Sencore LC102 User Manual

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Maintenance Manua l

Operation

S Q g f s j Q O R E CC102 AUTO-Z CAPftClTOB-iNOUCTOR ANALYZER

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TABL E OF CO NTE NTS

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

SIMPLIFIED OPERATIONS ........................................4

DESCRIPTION

Introduction ......................................................... 6

Features.....................................................................

Specifications ..............................................................6

Controls ........................ .....................-......................8

Rear Panei Features

Supplied Accessories........................................ 10a

Optional Accessories

OPERATION

Introduction

AC Power Operation ..........................................

Battery Operation.....................................................12

Battery Test .........................................................

Recharging the Battery............................ 14

Auto O ff

STOP TESTING Indication .......................................14

Test Leads................................................... 14

Test Lead Mounting C lip

Test Lead Adapter..............................................

Test Lead Fuse...................................................15

Lead Zeroing.......................................................16

Entering Component Data .......................................16

Error C odes....................................... ................ 18

Capacitor Testing ................................

Capacitance Measurement Accuracy ......... 19

Measuring Small Capacitance Values in

Noisy Environments ...

Capacitor Parameter Testing..................................20

Measuring Capacitor Value

Measuring Capacitor Dielectric Absorption .... 20

Measuring Capacitor Leakage (Microamps) ... 21

Leakage Charts ..................................

Measuring Capacitor Leakage (ohms) .............24

Measuring Capacitor ES R..................................25

Capacitor Automatic GOOD/BAD Testing

Inductor Testing......................................................29

Balancing Out Lead Inductance

Inductor Value Testing .............................

Inductor Automatic GOOD/BAD Testing

Checking Inductors with the Ringer Test

GOOD/BAD Inductor Value Testing

............................................................

............................................................ - 14

Paper, Mica and Film Capacitor Ceramic Capacitors Aluminum Electrolytics ... Tantalum Electrolytics ... Non-polarized Electrolytics

Aluminum Electrolytics ..................................23

Tantalum Electrolytics -. ..................................

.............Inside Front Cover

........... ...................................10

................................

....................................15

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........... ............ ........

........................................22

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......... .................. .....

............

....................

...................22

...........................

................

.......................

.......... 30

...................31

10b

.............26

.........

........

29 30

22 22 22

IEEE 488 BUSS OPERATION

Connecting the LC102 for IEEE Operation.............31

Sending Data to the LC102

Component Type Commands............................33

Value Multipliers

Test Function Commands ............ ......................

General Commands ...........................................35

Reading Data from the LC102

Data Format............... ......

Separating Data Fields

Advanced Programming Ideas ..............................37

Error Testing ......................................................

GOOD/BAD Results

Shorted Capacitors .............................................38

Open Inductors ...................................................38

Making Leakage Tests with IE EE

Making ESR Tests with IEEE ............................38

Programming Examples

Sending Listener Codes ....................................39

Sending Talker Codes

Sample Programs

APPLICATIONS

Introduction .. Indentifying Capacitor Types

Aluminum Electrolytics

Tantalum Electrolytics

Double Layer Electrolytics..................................46

Ceramic Capacitors............................................46

AH Other Capacitors ................... 47

Identifying Inductor Types .....................................47

Yokes and Flybacks Switching Transformers Coils ...

Identify Unknown Components..............................48

Capacitor Testing Applications ..............................49

Interpreting Capacitor Value Readings

Dielectric Stress................... ......... ... ................. .

Checking Leakage in Multi-Section Lytics .... 49

Intermittent Capacitors

Checking Ceramic Temperature

Checking Capacitance of Silicon Diodes

Testing High Voltage Diodes..............................51

Reforming Electrolytics

Inductor Testing Applications..................................52

Testing Inductors In-Circuit............. ...................52

Mutual Inductance ...............................................52

Ringing Peaking C oils

Ringing Metal Shielded Coils

Ringing Flyback Transformers ..........................53

Ringing Deflection Yokes ..................................54

Note on Solid State Yokes & Flybacks.............55

...................................................................48

Characteristics...................................................5 0

and Transistors ................................................

................................. 33

...........................................................44

.......................

...............................

....................................36

................................. ....

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...................................... ....

....................................

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..................................44

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........................................45

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......................................47

......................................50

......................................51

.......................................

...........................

..... .......

.....................

......... ...

....

36 37

38 39 39

49 49

Cable Testing Applications

Testing Coaxial Cabie

Determining the Distance to O pe n

Locating a Short in Coaxial Cable ...............56

Determining Capacitance & Inductance

per foot .........................................................57

Using the LC102 to Find Aging Cable .........57

Hi Potential Testing.................................................57

Measuring Resistor to 1 Gigohm ... Applications of the Leakage Power Supply

MAINTENANCE

Introduction

Recalibration and Service .......................................59

Circuit Description an d Calibration Procedures ... 59

Replacement Leads.............................................. ...59

“Spare” Button

Test Lead Fuse ........................................... ...........

Fuse Replacement

Display Te st.................... ............................. ...........

APPENDIX

Capacitor Theory and the AUTO-Z Capacitor Types

Ceramics

Aluminum Electrolytics ......................................

Tantalum Electrolytics ..................... ...................62

A Capacitor is more than a Capacitor............. 63

Leakage

Dielectric Absorption

Effective Series Resistance

Value Change

............................................................. 59

........ ............... ..........

..................................................59

......................................................

............................................................. 61

...................................................... 63

................................... .................

....................................55

........................................

...............55

.........................58

..........

.......................59

.....................

...............

...........................

...........

....................

, 60

63 64 64

SIMPLIF IED OPERAT IONS

Capacitor Parameter Tests

7. Read VALUE of capacitor 9 . Rea d % of 13. Re a d LEAKAGE in in pF, uF, or F on display D/A on display / uA or mA on display

15. Rea d ESR in ohms on display

•6. Pus h button

-12. Pu s h button

* 8. Pus h button

14. Push button

1. Open test leads

3. Short test leads 2 . Momentarily h oi

5 . Connect capacitor to test leads switch to OPE N

positio n 4. Momentarily hold switch

Inductor Parameter Tests

5. Rea d VALUE of induc to r in uH, m H or H on display

8. Read Inducto r Rin g er test on display

10. Enter rated voltage of capacitor

11. Select CURRENT position

to SHORT position

Re a d i n g of 10 or mo re indicat es good co m p o n e n t

4 . Pus h button

6. Select Inductor type

1. Sh5rt test leads

3 . Connect inductor

7 . Pus h butto n

! . Momentarily h o l d switch to

SHORT pos i ti o n

DESCRIPTION

Introduction

Γ -msritnr and indu ct or usage is extensive, encompas

sing aT L T ts of industrial and consumer electronics. Very f L c ?rcu. ts lack either of these comp o nents. As

the tnnsistor gave way to the IC, and the IC gave way

tn t ho I STC so capacitor and inductor usage continues

o in c re a s e rapidly since neither of these components can be physically in corporated into ICs on a broad bas i s . ThmiiA thev have changed some m physical size ,

canac ft or s still perform the same basic functions. But

• ? A * .vniits more than ever before, the tolerances

andparameters of capacitors and inductors are critical

to proper circuit operatio n .

Automatic lead zeroing balances out test lead capaci tance, resistance, and inductance for accurate readings on small capacitors and ind u c tors . The LC102 is pro

tected from external voltages applied to the test leads by a fuse in the TEST LEAD JACK and a special stop testing circuitry which locks out all test buttons when

voltage is sensed on the test leads.

ing from industrial equipment to avionics to cable fault

uu-ιυι;ation troubleshooting in all types of servic

locating. An optional SCR250 SCR & TRIAC TEST

ACCESSORY extends the LC102 test capabilities to

provide a fast, accurate test of these co mponents. The LC1G2 may be interfaced into any computer interface system for fully automatic, computer controlled testing

in a laboratory or incoming inspection area.

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SPECIFICATIONS

The Sencore LC102 AUTO-Z takes the guesswork out

r induct o r testing. It provides automatic

e,ts ο _ p , - Inductors are automatically

anafy ed fbrv a T u e a*d quality with patented tests. The

T Pino io o PomOlet e, automatic, mieroprocessor-con-

, n j c -+n r and inductor analyzer. Its features

" , Γ ΰ ‘suited for both single component analyzing in service or maintenance work or for large volume, batch testing in a lab or incoming inspection.

S k valne, leakage, ESE, and a patented

Features

Qc,„rr,yp LC102 AUTO-Z is a dynamic, portable,

automatic capacitor and inductor tester. It is designed

to auicklv identify defective components by simply con-

+· X „sm»ritor or inductor to the test leads and

pushi^ a tesf butt o n. The test result is readily dis -

β T fn readout in common terms. All S a ectornand inductor test results may also be dis- Dlaved as GOOD/BAD compared to standards adopted

bv the Electronic Industr i e s · Association (EIA). User

defined Hmit s may also be programmed into the LC1 02 for the GOOD/BAD co mpar ison.

In addition to

DIGITAL READOUT

TYPE: ,45”, 6 digit, 7 segment LCD READINGS: Fully autoranged with auto decimal

placement. One or two place holding zero s added as needed to provide standard value readouts of pF , u F ,

F, uH or mH.

ANNUNCIATORS: pF, uF, F, uH, mH, H, uA, mA, %,

V, kft, Mft, a, RINGS, SHORT, OPEN, WAIT, GOOD, BAD

CAPACITORS (Out of circuit)

CAPACITOR VALUE

Dynamic test of capacity value is determined by

measuring one RC time constant as capacitor is charged

to +5 V through:

1,5 Megohms for 0 - .002 uF 1 5 K iloh m s for .002 uF - 2 uF

Values above 2 uF are charged with a consta n t current

of :

60 mA for 2uF - 2000u F 416 mA for 2000 uF - 19.99 F

Maximum voltage ac r o ss capacitors larger than 2 uF limited to 1. 75 V.

Ά & Μ " upt t0 T TOlts;ESR

U 1 J a natented test, and an automatic,

checked wi , capacitor dielectric absorption. A

patented _ e vaj; Ue test provides a fast, accurate

patented inductance v g

t est of tr ue >f duc‘^witchmg power Lpply t rans fe r

ees, def lec t on yo ke ^ fes

mers, and other non reliable GOOD/BAD quahtv test.

ACCURACY: +/— 1% +/ —lpF 47-1 digit for values

to 1990 uF. + / — 5% +/-.1% of range full scale for

values 2000uF to 19. 99 F.

RESOLUTION AND RANGES: 1.0 pF to 19 . 99 F, fully

autoranged

.1 pF 1.0 pF to 199.9 pF

lpF 20 0 pF to 1 999 pF

.000 01 uF 0.00 200 uF to 0.01999 uF

.0001 uF 0.02 00 uF to 0.1999 u F

.001 uF

.01 u F

.luF

lu F

1 0 uF

100 uF

.001F 0. 200 F to

.01F

0. 200 u F to 1. 999 uF

2.00 uFto 19.99 uF

20.0 uF to 19 9.9 uF 200 uF t o 1, 999 uF

2, 000 uF t o

20 ,00 0 uF to 199,90 0 uF

2.00 F to

19,990 uF

1.999 F

19.99 F

CAPACITOR LEAKAGE

READOUT.: User selectable between leakage current

and resistance ACCURACY: +/-5% +/-1- digit APPLIED VOLTAGE: Keyboard entry; 1.0 to 999 . 9

volts in .1 volt s teps; acc u racy + 0 - 5 %. Short circuit

current limited to 900mA, power limited to 6 watts. RESOLUTION AND RANGES: .OluA to 20 mA, fully

autoranged

.OluA 0.01 uA to 19.99 uA

.luA 20.0 uA to 199.9 uA

1 uA 200uAto 1999 uA

.01mA 2 . 00 mA to 19.99 mA

CAPACITOR ESR (Test patented)

ACCURACY: +/-5% +/-1 digit CAPACITOR RANGE: 1 uF to 1 9.99 F RESOLUTION AND RANGES: .10 ohm to 2000

ohm s , fully autoranged

.01 ohm O.lOohmsto 1.99-ohms

.lohm 2.0 ohms to 19.9 ohm s

1 ohm 20 o hms to 1999 oh ms

CAPACITOR D/A (U.S. Patent #4,267,503)

ACCURACY: +/- 5% of reading + / — 1 count

RANGE: 1 to 100% CAPACITOR RANGE: . 01 uF to 19. 99 F

INDUCTORS (In or out of circuit)

0 1 mH

.1 mH

ImH

.001H

.01H

2. 00 mH to 19.99 mH

20.0 mH t o 200 mH to 99 9 mH

1.0 00 Hto

2.0 0 Hto 19.99 H

199.9 mH

1.9 99 H

RINGING TEST (U.S. Patent #3,990,002)

A dynamic test of inductor quality determined by apply ing an exciting pulse to the inductor and counting the number of cycles the inductor rings before reaching a preset damping point. INDUCTOR RANGE: 10 uH and larger, non -i ron core ACCURACY: -f / — 1 count on readings between 8 and 1 3 Rings RESOLUTION: +/- 1 co unt EXCITING PULSE: 5 volts peak; 60 Hz rate

GENERAL

TEMPERATURE: operating range: 3 2° to 104CF (0°

to 4G°C) range for specified accuracy (after 10 minute warmup): 5 0° to 86°F (10° to 30°C)

POWER: 105-13 0 V AC, 60H z , 2 4 watts with supplied

PA251 power adapter. Battery operation with op tional BY234 rechargeable battery. 210 - 230V AC op  eration with optional PA252 Power Adapter.

