Design a New Precision LCR Tweezers with Much Lower Cost 【Shannon Tweezers ST42】

[Phil1977]

Many people just don't trust small measurement instruments.

Then they lack experience. 

Or have an other size-related complex 

[Martin72]

There is a mechanical limit to this type of measuring device, that's just the way it is and if you keep pushing it...
Well, what was that again about experience?

[Sparrow]

Hello,

I tried to join the club, unfortunately I'm unable to order it on Aliexpress...
I always have the message below that saying promotion price sales  is reached ...
 Not very clear, nothing indicated on product page.
Does anybody encounter this issue ?
Regards.

Frex

Thanks for your support.
Have you tried contacting customer service?

I occasionally get these failed purchase questions, but I can't figure it out.
Because I can't place an order with my account, or even access the site from your perspective.
Aliexpress is a Chinese company that provides services to many countries and regions, but not China.

I can also ask customer service for you, but usually, they invest more in their customers than the merchants, and they will provide better support for your feedback.
Anyway, I will report your problem to customer service, and hope they can figure out what the hell is wrong with their platform

In June, when Aliexpress had a good coupon offer, I tried to buy the ST42 with curved tips because the coupon reduction in price was too tempting to pass up.
My order was immediately cancelled.
This was the excuse - "This order has been closed because you've used the same coupon/code or purchased the same discounted item under a different registered account. This is in violation of AliExpress transaction regulations. Please order again without a previously used coupon/code or discounted item. "
None of that is true. Totally bogus excuse.

I tried ordering again and the same thing happened.
Six times my order was cancelled.
I could not remove the coupon either, if that was the problem.
It may have been something to do with the currency of ST42 being in dollars and the coupon in GBP? - I don't know.
I contacted Aliexpress to try and resolve it, but got no sense out of them. Never resolved it.

And since then, the curved tips option is unavailable.
So I still don't have an ST42.
Maybe it's a sign, telling me that I don't need an ST42.

When might the curved tips option  be available again?
And I know you wouldn't be able to provide me with the same kind of coupon/discount that I missed out on, would you?

[KungFuJosh]

IIRC the coupon you were trying to use didn't apply to the tweezers, and that's what messed up the order. If it's not Shannon's coupon, it won't work.

[Sparrow]

IIRC the coupon you were trying to use didn't apply to the tweezers, and that's what messed up the order. If it's not Shannon's coupon, it won't work.

It was an Aliexpress general coupon. The trouble is, it seemed to be automatically applied to the order and I could not remove the coupon. There was no mechanism to order without it.
And Aliexpress were not helpful.

[Frex]

Hello,

I fully agree with you Sparrow.
I had the same problem as you, impossible to order the ST42 after many attempt
and much time with their costumer support (percectly useless).
Never had any issue with my several previous orders.

As reseller, Shannon tried itself kindly to help me to solve this with them,
 but no more luck !
If it's so difficult for many (?) people to order it by this mean,
maybe it would be a good idea to have other buying channels ?..

I finally myself gave up the idea to get get one and I ordered (very easily btw)
 the FINSRI LCR-ST1 for 30€. I think this would do the job anyway.

Frex

[KungFuJosh]

You could ask @tautech about getting them from him. He's a reseller for Shannon. AliExpress is the problem in those cases.

[Martin72]

This is simply unbelievable.....
People want to buy, but are being hindered.
Shannon should really think about distributors in America and Europe.
Because there are enough people who shy away from buying directly from China, whether you can get it easily or not.

[valcher]

Maybe try contacting directly - https://shannontweezers.top/terms/

[tautech]

TBH the easiest way to contact Shannon is via EEVblog PM:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/pm/?sa=send;u=756546

If you then share your email with him you may be able to communicate directly..........

[KungFuJosh]

TBH the easiest way to contact Shannon is via EEVblog PM:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/pm/?sa=send;u=756546

If you then share your email with him you may be able to communicate directly..........

Shannon usually prefers selling through aliexpress for some reason. If the shipping isn't terrible, you should sell a couple. 😉

[tautech]

Shannon usually prefers selling through aliexpress for some reason.

