You know that. You have a capacitor or inductor in your hands and you are not sure if your standard multimeter shows the right value. This is understandable since the range of "L" and "C" is usually a “bonus” rather than the main purpose of common multimeters. Typically, the greatest error to measurement is a result of the serial resistance and parasitic inductance of capacitors and the like, the series resistance and the parasitic capacity of the coils.
And what about low-value resistors? The situation is quite similar. If we need to accurately measure values such as 50 milliohms or even 1 ohm, it usually presents a considerable complication. Obviously, a skilled technician can circumvent this by indirect measurement using an accurate constant low current source and a voltmeter, but it is a solution that cannot be described as user-friendly.
There are many different specialized devices on the market but these are usually at a higher price level. In this respect, two devices that we would like to introduce to you offer an excellent price/performance ratio. Namely Voltcraft LCR-100 and R-200.
R-200
The R-200 multimeter could almost be considered a common TRMS multimeter CATIII / 600V, but it has 3 ranges to measure the small resistances, which makes it unique: 40 Ohm, 4 Ohm, 0.4 Ohm.
In the smallest range, we find a great resolution of 0.1 milliohms (0.0001 Ohm). And thus we can, for example, easily measure various shunts, which are now often formed just by a small PCB track, or we can check wires for big currents, etc. In order to measure such small resistances, currents in tens to hundreds of mA are needed in practice, so the R200 is powered by 6 AA batteries, not a classic 9V battery, which is unable to deliver the required current and would quickly discharge.
The device is also very suitable for measuring very small currents, as both DC and AC ranges have a resolution of 0.1 uA.
LCR-100
LCR-100 is a typical representative of specialized LCR meters and thus actually allows measuring and verifying the parameters of these passive elements.
The LCR-100 has:
- 7 Resistance Range (up to 0.01Ohm).
- 8 Capacity measurement ranges (up to 1pF resolution), including large capacitance measurements up to 110mF (miliFarad).
- 4 Ranges for inductance measurement up to 1 uH resolution.
The measurement of resistance and capacity is with automatic or manual range selection. If the capacitor was not discharged before the measurement and there was a significant charge left in it, dSC will appear on the display, the capacitor will be discharged in a moment and the instrument will show the measured value. As a bonus, it also offers diode and continuity (buzzer) testing.
Large backlit displays with maximum counts of 11,000 allow a very decent resolution when comparing (selecting) passive components, where it is often not necessary to be absolutely accurate but to be able to compare the same two parts (the REL function is also perfectly suited for this). Automatic shutdown after 15 min. Inaction is also a welcome little thing.
Both R-200 and LCR-100 are available as stock products. If you are interested in other Voltcraft products, or you need more information, we are ready to help at sales@soselectronic.com
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