Cheap tester does LCR, diodes, transitors +

[cbdb]

For those that havnt seen one of these.

LCR-T4 TRANSISTOR/ESR/DIODE/TRIODE TESTER

Got one from Amazon with a case for $40.

 

[PedroDaGr8]

Those are great little devices. They are based off of an open source project which is still under very active development. At this point, there are loads of variants, models, and prices. I have one with a color screen and a similar case, some have zener diode testers (with voltage boosters), some have serial/Bluetooth functions, etc.

The main English thread for development and discussion can be found over at EEVBlog:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/

The poster madires, the developer of the m-branch of the software, is very very active there.

 

[altec9440]

a quick link if you have not time to read 1000 posts 🙂
GitHub - madires/Transistortester-Warehouse: The Transistortester's warehouse for firmware, hardware, documentation and more.

 

[Zung]

More like USD 10-15 if you shop around. Mine has a precision of less than 1%: unreal for the price!

 

[altec9440]

assembled module is a simple solution but according to PedroDaGr8's link, seems that all clones do no allow firmwares upgrades and ESR film caps testing. (quick reading so correct if it's wrong)

 

[dbxdx5]

I keep considering getting one of these, but the number to choose from is bewildering. Could use a recommendation of one currently available on the 'bay that someone has bought and been pleased with.

 

[Refugee1]

I bought one of these.
They are cased and equipped with an internal rechargeable battery and TV remote tester.
tc1 - Buy tc1 with free shipping | Banggood Shopping UK

 

[Atilla]

I got one of those: Check out this handy gadget! The GM328 Component Tester - YouTube .

So far, I'm actually impressed, it works and it does the job it is supposed to do. Haven't tested inductance, but the precision on the rest seems pretty good.

 

[lcsaszar]

I had two of these but I will build some input protection in the next. Never measure a charged capacitor with it

 

[Atilla]

Ahahah, yes, it says so in the 'manual', which is the post on ebay where I found it 🙂 I'm sure I'll end up putting something charged there at a point.

 

[PedroDaGr8]

I had two of these but I will build some input protection in the next. Never measure a charged capacitor with it

A few people have put strips of foil tape on one edge of the device to discharge a capacitor on before measuring.

 

[woody]

My cheap one stopped working and I thought the range selector might be at fault. But it turned out the test lead input jack is bad oh with the back off I can insert the jacks backwards and it works fine. Heck I might just end up soldering the darn leads.

 

[rickcl]

I bought one of the color models. I put in a brand new electrolytic cap. It read zener. I pulled it out, reversed polarity, it arced and dead screen. Had to get refund.

 

[rickcl]

I bought one of the color models. I put in a brand new electrolytic cap. It read zener. I pulled it out, reversed polarity, it arced and dead screen. Had to get refund.

 

[cogitech]

Mine works great so far.

I avoided frying it the other day by taking .47uF of 400-ish volts into my hand, which reminded me - oh ya, I better discharge these caps before I test them.

 

[w5jag]

... Never measure a charged capacitor with it

I also learned that lesson the hard way. They are a great value for the money, even if you have to buy a replacement ...

 

[rabbitz]

Just bought one and seems to work OK. Good enough for quick tests and good value for around A$20 with the case. Silicon Chip had a write up in their Feb 2021 issue.