AUTO OFF: Removes power during battery operation

if unit sits idle longer than 15-20 minutes.

BATTERY LIFE: 8 hours typical inductor testing; 7

hou r s typical capacitor testing. SIZE: 6” x 9" x 11.5” (15. 2cm x 22.9 x 29.1cm) HWD WEIGHT: 6 lb s . (2.7kg) without battery, 7.6 lbs (3.4kg)

with battery GOOD/BAD INDICATION: Functions on all tests. Re

quires user input of compo n e nt type an d value, or

input of desired limits. IEEE: Requires the use of Senco r e IB72 Bus Interface

Accessory.

The following interface codes app ly: SHI, AH1, T8,

L4, SRO, RLO, PPO, DCO, DTC, CO. All readings

are test accuracy +/— 1 count. Specifications su b je ct to change without no t ice

INDUCTANCE VALUE (U.S. Patent #4,258,315)

A dynamic test of value determined by measuring the EMF pr od u ce d when a changing current is applied to the coil under te s t . CURRENT RATES: automatically selected

50 mA/uSec

5 mA/uSec

.5 mA/uSec

50 mA/mSec

5 mA/mSe c

.5 mA/mSec

0 5 mA/mSec

ACCURACY: +/-2% +/ - 1 digit RESOLUTION AND RANGES: .10 uH to 20 H, fully

autoranged

.01 uH 0.10 u H to

.1 uH

luH

.00 1 mH 1 . 00 0 mH t o

OuH to

18 uH t o 180 uH 180 uH t o 1 .8 mH to 18 mH

1 8 mH to

180mHto

1 .8 Hto

20.0 uH t o 200 uH to

18 uH

1.8 mH

180 mH

1.8 H

19.99 H

19 . 99 uH 19 9.9 uH

999 uH

1. 999 mH

ACCESSORIES

SUPPLIED:

39G219 Test Leads 39G144 Test Lead Adapter 39 G201 Test Button Hold Down Rod 64G37 Test Lead Mounting Clip PA251 AC Power Adapter/Recharger

OPTIONAL:

39G85 Touch Test Probe FC221 Field Calibrator BY234 Rechargeable Lead Acid Battery SCR2 50 SCR/Triac Test Accessory CC25 4 Carrying Case CH255 Component Holder CH256 Chip Component Test Lead IB72 Bus Interface Accessory PA252 220V AC Power Adapter/Recharger

C on trols

1. COMPONENT TYPE select buttons. Use with TEST butto ns (4), and COMPONENT PARAMETERS butto n s (6) for component limit testing.

a. - e. capacitor type button s - Use with other beige

color cod ed capacitor button s (4a - d) and (6m - o) .

f. SPARE - Provides a spare button to allow for

future comp o n e n t types and internal memory up

dates.

g. - i. Induct or type buttons - Use with other blue

color co ded inductor buttons (4e - f) and (6s - u).

2. LCD DISPLAY 2a. SHORT - Indicates that test leads, or component

connec ted to test lea d s , are shorted when LEAD ZERO OPEN button (9a) or CAPACITOR VALUE TEST button (4a) is pushed.

2b. OPEN - Indicates that test leads, or compon e nt

con nected to test leads, are open when LEAD ZERO SHORT bu tt on (9b) or INDUCTOR VALUE TEST button (4e) is p ushed.

2c. W AIT - Indicates internal circuits are discharg

ing after CAPACITOR LEAKAGE TEST button (4c) is released. Also indicates external voltage on test le ads . All tests are locked out while WAIT indicator is on.

2d. DIGITAL READOUT - Indicates value of test

result. Last two digits are place holder s an d indi cate 0 on large readings. Displays error message if er ro r condition exists.

2e. READING ANNUNCIATO RS - Automatically

light to qualify the reading displayed in the DIGI

TAL READOUT (2d) .

2f. GOOD - Indicates that component meets pr e-de-

flned tolerance s for the test selected by TEST but  ton (4).

2g. BAD - Indicates that the component does not

meet the pre-defmed tolerances for the test selected by TEST button (4).

3 . APPLIE D VOLTAGE LCD DIS PLAY - Displays

the amou n t of leakage voltage to be applied to the TEST

LEAD (10) when the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE bu t t o n (4b) is pr esse d. Voltage is selected using COMPONENT PARAMETERS keypad (6a-l & 6r).

4. TEST buttons

a. CAPACITO R VALUE - Depress to test capacitor

value.

b. DIELECTRIC ABSORP - Depress to read per

centage of dielectric absorption.

c. CAPACITOR LEAKAGE - Depress to test

capacito r leakage after the capacitor working vol tage is entered with the COMPONENT PARAMETERS keypad (6).

d. CAPACITOR ESR - Depress to test capacitor

ESR.

e. INDUCTOR VALUE - Depress to test ind u c t o r

value.

f. INDUCTOR RINGER - Depress for ringing (qual

ity) test on coils, yokes/fly backs and switching transformers after selecting inductor type with COMPONENT TYPE switches (lg-i).

5A. CAU TIO N IND ICATOR LED - Blinks as a warn ing when leakage voltage is set to 25 volts or higher, as indicated on APPLIED VOLTAGE LCD DISPLAY (3). Voltage is only present at test leads wh e n CAPACITOR LEAKAGE test button (4c) is depressed.

5B. PROTECTION CIRCUIT OR FUSE OPEN AL AR M - A flashing LED along with an audible ala rm will activate when either the test lead input fuse o pens or the protection circuit senses 10 volts or greater.

6. COM PONENT PARAMETERS keypad - Use to

enter parameters for limit testing..

a~k. NUMERIC IN PUT - Use to enter numerical

value portion of parameters. Use with COMPO NENT PARAMETERS buttons (m-u).

1. CLR - Push once to clear NUMERIC INPUT entry. Push twice to clear all parameters and COMPO NENT TYPE switches (1).

m-o. CAPACITOR VALUE MULTIPLIER - Use

after NUMERIC INPUT entry (6a-k) to enter capacitor value. Push to recall entered value.

p-q. PERCENTAGE buttons - Use after

NUMERIC INPUT entry (6a-k) to enter co mpo nent tolerance. Push to recall entered value.

r. VOLTS - Use with NUMERIC INPUT (6a-k) to

select desired test voltage for capacitor leakage tests.

s-u. INDUCTOR VALUE M ULTIP LIER - Use

after NUMERIC INPUT entry (6a-k) to enter in ductor value. Pus h to recall entered value.

7. P U LL CHART - Provides simplified operating in structions and quick reference table s .

S. LE AKAGE Switch

a. CURRENT - Selects readout of leakage current

in uA or mA when CAPACITOR LEAKAGE but

ton (4c) is depr essed.

fo. OHMS - Select s readout of leakage in ohms when

CAPACITOR LEAKAGE butt o n (4c) is d epres sed.

9. LEAD ZERO Switch a. OPEN - Use with CAPACITOR VALUE button

(4a) and ope n test leads to balance out test lead capacita nce.

b. SHORT - Use with INDUCTOR VALUE button

(4e) and shorted test leads to balance out test lead

induct a n ce .

10. TEST LEAD INPUT JACK - Provides a connec

tion for attaching supplied test leads (17) or optiona l CHIP COMPONENT TEST LEADS (30). Unscrew jack for acce s s to protection fuse .

11. POW ER Switch

a. OFF - Removes power from all circuits. b. AUTO OFF - Provides power for approximately

1 5 minutes after auto off circuitry is reset. Auto off is bypassed when LC 1 0 2 is powered from the AC Power Adapter.

c. ON & BATT TEST - Turn unit on and reset auto

off circuitry. Remaining battery life is displayed in LCD DISPLAY (2d).

CO MPONENT TYPE

CO MPONENT PA RAM ETER S

NUM Efi iC INP UT gNT SR ! RE CA L L

TEST

p SINGE

POWER

O N S A

BA TT TE ST

AUT O O f f· B OFF C

! 1S V AC Q fl B A ?1

2c\

2b— OPEN

2a -

TEST LEAD

LEAD ZE R O LE A KAGE

/^ W A R N IN G : Flashing tight i ndicates 25-1000V

applie d to tes t lead s wh en leakage bu tt o n is pressed.

TOP TE S T I N G : P r o t ectio n c i rcuit or fuse is

Capacit o r be ing tested may be cha rg ed.

Nos.· 3S9« 00 2. . ' « s e a ts . « 6 7 M 3 . Ori w n Pffndiny

Fig. 1— Locat ion of fr ont panel· controls and features.

2d 2e 2f

'WAIT

•OPEN 4 ' O Q O Ο Ο O SprnHmA K ftG O O D -

SHORT LI . O. LI . LI . U. U. RINGS V% Ω BA D

------

Fig. 2 — LCD annunciators.

Rear Fane! Features

12. BATTERY COM PARTM ENT COVER - Provides acces s to the (optional) BY242 rechargeable battery.

13. INTERFACE ACCESSORY JACK - Allows the (optional) IB72 IEEE 488 Bus Interface Accessory (26) to b e connec t ed to feed LC102 readings t o an automated measuring system.

14. TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN ROD HOLDER

- Ho lds TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN ROD (19) when not in use.

15. 39G144 TEST LEAD ADAPTER MOUNTING CLIP.

16. POWER INPU T - Connects to supplied PA251

POWER ADAPTER (21) for 110V AC operation, or to

PA252 for 220V AC operation (not pictured).

Fig. 3 — Location of rear panel features.

Supplied Accessories

17. TEST LEADS (39G219) - Special low capacity cable with E-Z Hook® clips. Connect to TEST LEAD INPUT (10) .

18. 39G144 TEST LEAD ADA PTER (39G144) - Use to ada pt TEST LEADS (17) to large, screw terminal capacitors.

19. TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN ROD (3 9G201) -

Use to ho ld CAPACITOR LEAKAGE b utton (4a) depre

ssed when reforming capacitors.

20. TEST LEAD MOUNTING CLIP (64G37) - Use to hold Test Lead when not in use.

21. POWER ADAPTER (PA251) - Plugs into POWER INPUT (16) to power unit from 105-130 VAC line . Also

recha rges the (optional) BY234 Battery when installed

inside the LC102.

Fig. 4 — Supplied Accessories.

Optional Accessories

22. 39 G85 TOUCH TEST PROBE - Use for in-circ uit 27. CARRYING CASE (CC254)- Provides protection testing of coils and inductors from P.C. board. and easy carrying for the LC102 and its accessorie s.

23. FIELD CALIBRATOR (FC2 2 1 ) - Use to periodi cally check calibration of the LC1 0 2 .

24. RECHARGEABLE B ATTERY (BY234) - Pro vides portable operati on for the LC10 2. One battery

required.

25. SCR/TRI AC TEST ACCESSORY (SCR250) - Use

for testing SCRs and Triacs.

26. IEEE 488 BUS INTERFACE ACCESSORY -

Connects between the INTERFACE ACCESSORY JACK (13) and the IEEE 488 port of a Bus controller

to allow the LC77 to be used in automated test setups.

E-Z Hook® i s a registered trademark of Tele Tek Inc.

