In this episode we discover on my DER EE DE-5000 LCR meter which test modes are available and how we use these and what do the results telling us. It is rather more a tutorial than a review but you learn a lot about the meter.
Just saw this video and am blown away on how well you explained this. You obviously are an educator of most excellent qualifications. Thank you, I just ordered mine.
Me too. This video is what motivated me to get this meter because how well he went in depth understanding the LCR meter. I just got mine from Japan. Took about a week.
I got this LCR meter for Christmas this year to check coils when I make them for radio projects. I didn't know it could tell me so much about capacitors. I watched this video two times and learned a lot. Thank you very much for making videos like this!
Fantastic video. Thanks for the in-depth explanations! I just bought one on Amazon. This should help during the lockdown, with all the electronics projects sitting around unifinished. Thank you, sir.
The legnth is just fine. The knowledge I learned was fantastic. Convinced me to purchase this meter. It is way above my skill level but I can always learn by watching this again.
Wow, it took me two days but I got through the whole thing, fantastic video! it answered all my questions and brought me a step closer to what my next purchase for my lab will be. Keep up the great work, you are one of the best resources on you tube.
+Michael Katt Hi Michael, thanks for the kind feed-back! I'm always glad if there is a need for my videos. You can speed up the play back if you set the speed to 1,5 or may be 2. I do my last check always with speed setting 2... Have a nice week 73
My exact words almost "Wow" I thought. I really appreciate the author showing how to properly measure the capacitor using the meter to what the spec sheet for the capacitor says how it was tested. And doing some math too. Much better than just a normal review of this device. Understanding how to properly test components is very important. Thank you @TRXLab for a great video!
Great Meter Peter... LOL :^) That rhyme was a crime! :^/ Nice demo, and great explanation! I like Panasonic FC caps, low ESR and never had an issue with them. I find some of the older SMPS power supplies get noisy with the newer low ESR caps though. Fun Stuff! Always nice to get the TRXBench new video notification. All Thumbs up!
+Mr Carlson's Lab LOL very nice rhyme haha like it. I agree the Panasonic caps are very good may be better than Nichicon. Looking forward to your new video! 73
+TRXBench whenever I see DC leakage tests it's always an older gear is this not as important as equivalent series resistance? Can a capacitor still be within spec and leek DC?
+slaznum1 Leakage is still an important parameter but with a beginning leakage the capacitance and even earlier the tan delta will change so you will see it. But still to be 100% sure it is not wrong to check it. 73
Absolutely incredible video. You explained it perfectly so that I could understand it. You explained why as well and I very much appreciate that. Thank you again for putting this together!
@TRX Lab After a few observations, I noticed that the bar graph actually shows the % of full scale the current reading is against the current scale the meter has selected (2/20/200/2000 etc.)
I just ordered one, mostly based on your video. Absolutely found your video not only very informative but also enjoyed how you presented the info. Well, okay, the German accent also helped, I spent over 7 years living there :-). Until the next video, tschüß!
When I bought my DE-5000 I measured my LCR Calibration Standard with it and found that it consistently was 33pf off (high) from the accurate value. Even after calibration of the leads. This was in multiple ranges from 3pf to 300uF. The most important thing to me was that it was able to remain consistent over lots of repeated measurements. I have not found a way internally to adjust the meter for this but I’ve just placed a label on the front to remind myself that I must subtract 33pf from all measurements.
Hi Peter, another Peter here from Queensland in Australia. I just won a complete DE-5000 set with the lot on eBay for $88.50 Aud. nearly fell over was the only bidder. All brand new in boxes. Great video you have done and I've learnt a lot from it, great explanation with formulas etc. and interpretation of capacitor spec sheets. Keep up the great work.
Great ESR tutorial. And it has a meter in it too : ) It seems that they at last made the ESR phasor resistance increasing toward the same way that a Smith Chart increases in resistance.
Excellent vidéo, done by a normal human being! It helped me get a good understanding of the reason for having both D and ESR measurements in capacitors. After listening to the video I got a DE-5000, and I love it!
Just ordered one from Japan and don't you know it, I ordered a MESR-100 last week! Thanks for a great video, now I'm more prepared when the units finally arrives.
Great video, Peter. Excellent detailed description of the capacitor function of the DE-5000. Checked the Ebay price and it's an amazing low amount. :-)
Thank you so much for your video, you did a superb job. I just purchased this same meter and I was dreading the thought of going thru the instructions. After watching what you have produced I am sure the instructions would never have been so clear. Through the many years I have been in electronics there was nothing new to me, but I loved how you were able to put it all together in one place to make all the capacitor measurement functions so simple to understand. Too bad you had to bring an end the video due to time constraints because I would have appreciated to hear what you would have demonstrated concerning the inductor functions.
