LCR recommendation

[davorin]

Evnin' (o;

Just came back today from a so called swap meet here in Switzerland...met a guy with loads of electronic measurement equipment....where he also sold a HP LCR eter with GPIB (don't recall the product number though ;o)

As I want to explore the RF electronics (though I did the radio/tv apprentice ship on vacuum tubes ;o) I would like to ask if such an instrument is a good investment when it comes to RF components, like small capacitors and self made coils.....

And..I don't like to buy new/chinese equipment...and GPIB is a must (o;

[HighVoltage]

Since you don't know the HP Model Number, I can not say much to that instrument.

I have an older Fluke PM6306 LCR meter with GPIB and it even came with the original Fluke Software,
to control the instrument with. I can only highly recommend this kind of instrument for all kinds
of inductance and capacitance measurements. I had it just calibrated and it was spot on, did not
need any corrections at all.

[davorin]

Okay then....my next equipment then (o;

See currently some HP LCR meters listed on Ebay Germany above US$ 600....hmmm....

[wn1fju]

The HP 4262A is a very nice model as is the HP 4274A (or 4275A).  Look at the spec sheets carefully though because the measurement frequency varies (up to 10 kHz on the 4262A, up to 100 kHz on the 4274A and up to 10 MHz on the 4275A).  This has an impact on the component ranges the thing will do.  At least in the USA, about $200 for the 4262A is a reasonable price.  The 4274A should be more like $400.  I wouldn't pay too much more than that, as these things come up fairly often on eBay.  Leave a few bucks extra to buy a good set of Kelvin clips.  I have the 4262A and like it a lot.

[davorin]

Just looked up on Ebay for those model numbers....way over US$ 600.....is there a search/subscription function on ebay? (o;

I'm gonna write the guy I met today what he charges for his LCR and what the exact model is...

At least he is very interested how to enable all software options with a few button clicks on a HP 8904A synthesizer (o;

[wn1fju]

My price recommendations for the HP 4262A, etc were based upon my particular way of buying things on eBay, namely in "untested" condition.  Or even better, "broken" if you like to fix stuff.  If you want one that is guaranteed working, I surmise the price goes up accordingly.  All I can say is to be patient.  I don't know how many times I've won a piece on eBay at a fantastic, almost unbelievable, price only to see one a month later that sold for even less.

[davorin]

Well..that's the fun with Ebay (o;

I also tend to bid on items with description like "untested" or "defective".....

So far I fixed several equipment..one of them, a Fluke 6062/A synthesizer fixed itself with unscrewing/screwing together...and a LeCroy 9314 was fixed with a selfcalibration...interestingly the self calibration was only fixable via GPIB, not via the scope itself (o;


I'll keep an eye open with your models numbers mentioned :-)

[edavid]

As I want to explore the RF electronics (though I did the radio/tv apprentice ship on vacuum tubes ;o) I would like to ask if such an instrument is a good investment when it comes to RF components, like small capacitors and self made coils.....

Not really, they don't go high enough in frequency.  You can get an idea, but that's it.

And..I don't like to buy new/chinese equipment...and GPIB is a must (o;

I don't either, but you are going to have a hard time coming close to a DE-5000, and it does have USB.

[davorin]

I'm not a fan of USB or USA (o;

The latter being the fact as the older I got eh more they wanted to see my passport *gg

But from that point of view that I just want to measure a component...a handheld device makes more sense if it is accurate enough than a 19" model with GPIB....

[VK5RC]

I have an HP 4262, the problem for me is the test frequency is pretty low,  the smallest capacitor it can measure is quite large,  but the results are really reliable,  it is also the size and weight of a small car (not really), I tend to use a smaller modern type unit    Agilent u1732 but I think the bigger unit is ultimately more accurate,  the DE units get good reviews. 

[PedroDaGr8]

I'm not a fan of USB or USA (o;

The latter being the fact as the older I got eh more they wanted to see my passport *gg

But from that point of view that I just want to measure a component...a handheld device makes more sense if it is accurate enough than a 19" model with GPIB....

The Der EE (which is Taiwanese) pretty much holds its own with meters 3-5x more expensive. It was, and is, a game changer for LCR meters. It's not as precise as a modern full bench meter but does well compared with most handheld and older bench meters.

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

[TheRuler8510]

The HP 4262A is a very nice model as is the HP 4274A (or 4275A).  Look at the spec sheets carefully though because the measurement frequency varies (up to 10 kHz on the 4262A, up to 100 kHz on the 4274A and up to 10 MHz on the 4275A).  This has an impact on the component ranges the thing will do.  At least in the USA, about $200 for the 4262A is a reasonable price.  The 4274A should be more like $400.  I wouldn't pay too much more than that, as these things come up fairly often on eBay.  Leave a few bucks extra to buy a good set of Kelvin clips.  I have the 4262A and like it a lot.

Does the 4274A need Triax cables, or just BNCs? I can't tell from the pictures.

...just curious.

[PaulAm]

The 4262a is a nice LCR meter, although it's limited to 10 KHz.  One thing to note about this meter is that it uses an HP proprietary "nanoprocessor".  Given the limitations of the processor, it's amazing what those software guys could do with it.  Later models used the Motorola 6800 or 68K series.  The older ones may also be succetable to ROM rot.  If you want an HP and can afford it, I'd try to go with one of the later ones.

That said, I do have a 4262a, use it all of the time and have never had a problem with it.

[davorin]

Ordered now one of those DE-5000 LCRs (o;

My main areas are/would be:

AM/FM broadcast
DC/DC switchers
Audio speaker filters

[edavid]

Does the 4274A need Triax cables, or just BNCs? I can't tell from the pictures.

It uses the standard 4-BNC test fixtures.