28. COMPONENT HOLDER (CH255)-Use to hold components for fast tests when doing, volume testing.

29. CHIP COMPONENT TEST LEAD (CC256)-

Special shielded test leads for testing small surface mount (Chip) components.

Fig. 5 — Optional Accessories.

O PE RA TION

Introduction

Before you begin to u se your LC102 AUTO-Z, take a few minutes to read through the Operations and Appli cations sections of this manual and acquaint yourself with the features and capabilities of your instrument. After you have familiarized yourself with the general operation of the LC 102, most tests can be performed

with the information on the front panel.

AC Power Operation

For continuous bench operation the LC1 0 2 is powered from any st andard 1 05-130V (50-60 Hz) AC line usi ng the PA251 Power Adapter. When 220V AC operation is required, power the LC102 with the optional PA252 220 VAC Power Adapter. Connect the Power Adapter to the POWER IN JACK located on the rear of the LC102 , as shown in Figure 6 .

--------------------

WARNING

--------------------

Using an AC adapter other than the PA251

or PA252 may cause damage to the LC102, may cause the optional battery (if installed) to improperly charge, or may cause measure ment errors on low value of components. Only

use a Sencore PA251 or PA252 Power Adap ter for AC operation.

To operate the LC102 from an AC line:

1 . Connect the AC line cord of the power adapter to an

adequate s ource of AC power.

2. Connect the power adapter lead to the POWER INPUT JACK on the back of the LC102, as shown in figure 6 .

The power adap ter serves as a battery charger to re charge the (optional) BY234 battery when it is installed in the unit. The BY234 may be left installed in the LC102 at all times without danger of over charging. Connecting the Power Adapter bypass es the auto-off circuitry in the LC1 0 2 and allows continuous, uninter

rupted oper ation .

Fig. 6 — Connect the PA251 to the 12 V DC input for AC bench operation and to recharge the optional bat tery.

3. Push the POWER switch on the LC102 up t o the ON & BATT TEST positio n and release . The WARNING

LED will momentarily blink to in dicate it is operational

and the displays will reset and rea d zeros.

4. The LC102 is immediately ready for use. If prec ise measurements are required, allow the unit to operate for 1 0 minutes to reach specified accu racy.

-----------------------WARNING

----------------------

The CAUTION INDICATOR LED must

momentarily flash when the POWER switch is first turned on and moved from the OFF to

the ON & BATT TEST position. Failure of the

light to flash indicates a problem with the

LED or safety circuits. DO NOT operate the LC102 in this condition, since it exposes the

operator to dangerous voltages without

adequate warning.

Battery Opera tion

The LC102 is designed to operate as a completely port able unit with the optional BY234 rechargeable battery installed. The operat ion of the LC1 0 2 when it is battery powered is the same as when it is AC powered. The length of time the AUTO-Z will operate before the bat tery needs recharging dep ends on several factors: 1 . the test functions used; 2. tem perature; 3. battery age.

Leakage tests place the heaviest current drain on the

battery — greater current s result in shorter battery life between charging. Value tests plac e the least drain on the battery. For typical operation, the LC102 provides approximately 7 hou rs of complete capacitor testing (value, ESR, D/A and leakage), and 8 hours of complete

ind uctor testing (value and ringing). These times, of course, will vary with temperature and battery age.

As the temperature of the battery decreases, its cap ac ity also decreases. The operating time between recharg ings decreases at the rate of approximately 1 hour for every 20 degrees F drop in temperature below 70°F. The BY234 battery is a sea led, lead-acid type which requires no maintenance other than recharging. As a battery ages, it will require more frequent rech argings. If used properly, the BY234 will provide several years of service before needing replacement.

You can maximize the lifetime of the BY234 several ways: 1. Never allow the battery to deeply discharge. The LC102 has a built-in battery test and low battery shut off circuitry. Check the remaining charge per iod ically and recharge the battery before the low battery circu it shut s the unit off. 2 . Keep the battery fully charged. The BY234 will not be harmed if it is left installed in the LC1 02 during AC operation. Instead, this will keep the battery fresh an d ready for use and will actually lengthen its useful lifetime. 3. Rec harge the battery before using it if it has sat idle for more than a couple of weeks. Lead-acid batteries normally loose some of their charge if they sit idle for a per iod of time.

Fig. 7 - The optional BY234 is installed in the LC102 for portable operation.

-------------------

WARNING---------------------

Observe these precautions when using lead- acid batteries:

1. Do not dispose of old lead-acid batteries in

fire. This may cause them to burs t, spraying acid

through the a ir.

2. Do not short the “ + ” and terminals together. This will bum open internal connec

tio ns, making the battery useless.

3. Do not charge 12 volt lead-acid batteries with a voltage greater than 13.8 VDC. High

charging voltage may damage the battery or cause it to explode.

4. Do not drop the battery. While lead-aci d bat

teries are well sealed, they may break if drop ped or subjected to a strong mechanical shock. If the battery does break and the jelled electrolyte leak s out, neutralize the acid with baking soda and water.

5. Do not charge the battery below 0° C or above +40° C. (32° to 104° F).

To install the optional BY234 Battery:

1 . Open the BATTERY COMPARTMENT COVER lo

cated on the rear of the unit by unscrewing the thumbscrew. Fold the cover down on its hing e.

2. Slide the battery end that does not have the connector attached into- the battery compartmen t. (The wire should be facing out after the battery is in place.)

3. Connect the plug from the battery to the jack inside

the battery compartment.

4. Close t he battery co mpartmen t cover and tighten the thumbscrew to hold the door and battery in place.

Note: Recharge the B Y 2 3 4 overnight b ef ore using it for

the f i rst time.

Battery Test

The LCX0 2 has a built-in battery test feature which shows the remaining battery charge. A reading of 100%

indicates that the battery is fully charged. As the bat tery charge is used up, the reading will drop. The low battery circuits will turn the unit off shortly after the battery test reading drops to 0 %, and before the batt ery, level drops too low for reliable operation. The LC102 never fully discharges the battery which helps extend the life of t he BY234.

To perform the battery test:

Au to Off

1. With a BY234 installed, move th e POWER switch

to the ON & BATT TEST position.

2. Read the percentage of remaining battery charge in the LCD DISPLAY.

3. If th e reading shows 0%, the unit may not operate, or operate for just a short time since the low battery circuit turns the LC102 off at this battery level.

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To co nserve battery charg e, the LC102 contains an auto off circuit . This circuit keeps the batterie s from running down if you sh ould forget to turn the unit off, but keeps the AUTO-Z powered up during use. The auto off circuit will shut the LC102 off after approximately 15 minutes if none of the front panel buttons have been pushed. Pushing any COMPONENT TYPE button, COMPO NENT PARAMETERS butt on, TEST bu tton, or momentarily moving the POWER button to the ON & BATT TEST position will reset the auto off circuits. The auto off circuits are bypassed when the LC1 0 2 is operate d from the AC Power Adapter.

To operate the LC102 using the optional BY234 battery:

1. Install the BY234 battery into the LC1 02 battery

compartment.

NOTE: If you are using the BY234 for the first time, be sure to charge the battery before using the LC1 0 2 . Though factory te sted, the BY234 may not be charged when you receive it.

2. Push the POWER switch to the ON & BATT TEST position and release. The WARNING LED will momen tarily blink to indicate it is operational and the display s will reset and read zeros.

Fig. 8 — Push the Pow er sw itch to “On & Batt Te st

to read the remaining battery charge.

Recharging the Battery

The BY234 battery should never be allowed to remain discharged for more than a few hours, since this will shorten its lifetime. The battery mus t be recharged whenever the battery test reads 0%. However, you should recharge the battery more often than this to lengthen the battery’s lifetime an d keep the LC1 0 2

ready for portable use at all times. To recharge the battery, simply leave it installed inside

the LC102 while the unit is connected to the AC Power Adapter and the Power Adapter is conn ected to a source of AC power. The charging time required to return the battery to 10 0% depends on how far it is dischar ged. The battery will trickle charge while the LC1 02 is in use and powered from the AC adap ter, but it will re charge the quickest if the POWER switch is in the “OFF” position. Normally, a battery will completely recharge in about 8 hours with the POWER switch “OFF”.

4. The LC102 is immediately ready for use. If precise measur ements are required, allow the unit to operate for 1 0 minutes to reach specified accuracy.

------------------- WARNING

-------------------

The CAUTION INDICATOR LED must

momentarily flash when the POWER switch

is moved from the OFF to the ON & BATT TEST position. Failure of the light to flash indicates a problem with the LED or safety circuits. DO NOT operate the LC102 in this condition, since it exposes the operator to dangerous voltages without adequate warn ing.

STOP TEST ING Indication

The LC102 is de signed to provide you with the safest possible method of testing capac itors and inductors. The STOP TESTING indicators of the LC102 are a flashing LED indicator on the front panel and an internal audi ble alarm. This important feature alerts you when a shock potential exists due to either the test lead fuse having blown, preventing the capaci tor from discharg ing, or that you have connect ed to a charged circuit (1 0 V or mo re).

You should, at this time, familiarize yourself with this feature by removing the test lead fuse. Refer to the maintenance section, located at the back of this manua l for information on replacing the test lead fuse (page 59).

If the STOP TESTING indicators activate:

1. Stop all testing with the LC 102.

N O T E : D o not mou n t the T E S T L E A D M O U N T I N G CL I P t o th e sides of the A U T O - Z . as this w i l l in ter f e re

with the handle movement.

2 . Carefully discharge the capacitor you are testing by

connecting a 1 0 k ohm 1 watt resistor across the termi nals.

3. Replace the test lead fuse if blown, or remove the voltage from the point the test lea ds are connected to.

4. Resume testing.

Test Leads

The test leads supplied with the LC102 (39G219) are made of special, low capacity coaxial cable. Using any other cable will add extra capaci ty to the meter circuits, which may not be within the range of the lead zeroing circuits. Attempting to zero the leads with another, higher capacitance cable conn ected will cause the LCD DISPLAY to show the messag e error. This indicates

that the value is beyond the zeroing limits of the LC1 0 2 . If the test leads ever require replaceme nt, new leads

(part #39G219) may be ord ered directly from the: SEN CORE SERVICE DEPARTMENT at 3 200 Sencore

Drive, Sioux Falls, SD 57107.

Test Lead Mounting Clip

Test Lead Adapter

Some larger value electrolytic capacitors have screw terminals rather than the conventional wire leads or sold er terminals. To connect the LC102 to these cap acitors you will need to use the suppl ied 39G144 TEST LEAD ADAPTER. The TEST LEAD ADAPTER conv erts the E-Z Hook ® clips of the test leads to al ligator clips which will clamp onto the large screw ter minals. A mounting clip on the back of the LC 102 stores the TEST LEAD ADAPTER when it is not in use.

A TEST LEAD MOUNTING CLIP (64G37) is supplied with the LC102. This clip is useful to hold the test leads out of the way when not in us e, but keeps them ready and within reach at any time. The mounting clip may be attached on the top of the LC102, on the side of the handl e, or wherever it is most convenie nt. To mount the clip, peel off the backing, place the clip in the desired location and press it firmly in place.

Fig. 10 - The 39G144 Test Lead Adapter allows large, screw-terminal capacitors to be connected to the LC102.

To use the TEST LEAD ADAPTER:

1. Connect the red E-Z Hook® of the LC102 test lead

to the red TEST LEAD ADAPTER terminal.

2. Connect the black E-Z Hook® to the black adapter terminal.

3. Connect the red TEST LEAD ADAPTER lead to th e “ 4-” capacitor terminal, and the black lead to the “ — ” terminal.

4. Test the capacitor in the usual manner.

Fig. 9 — The test lead mounting clip holds the test leads out o f the way, yet ready for use at anytime.

Test Lead Fuse

A 1 amp, Slo Bio (3AG) fuse is located in th e TEST LEAD input jack on the front of the AUTO-Z. This fuse protects the unit from accidental external voltage or current over loads.

Lead Zeroing

The test leads c onn ected to the LC1 02 have a certain amount of capacitance, resista nce, an d inductance which must be balanced out before measuring small value capacitors and ind uctors or before measuring capacitor ESR. The test lead impedence should be zeroed when the LC102 i s first turned on. It will re main zeroed as long a s the unit is powered on. If the LC102 is battery operated and is turned off by the Auto Off circuits, however, the lead s mu st be rezeroed.

To zero the test leads:

1. Turn the LC102 o n by momentarily pushing the

POWER switch to the ON & BATT TEST position.