Yes, it's easiest for him currently.
We explored several other options but used Aliexpress in the end which worked just fine and a pack of 10 was here in just a few days along with bubble packs for local postage.....something not expected.

If the shipping isn't terrible, you should sell a couple.

IIRC it was ~NZD10ea, not enough to impact local resale price as we got a discount for bulk order. 

[KungFuJosh]

Shannon usually prefers selling through aliexpress for some reason.

Yes, it's easiest for him currently.
We explored several other options but used Aliexpress in the end which worked just fine and a pack of 10 was here in just a few days along with bubble packs for local postage.....something not expected.

If the shipping isn't terrible, you should sell a couple.

IIRC it was ~NZD10ea, not enough to impact local resale price as we got a discount for bulk order. 

I was going to do the same thing to sell in the US. We had trouble with finishing the order/shipping for whatever reason, so I had to cancel it. I might revisit it in the future.

[Shannon]

I had solved it a little more elegantly:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/shannon-st42-lcr-tweezer-test-and-comparison-thread/msg5579359/#msg5579359

the response is here.

In order to provide a wider component measurement distance for ST42, we decided to make a more elegant extension cable, but our goal is to either not do it or be extremely elegant 

Just make some simple modifications to ST42, elegantly upgrading the original tweezer tip design to true four-wire measurement.

True four-wire measurement can maximize the performance of ST42, and currently supports an effective resolution of 0.3mohm.

For more details, see the attached photos.

[tautech]

I had solved it a little more elegantly:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/shannon-st42-lcr-tweezer-test-and-comparison-thread/msg5579359/#msg5579359

the response is here.

In order to provide a wider component measurement distance for ST42, we decided to make a more elegant extension cable, but our goal is to either not do it or be extremely elegant 

Just make some simple modifications to ST42, elegantly upgrading the original tweezer tip design to true four-wire measurement.

True four-wire measurement can maximize the performance of ST42, and currently supports an effective resolution of 0.3mohm.

For more details, see the attached photos.

Not available from your AliExpress listing yet ?
 

[Shannon]

I had solved it a little more elegantly:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/shannon-st42-lcr-tweezer-test-and-comparison-thread/msg5579359/#msg5579359

the response is here.

In order to provide a wider component measurement distance for ST42, we decided to make a more elegant extension cable, but our goal is to either not do it or be extremely elegant 

Just make some simple modifications to ST42, elegantly upgrading the original tweezer tip design to true four-wire measurement.

True four-wire measurement can maximize the performance of ST42, and currently supports an effective resolution of 0.3mohm.

For more details, see the attached photos.

Not available from your AliExpress listing yet ?
 

Not yet.
New version is on the way, and I will do more test to ensure their stability.

[Martin72]

In order to provide a wider component measurement distance for ST42, we decided to make a more elegant extension cable, but our goal is to either not do it or be extremely elegant 

I help wherever I can, even if it's just for inspiration.

[Phil1977]

Did you already apply for an extension of the USB-C standard: "LCR 4wire measurement mode. Connect 470kOhm from GND to CC1 and 47uH from VNN to CC2"... Or similar 

[Shannon]

Did you already apply for an extension of the USB-C standard: "LCR 4wire measurement mode. Connect 470kOhm from GND to CC1 and 47uH from VNN to CC2"... Or similar 

We did try to use the TypeC interface of ST42 to do four-wire measurement, and the original design of this cable was used for this purpose,
but this design is not compatible with the ST42 that has already been sold, which is not friendly to users who have already purchased ST42.

Therefore, we believe that the design of leading out four-wire measurement through the tweezers tip needs to be given higher priority.
And they are under testing now

[shapirus]

Wow that's some serious upgrade. That'll allow to use ST42 as a quite decent milliohmmeter. Super attractive since you can keep the same base unit and simply buy a 4-wire extension addon.

[Zucca]

looks like the 1.5.7 FW is out.

[Shannon]

IIRC the coupon you were trying to use didn't apply to the tweezers, and that's what messed up the order. If it's not Shannon's coupon, it won't work.