Just one thing to add to this great video Peter... For everyone who has one of these meters.. Be VERY careful around the screen on it.. The plastic is SO soft. I managed to scratch mine quite badly in two places after accidentally dropping a small croc clip on it.. Spent an hour polishing the scratches out with special polish. I couldn't just leave the scratches as they were projecting shadows onto the LCD from my lights. Cheers friend John
+orbiter8 (John) Hello John, thanks you very much for this information! I have not yet recognised it but it is very good to know. All the best my friend Cheers.
This video was not too long. I just bought a Agilent U1733B to test Inductance of automotive ignition coils and resistance to input the correct Dwell per voltage settings in the ECU for correct ignition time on different coils. The trouble I was having was the same here, which was which frequency to use since 1KHZ was different than 100HZ and 120HZ. I also had an issue where I found I had to set the unit to Series to get a more correct value for the formula. Much like you taught here, I found 120HZ seems to be a good setting. Judging by this video I seem to be on the right track using my new LCR meter. Thank you very much for your video which took me days to find.
Thanks Peter, I have ordered one of those meters due to your video. I learned a lot from this. But if I may makes small observation... This video could be 50% shorter and just as effective. I appreciate that English is not you first language and you speak it very well so dont be afraid to move things along a bit faster, everyone will still follow.
This video really helped me out. After procuring one of these meters I was able to actually test some old Marcon (United Chemi-Con) caps. Turns out a 1000uF was reading at 490uF while a 470uF was was reading as a resistor on auto and 0uF when set as Cs haha. I haven't been able to find any datasheet information on them but these were certainly the problematic caps on the device I was repairing.
It is a fully LCR meter not only a simple ESR.This means that can measure coils and also make your own windings knowing their inductance with accuracy.Very useful in HF and switching mode repairings.
amazing video took 2 days to watch the video, but worth it. watching this video after i bought this to have a clear understanding on testing Capacitors.
I find this discussion very good (for me),as I'm getting back into my hobby of restoing old stereo gear. (80's - 90's) units mostly. I do enjoy the detail as I need all the help I can get lol I am using the BK 879B, and i find it essential for this task. Of course,the data sheets tell the story. That's why I will only use Panasonic or Nichicon caps as you seem to do.
I’m sorry I took so long to find your channel. Thank you for taking the time to go into a real world breakdown of the DER EE 5000 LCR Meter. Excellent and thorough demonstration using capacitor components. I’m looking forward to exploring more. 73, NZ5I
Even though this is a bit late Thank you for this video as I have the same model and it helped clear up some questions I had on the use of this device.
A video covering use of this meter is welcome, and thank you for making it. A thought if I may… Brevity is the soul of wit… almost 20 minutes in before the subject of the video is started.
thank you very much sir for this, for this demonstration, it was very helpful, i hope you keep feed us from your knowledge more and more my appreciation SIR
+DENNIS N Hi Dennis, thank you. Yeah leakage current is another aspect to be considered although most likely the dissipation angle rises with a leakage. 73
@Trx lab you have done a good research, mentioned a lot if videos about the dvice if the topic. Would be nice to see the related and mentioned links in the description.
Thank you for this explanation. I would like to see videos that explain these LCR's even further in depth...aside from the previous comments about the time frame....
Peter, when calibrating the DE-5000 do not separate the leads after she "short pass" until you exit from the calibration procedure, that is, the very last "CAL". Otherwise the values are not saved correctly.
Very nice tutorial and great camera work. One very minor point is that the comments and formula at 31:12 might be a bit misleading. You are using an equal sign on the equation and the capacitance and frequency are inversely related but Xc is also changing in the denominator. So for example over a certain frequency range lowering the frequency may be counter-acted by the increase in Xc. Therefore the C value may not really change much. Again great overall video... nice job.
Enjoyed that video Peter. You sure know your away around them. Perhaps one day I will get a nice cheap meter. Mine is that cheaeeeeeeeep Chinese thing I showed lol. Keep up the great work and well done my friendBuddy
Nice video. Does the DE-5000 measure resistance using DC? For instance, if I measure a 60R coil on a relay will it report 60R or will it report Xr at 100Hz?
I bought the MESR-100 meter before buying the Der EE DE-5000. I found the MESR-100 to be very erratic in actual use. I very much liked the MESR-100 display. But, it's results were generally not repeatable. Therefore, I had very low confidence in the readings the MESR-100 gave.. But, the DE-5000 is excellent. I use it all the time in audio applications like testing unknown speaker impedance. Also, it is convenient as a sine generator when you need to generate a signal quickly. I bought the MESR-100 direct from the manufacturer mib_instruments through eBay. When I decided it was not acceptable I contacted the seller about returning it. But, he didn't even want it back and issued a full refund immediately. So, even though I still have the MESR-100 I never use it because it cannot compete with the DE-5000.
