Hi, i'm going to order the Peak LCR 45 meter to test capacitance, inductance and resistors. I also want a ESR meter. My budget is around $50. Anyone know a good ESR meter i can order from a store in the USA.

 

I saw a Peak ESR70
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/peak-electronic-design-limited/ESR70/9687220
Please share you're experience if you have one.

 

My LCR meter measures ESR. I remember it being inexpensive, apparently things changed. Now it's $250USD.
https://www.amazon.com/DER-EE-ELECT...words=de-5000+lcr+meter&qid=1654985996&sr=8-3

 

Take a look at the Extech LCR200 which gives a bit more data than the PEAKs. About the same price as the PEAK LCR + ESR in a single more in-depth instrument.
Extech LCR200 Passive Component LCR Meter | TEquipment
There is a newer model out so these excellent meters are being discounted!

Also... A good entry-level LCR meter (no ESR) is the BM4070 found under several different labels. Gets down to single-digit pF readings and up to 20MΩ. Very close to calibrated and much more expensive instruments in accuracy.
bm4070 - Bing - Shopping

Also... Sitting handy on my bench is a Multifunction Tester TC1 which in addition to LCR (including ESR) also does transistors. Great bang for the buck @ ~$20USD directly from china on AliX. No batteries are required as it has USB rechargeable li-ions. Not exactingly accurate but "good enuff".

 

Take a look at the Extech LCR200 which gives a bit more data than the PEAKs. About the same price as the PEAK LCR + ESR in a single more in-depth instrument.
Extech LCR200 Passive Component LCR Meter | TEquipment
There is a newer model out so these excellent meters are being discounted!

Also... A good entry-level LCR meter (no ESR) is the BM4070 found under several different labels. Gets down to single-digit pF readings and up to 20MΩ. Very close to calibrated and much more expensive instruments in accuracy.
bm4070 - Bing - Shopping

Do you have the Extech meter? If so, is it slow? I had an extech DMM and it was really slow. Resistance measurements would take 10+ seconds to reach steady state. AC voltage measurements not as bad as Resistance but still unacceptable compared to other meters which are pretty much instant. On paper they seem as good as any others but I think speed isn't usually a listed parameter; something you wouldn't know until you bought it. My DMM may have been their entry level model, I don't know. I gave it away years ago. I had the same experience with other extechs I've used though. My extech digital tachometer is excellent though, I love that thing.

 

My LCR meter measures ESR. I remember it being inexpensive, apparently things changed. Now it's $250USD.
https://www.amazon.com/DER-EE-ELECT...words=de-5000+lcr+meter&qid=1654985996&sr=8-3

An EEVBLOG member recommended it. They still sell it on ebay. I'm going to buy one from ebay

 

Yes, I have the LCR200 and no it's not slow. My final choices were it or the DER and I opted for the Extech as being fuller functioned. I only had it a few months, so it's not a lot of use, but it is very acceptable when I have used it. I bought one of the chinesium VICI VC8145 bench multimeters. It looks great on paper and is accurate, but waiting for it to settle is a real pain, so it has been replaced/upgraded with a Siglent 5-1/2 digit bench multimeter which is not only feature-loaded, accurate, and wide ranged but fast settling. My quick go-to bench multimeter is an old Fluke 8050A bench multimeter I bought off eBay for $40USD and has the calibration procedure documented in their manual. No capacitance and 4-1/2 digit but a good workhorse. The only thing I don't like about it is the non-backlit LCR display. There are mods out there to replace it with a backlit LCR but I can live with it like it is. I just have to turn on one of my bench lamps to see it.

 

I just saw a circuit for measuring ESR in an old issue of QST. It would require an external signal generator and external voltmeter, because all it consisted of was two resistors. I think it was 1 K or ten K ohms in series with the signal and then either ten ohms or 100 ohms shunting the capacitor under test. The read the voltage across the capacitor and compare that with the voltage without the capacitor, and calculate the effective ESR. Not as convenient at an actual meter, but the actual cost would be less than $1.

 

I saw a Peak ESR70
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/peak-electronic-design-limited/ESR70/9687220
Please share you're experience if you have one.

It is better to pay a little more, but buy the latest version. It is much better in terms of characteristics. An additional function for in-circuit measurements has been introduced.
https://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/esr70-capacitor-esr-meter.html