Re: ESR Meter MK-II

From: Bob Parker (bobp_at_bluebottle.com)
Date: 09/19/04 

Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 00:31:48 +1000

Hi Wayne and everyone,
   I've sent all your comments to the people in the *** Smith
Electronics Kit Department, to refer to next time they update their
kit notes.
   I'm also trying to get hold of the corrections so I can put them on
my website.
   Thanks for taking the time to write down all your experiences and
thoughts. I hope you find lots of defective caps with your new meter.
:)

Regards,
Bob

"Wayne Tiffany" <wayne.tiffanyRMVJUNK@asi.com> wrote:

>I just wanted to share my recent experience with building the ESR meter,
>batch number 7214211 for anyone interested. I ordered from John's Jukes
>Ltd. and was told to expect it in a week or so. Heck with that - I got it
>in 3 days! So, that weekend I started on it. I had already read all the
>instructions before starting (I know, one of those...) so the start of
>assembling was easy - unpack things into a small tray and have at it. Not
>knowing for sure what I was going to receive, I had printed out the
>downloaded instructions in color to pre-study and assist me. Keep in mind
>that these are only comments to help Bob & others, not complaints - I am
>well pleased with the kit and the meter.
>
>1. The kit came with a set of printed instructions in black and white and I
>found my color ones to be a handy reference for verification.
>
>2. The kit also came with a page with 2 corrections. It would be nice for
>Bob to get the internet copies updated.
>
>3. Page 9 is missing the identification of figure 7. I was trying to do
>this project slowly & carefully and it took a bit to find it and make sure I
>understood the point.
>
>4. I chose to put longer wires on the switch & posts so I could separate
>the front panel from the circuit board. User preference.
>
>5. I wasn't able to bend the battery holder tab on the large one far enough
>to directly solder it to the smaller one per the instructions. I had to
>join them with a short piece of wire. Not a problem.
>
>6. The annotation on Fig. 13 for the tape that holds the battery holders is
>mis-spelled in that it's missing an "l". Then you could also go to the
>point that all tape has 2 sides... :-)
>
>7. I found that the schematic called for D3 & D4 to be 1N4002, when in fact
>the supplied ones were 1N4004. Fig 9a & the parts list show them as 1N4004.
>
>8. For me the easiest way to install the components was to pick a resistor,
>bend all of that value, and then install them. That way it was a double
>check right then as to whether or not I had found them all. When I got down
>to the last two resistors, I hunted all over the board to find a home for
>them. Upon not finding them, I finally went back to the Parts List and saw
>that they were only for calibration and didn't have a home. Guess I didn't
>*completely* read the instructions. :-(
>
>9. I only used about 10% of the included solder. It was certainly more
>than plenty, but better than running out.
>
>10. The silk screening verbiage didn't exactly match the diagrams, but it
>wasn't a problem.
>
>Bottom line is that all the parts were there and in good condition. I was
>able to assemble the kit, run the diagnostics (all ok), and use it without
>having to ask anyone anything. Good job guys! Bob, consider this my
>returned Quality Control Card.
>
> WT
>

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