2. Connect the test le ads to the TEST LEAD INPUT

jack on the front of the AUTO-Z.

3. Place the open test le ads (with nothing connected) on the work area with the red and black test clip s next to each other, but not touchin g.

4. Move the LEAD ZERO switch to the “OPEN” posi tion. Release whe n a “ — ” begins to move through the display.

5. Connect the red and black test clips together.

6 . Move the LEAD ZERO switch to the “SHORT” pos

ition, a nd release when a “ —” begins to move through the display.

Fig. 11 — The impedence o f the test leads is balanced

out with the LEAD ZERO button.

Entering Component Da ta

Fig. 12— Controls used for entering component data.

To use the LC102 to perform th e automatic GOOD/BAD

tests explained on page 26, you must enter data about the component under test into th e LC102 AUTO-Z. (All component tes ts can be performed without entering

component data if au tomatic GOOD /BAD test indica tions are not desired). The component data tells the LC102 the “ideal” parameters necessary to make the GOOD/BAD determination.

The component data which can be entered into the LC102 includes : component type, value, tolerance and rated working voltage for capa citors, and component type, value, and tolerance for inductors and coils. These parameters are usually marked on the component, or can be determined by looking the component up in a parts list or replacement guide. The APPLICATIONS sect ion of this manual contains information on how to identify capacitor an d inducto r types.

N O T E : All component data can be cleared by p ushing

the “C L R ” button on the gra y C O M P O N E N T

P A R A M E T E R S keypad twice.

To Enter Component Type:

N O T E : The C O M P O N E N T T Y P E switches t ell the

L C 1 0 2 what kind of component is being te s ted.

1 . Press the desired COMPONENT TYPE button. Use

the beige color coded buttons when checking capacitors

and the blue buttons when checking inductors.

2. A red LED indicator in the comer of the COMPO NENT TYPE button lights w hen that button is selected.

To Enter Component Value:

1. Enter a numb er, up to 3 significant digits, equal to the value of the cap acitor or inductor. (Example: “123”. or “123000.”). Each digit will appear in the display as a key is pus hed.

a . T h e LC1 0 2 rounds the entry do w n if y ou enter a nu m be r having more than 3 significant digits ( E x a m 

ple: “1239” becomes “123 0”).

b. T h e LC 1 0 2 accepts nu m b e rs up to 6 places befo re the decimal. (Example: “1000 0 0 ”). Entries larger than th i s re s e t to 0. c. The LC1 02 accepts numbers up to 5 places a f t e r the decimal for numbe r s les s than 1. (Example: “0.00001” ) . Entries smaller than t hi s resul t in “Error

2”.

d. All unnecessary place holder dig it s are dropped.

(Example: “.06700” becomes “.067”).

e. Pu s h the “C L R ” button once t o clear the value entry an d s t a rt ov e r .

To Enter Compone nt Tolerance :

1 . Enter a 1, or 2 or 3 digit number up to 100 which

equa ls to the “ + ” value tolerance of the capacitor or inductor. Do not use a decima l.

2. Press the white “ + %” COMPONENT PARAMET ERS button.

3. Enter a 1 or 2 digit number up t o 99 which equals

to the “ - ” value tolerance of the ca pacitor or inductor.

Do not use a decima l.

4. Press the white ERS bu tton.

5. To check the entered percentage, press the white “ + %” or “ — %” button at any time.

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2. Enter the desired capacitor value multiplier or induc

tor value multiplier.

a . Th e capacitor value range i s 1 p F to 19.9 F . The

inductor value range i s .1 u H to 19.9 H. Entering values beyond th i s range causes an “Error 2 ”. b . T h e L C 1 0 2 accepts non-conventional value nota ti o ns, such as “.00001 F ”, “.00002 u F ” or “100 0 0 0 p F ”

3. After entering the multiplier, the display momentar

ily shows the entered value and multiplier before re turning to a “0000” read ing. The LC102 is now ready for the next parameter entry.

4. To check the entered capacitor value at any time,

pu sh any beige colored capacitor value multiplier but ton. To check the ente red induct or value push any blue colored ind uctor value multiplier button.

5. To change φΐ entered value parameter, repeat step s

1 & 2 .

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Fig. 13 — To enter component data select the COMPO NENT TYPE switch which corresponds to the com po nent being tested (a). Next, enter the com ponent value (b) and value tolerance (c). Finally, if testing a capacitor, enter the rated working voltage (d).

To Enter Leaka ge Volta ge:

1 . Enter the desired voltage from 1 to 999.9 using the

gray keys on the NUMERIC INPUT keypad. A decimal, followed by one digit may be entered, but is not neces sary.

2. Push the white “V ” key to enter the voltage. The voltage will appear in the applied voltage LCD display. For values greater than 25 volts the red WARNING

indicator LED will blink.

N O T E : The voltage is applied to the component Test

Leads whe n the C A P A C I T O R L E A K A G E t est button is

pushed.

3. To enter a different voltage, repeat steps 1 & 2 .

Error Codes

Error 3 - Entered Value Beyond Range Of Test

The component parameter entered via the keypad c

IEEE is beyond t he limits of the automatic GOOD/BA test. The co mponent may still be able to be te sted, bi not for a GOO D/BAD indication.

Possible causes:

1. Performing an ESR test with a capac i tor value of less than 1 u enter ed.

2. Performing a D/A t est with a capac itor value of less than .01 u enter ed.

3. Per f orming a INDUCTOR RINGER tes t wi t h a ind uctor value

less than 10 uH en tered.

Error 4 - Value Beyond Zeroing Limit - The amour

of inductan ce or capacitance at the TEST LEAD INPU is beyond the range of th e zeroing circuits. An ope (greater than 2 0 koh ms) or shorted (less than 1 ohir

test lead will cause the "OPEN” or “SHORT” an nur ciator to come on, rather than produce a n “Error 4”.

Several error condition s may occur while using the LC102 which c au se an error message to appear in the LCD display. These are usually caused by sm all errors in the operatio n of the LC102, although severely defec tive components may also cause certain error co ndi tions. The error co nditions are explained below.

Error I - Component Type Selection Error - This error occurs when a component test is attempted, and either an incorrect COMPONENT TYPE switch is selected for the test, or no COMPONENT TYPE switch is sele cted when required.

Possible caus es:

1. Performing a capacitor test with an inductor COMPONEN T TYPE switch selected.

2. Performing an inductor t est with a capacito r COMPONEN T TYPE switch selected.

3. Performing the INDUCTOR RINGE R test with out a n inductor COMPONENT TYPE switch selected.

4. Perfo r ming an y com ponent t est with the “Spare” capacitor COM PONENT TYPE button selected.

Error 2 - Entered Value Beyond Range of Unit - The component parameter entered via the keypa d or IEEE is beyond the measuring range of the L C102.

Possible causes:

1. Entering a capac itance v alue g reater than 19.9 Far ads, or less tha n 1 picofarad.

2. Entering an induc tance value grea ter tha n 19.9 Henrys, or less tha n .1 microhenry s.

3. Enterin g a leakage volt a ge greater than 999.9 volts.

4. Enteri ng a t o lerance perce ntage greater tha n +100%, or less t han

- 99%.

5. Enterin g a tole rance percentage that includes a decimal.

Possible causes:

1. The capac itance at the TEST LEAD Input is greate r than 1800 pF.

2. The inductan ce at the TEST LEAD Input is gre ater th ah 18 ut

3. The resistan ce at the TEST LEAD Inpu t is greater t han 1 ohm

Error 5 - No Voltage Entered - This error occur

when the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button is push e and no test voltage has been entered.

Error 6 - Invalid Computer Interface Command

An improper command was sent to the LC10 2 via th computer interface.

Possible causes:

1. Sendi ng a command that is not recogniz ed by the LC102.

2. W rong comma nd syntax.

N O T E : Refer to the C O M P U T E R I N T E R F A C E sectio, of thi s ma n u a l for information on using the A U T O -4 with computer co n t r o l .

Error 7 - Component Out Of Test Range - The com

ponent under test exc eeds the limits of the test whici was attempted.

Possible causes:

1. Measuring ESR of a capacitor having a value less than 1 uF.

2. Measuring capacit ance v alue on an extremely leaky capacitor.

3. At t empting a capacitor val u e test with 1 ohm to 2 Megohms < resistan ce connected across test leads.

N O T E : Entering a leakage voltage l es s than 1 volt wil l

se t the leakage supply to 0 vo lts.

Capacitor Testi ng

Fig. 14— Controls used for capacitor parameter tests.

The LC102 AUTO-Z ch ecks capacitors for value from

1 .0 pF to 20 Farads in 1 2 automatically selected ranges . The autom atic features of the LC102 AUTO-Z allow you to perform two levels of automated capaci tor test ing: basic parameter testing, and automatic GOOD/ BAD testing. For basic parameter testing, you simply connect the compon ent to the test leads and p ush the test butto n. The LC1 0 2 measures the capacitor and displays the test result. You must look up the values of leakage, ESR and dielectric absorption in a table to determine if the capacitor is good or bad.

For automatic GOOD /BAD testing, you first enter the parameters of the capacitor before performing the test. Then the LC102 will display the test results along with a GOOD /BAD indication of the capacitor. Only selected parameters need to be entered into the LC102, de pend ing upon which tests you desire a GOOD/BAD readou t for.

Capacitance M easurement Accuracy

The LC102 measures the RC charge time as the capacitor is charged through a precision resistor. This gives the most accurate measurement of true capacity available. Capacity values measured with the AUTO-Z may or may not exactly matc h readings on other instru me nts which use a different measuring technique. Bridges, for example, measure capacitive reactance

using an AC signal. Capacitive reactance changes with frequency. Therefore, two bridges operating at different frequencies will give different capacity readings.

Electrolytic capacitors may normally read up to 50% higher than their marked value when measured with the LC102. This is because electrolytics are marked according to their value as measured on an AC-type impedance bridge. The value of an electrolytic changes greatly with the meas urement frequency. This should cause no problem in determining if an electrolytic capacitor is good or bad, since most electrolytic capacitors have up to 80% value tolerance. The capacitor should read clos e to its marked value, or within tolerance when chec ked with the LC102. In ad dition, electrolytics most commonly fail due to leakage, dielectric absor ption, or ESR. When an electrolytic do es change value, the value drops far below the mar ked value.

The LC102 AUTO-Z is designed to measure capacitors out of circuit. Impedances found in the circuit will upset the AUTO-Z readings. Capacitors can not be checked in circuit accurately or reliably with any test method. Capacitors in circuit, however, may be tested by unso l

dering one lead from the circuit. When doing this, be sure to remove power from the circuit. If the unit is AC powered, unplug the AC line cord. Whenever possible, remove the capacitor completely from the circuit to test it.

■WARNING

Measuring Capacitor Value

When checking capacitors, remove the capacitor from circuit if possible. Otherwise, make sure the power is removed from the cir cuit and the AC line cord to the unit contain ing the capacitor is unplugged. Always con nect the capacitor to the LC102 test leads be fore depressing the CAPACITANCE VALUE test button, to prevent discharge into test cir cuitry.

Measuring Small Capacitance Values In Noisy Environments

The sensitive AUTO-Z measuring circuits may be af

fected by large, outsid e signals (such as the AC fields radiated by some lights and power transformers) when

small capacitance values are being measure d. Special

circuits in the LC102 help minimize noise pickup and stablize the readings.

Measurements of small value capacit ors in noisy envi ronments may be further improved by grounding the LC 102 case to earth ground. When possible, power the

LC102 with the PA251 AC Power Adapter connected to a properly ground ed AC outlet. The PA251 Power Adapter maintains the third wire ground shield and keeps the noise away from the measuringcircuits inside the AUTO-Z.

Capacitor Parameter Testing

To Measure Capacitor Value:

1. Zero the test leads , as explained on page 16.

2. Connect the capacitor to the test le ads. If t capacito r is polarized, be sure to connect the black t< clip to the “ — ” terminal of the capacitor and the i test clip to the “ + ” capa citor terminal.

3. Depress the CAPACITOR VALUE button.

4. Read the value of the capacitor in the LCD display.

N O T E : T h e “S H O R T ” annunciator appearing in \ L C D display wh e n the C A P A C I T O R V A L U E but tor , depressed indicates a resistance of 1 o h m or l es s at \ t es t lea ds . Check the tes t l e ad s. If they are not short the capacitor i s bad.

