B&K Precision 878B Instruction Manual

Model 878B, 879B

Dual Display LCR

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

METER

Safety Summary

The following safety precautions apply to both operating and maintenance personnel and must be observed during all phases of operation, service, and repair of this instrument.

DO NOT OPERATE IN AN EXPLOSIVE

ATMOSPHERE

Do not operate the instrument in the presence of flammable gases or fumes. Operation of any electrical instrument in such an environment constitutes a definite safety hazard.

KEEP AWAY FROM LIVE CIRCUITS

Instrument covers must not be removed by operating personnel. Component replacement and internal adjustments must be made by qualified maintenance personnel.

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE PARTS OR MODIFY

THE INSTRUMENT

Do not install substitute parts or perform any unauthorized modifications to this instrument. Return the instrument to B&K Precisi on for

service and repair to ensure that safety features are maintained.

WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS

WARNING and CAUTION statements, such

as the following examples, denote a hazard and appear throughout this manual. Follow all instructions contained in these statements.

A WARNING statement calls attention to an operating procedure, practice, or condition, which, if not followed correctly, could result in injury or death to personnel.

A CAUTION statement calls attention to an operating procedure, practice, or condition, which, if not followed correctly, could result in damage to or destruction of part or all of the product.

Safety Guidelines

To ensure that you use this device safely, follow the safety guidelines listed below:

This meter is for indoor use, altitude up to



2,000 m.

The warnings and precautions should be



read and well understood before the instrument is used.

When measuring in-circuit components, first



de-energize the circuits before connecting to the test leads.

Discharge capacitor before testing.



The meter is safety-certified in compliance



with EN61010 (IEC 1010-1) Installation Category II (CAT. II) 50 V, Pollution Degree 2 environment.

Use the meter only as specified in this



manual. Otherwise, the protection provided by the meter may be impaired.

The power for the meter is supplied with a



single standard 9V battery. But also a line operation is possible using a 12V AC to DC adaptor. If a power adaptor is selected, please be sure it fulfills the safety requirements of a relevant IEC standard.

outside is negative (-)

Safety Symbols

This symbol is a warning and indicates that the user should refer to the operating instructions located in the manual.

DC Current

Indicates inside pin is positive (+),

Compliance Statements

Disposal of Old Electrical & Electronic Equipment (Applicable in the European Union and other European countries with separate collection systems)

This product is subject

equipment (WEEE) , and

to Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on waste electrical and electronic

in jurisdictions adopting that Directive, is marked as being put on the market after August 13, 2005, and should not be disposed of as unsorted municipal waste. Please utilize your local WEEE collection facilities in the disposition of this product and otherwise observe all applicable requirements.

Storage Humidity

0 – 80% R.H.

Storage Environment

-20 °C to +50 °C

Pollution degree

Pollution degree 2

Environmental Con diti ons

Operating Environment

0 °C to 40 °C

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Safety Summar y ........................................................ 1

Safety Guidelines ...................................................... 2

Compliance Statements ........................................... 4

INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 10

PACKAGE CONTENTS ........................................... 11

FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW .................................... 12

Front Panel Display Descriptions .................................. 13

Front Panel Buttons ...................................................... 14

LCD DISPLAY OVERVIEW ...................................... 16

LCD Display Descriptions ............................................. 16

Special Display Indicators ............................................. 18

POWERING INSTRUMENT ..................................... 19

Installing Battery ........................................................... 19

Connecting External Power Source .............................. 21

Low Battery Indication .................................................. 23

Backlit Display (model 879B o nly ) ................................ 24

OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS ................................. 26

Data Hold ...................................................................... 26

Static Recording ........................................................... 26

L/C/R/Z Select Mode .................................................... 29

D/Q/θ/ESR Select Mode ............................................... 30

Test Frequency ............................................................. 30

Relative Mode ............................................................... 31

Tolerance ...................................................................... 33

Utility Menu ................................................................... 37

Parallel and Series Measurement Mode ....................... 48

Calibration..................................................................... 49

USB .............................................................................. 53

Automatic Fuse Detection ............................................. 53

QUICK START GUIDE ............................................. 55

CAUTION...................................................................... 55

Inductance Measurement ............................................. 56

Capacitance Measurement ........................................... 58

Resistance Measurement ............................................. 60

Impedance Measurement (Model 879B only) ............... 61

REMOTE COMMUNICATION .................................. 63

Connecting Instrument to PC ........................................ 63

USB (Virtual COM) Configuration ................................. 65

USB Operation .............................................................. 65

Command Protocols ..................................................... 67

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION .......................... 80

Selecting Test Frequency ............................................. 80

Selecting Series or Parallel Mode ................................. 82

Accuracy Discrepancies................................................ 83

Guard Terminal ............................................................. 85

SPECIFICATIONS .................................................... 87

General Specifications .................................................. 88

Accuracy Specifications ................................................ 89

MAINTENANCE ........................................................ 95

Service .......................................................................... 95

Cleaning........................................................................ 95

SERVICE INFORMATION ........................................ 97

LIMITED WARRANTY .............................................. 98

INTRODUCTION

B&K Precision’s 878B and 879B 40,000-count L/C/R hand-held meter is designed ideally for measuring inductance, capacitance and resistance components. Simple to operate, the instrument not only takes absolute parallel m ode m easur em ents, but a lso series mode measurement. The meter provides direct and accurate measurements with selectable testing frequencies.

