03-03-2012, 09:40 PM
Well, that's what they always say in the BMD Section 
Back when David ran this ESR Meter Thread on the other Forum I thought 'I'll make one of those'. Around the same time someone Posted a link to a Capacitance Meter kit - http://www.technobotsonline.com/capacita...32208.html - and I thought I'd better have one of those as well. Next I considered what to do about enclosures - either two the same or a larger one containing both meters. I'm not quite sure how it happened but David kindly made me one of his splendid boxes, plus a front plate and a PCB, which even included the critical components. I've reported on the construction of the ESR Meter in David's Thread. So, what about the Capacitance Meter? After some pondering I threw myself on David's mercy and asked him to make me another box, which of course he did. One of these days I'll make a Comb Jig, honest.
So, to battle. Step one was to gather the necessary components. Next, assemble the PCB. The data is quite reasonable, and it's all duplicated on the Manufacturers Website just as a check. One slightly tricky thing to beware of is the 5 band resistors, some of which are not very clear, so a meter is handy. I also added a socket for the processor and some sleeving on the Display legs. Somewhere along the way I lost one of the electrolytics, but as it's only supply decoupling I fitted one that I had - more about that later. I didn't bother fitting the various sockets and switches as I was going to duplicate these with front panel versions. Connecting it to 6 AAAs proved it worked so the next step was to cut a rectangular hole in the panel - David's PCB offcuts are pretty strong and I finished up chain drilling and filing - and drill holes for the switches and terminals. Again, not wishing to have too many holes in the front panel I mounted the PCB on four spacers which I glued on. This is where the replacement electrolytic came round and bit me - it was too tall. Ah well, mount it on the back, but see later. Next I wired the switches and battery, and connected the terminals using BTC and sleeving. I also connected the front panel (copper) to the Negative Test terminal as advised by the instructions. The last step was to screw it into the box, make and fit some labels and tidy up. That's when I found the 'missing' electrolytic!
It gives every impression of working splendidly, although I haven't checked it against a couple of my bridges yet. Anyway, I didn't want it as a precision instrument, just for a quick check on values. I think it will be a useful addition to the bench, along with the ESR Meter.
Alan
Back when David ran this ESR Meter Thread on the other Forum I thought 'I'll make one of those'. Around the same time someone Posted a link to a Capacitance Meter kit - http://www.technobotsonline.com/capacita...32208.html - and I thought I'd better have one of those as well. Next I considered what to do about enclosures - either two the same or a larger one containing both meters. I'm not quite sure how it happened but David kindly made me one of his splendid boxes, plus a front plate and a PCB, which even included the critical components. I've reported on the construction of the ESR Meter in David's Thread. So, what about the Capacitance Meter? After some pondering I threw myself on David's mercy and asked him to make me another box, which of course he did. One of these days I'll make a Comb Jig, honest.
So, to battle. Step one was to gather the necessary components. Next, assemble the PCB. The data is quite reasonable, and it's all duplicated on the Manufacturers Website just as a check. One slightly tricky thing to beware of is the 5 band resistors, some of which are not very clear, so a meter is handy. I also added a socket for the processor and some sleeving on the Display legs. Somewhere along the way I lost one of the electrolytics, but as it's only supply decoupling I fitted one that I had - more about that later. I didn't bother fitting the various sockets and switches as I was going to duplicate these with front panel versions. Connecting it to 6 AAAs proved it worked so the next step was to cut a rectangular hole in the panel - David's PCB offcuts are pretty strong and I finished up chain drilling and filing - and drill holes for the switches and terminals. Again, not wishing to have too many holes in the front panel I mounted the PCB on four spacers which I glued on. This is where the replacement electrolytic came round and bit me - it was too tall. Ah well, mount it on the back, but see later. Next I wired the switches and battery, and connected the terminals using BTC and sleeving. I also connected the front panel (copper) to the Negative Test terminal as advised by the instructions. The last step was to screw it into the box, make and fit some labels and tidy up. That's when I found the 'missing' electrolytic!
It gives every impression of working splendidly, although I haven't checked it against a couple of my bridges yet. Anyway, I didn't want it as a precision instrument, just for a quick check on values. I think it will be a useful addition to the bench, along with the ESR Meter.
Alan