Some capacitors will cause the display to read “Er: 7”. These capacitors have too much leakage current allow the LC102 to make a value check and should considered bad.

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The LC102 check s capacitors for capacitance value, leakage, dielectric absorption and equivalent series re

sistance (ESR), These tests are made directly using the beige colored TEST buttons. Simply connect the compo  nent to the test leads, push the desired TEST bu tton, and read the test result in the LCD display . You can determine if the component is good or bad by comparing the measured ESR an d leakage values to the standard values listed in the tables in this manual and on the PULL CHART underneath the LC102.

N O T E : Except for the capacitor leakage test, no com p o

nent parameters need t o be entered to perform any

capacitor par amet er te st , if any blue Inductor C o m p o  nent Ty p e button i s s el ect ed, error code “ Error 1” w i ll appear in the L C D readout wh e n you attempt t o mak e a capacitor test. Pu s h the “C L R ” key o n the gray N U M E R I C ke ypad twice to clear any parameters.

The following procedures provide all the necessary in formation required to perform the capacitor parameter tests. A more detailed description of each of the

capacitor tests and failure modes can be found in the

APPLICATIONS section of this manual.

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Fig. 15 — To m easure capacitance, connect capacitor to the test leads and push the CAPACH

VALUE button. The amount o f capacity appears in

LCD display,

Measuring Capacitor Dielectric Absorption

Dielectric Absorption is often called “battery action

“capacitor memory” an d is the inability of the capac to completely discharge. While all capacitors have s< minute amounts of dielectric absorption, electroly may often develop excessive amo unts which affect operation of the circuit they are used in .

To check a capacitor for dielectric absorption, press the DIELECTRIC ABSORP button and compare the value to the cha rt. A fully automatic GO OD/BAD test may also be u sed to test for dielectric absorp tion. This test is explained on page 26.

To measure capacitor dielectric absorption:

1 . Connect the capacitor to the test leads. If the

capacitor is polarized, connect the red test clip to the “ + ” capacitor terminal and the black test clip to the “ — ” terminal.

2 . Depre ss the DIELECTRIC ABSORP button. A “ - ”

will appear and slowly mov e through the display indi cating that the test is in progress.

3. Read the percentage of dielectric absorption on the

display.

4. Compare the measured D/A to the amount listed in Table 1 for the capacitor type you are testing to deter mine if the capacitor is good or bad.

N O T E : D e pending on the capacitor’s value, type a n d

actual D/A, the LC 1 0 2 may, in a few cas es , take u p to 10 seconds to display a reading.

Maximum Allowable Percent Of D/A

ch arts. The capacitor is good if the measured leakage

is below the amount shown in the chart. A fully automa tic GOOD/BAD test may also be used to check capacitors for leakage. This test is explained on page 26.

Ι Π Γ Ι Π V0LTS

I U U.U

o m p q n e n t p a r a m e t e r s

l e a k a g e

Fig. 16— To test capacitor leakage, enter the working

voltage o f the capacitor.

To measure capacitor leakage:

Capacitor type Maximum % of D/A

Double Layer Lytic Meaningless. D/A may normally

be very high. Aiuminum Lytic 15% Tantalum Lytic Ceramic 10% All others

Refer to the APPLICATIONS section of this manual for

capacitor type identification.

Table 1— Maximum amounts o f Dielectric A bsorption.

15%

Measuring Capacitor

Leakage (In microamps)

Capacitor leakage occur s when some of the voltage from one plate flows (leaks) through the dielectric to the other plate. The amount of leakage current through the dielectric depends on the voltage applied acr oss the plates . For this reason, always check a capacitor for leakage at (or as close as possible to) its rated voltage. Voltages up to 999.9 volts may by applied with the LC102 .

1 . Connect the capacitor to the test leads. If the

capacitor is polarized, connect the red test clip to the “ + ” capacitor terminal and the black test clip to the

terminal.

2. Set the LEAKAGE switch to the “CURRENT” posi

tion to read the leakage of the capaci tor in uA or mA.

3. Enter the normal working voltage of the capac itor as explained earlier in the section “Entering Compo nent Parameters” on page 16.

------------

^-------WARNING-------------------

The LC102 is designed to be operated by a

technically trained person who understands

the shock hazard of up to 1000 volts applied to the test leads during the capacitor leakage test. DO NOT hold the capacitor in your hand,

or touch the test leads or capacitor leads

when making the leakage test.

4. Depres s the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button and read the amount of leakage in the LCD display .

5. Compare the measur ed leakage to the maximum allowable amou nt listed in the Leakage Charts on pages 2 3 and 24 for the type, value, and voltage rating of the capacito r you are testing.

To check capacitors for leakage, enter the working vol tage of the capacitor and p ress the CAPACITOR LEAK AGE button. Compare the measured leakage current to the maximum allowable amounts in the leakage

N O T E : B y entering the Comp o n e n t Type a nd Value

parameters for the cap aci tor, the L C 10 2 wi ll automati

cally display the measured leakage along with the same

G O O D IB A D indication as the Leakage Charts.

Voltage will be appl ied to the capacitor as long as the

CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button remains depressed, and the leakage reading s will decrease as the capacitor continu es to charge. Some capacitors may take a few

seconds to cha rge up to the applied voltage and may cause the display to overrange with a flashing “88 .8 8 mA” displ ay. Continue to depr ess the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button until the leakage reading drops below the maximum allowable amount listed in the Leakage Chart.

When the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button is released, the LC102 discha rges the capacitor through a low value, high wattage resist or. The LC 102 contains safety circuits which sense the voltage across the test leads. Therefore, when you release the CAPACITOR LEAK AGE bu tton after checking a large value ca pacitor, or after applying a high leakage voltage, the di splay may show “Wait

-----

” and the STOP TESTING alarm may activate until the voltage is gone from the test leads. All data inp ut and test buttons will be loc ked out until the display returns to “0 0 0 0 ”.

Leakage In Paper, Mica and Film Capacitors Paper, mica and film capacitors shou ld have extremely

small amounts of leakage. Measuring any leakage when che cking these types of capacitors indicates a bad component. The leakage reading may take 1-2 second s to show an ac curate display while the capaci tor charges.

Leakage In Ceramic Capacitors Leakage in cera mic capacitors is generally very low.

Ceramic dis c capacitors, however, may have small amounts of nor mal leakage. Ceramic disc cap acitors

with voltage ratings above 50 WVDC should have les s than 1 uA of leakage. Some discs with working voltages less than 50 WVDC may have a lower insulation resis tance, and therefore may show somewhat more leakage, depending upon manufact urer. In general, a 10 WVDC ceramic disc capacitor may show a s much as 16 uA of leakage, and 25 WVDC ceramic disc may read up to 2 .5 uA of leakage and still be considered good.

Leakage In Aluminum Electrolytics Because of their larger value and higher leakage

characteristics, aluminum electrolytic capac itors may take several seconds to charge. The LC1 0 2 display may overrange (flashing 8 8 . 8 8 mA display) indicating the charging current is greater than 20 mA while the capac itor is charging. Table 2 shows the ap proximate time that you can expect the LC102 to overrange for a given capacitor value and applied voltage. After the LC1 0 2 stops overranging, the current will drop in prog- ressivly smaller step s as the capacitor charges. When the cap is fully char ged, the leakage readings will change just a few digits u p or down. You do not n eed to wait until an electrolytic capacitor is fully charged to determine if it is good. Simply keep the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button dep ressed until the leakage reading falls below the maximum amount shown in the Leakage Charts.

C a p a c it y ju F )

Table 2 — Meter Overrange time versus capacii value and applied voltage.

Leakage In Tantalum Electrolytics Tantalum electrolytic capacitor s have much l ov

leakage than aluminum electrolytics of the same s: and voltage rating. Therefore, tantalum lytics will gj a leakage reading in a much shorter time than aluminum lytic - typically within 2 to 5 seconds. Co: pare the measured leakage with the amounts shown the leakage charts to determine if the capacitor i s go or bad.

Leakage In Non-Polarized Electrolytics

Electrolytic ca pacitor s which are non-polarized shou be check ed for leakage in both directions. This requ ir that you measur e leakage twic e, reversing the LCli test lead conn ections for the second test. The maximu allowable leakage for a non-polarized electrolytic either direction is twice that of a similar polarized el*

trolytic of similar capacitance value and voltage ratinj

Leakage charts

The following leakage chart s list the maximum amou: of allowable leakage for the mos t common aluminu electrolytics and dipped solid tantalum capacito r These charts are also duplicated on the PULL CHAS below the LC102. Good capacitors (a s far as leakage concerned) will measur e lower than th e amounts shov in the Leakage Charts. When measuring leakage, yc do not need to wait for the readings to drop to zer o i to its lowest point. The capacitor is good for any l eaka^

reading which is lower than the amount shown in tt

chart. Leakage values sho wn in Table 3 for aluminum eie

trolytic capaci tors are the worst -case conditions, J

specified by the Electronic Industries Association (Εΰ standard RS-395. The values ar e determined by tt

formulas: , L = 0.05 x CV (for CV products less tha

1000 ) or L = 6 x square root of CV (for CV produci greater than 1000. (The CV pr oduct is equal to th capacitance value multiplied by the voltage rating)·

The tantalum capaci tor leakage values listed in Table 4 are for the most common type of tantalum capacitor s — dipped solid, type 3.3 . These values are specified by EIA standard RS-228B, following the formula: L = 0.35 x square root of CV . In a few applications outside of

Maximum Allowable Leakage (in M icroamps)

Standard Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors

Capacity

in uF 1.5V

1.0

1.5

2.2

3. 3

4.7

6.8 10

33 47

100

150

220

330

5 5 5

.....

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

25 50 267 470 680 19 2

10 0 0 232 329

1500 285

22 00

345

3300 422 597 4700 504 6800 606

10 000

735 1039 1470

15000 900

22000

33000

1090 154 1 1335

47000 1593 56000 68000

10 0 000

150000

220000

1739 1916 2324 2846 34471

S.OV

3.0V

5 5

5 5 5 5 5

5 5 7

15 23 33

225 319

27 1

402 569

487;

712 1008 1301 1593 1840 2057

857

1212 1565 1916 2213

1800

1273

2180 2670

1888

3186 4113 5038

2253

3478

2459 2710

3832 4948 6060

3286 4648

5692

4025 4874

6893

10V

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7

218 281 345

383 465

689 844

1090

1897 2324

2814

Γ 3447

4490

6000 7348 8899

15V

20V 25 V 35V

5 5 5 5

17 24 34 50

232

3451 411 495 600 735 900 890

5 5

5 7

2 2 ~

25 35

192 232 285

422 504 606 700 782 735

1090 1335

2324 2846 3286 3447 4221

5499 6350 7099 8400

7348 8485 9000

22 1 268 329 398 487 582 650

849 1039 1162 1259 1407 1665 1990 15 41

2683

3980

4874

5817 6504

6997

1723 2039

2474 2927 3499 4948 3000 3550 3674 4347 4450 5265 5450 6448

7823 9487

ί I I I I

13 19 28 41

206 247 300 367 445 545

949

consumer service, tantalum capacitors other than type

3.3 may be en countere d. Refer to the manufacturers specifications for the maximum allowable leakage for these special capa citor types.

50V

5 5 5

5 11

6 8

18 50 26

199

204 243 293 355 435 526 629 890 645 7 71 1090 770

926 1122 1342 1375

2434 2909 4113

7695 9198

9256

044

29 1 411 582 350 424 520

920 130 1

1106

1643

2437

4243 6000 8485 5196 6293 8899 7707

100V

5 5

12 23

1565 1897 2324 2814 3447 4874 5970 6893

7348

200V

33 47

22 1

268 232 281 345

495 600 849 1039 735 1039 1273

329 402 398 487 563 629 487

700

1259 154 1

1840 2253 2213 2683 3286 3980

5817 6997

400V

300V

23~

30 44

50 218 225 260 27 1

313 379 424

329

465:

597

689

712

823 990

857

1200 134 2

1470

154 1

1780 2180

1888

2602

2710

3129

3286

3795 4243 4648 4648

4025 4874

5628

8227

7125 8570 9895

.......Γ.

....._ j

.... ....

