Author Topic: Sencore LC102 & LC103 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer  (Read 18879 times)

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Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Sencore LC102 & LC103 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« on: July 18, 2019, 09:17:47 am »
This thread is about the Sencore LC102 and LC103 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer





Attached are the LC102 and LC103 datasheets

« Last Edit: July 11, 2022, 03:25:15 pm by HighVoltage »
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Offline cahillsr

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Re: WTB: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2019, 06:52:27 pm »
I have one needs repair. Everything seems to  work execpt ESR and leads won't zero on open. I am in NH USA
 

Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2019, 11:49:07 pm »
I have found a broken Sencore LC103 instead and bought it.
Might be a good repair thread.
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Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2019, 02:27:00 am »
Just bought one too, for a very low price, (never tough it would be best offer accepted loll)  clean casing, nothing broke,  no xformer no test probes. 
Luckily i have a matcing xformer with the right plug who will fit nicely, and at my company we have very good Belden rf cables who could work.

The zeroing problems are known,  you have a white relay who oxidize over time, some had sucess with deoxit spray,  but opening the relay is tricky, and you have to be careful not to contaminate the inside with debris.

You have the test plug with the integrated fuse who get loose some times

And some had problems with the small black reed relays, they get stuck or dont operate properly

And in the manual you have a section for the specs or failures when zeroing,  impedances values  etc..  and use an 93-96 ohm low capacitance cable ...


LINK :  Sencore LC-102 Cable 'zeroing' issue and 'fix'
https://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=286666

Some link here :
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/sencore-lc102-cap-analyzer/
Replies #20 and 21  are interesting
« Last Edit: August 01, 2019, 02:45:07 am by coromonadalix »
 

Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2019, 08:59:10 am »
Nice, thanks for the info
I am looking forward to get my ReZolver !
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Offline Sencoretech

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2019, 12:58:48 pm »
Nice, thanks for the info
I am looking forward to get my ReZolver !

Having worked on both the 102 and the 103 for a decade as my full time job I can tell you the 102 will be easier to fix in the field vs the 103.  I'm hoping you find it with no major issues.   If you need some help troubling shooting I'm more then willing to help, but PM me as I don't check these forums often.
 
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Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2019, 01:59:39 pm »
Thank you,

The LC103 is on its way and I hope it has not too many issues.
The seller claimed it needs calibration, so I am not sure if the label is expired or if it has an issue.
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Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2019, 02:55:05 pm »
Received my lc102, i think i've scored big,  all  zeroing / open test leads works,  all coils and caps ive tested seems fine

The only thing i have to figure out is : the selected output voltage, is it a pulsed voltage to the selected value, or it is continuous when i push the test button ??

I have the right power supply plug,  but an leader 12vac xformer instead of an dc one ........  unless i hack a rectification in it ??
 

Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2019, 05:07:41 pm »
Tks mr.fabe

Checked the bnc fuse contacts just in case, i think it was never unscrewed ?

Opened the casing,  never touched or repaired, all seems fine, managed to supply it thru an computer fan connector on the 3 pins psu  dc in / battery in connector .....  12vdc  simulated battery works fine but it wont start on the 3 pins dc plug, it need at least 15 - 18vdc to start.

Found an 2 feet bnc to 3.5 mm already made cable   (dont know its use or how i got it 10 years ago ??,  it zero and open fine  yepeeee loll   test at 6.5 pf ?? gonna add an 3.5mm female plug with 2  clip connectors, i'll sse if it accepts them

And find an 12vdc lead acid battery of the same size ??

This one has different / newer reed relays,  they are "metallic" enclosed ??  from American Relay
 

Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2019, 06:16:40 pm »
Received my lc102, i think i've scored big, 

I got my LC103 today as well and it works like a charm.
It is by far the best capacitor tester I have seen.

In leakage test mode, it applies up to 1000 Volts DC directly to the pins of the cap.

I had a DMM in parallel to the cap to watch the voltage and a good cap was detected as bad because of the 10 MOhm of the DMM.

Over the years I had collected lots of bad electrolytic and also bad film capacitors.
And the LC103 detected all failure modes perfectly.

I will post pictures soon.

What a great instrument, highly recommended!
May be we should move this thread to the Test Equipment section.

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Offline mr.fabe

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2019, 06:28:53 pm »
Tks mr.fabe

Checked the bnc fuse contacts just in case, i think it was never unscrewed ?

Opened the casing,  never touched or repaired, all seems fine, managed to supply it thru an computer fan connector on the 3 pins psu  dc in / battery in connector .....  12vdc  simulated battery works fine but it wont start on the 3 pins dc plug, it need at least 15 - 18vdc to start.

Found an 2 feet bnc to 3.5 mm already made cable   (dont know its use or how i got it 10 years ago ??,  it zero and open fine  yepeeee loll   test at 6.5 pf ?? gonna add an 3.5mm female plug with 2  clip connectors, i'll sse if it accepts them

And find an 12vdc lead acid battery of the same size ??

This one has different / newer reed relays,  they are "metallic" enclosed ??  from American Relay

BNC fuse connector causes a lot of issues with the Sencores that use them.  Poor contact affects the lead zeroing.

The power plug requires at least 18 VDC.  You can power the unit with lower voltage but it will shutdown on leakage tests depending on the test voltage used.

Cables used for test leads are the RG62 / 93 ohm stranded core similar to the Belkin 8255 but a little softer.  Some LC units can zero out with RG58 but have issues with lower cap readings.