Front panel push buttons maximize the convenience of function and feature selection such as data hold, maximum, minimum and average record mode, relative mode, tolerance s orting mode, fr equency and L/C/R selection.

The test data can be transferred to PC through a Mini USB connection, great for applications that require data logging

A tilt stand provides position flexibility for viewing and operating the meter. The over-molding rubber case protects the meter for better durability. Additionally, top rubber visor molding above the screen is designed to prevent scratches on the display when meter is positioned upside down.

A single 9V battery or the included DC 12V power adaptor (model 879B only) can be used to power the meter. This gives user flexibility for portable or benchtop use.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

Each 878B and 879B LCR meters are shipped with the following contents.

• 878B or 879B LCR meter

• Instruction Manual

• Mini USB Interface Cable

• Red & Black Banana to Alligator Test Leads

• 9V Batt ery

• *AC Ad apter (m odel 879 B only)

*This can be purchased as an optional accessory for model 878B.

Please locate them from the original packaging to ensure nothing is missing. If in the case that an item is missing, please contact B&K Precision imm ediate l y.

+ -

FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW

LCR Meter

REL

LCR

ESR

MAX

MIN

AVG

¦ÈQ

AUTO

TOL

1%5%10%20%

OFF

POWER

D/Q/

/ESR

FREQ

L/C/R/Z

USB

TOL

879B

deg % kHz

PAL SER

¦ÌH

p F

¦Ì Mk RMT

HOLD

REC

UTIL

REL

CAL

Figure 1 - Front Panel Display (model 879B shown)

Front Panel Display Descriptions

1. LCD Display

2. Power ON/OFF Button

3. USB Communication / *Back light button

4. Secondary Display mode (for dissipation

factor(D), quality factor (Q), *phase angle (θ),

*equivalent series resistance (ESR) measurement) selection button

5. Primary Display mode (for inductance, capacitance, resistance, and *impedance measurements) / Parallel or Series measurement method selection button

6. Tolerance mode / Utility down arrow selection button

7. Hold Display mode / Record mode selection button

8. Utility menu button

9. Test Frequency / Utility up arrow select ion button

10. Relative mode / Calibration mode selection button

11. 12V DC adapter input (use with an external power adapter (rated 12VDC, 150mA, 4mm power plug))

Note: Use with included power adapter only. Use with improper power adapters may damage instrument.

WARNING: Before connecting an external power adapter, please check the battery compartment in the rear side of the unit. If a battery is installed, be sure that the polarity matches the (+) and (-) labels as indicated inside the battery compartment. If it is not installed correctly, please remove the battery and install it with correct matching polarity as indicated in the compartment. See “Installing Battery section for details. DO NOT, at any time, connect an external power adapter when a battery is installed incorrectly. Doing so will damage the instrument and void its warranty.

12. Input sockets (banana jack inputs) and terminals for positive, negative, and guard (see “Guard Terminal” in “SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION” section for details)

13. Standard mini USB port (for remote controllability)

For model 879B only. Not included on model 878B.

”

Front Panel Buttons

All front panel buttons have specific colored labels on them. They are all marked in white, blue, or yellow

color. Each color has a specific representation, as described below:

White – With the exception of the

button, all white colored labels represent the primary function of that button; meaning that function will be set or configured upon pressing it.

Blue – Some of the buttons have a blue label

underneath a white label. This means the function indicated by the blue label will be set or configured if that button is pressed and hold down for 2

seconds.

Yellow – There are total of 3 buttons with

yellow labels. They are

. These functions are exclusively for use when entering UTIL menu only. See “Utility Menu” section for details.

LCD DISPLAY OVERVIEW

2 5 9 10

6 7

REL

LCR

MAX

MIN

AVG

AUTO

TOL 1%5%10%20%

OFF

ESR

¦ÈQ

deg

232425

% kHz

PAL SER n

p F Mk RMT

Figure 2 - LCD Indicator Display

LCD Display Descriptions

1. LCRZ – Primary display funct ion indic ator (*Z display)

2. MAX – Maximum reading indicator

3. AVG – Average reading indicator

4. MIN – Minimum reading indicator

5. REL – Relative mode indicator

13 14

15 16

¦ÌH

¦Ì

17 18

202126

6. Θ – *Phase angle indicator f or sec ondary display

7. Q – Quality factor indicator

8. ESR – *Equivalent series resistance indicator

9. – Secondary display

10. – Beeper tone indicator for tolerance mode

11. deg – *Phase angle degree indicator

12. Ω – *ESR(ohm) units indicator

13. % - Tolerance percentage indicator

14. kHz – Frequency units indicator

15. PAL – Parallel mode indicator

16. SER – Series mode indicator

17. – Inductance units (Henry) indicator

18. – Capacitance units (Farad) indicator

19. MkΩ – Resistance units (Ohm) indicator

20. RMT – Remote mode indicator

21. – Primary display

22. D – Dissipation factor indicator

23. DH – Data hold indicator

24. AUTO – Auto-ranging indicator

25. TOL – Tolerance mode indicator

26.

27. @OFF – Auto power-off indicator

28. 1%5%10%20% - Tolerance sorting

– Low battery indicator

percentage indicator

29. MAX AVG MIN – Recording mode indicators

For model 879B only. Not included on model 878B.

Special Display Indicators

Indicates short connectors

Indicates open connectors

Error indication

Indicates calibration mode

Indicates damaged or open fuse

AD converter error

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