500V

600V

25 38

199 218~ 244 267 29 1 350 383

520

77 1 920

1106

1643 1800 2324

199 0 2437 2909 3499 3832

5196 6293 7707 9198

30 45 232

319

465 600 569 735 689

844 1008 1212 1565 1470 1897

2180 2670 3186

5692 6893 8443

I i

I ........ί

.........

— l

1000V

281

. 345

411

495

890 1090 130 1

2814 3447 4113 4948 6000 7348 8899

.........

NOTE: No industry standards are available for component vaiues in the shaded areas. These vaiues have been extrapolated from existing standards and manufacturers data. Ail vaiues not shaded are based on existing EIA industry standards.

Table 3 — Max imum allowab le leak age for aluminum e le ctrolytics per EIA standards.

Dipped Solid Tantalum Capacitors

Capacity

1.5V 3.0V 6.0V

1.0

1.0 1.0

1.5 1.0

2.2 1.0 1.0

3.3 1.0

4.7 1.0

6.8 1.0 10 1.6

2.2 2. 2

2.8 2. 8 2 , 8 3.0

33 Γ 3,4 47 4.0

100

150

22 0

5.0 5.0

.......

7 ΤΊ

330 20 470

680 29

10 0 0

1500

22 0 0

3300 4700 6800

10 0 00

35 35 35 43 43 43 52 52 64 64 64 64 78 90 76 91 91

■·' . 111;:

15000 136:

22 000

: 164

33000 201 47000 240) 68000 289

10 000 0

150000

2000 00 495

350

: 429

1.0

Γ i.o

1. 0

1.6 1.6

3.4 3.4 5.0 7.5

4.0 4.0 10 10

10 10

15 15 20 20

20 20 2 0

24 24 24 29 34 38 45 29 29

76 76 76 93

111 136

IT—.

201

■ 240

240

289 350 429 429 495 495

10V

1.0 1.0 1.0

1.0

1.0 1.0 1.0

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

1.0 1.0

1.0

1.0 1.5 2.0

2.0

2.2 2.5

5.0

15 15 20

10 15 20

20 20 20 23

29 35 43 53 61 68

52 52 64 73

91 91 112 129

11 1 136 157 175

11 1 136 ■ 36 166

164

20 1

201

240

289

289 350

350

429 495 606

Maximum Allowable Leakage (In Microamps)

20V 25V

15V

1.0 1.4 1.0

1.5

1.0

1.5 2. 0 2.6

2.5 3.0 3.0

2.5 3.0

4.0

3.0

5.0 9.5 10 15 10

15 15 16

25 28

35V 50V

1.0

1.8

2.2 2.0

1.0 1 .0

1.2

2.5

4.0

7.0

5.0 7.8

5.0 9.6

10 11 14 20 28

15 17 20 17

21 25

26 31 32 38

100 V 200V

4. 9

3. 5

6.1

4. 3

2.0

7.3

5.2

2.0

6.4 9.0 11 13

3.0

7.6

3.5

6.5 9.1

11 19

11 13 15

13 16 18 20

14 19

12 16 23

34 42 48

41 50

29 25 35 30 43

49 61 70 78 86

6 1

37 52 73

64 90 110 127

45 54 76 107 13 1

129

41 46

55 82 97 116

10 1 119

107 120 142 170

144 17 1

214 254 303

192 232 260

20 1 246 284 318 294 339 353 429 495 553 535^ 606 678

379 449 537 759

408 456 540

734

783

54 65 65 78 80

142 201

204

207 247 350

307 367 519 i: 734 376 450 636

645 655 802 971

783

959

1100

11 1 157

96 136 192 235 271 303 332 429

164 232

284 348 240 339 289 408

495 429 606 742

899 1101 1272 ■ ■142 2

1073 12 91 ί 1581 ■1825

913

1107 1565

1917 2348 2711

1356

2210

1570

300V

6.1 7.0 7.8 8 . 6

7.4

500V 600V 1000V

400V

8.6 9.6

9.0 10 12 13 14 16

17 19

22 25 27

23 27 30 33 28

37 40 52

35 40 45 49 64

59 76

_ _

86 96 105

90 104 116 127 164

204

367 450

645

156 . 2 01 186 224 289 27 1

402 519 492

707

1557

2236 2886 271 1 3500 3320 3830

• : ■ 142

: 152 170 158 192

284

416 480 537 588 759 500 577 606 700 783 857

899 1038

131V

1917

2710

183 221 247

328

; 402

857 959 1050 1356

11 61 1272 1642

1518 1697 1859

2041

2214 2475

3031

3130 3500

29 35 43

111

136

240

350

636

913

1107

201 1 2399

4287 519 1

NOTE: No industry standards are available for component vaiues in the shaded areas. These vaiues have been extrapolated from existing standards and manufacturers data. Ali vaiues not shaded are based on exis ting EiA industry standards.

Table 4 — Maximum allowable leakage for solid tantalum electrolytics per EIA standards.

Measuring Capacitor

Yet, as far as the circuit is concerned, the DC loadi

is the same.

Leakage (In Ohms)

The LC102 uses a regulated DC power supply to provi At times it is useful to know the amount of capacitor leakage in terms of resistance. For example, it is often easier to visualize what effect a 1 Megohm resistor will have on a high impedance circuit than it is to translate the effect of a capacitor having 1 microamp of leakage.

voltages for checking capacitor leakage. Because a I

voltage is used, the leakage currents can easily be co

verted to a resistance. Placing the front panel LEA-

AGE switch in the “OHMS” position allows the LCT

to display leakage current in ohms.

To measure capacitor leakage in ohms:

1. Connect the capacitor to the test leads. If the capacitor is polarized, con nect the red test clip to the “ + ” capacitor terminal and the black test clip to the “ - ” terminal.

2. Set the LEAKAGE switch to the “OHMS” position to read the leakage current in ohms.

3. Enter the normal working voltage of the capacitor as explained earlier in the section “Entering Compo  nent Parameters” on page 16.

----------------------

WARNING

-----------------------

The LC102 is designed to be operated by a

technically trained person who understands

the shock hazard of up to 1000 volts applied to the test leads during the capacitor leakage test. DO NOT hold the capacitor in your hand, or touch the test leads or capacitor leads when making the capacitor leakage test.

BHM CORE

1X 102 AUTO-Z CAPACITOR.I HOUCTOR AHAiYZCJl

4. Depre ss the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button and read the amount of leakage resistance in the LCD dis play.

Fig. 17 — Place the LEAKAGE sw itch in the “ohm ”

position to measure leakage resistance.

Measuring Capacitor ESR

Fig. 18 - Depress the ESR button and read the amount

of ESR on the LCD display.

To measure capacitor ESR:

1. Zero the test le ads, as explained on page 16.

2. Connect the capacitor to the test leads. If the capac itor is polarized, be sure to connect th e bl ack test clip to the “ — ” terminal of the capacitor and the red test clip to the “ + ” capacitor terminal.

3. Depress the CAPACITOR ESR button and read the amount of ESR in ohms on the digital disp lay.

4. Compare the measured ESR to the value listed in the following ESR tables for the capacito r type, value, and voltage rating of the capacitor you are testing.

NOTE: By entering the component type , working vol tage, and value parameters for the capacitor, th e LC1 02

will automatically display the measured ESR along wit h

the sam e GOODIBAD indication as t he ESR ta b l es.

Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) oc curs when a capacitor develops abnormally high internal resistance.

The LC102 tests capacitors for abnormal amou nts of

internal resistance using a patented ESR test.

To test a capacitor for excessive ESR, simply press the

CAPACITOR ESR button a nd compare the measured ESR to the maximum allowable ESR listed in Table 5 for aluminum electrolytic capacitors , and Table 6 for tantalum capacitors. A fully automatic GOOD/BAD test may also be used to test capacitors for excessive ES R. This test is explained on page 2 6.

Maximum Allowable ESR (in Ohms)

Standard Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors

CAPACITY! I

in uF j 1.5V I 3.0V

1.0 663

1.5

2.2

3. 3

442 302 201

4.7 141-

6.8

33 47

100

150

220

330

470 680

10 0 0

1500

2200

3300 4700 6800

10 0 00

15000

22000

33000 47000 56000

44 3 iP 20 14

9.76

6.63

4.42

3.02

2.01

1.41 .976 .663

.442 .302 .201 .141 .098

.066 .044

.030 .030 .020

.014

.012

68000 .010 .010

6.0V

663

442 302 20 1 14 1

9*76:

6.63

4.42.

3.02

2.01

1.4 1 .976 .663

.442 .302 .20 1 .141 .098 .066 .044 .044 .044 .031

.020 .020 .020 .014 .012

10V

663

442

442 302 302

141

201

141

201

44 30

1.41

.442 .302

9.76 6.83

6.63

4.42 3.10

3.02

2.01

1.41 .976 .683 .663 .442 .302

.201

9.76

6.63

4.42

3.02

2.01

.976 .663

.201

.141 | .141

.098 .098 .066 .066 .046

.030 .030 .021

.014 1 .014

.012 .012

.010 j .010

....

15V j 20V 25V 35V

464 464 310

211 2 11 211

141

98 68

66 46

44 30

31 31

21 21

20 14

9.88

4.64

2.11

1.41 1.41 .988

.464 .310

.211

.141 .141 .099

.068

.014 .010

310

141

9,88

6.83

4.64

3.10

2.11 2.11

.988 .683 .464 .310

.211

.099

.068 .046

.031 .03 1 .021 .014 .010

464

221 221

310

151

141 101 101

7 1

68 ! 49

22 2 2

21 15

14 ί 10

9.88 7.06

4.88

6.83

4.64

3.32

2.21

3.10

1.51

1.01

1.41 .706

.988

.488

.683

.332

.464

,221

.310

.211

.151

.141

.101 .071

.099

.049

.068

.033

.046

.022 .015

.021

.010

:oi4 .010

50V 100 V 200V 300V

332

151

332

177

121

265

177

121 121

265

177

80 80 56

71 49 33

39 39 27

56 27

18 18

7.06

4.88

3.32

2.21

1.51

1.01

.706 ! .565

.488 j .390

.332 I .265

.221

.151

.101

.071 .049 .033 .022 .018 .018 .018 .015 .012 .010

12 12

8.04 8.04

5. 65 5.65

3.90 3. 90

2. 55 2.65

1.77 1.77

1,21

.804 .804

.177 .121

.080 .056 .056 .039 .039 .039 .027 .027

8.04

5.65

3.90

2.65

Hl77~ 1.77

1.21 1.21

1.21

.804 .804

.565 .565

.565

.390 .390 .390 .390

.390

.265 .265

.265

.177 .177

.177' .121 .121

.080 .080 .080 .080 .080

.080

.056

.027

.012 .012 .012 .012

.012

400V

265 265

177

121

56 39

27 18

8.04

5.65

3.90

2.65

.121: . .121

.056 .056 .056 .039 .027 .027 .027 .018

600V I 1000V

500V

265

177

121

27 ! 27

Ϊ2 Ί

8. 04

8.04

5.65

5. 65

3.90

3. 90

2. 65

2.65

1.77

1.21. .804 .804 .565

.265 .177

. .121

.039

.018 .018 .018

1.77

. 1.2 1

1.2 1 .804 .565

.565

.390 .265

.265

1 ?7

.177 .12 1

.056

.039 .039

.027

.012

265

177

121

NOTE: No industry standards are ava ilable for component vaiues in the sha ded area. These values have been extrapolated from existing standards

and ma nufacturers data. Ail values not shaded are based on existing EIA indus try standards.

Table 5 — Maximum allowable ESR for aluminum electrolytics per EIA standards.

Capacitor Automatic

GOOD/BAD Testing

formulas in the AUTO-Z memory are the same as those

The LC102 AUTO-Z can automatically display a “GOOD/BAD” indica tion for capacitor parameter test s. The automatic tests are much faster than manual parameter tests, since you do not have to look up the result in a chart, or interpolate between listed values.

The LC102 compares the measured values of dielectric absorption, leakage, and ESR to tables and formul as store d in its micr oprocesso r memory. The tables and

printed in this ma nual, and are based on EIA stand ards

and manufacturers data. Not every parameter for some capaci tor types are specified by EIA standar ds or man ufacturer’s data. The LC102 will not pr oduce a “GOOD/ BAD” display for capacitor parameters not covered by industry acc epted stand ards. The capaci tor types and parameters which will produce a “GOO D/BAD" indica tion are listed in Table 7.

