LCR and Transistor Tester Comparison

This video reviews 3 LCR and Transistor Testers. It compares the Bside ESR02 to the DROK and Kuman LCR and transistor testers. The CEM DT9935 LCR meter will be used to compare results. #LCRmeter #CEMDT9935 #transistortester

Transistor, diodes, will be tested as well. The links for each meter are found below.

BSIDE ESR02 transistor tester

DROK transistor tester

CEM DT-9935 LCR meter

Kuman transistör tester

Capacitor meters compared

Box opening for the CEM DT9935 meter

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[RicardoPenders]

Thank you so much for this video, finally you showed me that the large capacitor bank can be measured and you made my choice much easier, I'll go for the DROK meter.
Best regards,
Ricardo Penders

[PeterMilanovski]

I recently purchased the MESR100 from eBay, it's only for capacitors but it's able to test in circuit for ESR, I have seen many other YouTubers using it and it saves a lot of time when trouble shooting... As for testing capacitors out of circuit, I charge them to their rated voltage in series with an analog micro current meter to test for leakage. Mr Carlson's Lab channel has a very good capacitor tester which he designed and built himself and is also available to his patreons... I still think that charging the capacitor to it's rated voltage and checking for leakage with a meter is actually the best way to do it, I have seen Mr Carlson's Lab test capacitors on an old vacuum tube capacitor tester where he can ramp up the voltage in steps and you find that at lower voltages, the capacitor shows up okay but as you ramp up the voltage it begins to leak. While these capacitor testers that you have reviewed here are great, their method of testing kinda let's them down... Just think about it for a moment, what's the actual job of the capacitor? One job is to pass Ac and block DC, if it's leaky... Then it's passing on DC current to somewhere it shouldn't be and if you understand output transformers in vacation tube amplification, you will know that the fact that the output transformer has both Ac and DC across it, it saturates very quickly and gets hot at higher power levels, that's why they use massive output transformers on vacuum tube amplification... So basically the less DC a capacitor leaks at rated voltage, the better the capacitor is...
As for capacitors in the power supply, they need to be able to store the pulsed voltages coming from the rectifier, now in this scenario, if the capacitor is leaking DC, the leakage forms a circuit with the transformer and it's bridge rectifier, apart from the main circuit that it's meant to be powering... This invisible circuit that has been created by a bad leaky capacitor is adding DC current to an Ac circuit and the transformer doesn't like it because it makes it get hot. The iron core is saturated far to early because of the battle of the currents that's going on, you decide hey that's a great song! So you turn up the volume and the magic smoke escaped... The question is! Is the ESR of those capacitors that you tested still going to be low at rated voltage?
Melbourne Board Of Works back (I believe but don't quote me) in the 50's or 60's worked out that the fact that electricians were using the old galvanized steel water pipes as the return neutral through earth, the problem was that this was also the path for DC which some transformer less TV's were creating an sending down the pipes causing a galvanic reaction and rusting our new pipes in months, and the DC current was only in miliamps! Superimposed on top of the Ac... So basically the lesson here is that it only takes the tiniest bit of DC current on top of Ac and you begin to have problems! Choose your capacitors wisely!
Apologies in advance for the lengthy post, there's much more to it for such a simple thing that most people don't realize and you really have to understand it's function fully to understand what it's not supposed to be doing..

[richardnanis]

Thanks for the interesting reveiw. These little component tester come in very handy in many cases, esp. if you want to identify the parts and the pinout. You have to be aware they are not very accurate when it comes to low value inductors or high value capacitors. In general you should assume up to 10% error, in some cases more in others less - but in most cases its a good estimate.

[Turco]

Thanks for the review. So far, based on design, other reviews and functions wise, I like the BSide (with clips) the best.

[oliverisailovic]

Dude, thanks for the nice video. I use that little cheapest tester. Very useful in many situations, such as pins identification, matching, quick testing components. I don't even have any box. What needs to be taken into account is the quality and purity of the contacts, especially if low resistance and ESR are measured. Since I have it, I very rarely use my old PeakTech LCR 5105N (without ESR function).

