LCR-P1 Tester: Upgrade From TC-1?

T7 is a nice quick tool, but has some limitations I've noticed:
- won't do JFETs at all (Mk-168 does in one orientation only)
- won't do any kind of Ge transistor (Mk-168)
- konks out on some Ge diodes, but most okay
- some NPNs read as thyristors (Mk-168 reads them all)

I bought the Mk-168 before the T7, but at this point the DCA isn't much more than the price of them combined.
 
Ginsly said:
What was wrong with yours? I've found there are better testers for measuring transistors and diodes (Peak testers), but it's been great for quickly ballparking resistors and caps especially. Also helpful for pinout and determining if an LED is kaput!
Click to expand...
It had problems getting measurements with most transistors I tried in it, even ones I knew were good because I pulled them from working circuits.

For resistors and caps I use my multimeter--I bought it only for the transistor measurements.
 
Again on a TI 2N404 PNP Ge
20 hFE on both TCs +/- 0.5
The TC 2 measured 8.6uA leakage(Iceo only)
TC-1, no measured leakage
DCA75: 45 hFE, no leakage

Definitely a lack in consistent but I think the cutoff for measured leakage on the DCA is ~10uA

So, is the TC2 measuring leakage better than the DCA or is it something else?
 
Just bumping this in case anyone - new or seasoned - has considered the LCR-P1 over something like the TC-1.

Don't! :)

After numerous firmware updates, the device STILL does not correctly determine the pinout for NPN transistors. It may have other bugs too.
 
jessenator said:
T7 is a nice quick tool, but has some limitations I've noticed:
- won't do JFETs at all (Mk-168 does in one orientation only)
- won't do any kind of Ge transistor (Mk-168)
- konks out on some Ge diodes, but most okay
- some NPNs read as thyristors (Mk-168 reads them all)

I bought the Mk-168 before the T7, but at this point the DCA isn't much more than the price of them combined.
Click to expand...
I looked for the Mk-168. The specs look quite promising for 25 bucks.

Features:

2013 the latest version of the software, the function than the M8 version more.
Microcontroller using 8MHz external crystal, a better measurement accuracy.
Key resistance using a thousandth of a metal film resistors, the remaining a hundredth metal film resistors.
Use 9V battery (not included),please screw open the back case and fix the battery.
LCD backlit LCD screen with low power consumption, compared with the whole power consumption is almost negligible, so the light is always there, easy reading in the dark.
Size: 125X80X32(mm)
Weight: 207g

Technical performance:

1. Automatic recognition transistor type, pin, current magnification and the base - emitter junction voltage measured at the same time.
2. Automatic Identification of N and P MOSFET type and pin,measure the voltage and capacitance.
3. Automatic identification the diode pin, measurement the forward voltage.
4. Automatic identification of small power triac pin.
5. Measuring resistance.
6. Measuring inductance.
7. Measuring Capacitance.
8. One button operation, automatic shutdown.
9. 20nA current shutdown is only about.
10. Using 8MH crystals.
11. Can automatically detect NPN, PNP bipolar transistors,
N-channel and P-channel MOS FET, JFET, diodes, dual diode, thyristor small power unidirectional and bidirectional thyristor.
 
hamerfan said:
I looked for the Mk-168. The specs look quite promising for 25 bucks.

Features:

2013 the latest version of the software, the function than the M8 version more.
Microcontroller using 8MHz external crystal, a better measurement accuracy.
Key resistance using a thousandth of a metal film resistors, the remaining a hundredth metal film resistors.
Use 9V battery (not included),please screw open the back case and fix the battery.
LCD backlit LCD screen with low power consumption, compared with the whole power consumption is almost negligible, so the light is always there, easy reading in the dark.
Size: 125X80X32(mm)
Weight: 207g

Technical performance:

1. Automatic recognition transistor type, pin, current magnification and the base - emitter junction voltage measured at the same time.
2. Automatic Identification of N and P MOSFET type and pin,measure the voltage and capacitance.
3. Automatic identification the diode pin, measurement the forward voltage.
4. Automatic identification of small power triac pin.
5. Measuring resistance.
6. Measuring inductance.
7. Measuring Capacitance.
8. One button operation, automatic shutdown.
9. 20nA current shutdown is only about.
10. Using 8MH crystals.
11. Can automatically detect NPN, PNP bipolar transistors,
N-channel and P-channel MOS FET, JFET, diodes, dual diode, thyristor small power unidirectional and bidirectional thyristor.
Click to expand...
I believe that predates the TC-1 and is just running an earlier version of the same modified firmware
 
jwin615 said:
I believe that predates the TC-1 and is just running an earlier version of the same modified firmware
Click to expand...
Good to know. It seems like nothing has improved upon the TC-1 enough to switch to another device.

Couple exceptions- I find the DCA55 more reliable for transistors (both Ge and Si), and I measure diode Vf with a multimeter- both testers use a current which results in higher than expected readings. The 75 seems pretty indispensable for jfets, I probably should have just cried once… The 55 is an excellent tool though!
 
Speaking of the TC1:

Some dude made a 3d model of the back that would accept a pair of 18650s. Could potentially get 20x the runtime out of it.

Also...it is possible to update the firmware on these. It just isn't super...uhh....practical
 
Stickman393 said:
Speaking of the TC1:

Some dude made a 3d model of the back that would accept a pair of 18650s. Could potentially get 20x the runtime out of it.

Also...it is possible to update the firmware on these. It just isn't super...uhh....practical
Click to expand...
I thought the firmware was a form of that open source FW modified to run on atmega.
I forget the name of it. Dave's tester or something.
Is there a better FW?
 
jwin615 said:
I thought the firmware was a form of that open source FW modified to run on atmega.
I forget the name of it. Dave's tester or something.
Is there a better FW?
Click to expand...
Dunno, haven't really looked into the exact details yet. GitHub has some stuff.

It's an amtel microprocessor: you can absolutely update the firmware on these guys. You just kinda...you know...gotta access the pins. Which is the catch.

So...a steady hand + some very thin wires + a programming dock will absolutely get ya there.
 
Yep I’d love to get more runtime out of it! I wonder if there’s room for a slightly bigger battery in the existing enclosure..?

If anyone has replaced their battery, let me know what you got! Never dabbled in lithium before.

Still wondering if that “self calibration” does much…
 
Did some reading:

The folks in eevblog have been discussing these for a while: the general consensus is that lots of these use counterfeit or alternate MCU chips, and that the original open-source hardware was designed explicitly for the Amtel MCU chips.

Which may end up impacting the accuracy of certain test functions.

Haven't dug into it a whole bunch. The guy with the larger battery has a different case: the top and bottom panels slide out. The other case is a 2 piece.
 
While you guys have yours apart, not the jumpers on the left side of the PCB to increase the screen timeout.
Just in case you didn't know...
 
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