subject: Selecting An Effective Lcr Meter [print this page] A lot of people aren't familiar with an LCR meter, despite the many benefits that an LCR offers. An LCR meter is a device that gauges the resistance of an object to a steady electrical current. This is very beneficial especially when you are working with alternating current, or AC. Using this will help you know the changes in the amount of electricity being released.
The LCR meter is to measure the inductance of a coil or choke first. To measure resistance, or with a plug-in, measures capacitance, a technician will mostly get along with a conventional digital multimeter not until this kind of work is performed. Resistance and capacitance are the most common measurement parameters for debug procedures. But it isnot surprising that there are a few technicians that get by for years without a proper meter. The technicians can increase the utility of their toolbox when they use a good digital LCR meter.
An LCR is the one that meter measures inductance, capacitance, and resistance (LCR). The basic models of an LCR meter do not directly measure inductance or capacitance, but instead measure the impedance by applying an AC voltage and measuring the phase change and amplitude drop across the device. This indirect method is most effective when the ESR (equivalent series resistance) is low. It is important that you set it to measure inductance or capacitance because it cannot differentiate between the two. While for the hybrid circuits, such as a resonant tank for example will only measure the dominate component. Once the technicians would decide to make the investment in an LCR meter, they think that they need to spend the extra money to get a version that directly measures inductance or capacitance. These meters are more effective at measuring inductors or capacitors in the presence of ESR, and can even be set to give the measured ESR of a capacitor, or the Q factor for an inductor.
As compared to the standard multimeter, the power of a digital LCR meter is that you can make sure that your choke components are working properly. Ignoring the beads or choke coils in the circuit is what most technicians fail to realize because these are not generally the major failure mode of a non-functioning device. Also, the functionality of chokes is difficult and their operation is not always fully explained during technician training courses.
The main function of a choke is to choke off or filter unwanted frequencies from different parts of the circuit. For example, one part of a television set deals with the RF (radio frequency) spectrum used for transmission, while the other deals with the IF (intermediate frequency) used for processing. So their component boards are generally separated and shielded, you have to keep the two frequencies from mixing. They will still have a common interconnect at the power supply. Chokes gives the final barrier fro this processing. If a technician suspects problems, he can use his digital LCR meter to check the chokes to make sure they are not cracked, temperature-stressed, or otherwise distressed.
