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Simple ESR Meter Circuit Homemade Circuit Projects

The document discusses a simple circuit that can be used to measure the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of capacitors without removing them from a circuit board. The circuit uses a blocking oscillator to apply a high frequency voltage across the capacitor being tested. An op-amp is configured as a current amplifier to indicate the capacitor's ESR by measuring the current, with lower ESR capacitors showing higher current and deflection on the meter. The circuit provides an easy way for technicians to test capacitors and identify faulty ones with high ESR when troubleshooting electronic devices.

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230 views6 pages

Simple ESR Meter Circuit Homemade Circuit Projects

The document discusses a simple circuit that can be used to measure the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of capacitors without removing them from a circuit board. The circuit uses a blocking oscillator to apply a high frequency voltage across the capacitor being tested. An op-amp is configured as a current amplifier to indicate the capacitor's ESR by measuring the current, with lower ESR capacitors showing higher current and deflection on the meter. The circuit provides an easy way for technicians to test capacitors and identify faulty ones with high ESR when troubleshooting electronic devices.

Uploaded by

reyniel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Simple ESR Meter Circuit | Homemade Circuit


Projects
Swagatam

7-8 minutos

The post discusses a simple ESR meter circuit which can be


used for identifying bad capacitors in an electronic circuit
without removing them practically from the circuit board. The
idea was requested by Manual Sofian

Technical Specifications
Do you have a schematic about ESR meter. Technicians
recommend me to check the electrolytic first every time I come
up with a dead circuit, But I don't know how to measure it.

Thank you in advance for your answer.

What is ESR

ESR which stands for Equivalent Series Resistance is a


negligibly small resistance value that normally becomes a part
of all capacitors and inductors and appear in series with their
actual unit values, however in electrolytic capacitors especially,
due to aging, the ESR value could go on increasing to abnormal
levels adversely affecting the overall quality and response of
the involved circuit.

The developing ESR in a particular capacitor may gradually


increase from as low as a few milliohms to as high as 10
ohms, affecting the circuit response severely.

However the above explained ESR may not necessarily mean


that the capacitor's capacitance would also be affected, in fact
the capacitance value could remain intact and good, yet have
the capacitor's performance deteriorating.

It is due to this scenario a normal capacitance meter entirely


fails to detect a bad capacitor affected with high ESR value and
a technician finds the capacitors to be OK in terms of its
capacitance value which in turn makes troubleshooting
extremely difficult.

Where normal capacitance meters and Ohm meters become


totally ineffective in measuring or detecting abnormal ESR in
faulty capacitors, an ESR meter becomes extremely handy for
identifying such misleading devices.

UPDATING a Simpler Alternative

The op amp based circuit given below looks complex, no


doubt, therefore after some thinking I could come up with this
simple idea for assessing the ESR of any capacitor quickly.

However for this you will have to first calculate the how much
resistance the particular capacitor possesses ideally, using the
following formula:

Xc = 1 / [2(pi)fC]

where Xc = reactance (resistance in Ohms),


pi = 22/7
f = frequency (take 100 Hz for this application)
C = capacitor value in Farads

The Xc value will give you the equivalent resistance (ideal


value) of the capacitor.

Next, find the current through Ohm's law:

I = V / R, Here V will be 12 x 1.41 = 16.92V, R will be replaced


with Xc as achieved from the the above formula.
Once you find the ideal current rating of the capacitor, you can
then use the following practical circuit to compare the result
with the above calculated value.

For this you will need the following materials:

0-12V/220V transformer
4 diodes 1N4007
0-1 amp FSD moving coil meter, or any standard ammeter

The above circuit will provide a direct reading regarding how


much current the capacitor is able to deliver through it.

Note down the current measured from the above set up, and
the current achieved from the formula.

Finally, use Ohm's law again, to evaluate the resistances from


the two current (I) readings.

R = V / I where voltage V will be 12 x 1.41 = 16.92, "I" will be as


per the readings.

Obtaining Ideal Value of a Capacitor Quickly

In the above example if you don't wish to go through the


calculations, you can use the following benchmark value for
getting the ideal reactance of a capacitor, for the comparison.
As per the formula, the ideal reactance of a 1 uF capacitor is
around 1600 Ohms at 100 Hz. We can take this value as the
yardstick, and evaluate the value of any desired capacitor
through a simple inverse cross multiplication as shown below.

Suppose we want to get the ideal value of a 10uF capacitor,


quite simply it would be:

1/10 = x/1600

x = 1600/10 = 160 ohms

Now we can compare this result, with the result obtained by


solving the ammeter current in Ohms law. The difference will
tell us regarding the effective ESR of the capacitor.

NOTE: The voltage and the frequency used in the formula and
the practical method must be identical.

Using an Op Amp for Making a Simple ESR Meter

An ESR meter can be used to determine the health of a


doubtful capacitor while troubleshooting an old electronic
circuit or unit.

Moreover the good thing about these measuring instruments is


that it can be used to measure the ESR of a capacitor without
the need of removing or isolating the capacitor from the circuit
board making things pretty easy for the user.

The following figure shows a simple ESR meter circuit which


can be built and used for the proposed measurements.

Circuit Diagram
How it Works
The circuit may be understood in the following manner:

TR1 along with the attached NPN transistor forms a simple


feed back triggered blocking oscillator which oscillates at
some very high frequency.

The oscillations induce a proportionate magnitude of voltage


across the 5 turns secondary of the transformer, and this
induced high frequency voltage is applied across the capacitor
in question.

An opamp can also be seen attached with the above low


voltage high frequency feed and is configured as a current
amplifier.

With no ESR or in case of a new good capacitor the meter is


set to indicate a full scale deflection indicating a minimum ESR
across the capacitor which proportionately comes down
toward zero for different capacitors having different amounts
of ESR levels.

Lower ESR causes relatively higher current to develop across


the inverting sensing input of the opamp which is
correspondingly displayed in the meter with a higher degree of
deflection and vice versa.

The upper BC547 transistor is introduced as a common


collector voltage regulator stage in order to operate the
oscillator stage with a lower 1.5 V so that the other electronic
device in the circuit board around the capacitor under test is
kept under zero stress from the test frequency from the ESR
meter.

The calibration process of the meter is easy. Keeping the test


leads shorted together the 100k preset near the uA meter is
adjusted until a full scale deflection is achieved on the meter
dial.

After this, different capacitors with high ESR values could be


verified in the meter with correspondingly lower degrees of
deflection as explained in the previous section of this article.

The transformer is built over any ferrite ring, using any thin
magnet wire with the shown number of turns.

About Swagatam

I am an electronic engineer (dipIETE ), hobbyist, inventor,


schematic/PCB designer, manufacturer. I am also the founder
of the website: https://www.homemade-circuits.com/, where I
love sharing my innovative circuit ideas and tutorials.
If you have any circuit related query, you may interact through
comments, I'll be most happy to help!

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