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Reviews For: Almost All Digital Electronics L/C Meter IIB

Category: Tools & Test Equipment for the amateur radio work bench

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Review Summary For : Almost All Digital Electronics L/C Meter IIB
Reviews: 46MSRP: 99.95
Description:
Standalone inductance/capacitance measurement device
with LCD display. Sold in kit form.
Product is not in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00464.8
N2HTT Rating: 2006-06-17
Very handy for small caps and inductors Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My DMM reads large value capacitors, but for coils and the small value caps common in kit building, this is the tool.

My kit went together easily in about 90 minutes. I think the build instructions have been improved since some of the other reviews were written. There were no mysteries - not even the tantalum cap!

Nice easy to read display.

I used this tool to adjust all the filter toroids during my build of an HF Packer amp, with excellent results.

It's a keeper.
KA7OEI Rating: 2006-05-12
Useful addition to the bench! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Years ago, I saw a brief mention of this meter in QST (one of those "blurbs" at the bottom of an article) and, needing an L/C meter anyway, decided to get one. When it arrived, there was a note included that it had the new "B" version of software, even though the front cover didn't say so.

While the circuit board was completely devoid of markings, having plenty of homebrew experience and the schematic allowed easy assembly of the unit - and it worked the first time it was powered up. Were I giving it a rating as just a "kit" I might rate it at 3 for this - but the "5" is for its operation as a piece of handy test equipment.

Rummaging around the junk box, I started testing parts - and gathered a few "precision" components that I'd had laying around and checking them, too: The meter was well-within its stated specifications - but I noticed that the readings were precisely "off" by the same amount, so I replaced the calibration capacitor with a polystyrene unit and a small trimmer cap and "dialed" it in to where it agreed perfectly with the precision caps (within their tolerances) that I had - and the inductors read what they were supposed to be as well.

As mentioned in the documentation, once you get above a few mH or above a few 10ths of a microfarad, the accuracy starts to fall apart - and it really doesn't work at all with electrolytics - but since I got it to measure small values of inductance and capacitance, that wasn't any problem at all.

I've used it to wind and check all sorts of coil/caps - even those in the single-digit pF range was well as coils in the 10's of nH range: One simply need to be careful to take into account stray reactances and check the zeroing of the unit before and after measuring the component.

The unit has been around the bench for a long time now - and it's white case and label is getting pretty beat up, but it still works great.
N4HY Rating: 2006-03-20
Nice tool, trivial kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The kit is trivial except for one tantalum. The documentation, poor quality pictures in black and white, unnecessarily complicate the construction. Nevertheless, I struggled on and completed it 30 minutes and it worked immediately. I grabbed caps and inductors of all types and measured them successfully. It is completely self calibrating.
W1ITT Rating: 2006-03-02
"It's a good thing." Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered the kit online on Tuesday and it arrived across the continent via Priority Mail on Thursday just after lunch. It was up and running about 90 leisurely minutes later. It's just what I needed to measure plate chokes (and I found out that the commonly used plate chokes in linear amps are woefully inadequate in terms of reactance). Anyone who has any business using such an instrument should have no trouble with the kit instructions. The smallest devices are dip packaged ic's, which are pussycats to deal with in comparison to SMDs. PIC chips are giving us more and more for our money. The L/C IIB is an example of more capability for less monetary outlay.
NS6Y_ Rating: 2006-01-27
this is cool! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK I sent off for it about a week ago, my mailman is a genius and does not realize the mailboxes have a lip around the inside where people get their mail, the box fits in juuuust fine on his end, on my end, could not get it out! Went and got the X-acto knife, cut the end of the box, and extracted the kit. This comprimized the structural integrity of the box so I was able to pry it out too lol. Anyway, thank goodness kit suppliers put everything in plastic bags!

