The DER EE has probe resistance compensation (4 wire and a bridge) so it will read a lower ESR which is more accurate than meters using plain probes. Having the ability to connect probes together and zero the meter does help.
Three of the meters need to go trough calibration mode beforehand for first use. I got two of them. One is the MK-328 which in fact is far the easiest meter to use. Don't turn it on before you have the test leads on the subject. Just push the button and it's ready. It's is for the price very precise compared to my HP pro meter.
You might already know this by now but capacitance is measured at 120Hz and ESR is measured at 100KHz hence why you were getting strange readings from the DER EE. The MESR probably alternates between the two frequencies but the DER EE does a lot more than ESR tests therefore you have to select the right frequency for the test that you are doing.
That would be the most laid-back electronics video clip I've ever seen on RUclips. Good to see that my "Silicon Chip" meter stacks up OK against some of the opposition.
I have the MK-328, and for the money that I paid ($28 US on Amazon) I have been happy with it. It can test capacitors, as well as transistors (NPN-PNP-FET), diodes, & thyristors. The case is not the best, but I keep it on the bench. I believe the test frequency is 8 Khz. Amazon also sells a model without a case (model M28), that you could put into your own case.
The single frequency ones are 100Khz for the more expensive ones, and the really cheap uncased ones are 50Khz What you'll usually find is an 8Mhz crystal divided down to 100Khz - which was the original spec of the designer (probably because electrolytic capacitor manufacturers test at 100Khz) - don't know why some of the cheap ones are only 50KHz - but that is better for testing big electrolytic capacitors than 100Khz That DER 5000 meter is really good - has a variety of frequency ranges
Why haven't you plugged the capasitor directly into DE-5000 slots? Or at least you should use TL/21 attachment with alligators instead of TL/22 tweezers.
Apart from the MK-328 who's frequency no seller lists in the specifications they are or can be set to 100 Khz - which is what capacitor data sheets test them at - i.e. the ideal frequency for smallish capacitors The DER EE is clearly the best one as you can select low frequencies - needed for accurately testing large capacity capacitors found in audio amplifiers The really cheap testers (usually without a case) use 50 Khz frequency and are inferior One you haven't got is a Russian one ESR-Micro v4.0 - shipped direct from Russia via their Russian language web site - but frequently not available - I'm getting one as soon as they have some more in stock - reputed to be best of the best In the meantime I'm going to try and find a UK supplier of the DER EE PS - that old cap likely needed a 1 hour charging voltage on it to bring it back to life, before discharging it and testing it - even unused but old stock electrolytic caps that have been stored for a few years need re-rejuvenating
The second tester from the left, I think you can just power it up by the TEST button, but you must have the leads connected first! Anyway, thanks for your videos! If you have the MLC500 also, can you compare it to the MESR100? Do you happen to have a REAL MANUAL for the MESR100?
Those Chinese tester things do have a calibration routine, short all three test leads together and press test it'll ask you to run calibration. Also I found the grabber leads and not that great as they have a habit of oxidizing and the wire strands like to snap over time.
It's actually measuring capacitive reactance. So frequency is ctitical. Most of these use a 100khz test signal..Alsobthe one on far right (msr100?) You need to zero the leads out..
What if you want to measure a capacitor that falls outside the given ESR table? For example, I have a 400volt 80 Farad capacitor in circuit. How would I test that one to make sure it is good using the MESR-100? Or, can it be done at all using this meter?
MK-328 is a sub-par clone version of the German OSHW AVR Transistor Tester project that can be found at mikrocontroller dot net /articles/AVR_Transistortester. English and alternate firmware support is available on the EEVBlog forum. The tester is not intended as a replacement for a LCR or ESR meter. It is just a ballpark figure. There is extensive documentation available through the official project forum thread, article, and SVN repo with a mirror of the SVN repo also available through github. The project was developed as an exercise in ultra simple hardware while pushing the limits of the internal hardware of the AVR MCU through a combination of C and Assembly. Basically this is the balls to the wall limits of an ATmega ADC. You can update the firmware or add project options for additional functionality ;)
If I'm not mistaken the DER should have had been set to 120hz to test that Cap, not 1khz plus you raised the Cap temp from holding it. I think that's why the readings differ so much between the DER and the other testers. But not a bad video.
Those two aren't enough to explain it. He simply didn't calibrate the instrument so he's measuring the lead capacitance/inductance/resistances as well as the capacitor itself...
I have the second one in too, it works but is crappy case puts me off. Good for fet testing though. The main ESR meter is the HP 4261a and a Racal Bridge.