Dipped Solid Tantalum Capacitors

CAPACITY

inuF

1.5V | 3.0V 6.0V

1.0 133 133

88.4 I 88.4 88.4 53.1 53.1 53.1 ΐ 53,1

1.5

2.2 60.3 60.3

40.2 40.2 40.2

3.3

4.7 28.2 28.2

19.5 19.5 19.5

6.8

13.3 13.3 13.3 7,96

15 8.84

22 6.03 6.03 6.03

8.84 8.84 5.31 5. 31 5.31

4.02 4.02

60.3 36.2

28.2 16.9 16.9

4.02 2.41

10V

79.6 79.6 ί 79.6

133

24.1 24.1

11.7 11.7

3.62 3.62 3.62

47 2.82 2.82 2.82 1.69 1.69

68 1.95 1.95

100 1.33 1.33

150 0.8 8 0 . 8 8 0.8 8

22 0 0.60 0.60 0.60

330 0.40 0.40 470 0.28 0.28 0.28 680 0. 2 0

10 0 0

0.13

1500 0.09 0.09

2200 0.06

3300

0.04 0.04 0.04 4700 0.03 0.03 0.03 6800

0.0 2 0 . 0 2 0.0 2 0.02

1. 95 1,17

1.33 0.80 0.80 0,80 0.80

0.8 8 0.88 0.8 8 0. 88 0.53

0. 60 0.60 0.60 0.60

0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40

0. 28 0.28 0.28 0.28

0.2 0 0.2 0 0. 2 0 0.20

0.13 0.13 0. 13 0.13

0.13

0.09 0.09 0. 09 0.09

0.06 0.06 0.06

0.04 0.04

0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03

Maximum Allowable ESR (in Ohms)

I I

15V I 20V I 25V 35V 50V

66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3

79.6

100V 200V I 300V | 400V 500V 600V 1000V

44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2

36. 2 36.2 36.2

24.1 24,1

16.9 16.9

11.7 11,7

7.96

7,96 7.96 7.96

30.1

20,1 20.1 20.1 20 .1 20.1

30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1

14,1 14.1 14.1

11.7

11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7

11.7

7.96

7.96 7.96

5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31

3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62

1. 69

1.69 1.69

2.41

3. 62 3,62

2,41

2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41

1.69 1.69

1.17 1,17 1.17 1,17 1.17 1.17 0,80 0.80 0.80 0. 80 0.80

0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53

0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36

0. 40 0.24 0.24

0.24 0.24 0.24

0.17 0.17 0.17

0. 2 0 0.2 0 0,12

0.1 2 0.12 0.1 2 0.12 0.12

0.13 0.08 0.08 0.08

0. 09 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05

0.06 0.06 0.06

0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04

0.04 0.04 0 . 0 2 0.02 0. 02 0.02 0. 0 2

0.0 2 0.0 2 0.02 0.0 2

0. 02 0.02 0 .02 0.01 0.01

0.01

20.1

14.1 14.1 14.1 14.2

7.96 7.96 7.96

5. 31 5. 31

2,41 2.41

5.31 5.31

2.41 2. 41 2.41

1.69 1.69 1,69 1.69

1.17 1.17 1.17

0.80

1.17

0.80

0.53 0.53 0.53

0.36

0.36 0.36 0.36

0.24

0.17 0.17 0,17 0.17

0.12 0 . 12

0.08 0.08

0.08 0.08 0.08

0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05

0.01

0.04 0.04

0. 0 2 0.02 0 . 02 0 . 02

0.01

0. 02

0.01

0.04 0.04

0.02

0,01 0.01

44.2

30.1

20.1 ■ 2 0. 1

14.1 14.1

11.7

7.96

5.31

3.62 3.62

1.69 1.69

1.17

0.80

0.24

0.17

1.17

0.80

0.24

0.17

0.12

0.08

0.05

0.04

0. 0 2

0. 02

0.01

NOTE: No industry stan dards are available for component valu es in the sha ded are as. These values have been extrapolated from exis ting standard s and manufacturers data. Alt va iues are base d on existing EIA industry standards.

Table 6 — Maximum allowable ESR fo r dipped solid tantalum electrolytics per EIA standards.

ΠΎ

CAPACITOR TYPE TESTS TO PERFORM

Vaiue Leakage D/A ESR

Aluminum Lytic X

Double Layer Lytic Tantalum Ceramic All other caps

X X X X X

X X X

(paper, film, mylar, etc.)

Table 7 — The LC102 w ill provide an automatic GOODIBAD test of the capacitor parameters shown here.

To perform an automatic GOOD/B AD tes t, yo u must enter the capacitor type, capacitance value, and voltage rating of the capacitor to be tested so the LC102 can determine the GOOD/BAD limits. If you desire to grade capacitors according to value, you must also enter the desired “ + ” and “ - ” value tolerances. The value toler ances, how ever, do not need to be entered for automatic GOOD/B AD tests of leakage, ESR, or dielectric absorp tion.

TEST CAP

Cap. Value

Cap. Leakage Cap. ESR Cap. D/A

VALUE

X X X X

+ %

- %

CAP

VOLTAGE

X X X

COMPON.

TYPE

X X X

N O T E : Th e leakage t est function m a y require from 4 to 8 display updates for the leakage value to se tt le be fo r e a G O O D / B A D indication is displayed.

Table 8 — These parameters m ust be entered into the AUTO-Z for complete GOOD/BAD test o f a capacitor.

To perform an automatic GOOD/BAD capacitor test

1 . Zero the test leads.

2. Conn ect the capacitor to the test leads..

3. Place the LEAKAGE switch in the “CURRENT” pos ition. The LC102 will not give a GOOD/BAD reading with th e switch in the “OHMS” position.

4. Enter the componen t type, value, and voltage rating of the capacitor to be tested. (Refer to the se ction “En tering Component Data” on page 16.)

5. To grade c apacitors according to value, enter the “ + ” and “ - ” value tolerance.

6 . Push the des ired capacitor TEST button.

7. Rea d the test result in the LCD along with the GOOD/ BAD indication.

Fig. 20 - The LC102 provides an automatic GOOD/BAD component indication.

8 . The display must show a “GOOD” reading for all of

the tests listed in table 7 under the type of capacitor being tested.

Inductor Testing

Fig. 21 — Controls used for inductor testing.

The LC102 AUTO-Z measures the true inducta nce of

coils using a fast, reliable patented test. Coils from

.luH to 19.9 9 H are automatically measured for value by connect ing the test leads and pressing the test but to n. A patented Ringer test dynamically checks the “Q” of the coil and provides a proven GO OD/BAD check.

Balancing Out Lead Inductance

The LC10 2 test leads have a small amount of induc

tance which must be balanced out for greater accuracy

when measuring inductor values smaller than 1 0 0 0

uH. This lead inductance is balanced out with the

LEAD ZERO switch.

To balance out test lead inductance

1. Connect the test leads to the TEST LEAD input jack

on the LC102.

2 . Connect the red and black test cl ips together.

3. Move the LEAD ZERO switch to the “SHORT” pos

ition, and release when a begins to move through

the display.

4. The test lead inductance will automatically be ba

lanc ed out for all su bsequen t inductance tests as long

as the AUTO-Z remains on.

Fig. 22 - Connect the test leads together and push the LEAD ZERO button to “SHORT” to balance out the test lead impedance when checking small value inductors.

N O T E : Zeroing or not zeroing the te st leads will not

af f e c t the Ringe r te st.

Inductor Value Testing

Induct ors are tested for value with the LC102 by simply connecting the inductor to the test leads a nd pushing the INDUCTOR VALUE button . No component type

switches need to be selected to mea sure inductance value. Make sure none of the beige capacitor type but tons are selected, or the LC102 will only display ‘‘Error

1” when the inductor test b utton is pressed.

N O T E : Only the blue color coded L C 1 0 2 buttons are

used for inductor value t est ing .

To measure inductance value

1 . Zero the test leads.

2. Connect the inductor to the test leads.

3. Push the INDUCTOR VALUE button.

4. Read the inductan ce value on the LCD display.

N O T E : The L C 1 0 2 L C D display will read “O P E N ” if the compone n t connected to the tes t leads has more than 20 koh m s of resistance wh e n the I N D U C T O R V A L U E

button is pressed. Ch e ck the connections t o the inductor. If y o u are testing a multitap co il or transformer, be sure

you are connected to the proper ta p s . If the connections

are good, the inductor has a n open wind ing an d i s bad.

Inductor Automatic GOOD/BAD Testing

shown in the LC102 LCD displa y. A shorted turn will lower the Q of the coil, causing the LC102 display to read “BAD” and sh ow less than ten rings.

In addition to air core coils " and RF choke s, vertical deflection yokes, horizontal flyback transfo rmers and switching power supply transformers are reliably checked with the Ringer test. The LC102 automatically matc hes the coil impedance to the necessary testing parameters for the inductor type when the pro per In ductor COMPONENT TYPE switch is se lected. Simply

sele ct the component type and press the INDUCTOR

RINGER test bu tton to obtain the GOOD/BAD indi ca tion. Refer t o the APPLICATIONS section of this man ua l for more details on inductor types.

f:0?$P0NENT TYP£

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m sv

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Μ1:: & ίνίΤΤ

Y O K E S 4

F L Y B A C K S

S W I T C H I N G X F O R M E R S

The LC102 provides two GOOD/BA D tests for induc tors. The first GOOD/BAD test is the patented Ringing test which chec ks for sh orted turns (low Q) in the induc tor.

The se cond LC10 2 GOOD/BAD test compares the actual measured value of an inductor to a user-entered value and tolerances. Both tes ts will display a GOOD/BAD readout along with the measured parameter.

N O T E : The blue color coded T E S T a n d C O M P O N E N T

T Y P E Select buttons are used for inductor G O O D I B A D t ests.

Checking Inductors with the Ringer Test

A shorted turn in many coils will go unnoticed with a value test, since the sh orted turn changes the induc tance value only a small amount. The patented Ringer test, however, provides a fast and accurate GO OD/BAD indication of non -iron core coils larger than 10 uH by checking their quality or “Q” factor. The Ringer test is sensitive enough to detect even a single shorted turn on a co il. The AUTO-Z measures Q by applying a pulse to the coil and counting the number of ringing cycles until the ringing damp ens to a preset level. A good coil will indicate “GOOD”, an d 10 or more rings will be

Pig. 23 — The inductor COMPONENT TYPE switches match the Ringer test circuits to the inductor impe dance.

To perform the Ringer test

1 . Connect the coil to the LC102 test leads.

2. Select the proper inductor COMPONENT TYPE

switch.

3. Push the INDUCTOR RINGER button.

4. Read the condition of the coil as “GOOD” or “BAD”

in the LC102 LCD display.

Special Notes O n Us i ng The Ringing Test

1. D o not ring co i l s a n d transformers having laminated

iron co r e s , such as p owe r transformers, f ilter chokes and audio output transformers. The iron core will absorb

the ringing energy an d pr oduce unreliable te st re su lts.

2. Go o d coi ls below 10 u H m a y not read “G O O D ” because

the small inductance value ma y not allow the coi l t o

ri ng . C o mpare the n u m b e r of rings t o a k n o w n good coil·.

The patented Sencore R ingin g tes t is based on the Q of

the coil. Ho w e ver, the readings on the A U T O - Z m a y not ag ree , with the Q readings obtained using a “ Q Meter” or bridge. This is because the Ri nging te s t has been simplified to provide a simple G O O D IB A D t e st, rather than a frequency dependent reactance!resistance r atio .

Testing Inductor Values Using The GOOD/BAD Test

The LC102 will automatically compare the measured value of an inductor to its marked value and display a good or bad result, based on the component being in or out of tolerance. In order for the AUTO-Z to compare the marked value to the measured value you must prog ram the inductance value and tolerance into the LC102 using the NUMERIC keypad. Then w hen you push the INDUCTOR VALUE button, the measu red inductance value will b e displayed along with a GOOD/BAD read ing base d o n the programmed tolerance.

COMPUTER INTE RFA CE OPERATI ON

All of the LC102 AUTO-Z tests may b e totally auto mated or incorporated into an automated test system through the use of the IEEE 4 88 General Purpose Inter

face Bus (GPIB or RS2 32). This section explains IEEE opera tion, but the comm ands are the same for RS232.