Powersonic batteries work with clip with adapter plug. 
« Last Edit: August 06, 2019, 06:38:32 pm by mr.fabe »
 

Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2019, 07:12:38 pm »
Powersonic batteries work with clip with adapter plug.

Interesting,
Do you have a link to that battery?

I see some batteries on ebay for around 70 US$
Are they worth it?
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Offline GEOelectronics

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2019, 07:20:43 pm »
I've had the LC103 since it first came out, now they cost more used than new back then, wish I had bought a spare! L+C but not R specifically. Be careful at the HV settings, they mean business. Blew out one GR polyethylene decade cap during testing- egad, IET does not sell individual caps but glad to sell an individual  decade switch- at a price.

This is my first capacitor meter that does a lead test first, shorted and open, then subtracts the measured capacitance from the device under test measurements. Sencore was high end for the service technician's workbench, still have several of there scopes in service.

Still hanging on to the old bridges and meters out of nostalgia, but will probably start selling them to make space pretty soon, including some ESI universal impedance racks.

The 34470A does a lot of things better, but not everything. ACAL every day, sometimes several times, it does drift with temperature. Using 34470A to test 1G Ohm resistors overnight has given me renewed confidence in my ESI Precision Resistance Measurement system for high R values, it comes really close and it only takes 30 seconds. That rack is a keeper.

George Dowell
 
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Offline mr.fabe

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2019, 07:22:52 pm »
Powersonic batteries work with clip with adapter plug.

Interesting,
Do you have a link to that battery?

I see some batteries on ebay for around 70 US$
Are they worth it?

Not worth it. 
Powersonic PS-1223 2.3 Amp Hr works for my LC103
I'll have to check for the links...
 
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Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2019, 07:35:14 pm »
battery specs: 12vdc at 2.3 amps
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2694/4298/files/PS-1223_SPEC_SHEET.pdf?16089243122879519379

Length:
 7.17" (182mm)   
Width:
 0.94" (24mm)   
Height:
 2.40" (61mm)   

They ressemble old portable camera and camcorder pack ??  Around   55$  CAD  in my country
« Last Edit: August 06, 2019, 07:41:03 pm by coromonadalix »
 

Offline mr.fabe

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #15 on: August 06, 2019, 07:43:41 pm »
Here's a pic of the battery and clip..  I think I paid around $24 USD  for the battery and $5 for the clip.

804750-0
« Last Edit: August 06, 2019, 08:19:10 pm by mr.fabe »
 

Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #16 on: August 06, 2019, 09:16:29 pm »
I've had the LC103 since it first came out, now they cost more used than new back then, wish I had bought a spare!

Good idea.
I think I will buy a second LC103, if I find another one for a good price.
One quote I got from a used equipment seller was US$ 7200
It is totally crazy, how much some instruments have increased in price over the years.
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Offline Zucca

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #17 on: August 07, 2019, 08:06:15 am »
I was thinking my Agilent 4263B was enough to test L or C components...
Why there is always a new toy to buy?
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Offline BU508A

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #18 on: August 07, 2019, 10:05:45 am »
I was thinking my Agilent 4263B was enough to test L or C components...
Why there is always a new toy to buy?

This question will be answered here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/

 :)
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Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #19 on: August 08, 2019, 01:17:31 am »
I will upload to K04BB  website the joint together multi part pages for the boards, took few hours to do

The 1000 board,  already made by someone

Made by me
The block diagram
The 2000 and 3000 board   

Around 17 megs each,  had to patch  ic16 ic17  and ic26 on the 2000 "Mcu" board, no manual around the web has this section correctly scanned ??

Hope it help

Copied in the test instruments,  until someone complain or the admins remove it ?
« Last Edit: August 08, 2019, 01:20:28 am by coromonadalix »
 

Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #20 on: August 08, 2019, 09:49:38 pm »
Uploaded the LC102 calibration procedures at K04BB too
 

Offline philexile

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #21 on: August 18, 2019, 01:14:18 pm »
Hello,

I recently purchased an Sencore LC103 and I'm waiting for it to be delivered. It will be arriving without a power supply and I'm having problems identifying the 3-prong power jack on the rear of the unit. Does anyone know the name of this connector? I don't think that it is proprietary to Sencore, but I could be wrong.

Should I instead ignore that and go through the 12v battery connector? If so, what sort of molex connector is that?

Also, I've attached the calibration procedure PDF for the LC103. It appears to require specific software and hardware. You'll see mention of Final Cal Test program, final test box, ringer test box, ringer cal box, final test box, large inductance box, and high cap box. There is also mention of a Standards book "on the bench."

Does anyone have access to the items noted above or performed a calibration?

Thank you
 
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Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #22 on: August 18, 2019, 01:32:07 pm »
I just took my LC103 apart for the first time but it is difficult to get to the connector on the inside.
It would require to remove the top or bottom PCB

Here are some tear down pictures.

I do not know the manufacturer of that 3 pic connector

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Offline HighVoltageTopic starter

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #23 on: August 18, 2019, 01:32:58 pm »
More pictures
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Offline mr.fabe

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Re: Bought: Sencore LC102 Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
« Reply #24 on: August 18, 2019, 02:11:28 pm »
I do not know the manufacturer of that 3 pic connector

I don't know the manufacturer but the connector type is a Mini-IEC (ACL117) that sells for $7.95 AUS.

https://www.wagneronline.com.au/mini-iec-to-bare-wire/ac-power-leads-iec/power-240vac/power-lighting/acl117-47410/969715/pd/

You should probably ask the sysop move this topic to test equipment or start a fresh thread....
« Last Edit: August 18, 2019, 02:24:02 pm by mr.fabe »
 
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