[Test-Equipment] ESR meter reviews

[bonddaleena at aol.com]

Hi. As a long time ham and restorer of older radios and test equipment, I have always been aware of capacitor failures. This started when I was an Engineer with IBM and did failure analysis on circuit boards. This discussion will focus only on electrolytic caps. 
Since then, I have found 'buckets' full of bad caps in all vintages of equipment.
I now own 3 quite different ESR meters and thought I'd share the info with you folks. All 3 have good/not so good points.
First an important caveat that even very experienced techs overlook....

The use of a small, DVM style cap 'tester' will tell you nothing about leakage or ESR. They are great for finding VALUE.
You can find a comparison of the following meters on the AnaTek website.

My meters:

Mat Electronics Model MUL3333. This was my first ESR meter. It's analog and cheap, er, inexpensive. ha ha

Pros:
works OK
inexpensive

Cons:
scale too compressed at low resistance end
" makes it difficult to find shorts

Observations:
I believe this meter got a bum rap in the AnaTek 'review' because of a broken battery contact. I have had no such problems in 2 years.
The 'overly compressed scale' situation, is easily rectified by putting an inexpensive DVM (with a buzzer function) in parallel with the MUL3333. This easily senses the difference between a short and a low value ESR cap. This does make for a bulky combo.....

Peak ESR 60

This was my second purchase. Kind of a strange shape factor but that doesn't really matter.

Pros:
Works SUPER
Gives you cap 'values'  (out of crcuit) + ESR 
Automatically discharges small (!) caps. It won't bleed down your linear amps caps!

Cons:
Clumsy to use, due to it's need to 'restart' constantly (see Observations for more info)
Small alligator clips with short leads
Can't go from cap-to-cap quickly
High $

Observations:
At first, I thought the constant need to restart the device was a major disadvantage. However, I have come to learn that in it's 'start up' routine, it checks for charged caps and discharges them, 
I built a small aluminum stand to prop it up for easier viewing.
I notice Peak has a newer model

EVB Esr meter

Just got this one

Pros:
Simple to use
Well made
Beautiful display
Vitor (seller in Portugal) is a great guy! I have NO connection with him
Based on the proven Dick Smith design
Has handy chart on front of meter (ballpark numbers)

Cons:

Comes without test leads. (no biggie)
Awful redesign of the power/calibrate switch! This has been documented by several other users as well. Mine failed in the first 10 minutes of use.

Observations:
If you look at the EVB site and download the Manual, you will see what the above switch USED to look like. Now, you have to press on the hard plastic front face. This in turn pushes on a plunger, that connects to a small switch on the PC board.
I replaced this setup with a Radio Shack mini switch that is the exact duplicate of the original design. Works great!!

These observations MAY also hold true for the "Blue ESR Meter". The blue model comes with permanently attached test leads. I actually prefer the EVB setup better, I just wish I had known about the 'no leads included' up front. Again, no biggie.

As you can see, all devices have their +/- aspects. I believe the EVB will become my favorite..............

ron
N4UE