There’s a problem with collecting old tube amps and vintage electronics – eventually the capacitors in these machines will die. It’s not an issue of a capacitor plague that causes new electronics to ...

Longtime contributor Bob Meister from Hamden, Conn., writes in response to Tom Osenkowsky’s recent contribution with respect to equivalent series resistance (ESR) and the Sencore LC-75 Z-Meter being ...

As electrolytic capacitors age, their internal resistance, also known as “equivalent series resistance” (ESR), gradually increases. This can eventually lead to equipment failure. Using this design, ...

If you are just starting out in electronics, you need tools. But it is hard to build all your tools. Even though we see a lot of soldering station builds, you really ought to have a soldering iron to ...

A 9-V battery or an optional ac wall adapter can power the Model 881 portable in-circuit equivalent-series resistance (ESR) and dc resistance (DCR) capacitor tester ...

Single-phase motors, adjustable-speed drives (ASDs), and power factor (PF) correction applications often depend on capacitors to operate properly. This article explains how to test these critical ...

This Design Idea presents a very accurate, yet very inexpensive, capacitance meter. It was specifically designed for measurements of low value capacitance – with an accuracy of better than 1pF – for a ...