Hi,
The 5 transistor ESR meter use parts that most people will have in their junk box. The circuit can be built with just about any transistors. The only parts that are critical are the two rectifiers in meter circuit. I used 1N5711.
The $20.00 device is capable of a lot more measurements than the ESR meter.
The ESR meter can measure the capacitors in circuit, this means you don't have to remove them for measurement. There are, of course, some exceptions. If you have two or more capacitors connected in parallel you can not measure the ESR of the individual capacitors.
I also designed the ESR meter Adapter.
This can be found in this thread:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/esr-meter-adapter-design-and-construction/In many ways this better than the 5 transistor meter, it is really robust, You can apply a charged capacitor or even line voltage, without damaging the adapter. This is really important if you are working on SMPS, because sooner or later you find a charged capacitor. It does use a few parts that you might not have in your junk box.
Regards,
Jay_Diddy_B
@m3vuv
thought the copper pour was better tbh,uses less etchant,is the image mirrored and ready to print and iron on?,cheers.
The image is mirrored and ready to iron on. I have marked dimensions for you to check.