MESR-100 V2 review and test

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[conwaynoel]

Got one a couple of years ago and when you get used to it, its excellent. Very cheap and dependable.

[fritzj]

Great tutorial. You can also test the resistance and microhenries of the inductors with the esr meter. The reactance formula is 2𝛑FL. That would be 2 x Pi x frequency of esr meter x 100 (uH) Just plug it in.

R=0.628 X L(uH)
L(uH)=R(ohms)/0.628

[maxwarfield]

How do you manage to “zero” your leads, with them being so long? If I try that with multimeter probes, I get the “can’t zero” message.

[motleypixel]

Thanks for the video, but curious, 5:35 220microf ESR should be <= to .6ohm yet you measured 1ohm and they you tried reading the capacitance in circuit and called it good? Please explain why. Thank you.

[adgadadfa]

hello.I have purchased MESR-100 V2, and I tried to use two probe of analogue multimeter.But When I connect these probe to MESR-100 and pushing zero button while contacting with each probe, It displays "ERROR ZEROING ZEROING NEED TO SHORT TEST LEAD OR LEADS ARE TOO LONG".What probe should I purchase which is possible to use in the MESR-100 like your youtube video?

[stanleymieczkowski]

I thought you had to match the polarity neg. lead to neg side of the cap . ??

[youtuuba]

I have seen quite a few videos now about the MESR-100, and how "reliable", "accurate", etc; it supposedly is. But in all of those instances, the person doing the video never compares the MESR-100's readings to another ESR meter, so those assertions are baseless assumptions....the user has no idea if the ESR readings are accurate or not.

I have briefly owned one of these MESR-100 meters, and I also own three other models of digital ones (all more expensive/capable than this one), and I compared the ESR readings they gave for a variety of different capacitor types, capacitances, and conditions (brand new, used but probably OK, almost certainly bad, etc). I have to report that the MESR-100 gave readings 'in the ballpark' with the other meters in cases of lower capacitances, but for caps into the higher hundreds of uF and higher, it gave ESR readings nearly an order of magnitude from what my other meters gave for the same capacitors. Yes, I repeatedly re-zeroed the meter, yes, I made sure that the other meters were all using the same 100kHz test signal as this one does.

The MESR-100 is supposed to test using a sine wave, but when I used a high impedance oscilloscope to measure the signal, it was more like a slightly rounded square wave (yes, I understand that the extra 'scope probe leads and impedance can throw off the ESR meter's readings...but I did these tests with an out-of-circuit resistor instead of a capacitor, and was not even looking at the ESR readings while I was using the 'scope).

I returned my MESR-100 to Amazon for a refund, and did not get another to see if it had the same great inaccuracy with larger caps.

It is also important to test capacitors at an appropriate frequency for their type, etc. Many larger caps, for example from large linear power supplies, will either cause this meter to give a very inaccurate reading, or no reading at all, and that is because those caps were not designed to be used at such high frequencies as 100kHz like this meter uses (100kHz is indeed the 'industry standard' test frequency for so-called "low ESR" capacitors of the types designed for use in switching power supplies and such); better ESR meters will allow testing at at least one lower frequency, anywhere from 100Hz to 1kHz.

But all my other ESR meters ALSO measure DCR, and as that is an important companion measurement to ESR, and this meter does not measure DCR, I did not think it was worth it to get another one.

[ferdinandoportel]

MESR100 V1 was discontinued many years ago. In fact, those who buy a V2 are currently receiving an outdated product and paying more for it, since the device is already in version 4.0

[rico]

Hey mate, Rico here,
I've bought this ESR Meter it coming today.
Could you please give me your feedback after all the time you use it? Is it reliable on misurament?
Thanks mate.

[irishguy]

Geir, I have a question
If you don't know the value of the capacitor on the circuit board under test then how would you know the specified esr value for it?

[mehdikhan]

You can not use a long probe it affects the reading!