Mastech MS5308 LCR meter with ESR measurement - on discount at the moment

[alm]

I believe there are specific EMI/EMC requirements for ITE equipment. The power supply may be designed only to meet the ITE limits.

[ddavidebor]

OK, I am going to show my ignorance here 

In my working life I see many SMPSU blocks that have "ITE Use only" printed on them. This means 'Information Technology Use Only'. I took this to indicate that the output is noisy and not suitable for sensitive equipment like audio kit etc. However, computers don't like noisy power supplies either. With EMC rules it is also important to design low noise power supplies so my theory looks to be wrong ?

Can anyone enlighten me as to the true reason for "ITE Use only" on SMPSU blocks ?

Fraser

not medical, for example.

[willb]

What about using an unregulated, wall-wart type DC supply? The ones with nothing more than a transformer, bridge and cap. No noisy SMPS crap. I have a stack of 12VDC 500mA Yamaha branded that I have no use for.

[SeanB]

Needs to be regulated, 12V maximum. The onboard regulators will fry at any voltage above 12V, so only use one that has an unloaded output voltage of under 12V.

[Smokey]

Anyone know the pinout of the fixture connector on these MS5308s? Are the voltage (pot) sense leads on the top or bottom of the  + and - blades (relative to the unit being upright )

edit.... to add voltage sense.

[tcdrennen]

Hi folks-

Just to update, we ended up getting the IET Labs DE-5000 and are very happy with it.

Our immediate need was for a meter to screen several thousand large coils that we found open or high ESR after installing.

The meter was quick to set up for sorting and easy to use; much more cost effective and more robust Kelvin probe tweezers than the old Fluke meters we had been borrowing.

Highly recommended.

As I understand the MasTech meter is essentially the same circuitry, it should be adequate as well - but the reports of problems (especially re: the AC adapter) led us to go with IET instead.

Thanks for all your info and reports - much appreciated.

[Smokey]

I have a sad, sad story.......
I'm thinking of making a custom fixture PCB, which is why I asked about the pinout.  When I didn't get any replies I started poking around to figure out what the pinout is.  The DUT+ blade had very high resistance between the two sides, but the DUT- blade appeared to be shorted from one side to the other.  I couldn't figure any reason why that would be, so I took the cover off and this is what I found....



and here is the bad one...



That solder splash shorted the blades and defeated the kelvin connection, but you would never know it unless you took the thing apart or measured the resistance between the sides of the blade.  Jacked!

I already fixed it, but well... one more strike for these guys. 

[digsys]

Good news you found it ! It's ALWAYS a painful decision with me, when I buy stuff - do I pull it apart and find these horrors.
When I do, I ALWAYS find faults like that - poor soldering is #1, dangerously long tails is #2. If we want cheap(ish), we'll have to
put up with it. I'm sure you've seen some of the S/Mode power adapters posted here ! Enough to put you off your food :-)

[PA4TIM]

It looks like R28 is not soldered at the left side. But most soldering looks like the kid who soldered this was, not very experienced yet.    I think you can now conclude they have no single form of calibration, quality control or even operational test in production, they juist build and box them in the hope they are allright. 

[Wytnucls]

Mastech is the main competitor to UNI-T, with a vast array of meters on offer by both companies. They mostly compete at the low end of the market, where pressure on price is very high, so every cent saved counts.
As we have seen with the latest bunch of reviews of the Mastech products, the company seems to take too many shortcuts, rushing stuff out the door, with dodgy PCB soldering and hardly any quality control. C.E.M has fallen into the same trap, with the meters delivered to Extech.
In my experience, UNI-T has improved vastly in that respect, perhaps learning from their cooperation with Fluke. It is now rare to find a UNI-T meter with design flaws or bad workmanship during assembly. Of course, input protection is not very high on their priority list yet, as HRC fuses can add a disproportionate amount to the final product price. I don't think that will change, unless the majority of customers start paying more attention to meter safety.

[mrubbert]

LONG TIME AFTER DEFECTIVE METER.
I now got the new MS5308 after 3 month !!!!!??
Aidetec_US , never accepted any returns untill they got some confirmation from mastech,
The good part from mastech is that i got a MS8910 for free (this small SMD tester that dosent have on/off button) happy with that.
Problem is " Aidetec_us " Never paid back Promised returncost that for shure mastech already did pay Aidetec_us.  Also return pakage was real bad without displayprotection or easely say without ANY protection then original bag. (original inside was much better protected).

Thats explains something.
It was a A.DOA , Allmost Dead on Arrival problem.

Dont want to burn aidetec_us BUT they just aint good in take care of deals and custumers.
Simply sell and forget.
Feel sorry for US people, if they make it more easy to burn people over there ?

Out of topic.
Asked 3 times witch firmware was installed in Owon sds7102 and how does it work with upgrade. = No answer.

[kripton2035]

just this : DOA = "Dead On Arrival"
good luck.

[mrubbert]

Thanks, yes its still working. I must have good luck, at least with that point.

Did miss it when it was sent away.
I Like the big display and low price. For normal electronic repairwork i dont think people need better.
Just have a bad feeling that i shoud buy more bullet proof tool from the start. ( this dident even take some salt and pepper )...
No info about, upgrade the underlimited placed regulaters on pcb.
I dont know what they did
Have to check some day. Still warranty !

[micro88]

Just to share my experience with aidetek_us.

