LC meter suggestion

[M@X77]

I would like to buy an LC Meter, I like to have these characteristics:
- L start from 1uH and measure also R and Q
- C measure from 1pf to more than 1mF and measure also  ESR

I don't have a lot of money to spend, I evaluated also to do it my self, but I cannot found a valid project and I'm not shure of precision

thanks to everyone that gives a suggestion for a product or a project

Max

[sadman]

commercial L/C meter are very costly what you required here is a project working great and have same feature which you need.


http://www.sonsivri.to/forum/index.php?topic=66141.0

[sfiga69]

if you try lcr meter M328 in aliexpress or ebay, you are something less than $ 7

[motox]

Last November I searched for the best option to buy, more precisely the model with the best price-quality ratio.
So I bought the LCR Meter DE-5000 from DER EE.
I like it very much and recommend this one.

The cheapest I could find was on eBay for 89€ with free shipping. I had to pay around 33€ of customs.
I don't know if this is too expensive for you, but for sure it's worth each penny.
Search for "DER EE High Accuracy Handheld LCR Meter DE-5000 bundle TL-21 /TL-22", vendor: sacchan2008

You can easily make the optical USB interface if you need one.

Some specs:

• C resolution: 0.01pF
• C  max: 20 mF
• L resolution: 1 nH
• L max: 2 kH
• R resolution: 1 mOhm
• R max: 200 MOhm
• Freq. max: 100 kHz
• 4-wire measurement

[M@X77]

Thanks!

Sandman the project is interesting, but not complete, I would like also measure Q, it's very similar to the M328 proposed from sfiga69, at this point it's to easy buy one to few euro

The LCR meter suggested by Motox is very interesting, quite cheap, and has all functionality, on italian ebay.it is not sold, but I found it on ebay.com

[dR-mR]

If you are interested in diy lc meters look at this site:
http://kripton2035.free.fr/index.html

[zokij]

check this one :

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2016-New-TFT-LCD-M328-Transistor-Tester-LCR-Diode-Capacitance-ESR-voltage-meter-PWM-Square-wave/32645287865.html

its 2018 new version V1.13 can test the DS18B20 and DHT11 and  IR_decoder

for same price more function  

[motox]

for same price more function 

I wouldn't say "for the same price", as the new one costs 14.1€ and the old model (I have one) is available starting from 6.1€, e.g.:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/LCD-Digital-Transistor-Tester-Meter-Backlight-Diode-Triode-Capacitance-ESR-Meter-MOS-PNP-NPN-L-C/32943597188.html

I classify this type of meters as "nice toy to have around because they are so cheap".
I don't even trust my Brymen Multimeter BM869S (209€) to measure capacitors. I've seen bad capacitors that looked OK on the Brymen, as is only measures capacitance (no other parameters).

[bobcat1]

Hi
Good LCR meter is depend of your need - whether you design RF circuit it is not even close to good or accurate.

Most of LC meter of DIY staff is with the same principal of using a comparator as an oscillator and measuring the frequency it produce with the microcontroller for a DIY it is very good and easy to build.
 
For a good professional  product you need to use a 4 wire tester mostly very expensive product but some can be found 2nd hand on EBAY for reasonable price for whom who can afford it.
All the best

Bobi
 

[M@X77]

LCR Meter DE-5000 suggested by Motox seems a best solution between the DIY and high level instrumentation

I'm looking for it