capacitance meter

[frank_p]

 
Great !

[LucifersTrip]

measuring a vintage 1pF cap.

[robmdall]

Nice. Ordered the kit from Amazon today.

[.Mike]

Just want to add in that I have one of these, and they work great. I bought it from Seeed in 2009. They're all the same kits, I think.

It was a fun and easy build. The switch mounting posts were a bit too wide to fit into the PCB, so I had to file them a bit.

Also... center POSITIVE... heh.

Mike

[iccaros]

cool, Have it on order from Amazon.. I get free two day shipping with them..

[frank_p]

For people in Canada (even cheaper (?) ):
http://www.robotshop.com/ca/productinfo.aspx?pc=RB-See-35&lang=en-US

Tempted...
Thanks LucifersTrip !

[CodeMonk]

that's cool...might be worth it since you get the fun out of the build.

how about this one:
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/capacitance-meter-kit-p-268.html

Just ordered this.
10 - 30 days shipping. $3

Can't wait.
After testing 200 caps today with my meter, which considering its from RadioShack, is pretty accurate for resistance, its cap measuring leaves a bit to be desired.
I usually put 20 or so caps on my breadboard all in parallel.
Then its : Measure. Remove cap. Measure. Remove cap, Measure, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Then get the differences between each reading and...you know.
Works that way but its a real PITA.

[rogerray]

I'm really tired of finding such cheap Chinese cap meters. I bet you'll know in the end that a LRC meter from Fluke, Tektronix or HP is the best choice. Not expensive at all for second hand.

[pinkjimiphoton]

harbor freight has a decent digital WITH cap and tranny testing etc for under 30 bux.

[iccaros]

harbor freight has a decent digital WITH cap and tranny testing etc for under 30 bux.

you mean this one?
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-1-digital-multimeter-98674.html

[pinkjimiphoton]

nope, this one bro:

http://www.harborfreight.com/ac-dc-digital-multimeter-37772.html

for the price, one of the better meters i've used

[tubelectron]

measuring a vintage 1pF cap.

LuciferTrips,

I read something like 0.98pF... How much do you read when there is no cap to be measured ? Is there any zero-calibration on it (residual capacity cancelling) ? Even if finally it is not of a major concern for us, the accuracy (0.01pF !) seems to me very questionable, but I may be wrong...

A+!

[.Mike]

I read something like 0.98pF... How much do you read when there is no cap to be measured ? Is there any zero-calibration on it (residual capacity cancelling) ? Even if finally it is not of a major concern for us, the accuracy (0.01pF !) seems to me very questionable, but I may be wrong...

There is a zero button to the left of the big IC, marked "zero". The instructions recommend that you build it into a metal enclosure so that it minimizes stray capacitance.

Mike

[LucifersTrip]

I read something like 0.98pF...

the pic shows .9P

How much do you read when there is no cap to be measured ? Is there any zero-calibration on it (residual capacity cancelling) ?

yes...as .Mike  wrote.

  Even if finally it is not of a major concern for us, the accuracy (0.01pF !) seems to me very questionable, but I may be wrong...

I don't know the exact accuracy since I do not have a control. I measured many marked items from 1pF to 1000uF that were close enough to the case marking, so good enough for my use in building fuzzes. I don't need super accurate now, especially since the caps I use are many times off by 5-10%

[tubelectron]

There is a zero button to the left of the big IC, marked "zero"

Ah, yes - I see it. Nonetheless, interesting device...

I don't need super accurate now, especially since the caps I use are many times off by 5-10%

In our pedals, that's usually way enough... Reasonable super accuracy out of a laboratory would be 2% on the usual values (say from 100pF to 10µF, with adequate measurement conditions). In fact, what is more important is repeatablilty of the measurement. I mean : if you measure 10 times, you find 10 times the same value at 1% accuracy - this lets you make seriously selecting capacitors.

A+!

[robmdall]

Ordered mine from Amazon with some other stuff - free shipping (~ 5 days). About 40 minutes to assemble - works like a champ!

Bob

[CodeMonk]

that's cool...might be worth it since you get the fun out of the build.

how about this one:
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/capacitance-meter-kit-p-268.html

Just ordered this.
10 - 30 days shipping. $3

Can't wait.
After testing 200 caps today with my meter, which considering its from RadioShack, is pretty accurate for resistance, its cap measuring leaves a bit to be desired.
I usually put 20 or so caps on my breadboard all in parallel.
Then its : Measure. Remove cap. Measure. Remove cap, Measure, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Then get the differences between each reading and...you know.
Works that way but its a real PITA.

Got the kit in the mail today.
Didn't have an enclosure though.
But I did have some plexiglass, a band saw and a torch.



Works pretty good so far.

[DavenPaget]

that's cool...might be worth it since you get the fun out of the build.

how about this one:
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/capacitance-meter-kit-p-268.html

Just ordered this.
10 - 30 days shipping. $3

Can't wait.
After testing 200 caps today with my meter, which considering its from RadioShack, is pretty accurate for resistance, its cap measuring leaves a bit to be desired.
I usually put 20 or so caps on my breadboard all in parallel.
Then its : Measure. Remove cap. Measure. Remove cap, Measure, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Then get the differences between each reading and...you know.
Works that way but its a real PITA.

Got the kit in the mail today.
Didn't have an enclosure though.
But I did have some plexiglass, a band saw and a torch.



Works pretty good so far.

Can you help me measure the board size ? I can't find the specifications anywhere .

[CodeMonk]

74mm x 57mm +/-

[iccaros]

Nailed mine to the wall, right over may parts bins. With this and my $1.95 harbor freight meter I can test parts before I take them to the work bench.. Now I need an inductance meter..