in your opinion the best low prices lcr tester and why?

[mastershake]

looking for an inexpensive one to take with me when I need to there are sooooo many and reading about some with fake chips etc whats your fav cheaper one and why and if you have a legit seller link

[thm_w]

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/

[timeandfrequency]

Hi mastershake,

I would sincery avoid to buy the last and cheapest crap, when talking about test equipement.
Of course, this is also true for LCR meters.

These devices are not really cheap but have interesting features.
Consider to buy an LCR meter where you can set the measurment frequency to 100kHz, because it's the standard value where electrolytic caps ESR value has to be measured.

To expect reasonable accuracy and a wide measurement range, starting from very low values ​​(<< 1µH and << 1pF), you actually want a device that provides a Kelvin sensing connection (4 ports) to the component leads and also features O/L or O/S/L calibration, in order to tackle all of the parasites and allows a shift of the reference measurement plane.

Unfortunately, there are not many cheap LCR meters which provide most or all of the above described features : low end devices only have 2 ports connexions and do not provide the 100kHz frequency measurement.

ET430 : 120 bucks  (no internal BIAS, no DCR mode)
ET432 (Kelvin probe included) : about 185  bucks  : good choice
User manual here

Another brand.

Suitable Kelvin tweezers and probes here

[mastershake]

this is simply to have something to carry and not damage my much more expensive device I understand they may not be perfect but for something 20 or less if something happens to it I can simply replace it this will do just fine.

I knew there was a thread somewhere but geese 320 pages lol

[kermitfrog]

That's good advice

[rhb]

BSIDE ESR02 Pro and the LCR45 from Peak are both quite good.  The BSIDE is dirt cheap, but the best of the genre (lcr & semi testing).  The LCR45 is more refined.  I have an HP 4284A, but I mostly use the Peak.  I've not checked them against the 4284A, but I'm sure they accurate enough for routine work.

Have Fun!
Reg

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

The BSIDE is good, it does not measure low cap and low inductor measurements, but none of the cheap ones I know of do.
The BSIDE has very poor plug in connectors for things like axial resistors with wire leads. The push in connectors just do not work well.
But the SMD pad is OK and banana connectors are OK
I use it every day.

I do like the Peak, seems to be higher quality.

[Arts]

I like my DER EE DE-5000.

[Xena E]

Peak LCR45, had one for a couple of years now and hardly ever use the grown up kit anymore, small, simple and easy to use, not the cheapest but good back up from the manufacturer.
Xena.