Hameg LCR Bridge

[laatsch55]

Am considering getting one of these, thoughts....http://www.hameg.com/13.0.html

 

[premiumplus]

Looks like a very nice bridge. I've never dealt with Hameg, but the parent company Rohde-Schwarz is a top notch test equipment manufacturer. I have one of their signal generators (an SMY-02) and it's definitely top shelf. Too bad that you can't bias the capacitors above 40 volts, though.

 

[laatsch55]

Why would you need to go more?

 

[NavLinear]

I agree with Dave that Rohde-Schwarz is an excellent manufacturer of test equipment. I have some of their equipment at work that has served us many years and the performance is top notch. I would put it in the same class as HP test equipment - now Agilent.

Well - this LCR bridge is quite capable and can be used to make many types of measurements and has a lot more frequency steps than the stuff I presently use at work and home. My bottom line is to identify what I need the equipment for, pricing (more of an issue for home use than work) and user interface/computer interface. If I had a couple of grand to drop on this type of test equipment I would certainly consider it.

 

[laatsch55]

So, what is the minimum performance I would need to do audio range stuff??

 

[NavLinear]

So, what is the minimum performance I would need to do audio range stuff??

Shit Lee - this one is kind of difficult to answer because it depends on what specific tests you want to do. Below is a list copied from the Hameg manual of the types of tests this unit can perform:

L-Q Inductance L and quality factor Q
L-R Inductance L and resistance R
C-D Capacitance C and loss tangent D
C-R Capacitance C and resistance R
R-Q Resistance R and quality factor Q
Z-Θ Apparent impedance (admittance) Z and phase angle Θ
Y-Θ Apparent conductance Y and phase angle Θ
R-X Resistance R and Reactance X
G-B Conductance G and susceptance B
N-Θ Transformer turns ratio N and phase angle Θ
M Transformer mutual inductance M

I presently use BK Precision meters at work and at home. I'm happy with these meters but they are less capable than the Hameg. The BKs use the four wire Kelvin test lead set as does the Hameg. There are a number of capable units out there so your options are wide open.


For my home lab (actually a den/spare bedroom):

http://www.bkprecision.com/products...hesized-lcr-esr-meter-w-100khz-test-freq.html

For my work lab:

http://www.bkprecision.com/products...ench-lcr-esr-meter-with-component-tester.html

 

[Gepetto]

So, what is the minimum performance I would need to do audio range stuff??

Test in both parallel and series mode, up to 10Khz will suffice for audio work.

This one definitely will fill the bill Lee, top notch. You can get much lower cost options on used HP/Agilent ones on the Bay.

 

[laatsch55]

Thanks guys, your advice will be well heeded...

 

[Gepetto]

Hi Lee
The HP 4262A and 4263 type digital LCR bridges seem to be going for as little as $600 in working condition. These are not items in high demand so you should be able to get a deal.

 

[Gepetto]

It is a sad state of affairs...

When all the test equipment, whether it be new/used US manufactured equipment (like HP/Agilent/Tek/National Instruments or Chinese manufactured equipment all comes from China eBay sources.

I was shopping for Agilent IEEE-488 HP-IB to USB 2.0 connection cables and the only sources on eBay for these and the National Instruments cables is from China. It tells you that China is where ALL the electronics manufacturing that uses items like this test equipment is located these days. And they have scads of these items for sale.