Simon Spiers - I was looking to buy a decent hp lcr meter, but the prices put me off, the de-5000 was purchased instead as it does what I need and was a quarter of the cost. Yes the mk-328 works, but isn't the nicest to use, ok if your on a budget and just want something cheap that does the job though.
A capacitor can develop high Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), which is one indicator that the capacitor is on its way out, or currently kaput and needs to be replaced.
I just opened the box and put the batteries into my new MESR-100 all excited to get a replacement for my useless DER-ee DE-5000. Nothing. It arrived dead. New fresh alkalines. My luck.
@@TheDefpom they never stripped the red + battery terminal wire. Never tried soldering it. The positive terminal seas tinned with a smooth lean blob of solder just waiting for it. I had to solder it. Device had a “QC PASSED” sticker right below the “made in China” sticker. Oh - I understand now!
The idea was good but surely you could have picked an electrolytic that didn't have rusty leads, checked the lighting, made sure that all the meters were working, zeroed them before taking measurements when required, and written down the results. Do a rehearsal before making your videos so that you don't waste your viewers time. That could have been a really interesting video but it was so amateurish it was painful.
I do appreciate that Defpom(?) is only an amateur and still appreciate his time to gather these and compare. But I do agree that it takes way too long. The first meter isn't turned on until almost 3 minutes into the video.
@fins59 Is 10 minutes really that long? I enjoyed the pace, and I quite like that the video was not rehearsed. Rehearsing and editing a video takes time, from planning and creating a general script, to doing some test runs for the camera and later editing the result. I don't want to be rude but you are asking him to add at least 1-2 hours more of time and effort into this video that he has generously shared with us all for free.... to save you what? 3 minutes of viewing time?
If you are such an EXPERT why the hell didntt you do it yourself instead of criticizing someone who actually took his time to do something, you POMPOUS ASS!
YES they do, well at least Anatek Instruments does. It's now called the Blue ESR Meter. This is the latest Bob Parker design (approved and sanctioned by Parker) and successor to the famous Dick Smith MKII ESR and Low Ohms Meter. This handy and affordable meter, built 100% in the USA. I love mine and it's the best tool for electrolytic testing. anatekinstruments.com/products/fully-assembled-anatek-blue-esr-meter-besr $95.
@@kellaudio5849 Wow, thanks for the plug! Actually Altronics in Australia make a clone of the Dick Smith/Silicon Chip Mk2 meter. It's at www.altronics.com.au/p/k2574-esr-meter-kit/
@@TheDefpom more likely I had failed to discharge a cap prior to testing one day. It gave all myriad of readings - conflicting, unreliable. One day I found some of my colophony rosin on the kelvin 4-wire test tweezers. !! - I cleaned that off and - still I couldn’t have it on my bench telling me meaningless values or most likely the usual “OL”. In the garbage with it. I was impressed with its performance at first. I got my mesr-100 working now and I hope to be cautious and more fortunate with it now that I’ve done their assembly work for them (it arrived dead because it’s red battery wire should maybe be soldered on for that QC PASSED sticker to have meaning in China.)
I've watched 2 different youtube videos comparing the readings on the DER EE against high-end bench equipment - the DER EE is insanely accurate
Freeman in Progress - thanks for the info, good to know.
The DER EE has probe resistance compensation (4 wire and a bridge) so it will read a lower ESR which is more accurate than meters using plain probes. Having the ability to connect probes together and zero the meter does help.
Three of the meters need to go trough calibration mode beforehand for first use. I got two of them. One is the MK-328 which in fact is far the easiest meter to use. Don't turn it on before you have the test leads on the subject. Just push the button and it's ready. It's is for the price very precise compared to my HP pro meter.
You might already know this by now but capacitance is measured at 120Hz and ESR is measured at 100KHz hence why you were getting strange readings from the DER EE. The MESR probably alternates between the two frequencies but the DER EE does a lot more than ESR tests therefore you have to select the right frequency for the test that you are doing.
How to know which frequency to choose for testing caps? Is it better to test it on multiple ones?
also series /paralell mode deree is thebest others r junk and will mislead ppl just don't know how to use propper meter like de5000
That would be the most laid-back electronics video clip I've ever seen on RUclips. Good to see that my "Silicon Chip" meter stacks up OK against some of the opposition.
I use the MESR 1OO and find it very good. No issues with it.
Thanks for the quick useful demonstration of ESR meters
I have the DER EE DE-5000 and changed the clips to better ones as seen on TRX bench,, works well
DENNIS N - I also changed the clips, I did a video on it too.