[andyj]

Good review. You know what would be useful? Find a cap on your bench where you can grab a datasheet that doesn't have ESR stated, measure it with the meter and then show us how you could derive it from the data that the sheet does give. One of the things I found a bit frustrating with the PS design was the phrase "use a low esr capacitor" - even data sheets often say "low esr" without giving the measurement. So, easy to say but I just worked myself in circles trying to calculate it. It would be interesting to see which of these devices get close to the stated/calculated value, within allowed tolerance. I could then add the calculation to my 'calculations' collection spreadsheet.

[SKraus-pbii]

I would like to thank you very much for your dedication of making such great videos. I can assume how much work it is!

[electrotools]

Thank you for your contribution to the community. As a suggestion, I would like for each measurement taken was compare it with a reference LCR and add a table of results. Greetings

[saarike]

Really nice review of those nice inexpensive little testers! I have MK-168 and T7 inexpensive testers and they are just fine for hobbyist and for fault finding. Thanks a lot.👍

[versace]

Hi Kiss, I wanted to thank you for all the work To give such great information. Thank you for the great video

[RobertTKlaus]

The surface mount pad on the clear case one is often used to solder on micro-grabber test leads, that's what I did with mine. It's wired the same as the socket...

[murdockscott]

Very helpful video! I have been trying to save some old music gear from oblivion using my VERY basic skills. I came here looking for information about the M-Tester (Branded Kuman in this video) and it seems like a dream. Having a inexpensive little device that can identify and test a component is super helpful. I was not sure it could handle larger capacitors, but you certainly proved that it can. Thanks again!

[psychomanuk]

Hey Kiss, thanks for this and all your videos, keep them coming they're so so useful!

[JAKOB]

The Bside also stated something in manual about choosing different frequencies by holding down the button, for a given interval. 22:45 (mid center down = f-gen)
but perhaps different models, as some features were reserved.
Anyway, I liked the video a lot.. looking at interesting electronic products that come in at a price almost too good to be true.
Did purchase that cheap one some years back from eBay auction at around 5USD delivered, but Chinese seller newer shipped it.

[luciancucli]

First of all congratulation for the channel. Actually if look on big electrolytic capacitors datasheet you will see that the manufacturer measure the capacitance and the tan delta at either 100Hz or 120Hz.

[friedmule]

Hi my friend, sorry for being absence in so long a time, I am back on my chair again and look forward to catch up with all your many new videos!:-)
I do really like your cut between the component tests, really invisible and great choice:-)

[jweinacs]

Thanks for the video on LCRs. I'm looking for an LCR to measure wound toroids accurately. Mostly Ham HF band. Example I wound a toroid to get close to .7 uH for the 14Mhz band (16 turns on a T37-6 toroid, 24 AWG enamel wire). Currently I have a cheapo TC1 multi function testor, it thinks its a .8 ohm resistor! a $300 bench LCR meter would be nice, but I have neither the room or money for such luxury. Thanks again for the reviews!

[robertcalkjr.]

Thanks, Eddie. I use my DE-5000 and an insulation tester mostly for capacitors and inductors. I do not see much point in testing the ESR of a capacitor without referring to the datasheet and using the same frequency that the manufacturer uses.
I also use a humble little VOM with X10K to test P/N junctions. It is a waste of time to test them with meters that do not test them under a load in order to verify that it is good. Sure, the cheap meters will catch most of the bad P/N junctions, but not all of them. And I can, and have, proved it.

[jeongkim]

Hello Thank for you making this Video. For unknown reasons my attention span is only about 10 Minutes. Its actually less than that but im being generous at 10 when engaged. There is so many videos out here I start a video and may skip around or on another video in the side tab when a catchy title/thumb nail appears. Please take this into consideration for future productions. I mean no disrespect when making this comment. Nor in any way trying to offend you or this video. I like your content I just have issues focusing and skip around and may have missed some vital information. Another great thing would be to add a summary of the ratings pros/cons in the video details except no one really does this as it would help the viewer without watching the entire video. It would really be appreciated to the viewer tho.

[biogons]

Thanks for the review.Testing the 50pF capacitor with the BSIDE instrument (in minute 23:51) you should disconnect the pluged tweezers; that is the reason for a higher cap value. I would go for the BSIDE model, mainly due to the terminals and the connection clamp, the discharge terminals, the SMD pads, the reading speed and the greater robustness of the casing; although it looks like something out of a 60s science fiction movie...But, it applies a +-5V pulse to read the ESR in the capacitors, and it can not be used in circuit!!!