Hi Peter: Well it happened again. A while ago I was interested in getting a DSO. I ran into Dave's EEVBLOG's video on the Rigol 1054Z. I did some more research and was so convinced about it, that I bought one... You too? After seeing your fine review on the LCR meter today and doing some more leg work researching it, I decided to buy one also today. I've always been interested in getting one anyway. Good thing I decided to get one now while they're so cheap. I did some more research why they are right now. According to an Amazon ad and the manufacturer's "iet labs" web site, they are now discontinued! It has been superseded by the " DER EE DE-6000 LCR meter". I suggest to everyone who is interested in this, to get one now. The DER EE DE-6000 LCR meter costs approx. $335US! This DE-5000 looks like a bargain that may run out of stock sooner than later. Again, Thanks for the exemplary review! 73s Tom PS At least Paul said; "Great Meter Peter" He could have said; "Great Peter Meter" {;-) Sorry... Couldn't resist! "Resistance is futile"
+AntiqueRadioandTV LOL Resistance is futile haha.. Thank you Tom for your nice feed-back! Yes it is always the same there are so many nice toys for us techi guys :^) It is happening all the time to me as well.. So we are lucky to get this meter for a good price. The new has inessential improvements so it is fine with the 5000.. Have a nice week. 73
+AntiqueRadioandTV IET rebrands the DE-5000, it's not their decision how many are made. The company in Taiwan makes them and still sells them. No rush.
I really liked this one, even it is a bit long. Thumbs up. I would like to see an in depth explanation of measuring low value inductor in the nano-Henry range. Maybe explain the Maxwell bridge and why sometimes parallel or series resistances are used in the inductance bridge. It is hard to find in depth explanations on the web. Again this one is really great!
+pd4z I would like to see it as well. If you have W8 - 10, you can get the "Electronic Toolbox" from the App store. It is a nice app and has calculators to calculate inductance into the pH's.
+pd4z Hi Wil, yes I fully agree it is too long but as you see there are still open questions :^) I'm not sure when I can manage to do this video as there are a lot of projects ongoing. But anyway you are right very interesting subject. 73
I would discharge the capacitors before actual testing, also I would use the Kelvin slots on the de5000, should be more precise. But really nice video, I'll subscribe. By the way the alligators and the tweezers are not true Kelvin, you can see wires on tweezers soldered together.
@@silviuguseila2552 Since the broad consensus that true Kelvin four lead meausurement of the most accurate, I would test one specific capacitor, first with the tweezers leads, write down the result, then the short crocodile leads, write down, and at least put the capacitor into the test slots, which will be true Kelvin, and have the very shortest leads possible. Compair your notes and see the difference, if any, remember discharge everytime, and auto adjust the meter before.
For RF components: up to how many pF can be measured and with what accuracy? For the inductance I would be interested to know if, at an extremely approximate level, it is possible to use it to easily build turns in the air for tens/hundreds of nH, and then weld them and definitively model them on the final circuit (with the VNA). If this is not possible, what would you recommend as a cheap bridge, perhaps (also Chinese) complete with Kelvin pliers? Thanks
Good stuff Peter. How linear do you think capacitors (particularly air dielectric models) are? Can you measure a capacitor using one of these meters at 100kHz, and then compute what the values are at 7 or 14Mhz for instance? I'm specifically concerned about ESR as it's a real killer of efficiency in small loop antennas.
Well Matt since the reactance is frequency dependent and the ESr does not depend only on the reactance of the capacity alone. The the equivalent circuit of ESR shows a coil as well and thus it might be possible in theory but it becomes more difficult in a real circuit. But I don't understand your concern as 100Khz is a norm to be able to compare all the different capacitors...
@@TRXLab Ultimately I'm looking for capacitors with the lowest possible ESR that are still useable at the RF frequencies and high voltages needed to tune small magnetic loop antennas. It seems from my models and a few crude experiments that once you get into RF the ESL becomes the primary factor (other than the actual capacitance). Since the loop antenna is basically just a single coil inductor anyway, I've decided to ignore it in the capacitor and go back to worrying about the 5kV breakdown voltage I need to support :) . Thanks for the feedback!
Hello Peter, thanks for a great video. I would like to know, when testing capacitors then, is it important to always take note of esr and dissipation factor together? For example, is it possible to have a good esr and bad dissipation? Or visa versa?
