Capacitance Meter

[frankr]

quote Chris_P:

Rather than me type something out, have a read here. F_R above would be the best to guide you, he pretty much wrote this.

http://www.pochefamily.org/outboard/Con … sting.html

Here is for coils/points.

http://www.pochefamily.org/outboard/Coils.htm

Hmmm, the first link certainly does look familiar. But I didn’t do the second one, although it is very well done. However, I believe there is a probably unintentional error in his points testing method. When testing for closed points continuity, use the lowest available range on your meter. The meter shown in the article has an available X1 scale….very good. But he is using the highest scale…not good. You are looking for a resistance of less than one Ohm with the points closed. El Cheapo meters usually don’t have a X1 scale, so they can’t tell the difference between one Ohm and say, 10 Ohms.

On the other hand, he is correct in using the high scale when testing for points’ shorting to ground. Should show infinity, which it does.

[Buccaneer]

Thanks for the write-ups and links. I printed out the condenser testing
page to experiment in the garage on a handful of condensers.
Also, thanks for your input on capacitance testers.
TG

Prepare to be boarded!

[jim-moffatt]

Here is my recommendation for a general purpose meter that measure capacitance.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/T … 0-/72-7720

its $29.99

I have a similar meter from MCM and it works very well.
I measures up to 200 meg ohms so capacitor leakage can be tested.
It also measures capacitance value.
For point cleaning it measures down to 0.1 ohm so you can test points with it.

[oltimer]

I use a Model DCM-200 Capacitance Meter. As per Mumbles unit, it will give the value on the one being tested. I use my Merc-o-tronic to load them to see if they are working well. I paid around $80.00 2 years ago for the DCM-200. You can Google it to see what it looks like and does.

[Buccaneer]

I’m looking at this one, similar to the DCM-200…….
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360511141750?_t … EBIDX%3AIT
Any reason not to get this one?

Prepare to be boarded!

[westwind]

regarding measuring low resistance of points

No two wire meter will do a good job measuring below 1 ohm. The leads themselves have too much resistance to get any kind of accurate number. You can tell if they are bad and have high resistance and improved with cleaning but how clean will be difficult to tell. An accurate meter for this purpose is a four wire meter determine the final cleaning of the contacts, we have an industrial one at work that is somewhere around $5,000, a bit pricey for the home hobbyist though. This one from china may be reasonable:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NEW-VC480C-3-1-2 … 45fe07309e

It also measures capacitance so might be a good choice vs some of the other meters that measure capacitance but are two wire ohm meters.

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

If all you want to do is check values…You cant beat this price… I use MercOtronic to check for leakage, but if it has no part number I can use this, AND you get soldering experience!!!!

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9485

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[Buccaneer]

Looks like a fun kit, but I’d have to upgrade my 35 year old
Craftsman soldering iron for something a little more delicate!

Prepare to be boarded!

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

I am a hack solder…er and I had no issues, worked well…

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

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