I too ordered my meter from aidetek_us. I received it in good condition. Was fortunate to read the various threads related to the power supply issue. Aidetek_us were quite good in the initial communication before purchase. They sent me a warning mail regarding the adapter issue but confirmed that it is safe to use eight batteries. However I wrote back saying that people are having problems with batteries too.After that they have stopped replying to my mails. So it looks like a case of Sell and Forget.

I made my own adapter using LM317 and adjusted it to around 8.6V. It seems to work ok till now though it shows the battery symbol.

[dane]

hello everyone...I have one question about mastech ms5308:
can I measure capacity and ESR when the elements are on board or I must desolder them before measuring?
i'm very sorry for my bad english..
thank you very much for answering!

greetings from croatia

[kripton2035]

I presume that yes it can do the measurment in circuit.
that is because it uses the same cyrustek chipset inside for measurment than the DerEE De5000 I own.
search this forum for "DerEE" lcr meter and you will find infos about it
also the fact that it is sold some $100 shipped by japanese ebay sellers
and also it doesnt have the power supply problems the mastech has...

[dane]

thank you very much!! 

[split]

What ever became of the power adapter issue on the MS5308?
Have they redesigned the Adpater and or main board?

THose that have the MS5308, would you recommend it?  The other meter I have been looking at is the Appletek AT825.

What I like in the MS5308:
1.  Large display
2.  Decent accuracy  (I mainly measure SMT devices, and mainly small  caps:  5pf to .1uf)
3.  Included SMD tweezers
4.  100KHz

Issues with the MS5308
1.  AC adapter/Main board power issue
2.  No impedance or reactance

The AT825:
1. Similar Accuracy
2.  Impedance and Reactance
3.  Touch screen, but purported to be little value

Issues with the AT825
1.  Only 10Khz
2.  No SMD tweezers
3.  Smaller display, but more info on it.
4.  dramatic increase in internal component count


If they were priced the same, which would you get and why?
Also, is there a better alternative to these two?

[Fraser]

I own the Mastech unit and have no issues with it. BUT if I was looking for an LCR meter now, I would be tempted by the excellent price of the Japan sourced DE5000. I would get the whole kit with tweezers etc though. The DE5000 is the same chipset and functions as the Mastech but in a more compact form factor.

Aurora

[KD0CAC John]

I own the Mastech unit and have no issues with it. BUT if I was looking for an LCR meter now, I would be tempted by the excellent price of the Japan sourced DE5000. I would get the whole kit with tweezers etc though. The DE5000 is the same chipset and functions as the Mastech but in a more compact form factor.

Aurora

Same here , like the 5308 , but would consider the 5000 , funds keep me from having both .

[ozwolf]

I own the Mastech unit and have no issues with it. BUT if I was looking for an LCR meter now, I would be tempted by the excellent price of the Japan sourced DE5000. I would get the whole kit with tweezers etc though. The DE5000 is the same chipset and functions as the Mastech but in a more compact form factor.

Aurora

I've been wanting an LCR Meter (since watching Dave use his on an LCD repair video), and I've taken the plunge and just bought the DE5000 (from Japan) on eBay.  By my way of thinking, it only has to help me repair one monitor, TV, DVR, microwave or anything and it will have paid for itself.  Should be here (Queensland Australia) in a couple of weeks.

[split]

The DE-5000 and MS5308 seem to be functionally identical...same chipset, seemingly the same specs.

The MS5308:
Larger display
Requires 8 AA & 1 9V battery
Supplied with all the Attachments, AC adapter and USB
released: 2012?

DE-5000
Smaller form factor,
one 9V battery
Everything is optional
Lower priced
release: 2011?

How is it that the MS5308 requires so many batteries when both meters should consume the same power?

Apparently the DE-5000 is now discontinued: http://www.ietlabs.com/de6000-lcr-meter.html

[KD0CAC John]

I might have to buy a 5000 , since it is discontinued and the 600 is over 3 time as much , will have to check the spec. I do thing there is 3 times better ?

[LaurenceW]

This story about the MS5308 needing all sorts of batteries keeps surfacing - IT DOES NOT.

The MS5308 ONLY uses 8 AA cells (my two-year old instrument is still on the original set). True, the case moulding supports a small flat "6F22" 9V battery, but there are no connections to it; this is only used when the case houses a different type of instrument (a precision current/voltage source, I believe).

Current draw from the battery is 20mA, 25mA with the backlight on. The unit times out after a few mins, so battery life of those AA's is going to be good. Though if it were powered by the MUCH smaller 9V flat battery, 15-25mA would see one of those off in just a few hours. This then, really puts in perspective the problem with the mains power supply. Yes, it is a P.o.S, but I've never even needed to bother with it. MAYBE if you were measuring components on a production line for hours a day, you would need a mains supply, but then in a professional production environment, you probably wouldn't be using budget Mastech equipment.

Would anyone recomend the MS5308? Well that, of course, depends entirely on what you need it for. For me, it works fine, but the massive form factor is (to MY mind, maybe not yours?) overkill. Other manufacturers have meters with the same chipset that have proved you can get the same functionality in a MUCH smaller form factor. This MS5308 is a bench hog. As a paperweight, it's brilliant.

[e_sousa]

I have been looking around for this meter, and found a vendor stating he has the "September 2013 version" and the mastech letters on the meter front are red instead of white on the others i have seen.
Does anyone know anything about this newer version?

Also, hello eevblog, first post here.