The DER EE DE 5000 is by far the best , read the reviews...
great comparison..how about their inductance measurement accuracy? do they all agree to some degree?
Good video. Would love to see more tests though. Testing a few good caps at different values would be interesting to show how accurate each meter is.
thaks for thw video. os not necessary to calibrate the DER DE5000 previously? (another reason cause it uses a kelvin probes)
@@electrotools8083 yes it should be calibrated, you do both a short and an open.
I have the MK-328, and for the money that I paid ($28 US on Amazon) I have been happy with it. It can test capacitors, as well as transistors (NPN-PNP-FET), diodes, & thyristors. The case is not the best, but I keep it on the bench. I believe the test frequency is 8 Khz. Amazon also sells a model without a case (model M28), that you could put into your own case.
+Pete Ciallella - yes it seems to work ok, just could use more buttons and a user interface so it feels like a proper tool.
8 Mhz cannot be right - will be 50 Khz or 100 Khz - crystal could be 8 Mhz
You are correct, it is 8 Khz. Sorry for the typo, corrected.
The single frequency ones are 100Khz for the more expensive ones, and the really cheap uncased ones are 50Khz
What you'll usually find is an 8Mhz crystal divided down to 100Khz - which was the original spec of the designer (probably because electrolytic capacitor manufacturers test at 100Khz) - don't know why some of the cheap ones are only 50KHz - but that is better for testing big electrolytic capacitors than 100Khz
That DER 5000 meter is really good - has a variety of frequency ranges
Thanks for sharing this video but I don't understand why you turned off/on each time the instruments. It was frustrating.
Why haven't you plugged the capasitor directly into DE-5000 slots? Or at least you should use TL/21 attachment with alligators instead of TL/22 tweezers.
Apart from the MK-328 who's frequency no seller lists in the specifications they are or can be set to 100 Khz - which is what capacitor data sheets test them at - i.e. the ideal frequency for smallish capacitors
The DER EE is clearly the best one as you can select low frequencies - needed for accurately testing large capacity capacitors found in audio amplifiers
The really cheap testers (usually without a case) use 50 Khz frequency and are inferior
One you haven't got is a Russian one ESR-Micro v4.0 - shipped direct from Russia via their Russian language web site - but frequently not available - I'm getting one as soon as they have some more in stock - reputed to be best of the best
In the meantime I'm going to try and find a UK supplier of the DER EE
PS - that old cap likely needed a 1 hour charging voltage on it to bring it back to life, before discharging it and testing it - even unused but old stock electrolytic caps that have been stored for a few years need re-rejuvenating
The second tester from the left, I think you can just power it up by the TEST button, but you must have the leads connected first!
Anyway, thanks for your videos!
If you have the MLC500 also, can you compare it to the MESR100?
Do you happen to have a REAL MANUAL for the MESR100?
Good video
Those Chinese tester things do have a calibration routine, short all three test leads together and press test it'll ask you to run calibration. Also I found the grabber leads and not that great as they have a habit of oxidizing and the wire strands like to snap over time.
It's actually measuring capacitive reactance. So frequency is ctitical. Most of these use a 100khz test signal..Alsobthe one on far right (msr100?) You need to zero the leads out..
What if you want to measure a capacitor that falls outside the given ESR table? For example, I have a 400volt 80 Farad capacitor in circuit. How would I test that one to make sure it is good using the MESR-100? Or, can it be done at all using this meter?
MK-328 is a sub-par clone version of the German OSHW AVR Transistor Tester project that can be found at mikrocontroller dot net /articles/AVR_Transistortester. English and alternate firmware support is available on the EEVBlog forum. The tester is not intended as a replacement for a LCR or ESR meter. It is just a ballpark figure. There is extensive documentation available through the official project forum thread, article, and SVN repo with a mirror of the SVN repo also available through github. The project was developed as an exercise in ultra simple hardware while pushing the limits of the internal hardware of the AVR MCU through a combination of C and Assembly. Basically this is the balls to the wall limits of an ATmega ADC. You can update the firmware or add project options for additional functionality ;)
How is it sub-par? It seems to be good enough.
Which meter is the third one.
If I'm not mistaken the DER should have had been set to 120hz to test that Cap, not 1khz plus you raised the Cap temp from holding it. I think that's why the readings differ so much between the DER and the other testers. But not a bad video.
Those two aren't enough to explain it. He simply didn't calibrate the instrument so he's measuring the lead capacitance/inductance/resistances as well as the capacitor itself...
I have the second one in too, it works but is crappy case puts me off. Good for fet testing though. The main ESR meter is the HP 4261a and a Racal Bridge.
