The 4 wire measurement is integrated in the flat connector, the classical input jacks are only plastic stabilizers for the connector. Much better than BKPrecision
Quick and comprehensive review. Nice job. Thanks. I think you are a bit severe on the enclosure. Personally I prefer by far a big sturdy enclosure than a flimsy one that break at the first drop. But that is your opinion and I respect it.
Just an update - at the IET Labs website, they don't even list the DE-5000 anymore. They only list their new DE-6000 ($ 300). So, if anyone wants to buy the DE-5000 then they will have to buy just the meter on Amazon which may be an IET Labs leftover or they can go on eBay and buy from a Japanese or Taiwanese seller. But, at least on eBay you can get the meter AND accessory options.
+Mystery47 As far as I know, the DE-6000 is identical to the 5000, and nothing more than an attempt by the company to try to gain back some sales, after the Japanese ruined the market for them.
+NatureAndTech I don't know how they expect to gain back sales when they are charging $ 300 for basically the same test instrument that sells all over for $ 100. Maybe IET Labs needs to hire some BUSINESS people instead of just engineers.
I own this model, I like the component batch testing feature. The accuracy is excellent.Loaded with features and I can measure caps in circuit with really reliable results mostly.For the money this is amazing value..
Good review. Great value for the money. Not the same quality of the higher end brands but I am pleased with with it for the price point and I like the 4 wire measurement.
One of the instruments I use at work is Agilent U1733C;while its a great instrument I think it's overpriced. I get comparable readings with my DE-5000.It cannot beat the price for its accuracy...
Nice review. I came here to see if my new sample has a broken backlight. It is feckless. Some notes: Mine was received from Amazon 28JAN2019 and was ordered while out of stock. It is likely the most recent revision at Rev. 8. Several transistors that were likely used for input protection are missing. Two diodes that were used for power source reverse polarity are missing. These were set up as reverse parallel to the battery and power wart. No wonder they are no longer used. A few caps are missing. The plastic of the case appears to be glass filled. Perhaps it is HIPS, which normally feels slick and low quality. It is, actually. Somewhere between PP and ABS. Ny tweezers are plastic, not FR4. They twist easily due to material and one screw holding the kit together.
Wow. Thanks for the feedback and info on the newer model. Seems there has been a bean-counter at work, which is never good. I just don't understand why they would save a couple of diodes and transistors on a meter that cost that much.
This looks very similar to an older ELC-131D LCR meter I have. We use the ELC-131D to measure impedance of 100V speaker circuits before commissioning. Can I use this DE-5000 LCR meter to measure speaker impedance? Does it generate 1kHz AC when in "R" mode?
I have just tried it on a loudspeaker, and it does indeed send a 1 kHz audio tone out during measurement. My 8-ohm pair of speakers has an impedance of 8.4 Ohm measured with the tester, and I can hear the 1kHz tone in the speaker, so I can confirm that. It can also measure the inductance of the coil. You can set it to measure at 100 Hz, 120 Hz, 1 kHz, 10 kHz and 100 kHz.
Hmmmm .... a simple question if you have time; Of course a component impedance is just the amplitude ratio & phase difference between voltage & current sin waves for a specific frequency. Sooooooo I can just see/measure that amplitude ratio & phase difference using just a sin wave generator & a 2port oscope (at least in theory anyway) Measurements dispersed across a frequency band of both the sin wave generator & oscope can be used to interpolate between the measurements Resulting in a plot of the amplitude ratio & phase difference between voltage & current sin waves across a frequency band ??Would that be a more pragmatic means/tool to measure the impedance of a component??
You can absolutely do that. In the "old" days we did that. Most oscilloscopes have an X-Y mode where the input sinewave is entered on the X axis and the output of the filter on the Y axis, and you can see the phase difference directly. Another benefit is that you can measure it at higher frequencies and not just at the (low) frequency that an impedance meter uses. Look up Lissajous figures. And thank you for a really great question. Loved it.
@@NatureAndTech Just finished that improvement. After calibration meter with TL-21 @ 100 kHz now shows 0.000 uH, 0.00 pF and 0.000 Ohm. Nice! Should do it years ago.
@@NatureAndTech Thank you. If you are happy, I will be happy too. What worries me about this meter is that it has no protection at the entrance. I have seen that it is possible to please two diodes in the entrance but I am not sure how it is. also be very careful when installing the battery, it is very easy to do it inverted.
+Digger D You are probably right. I just prefer it like a normal multimeter with a big rotary switch, or a bench-top multimeter with radio-buttons, so that it is immediately clear what mode it is in.
It is likely that you could reduce the slipperiness of the plastic shell, by wiping it down with acetone, or maybe some type of degreaser would be milder. You want to remove the outside coating of fat/oil from the plastic, without inducing a tacky feeling, or actually deforming the case. You might want to remove the internal electronics and display lense, before giving it a go. Many plastics have their type code molded into the case. If you post the type code, I rather imagine a viewer that is a chemist can tell you exactly what chemical to use. I hope you do find an answer, because I would like to treat my unit, as well. Maybe a light scuffing with sand paper would do, in the meantime. Or, cut some non-skid shelf liner fabric and glue it on the case. That seems the easiest solution, but some plastics melt other types, with prolonged contact. So, maybe adding a layer of paper, or cloth, to serve as a barrier, would be wise.
