DIY ESR Meter

[Ciaran Haslett]

Handy tool to test the ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) of Electrolytic Capacitors and find bad ones you suspect on a build.

Standing resistors used as I want to keep this small enough to fit inside a gutted analog multimeter.

You will need a 50uA Analog Panel Meter.

How It Works

Power up device, short probes and use Zero pot to adjust meter to full deflection (needle fully CW)
Drain cap under test
Test your electro with the 2 probes to the pins of a cap (does't matter about polarity)
Minor deflection = GOOD
Major deflection = BAD

...and best of all, you can test electro caps while they are still soldered to your board! (less accurate and never when circuit is powered)  

Project found HERE

I'll have it built and tested soon.

Enjoy

[Silver Blues]

This is super cool, nice find and nice layout!