Simon Spiers - I was looking to buy a decent hp lcr meter, but the prices put me off, the de-5000 was purchased instead as it does what I need and was a quarter of the cost. Yes the mk-328 works, but isn't the nicest to use, ok if your on a budget and just want something cheap that does the job though.
yeah some prep is good, but over-preparation into the realm of lifeless/clinical is also pretty awful. thanks for the video .. helped me a lot.
What use are these?
A capacitor can develop high Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), which is one indicator that the capacitor is on its way out, or currently kaput and needs to be replaced.
i like these videos but.. only for me is his pronuntiation so hard to understand? obv i'm not native eng
Yeah my speech isn’t very good, that’s just how I talk.
I just opened the box and put the batteries into my new MESR-100 all excited to get a replacement for my useless DER-ee DE-5000. Nothing. It arrived dead. New fresh alkalines. My luck.
You certainly are unlucky.
@@TheDefpom they never stripped the red + battery terminal wire. Never tried soldering it. The positive terminal seas tinned with a smooth lean blob of solder just waiting for it. I had to solder it. Device had a “QC PASSED” sticker right below the “made in China” sticker. Oh - I understand now!
@@skeggjoldgunnr3167 yeah the stickers mean nothing.
is this any good DE-5004 6000 Count DER EE?
Mods & Tweaks - I don't know, I'm not familiar with the model.
The idea was good but surely you could have picked an electrolytic that didn't have rusty leads, checked the lighting, made sure that all the meters were working, zeroed them before taking measurements when required, and written down the results.
Do a rehearsal before making your videos so that you don't waste your viewers time. That could have been a really interesting video but it was so amateurish it was painful.
fins59 - this isn’t television, I am an amateur.
Harsh
I do appreciate that Defpom(?) is only an amateur and still appreciate his time to gather these and compare. But I do agree that it takes way too long. The first meter isn't turned on until almost 3 minutes into the video.
@fins59 Is 10 minutes really that long? I enjoyed the pace, and I quite like that the video was not rehearsed. Rehearsing and editing a video takes time, from planning and creating a general script, to doing some test runs for the camera and later editing the result. I don't want to be rude but you are asking him to add at least 1-2 hours more of time and effort into this video that he has generously shared with us all for free.... to save you what? 3 minutes of viewing time?
If you are such an EXPERT why the hell didntt you do it yourself instead of criticizing someone who actually took his time to do something, you POMPOUS ASS!
Bob Parker,....Australian for electrickery
what brand is the esr meter ? { the forth one }
MESR as far as I can tell, it may just be unbranded.
jingyan
TU.too bad they don't make the silicon chip kit any more.
YES they do, well at least Anatek Instruments does. It's now called the Blue ESR Meter. This is the latest Bob Parker design (approved and sanctioned by Parker) and successor to the famous Dick Smith MKII ESR and Low Ohms Meter. This handy and affordable meter, built 100% in the USA. I love mine and it's the best tool for electrolytic testing.
anatekinstruments.com/products/fully-assembled-anatek-blue-esr-meter-besr $95.
@@kellaudio5849 Wow, thanks for the plug! Actually Altronics in Australia make a clone of the Dick Smith/Silicon Chip Mk2 meter. It's at www.altronics.com.au/p/k2574-esr-meter-kit/
That der-ee HERp deRP de-5000 winds up tellin' ya "OL" on everything after you've owned it a year or so. That's not useful.
I’ve had mine for about 6 or 7 years, still working fine for me, maybe you have a bad cable
@@TheDefpom more likely I had failed to discharge a cap prior to testing one day. It gave all myriad of readings - conflicting, unreliable. One day I found some of my colophony rosin on the kelvin 4-wire test tweezers. !! - I cleaned that off and - still I couldn’t have it on my bench telling me meaningless values or most likely the usual “OL”. In the garbage with it. I was impressed with its performance at first. I got my mesr-100 working now and I hope to be cautious and more fortunate with it now that I’ve done their assembly work for them (it arrived dead because it’s red battery wire should maybe be soldered on for that QC PASSED sticker to have meaning in China.)
Won't a multimeter test a capacitor?
A multimeter will test capacitance, but it will not test ESR, which is what this is all about.
25 disliker use DER EE brand
how to protect DE-5000 from capacitor charge any trick for this ?
I usually use a screwdriver as a crowbar to short errant caps. Only a fucking imbecile would use any of these devices on a live or charged circuit.
fourth sorry for the wrong spelling
Can't understand you. Slow down and talk clearer.