It was an Aliexpress general coupon. The trouble is, it seemed to be automatically applied to the order and I could not remove the coupon. There was no mechanism to order without it.
And Aliexpress were not helpful.

Really, speechless.

I really can't stand this problem with AliExpress. Today I reported the problem to them again, and they gave me another official reply. help center link：https://helpcenter.aliexpress.com/s/SellerHelp/knowledge?language=zh_CN&m_station=SlrCmn&questionId=1061063348&tsuCode=SlrCmn&suid=1030142408192005372151E9767909

The reply of the seller's consultation is not the seller's problem
and the reply of the buyer's consultation is not the buyer's problem either,
Then it can only be the platform's own problem.

Welcome to contact me through PM(EEVBlog/Aliepxress/e-Mail PM), We can try to complete the order through PayPal.

1. If you can continue to use AliExpress to place an ST42 without coupon, send me an accessory you want and a screenshot of the failed order with the discount coupon, and I will give the corresponding accessory in your package.

2. If you still can't place an order without using the discount coupon, please contact me through PM, I will try to find other logistics methods to complete the delivery through PayPal (because it comes with a battery, the shipping cost in some countries will be high, but there is some room from other cost )

[watchmaker]

IIRC the coupon you were trying to use didn't apply to the tweezers, and that's what messed up the order. If it's not Shannon's coupon, it won't work.

It was an Aliexpress general coupon. The trouble is, it seemed to be automatically applied to the order and I could not remove the coupon. There was no mechanism to order without it.
And Aliexpress were not helpful.

Really, speechless.

I really can't stand this problem with AliExpress. Today I reported the problem to them again, and they gave me another official reply. help center link：https://helpcenter.aliexpress.com/s/SellerHelp/knowledge?language=zh_CN&m_station=SlrCmn&questionId=1061063348&tsuCode=SlrCmn&suid=1030142408192005372151E9767909

The reply of the seller's consultation is not the seller's problem
and the reply of the buyer's consultation is not the buyer's problem either,
Then it can only be the platform's own problem.

Welcome to contact me through PM(EEVBlog/Aliepxress/e-Mail PM), We can try to complete the order through PayPal.

1. If you can continue to use AliExpress to place an ST42 without coupon, send me an accessory you want and a screenshot of the failed order with the discount coupon, and I will give the corresponding accessory in your package.

2. If you still can't place an order without using the discount coupon, please contact me through PM, I will try to find other logistics methods to complete the delivery through PayPal (because it comes with a battery, the shipping cost in some countries will be high, but there is some room from other cost )

The secret to building a successful business is to compete on service, not price.  The former creates true customers, the latter is a race to the bottom.

Thank you Shannon for what what you are doing.

[valcher]

I was probably lucky, a few days ago I ordered ST42 tweezers in the Shannon Instruments Store on AliExpress, although it turned out to be expensive.... 
Delivery of tweezers promises on 08/27/24

[ceut]

the response is here.

In order to provide a wider component measurement distance for ST42, we decided to make a more elegant extension cable, but our goal is to either not do it or be extremely elegant 

Just make some simple modifications to ST42, elegantly upgrading the original tweezer tip design to true four-wire measurement.

True four-wire measurement can maximize the performance of ST42, and currently supports an effective resolution of 0.3mohm.

For more details, see the attached photos.

What a great news !
I was hoping a long time ago to have this milli-ohm meter mesurement 
It was in my list of proposal I have made 

Also, I see that you have a inverted display on yours, do you think you could implement one of my idea I sent you previously ?
It was this one from here : https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/design-a-new-precision-lcr-tweezers/msg5345456/#msg5345456

It would be a great add to the GUI 

5) Change icon in Auto-Mode, as we don't really know when we are in AutoLCR mode or not.
    (the Inverted "A" is showed briefly at the beginning, and then replaced by the mesured value)
    I have attached moded photo of screen with my simple idea for that:
    Inverted letter in AutoLCR mode, compared to normal letter in manual mode).


Also, my tweezer has not a single problem now since the CH340E change, I have successfully upgraded it 3 times 

Another question is the changelog for the FW: do you have one ? Maybe you could post it in your first message as for reference ?