I started building this keeping in mind most people take a couple of hours, no problem, a nice little project in the middle of getting my k2 done. Well, it took me an hour, and I took my time! Somehow, I gleefully soldered the connector that goes onto the display, onto the PCB. Oops. HMM, ok, does it matter? I did some pre-assembly and saw that it did not, so the connector with the "guard" that goes on the display, is on the PCB on mine, it works and lines up fine. In fact I soldered the connector on the display not all the way inserted, to get the display up closer to the window when the case is closed, minor thing but I felt picky. Somehow, I managed to not get caught by the 10uF tantalum cap trap. I saw, Tantalum cap, OK what's the polarity? I dug into the notes and saw that the positive side goes toward the display, no problem. Also I was careful to get the "outside" winding of the inductor pointed the better way, and the rest of it was a snap. Before I knew it it was time to apply power. Aha, ew, 9v battery connector. I got a solid-head one out of my private stash (with a trip to radio shack they can go into your private stash too) and put on my last one of those (I'll have to stock up) so I have a macho 9v conn on there. The one with the kit is a good one, it's just that ..... I felt picky. I powered this up and it powered up fine, what a feeling! I checked out some C0G caps from my k2 kit, yep looks dead on (C0G's are good caps, lacking a true reference cap, these are a good way to check things). OK we need a coil - 8 turns of bus wire around a marking pin later we have a coil, cool! You can stick a wire coil like that on, and have fun squeezing/spreading the turns and watching the inductance change, pretty neat.

The case is plastic but a good sturdy one, the quality of parts in this kit is really good. True, it does not have the higher end of the ranges that your B&K878 etc have, but those cost about 3X as much and counting, and this is a lot neater to use. I guess the spacing of the terminals is kind of annoying if you're using standard multimater spacing, but a jig could be built to remedy that. This kit also came with parts to make a little test jig, that has standard hole spacing. All in all this is a very cool meter!
WA6MUU Rating: 2006-01-04
Just OK Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I built the kit last night. No problems but I like puzzles. Better instructions would be helpful. Placement of the 10ufd titanium cap + side required the most research. Silk screening on PCB would have helped or at least a decent graphic showing component placement is needed --- not the poor quality Black and White pictures supplied. Instructions kept referring to the “Bottom” of the board but no indication which edge was bottom.

I find the lack of large value ranges limit meter usefulness. I do power supply and audio filters, so 100 mh upper range insufficient. Would like to see something nearer 1 H. Wonder how the $39 units on ebay compare.

Functionally the meter seems to be accurate.

Ergonomically, it is poor. Mode selection switches are not interlocked. Cap switch and Inductor switch can both be pressed at the same time causing meter to “SWITCH ERROR”. You can’t leave mode switch depressed when powering on. All switches must be initially off.

Switches sticking out the side make it impossible to store in toolbox or on my cluttered shelf. I’m afraid it will get turned on when stored. It does not have an auto-off timer.

Binding post spacing is not standard so few of my leads fit.

“Not an Inductor” message is displayed when Inductor range is exceeded. This is the same message when nothing is connected or when an inductor is open. So you are never sure if the inductor is open, your connection is bad, or the meter range is exceeded. Haven’t tried exceeding Cap range yet.

Display contrast is temperature dependent. In cold environment the display dims. The contrast control is not accessible without disassembling the meter.

In summary, I find it a little overpriced for its physical design and limited range.
W2RBA Rating: 2005-01-07
Great Instrument! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I built my AADE L/C meter as a kit about 1.5 years ago and can report only that everything ran tickety-boo. It's great being able to measure capacitors -- especially given to my poor eyesight! AADE is to be thanked and congratulated for this fine kit.
VK4APN Rating: 2005-01-07
Sensational Instument Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I built mine more than 6 years ago and it has performed flawlessly. Some years ago 2 units (mine and vk8rh)were checked for accuracy against some megabuck HP equipment - the AADE units far exceeded our expectations. Additionally the LCD on my kit was broken ( damaged in transit) and one email to AADE saw a no nonsense response and a new LCD on its way. As far as kit documenation sure its not Heathkit & co but entirely adequate.
Paul VK4APN
N1KSN Rating: 2005-01-07
Very useful indeed Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This L/C meter has performed flawlessly for me for over a year. I had no trouble putting it together, either. I find myself using it often to check components while homebrewing and kit building.
N5KJ Rating: 2004-09-08
Handy Meter to Have Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this as a kit and while not the best documentation it went together in about 11/2 hours. Only real problem I had was not being able to read the value on one of the caps. By a process of elimination I put the one left in C1 position. It seems to work ok and read known values well within the tolerance.

It's a nice meter to have around the shack.