem with BK. They're good for re-branding, but I'm ok with that if the rebrand premium gets you good support in the long run (i.e. I'm fairly confident I'll be able to find a new set of kelvin leads 5 years from now if I need them). 3yr warranty.
Anyway I thought someone may find this useful down the road- for the price I don't think you can beat the value if you're in the market.
Thoughts? Opinions?
tequipment product link:
http://www.tequipment.net/BK/880/LCR-Meters/?v=7223#tab-product_information (http://www.tequipment.net/BK/880/LCR-Meters/?v=7223#tab-product_information)
B&K 880 Overview:
https://www.bkprecision.com/products/component-testers/880-dual-display-handheld-100khz-lcr-meter-with-esr.html (https://www.bkprecision.com/products/component-testers/880-dual-display-handheld-100khz-lcr-meter-with-esr.html)
"Press Release":
https://www.bkprecision.com/news/releases/news/releases/2016/239-bk-precision-offers-100-khz.html (https://www.bkprecision.com/news/releases/news/releases/2016/239-bk-precision-offers-100-khz.html)
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Here are some promised photos - seems like the TongHui TH2822C and the B&k 880 are long lost brothers. :) The silkscreens are interesting "FOR BK"
Only obvious difference is the 880 has selectable test levels; perhaps more, I can't be bothered to drill down their specs. Even still, B&K seems to be the cheaper route (best I can find on eBay at the moment is around $360 USD). Nice quality meter; we'll see how it holds up!
Pics:
::edit:: UGH, Google removed support for embedding images from Picasa/Photos, and attaching all the pics is a PITA, so if you want to see go here:
https://goo.gl/photos/HCYynuVUbPs5reUw9 (https://goo.gl/photos/HCYynuVUbPs5reUw9)
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How has it worked for you now that you’ve had it a while?
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I don't regret purchasing it (the job I was needing it for was paying well enough to cover the cost of it, so new test equipment is always a good thing) but it is a bit expensive to onoy use occasionally. Still, glad I have a reliable meter to turn to when I need it.
The only other rub is I lost the original AC adaptor (which powers internal charging circuit) and it has an uncommon siE barrel plug. Nothing I had fit anyway. So to have to keep the AC adaptor nearby (and not lose it) is annoying.
I've considered putting a better long life Lithium in it instead (9V)