ESR Meter Recommendations

[John Robertson]

On 09/30/2015 5:22 PM, Tothwolf wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Sep 2015, John Robertson wrote:
>> On 09/29/2015 2:59 PM, Jay West wrote:
>>
>>> This is the one I have used for years.....
>>>
>>> http://clientes.netvisao.pt/greenpal/evb1.htm
>>>
>>> About $88 USD
>>
>> That is an authorized Bob Parker variation of his original Dick Smith 
>> ESR meter kit. On this side of the pond they were made by Anatek 
>> until the owner was killed in an accident, then the series (now 
>> called the Blue ESR) is made by Alltronics and sold by dealers such 
>> as I. These all use Bob's licensed code, just different box and PCB 
>> layouts.
>>
>> If you want a Blue ESR I sell them on my web site's catalogue 
>> section, or you can order the EVB from Portugal if you are on the 
>> east side of the pond.
>>
>> I've been selling variations (evolution by intelligent design) of 
>> Bob's ESR meter kit since 1999!
>
> I bought a kit from anatekcorp.com last year to replace my Dick Smith 
> version that spouted legs and was rather disappointed with how it had 
> been kitted up. A lot of the components were very low quality or did 
> not fit the board properly, so I substituted my own. Even the 9V 
> battery snap was made wrong (bad quality wire and the snap was made 
> backwards). Another oddity was the kit included two 18 pin dip sockets 
> instead of an 18 pin and a 16 pin (I used some 3M dual wipe sockets 
> that I had anyway).
>
> One thing that really bothered me about the 'Blue ESR' variation 
> compared to the original Dick Smith version was the lack of banana 
> jacks, however I found some shrouded jacks which fit the blue Hammond 
> enclosure.
>
> If there is any interest in the changes I made to my meter, I'll see 
> about digging up my notes/parts list and the photos I took during 
> assembly.
>
The new kit makers seem to be doing a good job on fitting the kits out 
properly, had a little trouble with the first batch and they quickly 
sent me missing parts. Heck,  I remember problems I had with Dick Smith 
kits back in the early 00s - missing circuit boards, wrong parts, etc. 
However DS (and Anatek) ALWAYS made good on shortages.

Plus Bob Parker is still helping folks with his kit, he has a great 
support site in AU for these kits.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~bobpar/esrmeter.htm  (note the lack of 
twitter or facebook links - "This web page is for grownups"!)

FYI the kit leads have banana sockets on them...so you can quick connect 
the optional probes or use your own.

John :-#)#

-- 
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Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, VideoGames)
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