The LC102 is interfaced to any IEEE syst em or control

ler using the (optional) IB72 IEEE 4 88 Bus Interface accessory. The IB72 makes the AUTO-Z a fully compat ible IEEE instrume nt.

The LC102 may have either of two function s. As a “lis tener” it can receive instructions from the IEEE 48 8 bus controller to change functions or ranges. The LC1 0 2 listener function s provide complete automation, as the controller is able to send any values or tolerances needed for good/bad testing comparisons and the con troller can select any of the AUTO-Z test functions.

As a “talker” the LC102 can send read ings back to the IEEE 488 bus controller as the controller requests them.

Fig. 24 - The LC102 w ill provide a GOOD/BAD test of inductance value if the marked value and tolerance is program med in.

To Use The GOOD/BAD Inductance Test:

1. Zero the test leads. 2 . Connect the induct or to the test leads.

3. Enter the marked value, along with the “ + ” and “ — ” tolerance of the inductor to be tested. (Refer t o the sectio n “Entering Component Data” on page 16.)

C ONNECT IN G THE LC102 FOR IEEE OPERATION

The IB72 IEEE 488 Bus Interface accessory must be connected to the LC102 AUTO-Z for IEEE operation. The IB72 acts as a translator between the GPIB signals and the microprocessor insi de the LC102 AUTO-Z. The IB72 connects to the INTERFACE ACCESSORY JACK located on the back of the LC102. The st and ard GPIB cable then connects to the IB72.

4. Push the INDUCTOR VALUE button.

5. If the measured inducta nce value is within the prog

rammed value tolerance the “GOOD” annunciator will

come on.

6 . If the measur ed inductance value is outside the prog

rammed value tolerance, the “BAD” annunciator will

come on.

Fig. 25 - The IB72 IEEE 488 Bus Accessory interfaces the LC102 to any GPIB system for automated opera tion.

When using the LC102 in a Bus system only operate the LC102 from its AC power adapter. The power adap

ter prevents the auto-off circuits from removing powe r' from the LC1 02 during an automated test. If the auto- off circuits shut the AUTO-Z down, the bus controller may become hung up in the middle of its program.

Eac h instrument in an automated bus system must be assigned its own address in order for the controller to send instruction s to or receive readings from one in stru ment at a tim e. The address of the LC102 is set with a group of miniature slide switches on the back of the IB72. Refer to the IB72 instruction manual for details about addresses and setting these switches.

S P E C I A L N O T E O N I E E E P R O G R A M S

The compute r progra m s or software used to automate a

system must be written for the s p e c ifi c application being performed. T h e a m o unt of p r ogramming required de pends on the type of IE E E 488 cont rol le r used a n d wha t

you wa n t the automation to accomplish. Most I E E E 48 8

pr o gra m min g is don e in the B A S I C computer language,

although a n y other language compatible with your co n

troller can be used as w el l . Th e examples covered in th i s

sectio n are written in B A S I C , since it is the mos t co m 

monly used c omputer language for GP I B applications.

SENDING DATA TO THE LC1 02

To connect the LC102 to an automated GPIB sys tem:

1 . Remove power to the LC1 0.2 and to the IB72.

2. Set the Bus Add ress slide switches on the bac k of the IB72 to the address you have assigned to the LC102.

3. Connect the male DIN connector on the IB72 to the Interface Accessory Jack on the ba ck of the LC102.

4. Connect the AC power adapters to the LCX02 and to the IB72 and connect them to AC outlets.

5. Confirm that power has reached the units by check ing the power LED on t he I.B72 and the digital readout on the LC1 0 2 .

6 . Follow the instructions for your controller to load

and run the software.

As a listener, the LC102 a ccepts commands from the controller. These commands can be used to select a function or to send parameters to the LC102 for GOOD/ BAD comparison testing. The commands sent to the AUTO-Z during bus operation duplicate the front panel pushbuttons. Follow the same programming sequence and range limits as for manual (non-IEEE) operation.

The listener codes consi st of one, two, or three charac ters, and relate to the function being selected or the data being entered. Most, listener codes consist only of the cod e characters. The listener codes used to enter data for good/ba d testing c onsist of a number, followed by the character code.

Most controllers sen d information over the b us by means of a “print” statement. The information to be sent is usually placed into a variable, and the variable is then printed to the bus, along with the address of

the instrument. Study the information with your con

troller for details abou t sending information to instru ments. .

The codes may be sent by the controller as either upper or lower case (capital or small) letters.

Fig. 26 - The LC102’s address is selec ted by the Bus Address switches located on the rear of the IB72.

All data sent to- the LC1 02 must end with a linefeed

character, to b e recognized by the LC1 02. S ome control

lers automatically add this character to the end of every string of data, while othe rs have a special function whic h adds the linefeed when activated with a software Q ommand. If your controller has neither of these op tions, you can add a linefeed charac ter by storing the character in a variable and then adding this variable to your data befo re sending it to the bus.

Fig. 27 - shows how the linefeed ch aracter can be stored

in a string-variable called “LF$”. This variable can

then be combined with the functio n stored in “LIS

TENS” before being sent to th e bus.

100 LF $“CHR$(10): REM CHR$(10) IS A LINEFEED

1 10 LI STEN$=LISTEN$+ LF$: REM ADDS THE LINEFE ED TO THE DATA

120 PR INT LISTEN!: REM SENDS THE STRING TO THE BOS

Fig. 27 - Use this routine to add a linefeed character to the end of data statements sent to the LC102.

Value Multipliers:

These GPIB listener codes let the controller se nd com ponent data information to the LC102 including the

ideal component value and value tolerance limits. The codes duplicate the non-IEEE operaton of the compo

nent parameters keypad for entering component data.

The data or listener codes sent to the LC102 fall into

four groups: 1. Component Type Commands, 2 . Value Multipliers, 3. Test Function Commands,

and 4. General Commands. All listener codes are listed in Table 9. They are also listed in the Simplified Operating Instructions o n the PULL-CHART unde r the unit for ready reference.

Table 9 Component Type Commands:

Aluminum Lytics

Double Layer Lytics

Tantalum Caps

Ceramic Caps All Other Caps Spare Coils Yokes & Flybacks Switching Transformers

Value Multipliers:

(to be preceeded by numeric value) pF, uF , F , UH, Μ Η , H, +%, -

Test Function Commands

-%,V

Capacitor Value Capacitor Leakage (current) Capacitor Leakage (ohms)

Dielectric Absorption

Capacitor ESR ESR

Inductor Value Inductor Ringer RIN

General Commands

Lead Zero Open Lead Zero Short

LDO

LDS No Function NFC Control Panel On CPO

Table 9 - IEEE control co des for the LC102.

ALM

DBL TAN CER AOC SPR

COL YFB SWX

CAP

LKI LKR D/A

IND

Component Type Commands

C O M P O N E N T P A R A M E T E R S

NUMfcttlC IMPUI frNTt.P t RLCM i

CLR

μΜ

m H

□

LEAD ZERO LEAKAGE

Fig. 28 - Dur ing IEEE operation the Value M ultiplier Codes all ow component data to be entered into the LC102 .

As with manual operation, each Value Multiplier Com mand includes a number, followed by the listener code.

There are four types of Value Multipliers for IEEE

programming: 1 . Capa citor valu e, 2 . Inductor Value, 3. Percent tolerance, and 4. Capacitor voltage. The first

three are only used for LC102 automatic GOOD/BAD

comparisons. The capacitor voltage code also sets the LC102 power supply to the selected voltage for the leak age test

When sending a component va lue to the LC102 it is not necessary to send long strings of zeros to estab lish decimal readings. Instea d, use the value multipliers uF (microfarads) pF (picofarads), and F (farads) and the three uH (microhenr ies), mH (millihenries), and H (henries). For induc tors the chara cters may be sent in upp er or lower c ase. For example, “uF”, “UF”, or even “Uf ” will all produce the same results. The LC1 02 also ignores any blank spaces between listener code charac ters. This mea ns that “10UF”, “10 UF” and even “10 U F” work equally well.

The complete Value Multiplier code cons ists of the cor rect numeric value, the Value Multiplier, and the End Terminator. The following ex amples show valid com ma nds, with the End Terminators not s hown:

These co des duplicate the front panel COMPONENT TYPE switc hes and must be sent to the LC10 2 if you want the test results t o be compared to the tables and calculations assoc iated with the LC102 microprocessor. As in non-IEEE operation, the LC102 uses the se to

establish the GOOD/BAD limits for the leakage, ESR,

dielectric absorption, and coil ringing test s. The good / bad results may be in error if the wrong Com ponent Type Comman d is sent.

NOTE: The LED on th e component type switch which

indicates if the switch is sele ct ed DOES NOT light wh e n

the LC102 is under IEEE co nt ro l.

4.7uF (enters capacitor value of 4.7 microfarad)

1 00 pF (enters capacitor value of 1 0 0 picofarads)

15 V (enters leakage voltage of 15 volts)

20 + %

(enters value tolerance of + 2 0 %)

(enters induct ance value of 5 henries)

Setting the Leakage Voltage:

The leakage power supply must be set to the des ired voltage before selecting a leakage te st with the LKI or

the LKR codes. The supply can be set to the nearest tenth of a volt. The listener code simply consists of the desired voltage followed by the letter V and the End Terminator. For example, “100 V” sets the supply to produce 1 0 0 volts when a leakage function is activated.

The highest voltage which can be programmed into the

LC102 is 999.9 volts the lowest is 1 volt. Attempting

to enter a voltage higher or lower than this range will produce an Error 2 condition.

The amount of Compon ent data which nee ds to be en tered with the IEEE Value Multiplier codes for a GOOD/BAD test depends on the LC102 function. The chart in Table 1 0 shows the component parameters needed for each GOOD /BAD test. Sending additional data to the LC102 will not affect the tests .

COMPONJ

TEST CAP IND

VALUE VALUE

Cap. Value X Cap. Leakage Cap. ESR Cap. D/A In d. Value

X X X

In d. Ringing

+ % -%

CAP

VOLTAGE TYPE

X X

X X X

X = Must be entere d for GOOD/BAD results. * = Tolerances are set to ze ro percent at power-up.

Table 10 - These parameters must be entered for the LC102 to produce a good/bad t est re sult

N O T E : The LC1 0 2 wil l send good/bcid indicators back t o t he contro ll er for each reading if a l l necessary infor 

mation has been supplied. To stop the L C 1 0 2 fro m sen d ing the “G ” or the B ” as part of i ts returned data, simply

send a zero value reading, such as “Op F ”. T h e other

Value Multipliers (such as percentages or v olt age) wi l l

remain in the L C 1 0 2 m e m or y until chan g ed or until power is removed from the unit.

The plus and minus compon ent tolerance limits must be sent in the correc t form. First, the number must b e a whole number, with no decimal. Then, the percen tages must b e within the allowable range. The largest negative number allowed is 99 percent (99-%) . and the largest positive number allowed is

1 0 0 perce nt

(100 + %). Numbers that are outside this range, or that contain a dec imal, produce an Error 2 conditi on.

The leakage power supply only applies power to th e test leads after one of the two leakage functions have been selected with the “LKI” or “LKR” listener code . The pow er supply automatically rem oves voltage from the test leads when the controller send s any oth er lis tener code , or when the front-panel button is pressed.

---------------------

Warning

---------------------

The warning LED on the front of the LC102 will flash as a reminder that a shock hazard of up to 1000 volts may be applied to the test leads when a leakage test is selected. Use ex treme caution when the LED is blinking.

N O T E : W h e n not using a leakage te s t, send the lis t e n e r

code “O V ” to the L C 1 0 2 to prevent accidentally applying a voltage t o the te st lead s .

Test Function Commands:

One of the seven listener Test Function Codes must be sent to the LC102 before the controller can request a reading. The selected function is cancelled by any other listener code sent to the LC102 , meaning that a Test Function Command must be the last listener code s ent before a reading is requested.

The LC102 will remain in the last funct ion selected until it receives another test function command or lis tener code. The controller can select an LC102 test, g o on to other instruments on the bus, and then come back to the LC102 at a later time to reques t a reading. This allows tes ts which require longer times, su ch as capacito r leakage, to be used without slowing th e oper ation of other instruments on the bus.

TEST

\ naB

1 UAKA',:,

1 OICLtC T ProIj CAPACliOR

functions with a Test Function Command or when changing component parameters with a Value Multip lier comma nd, since any listener code clears the current function. Sending the “NFC” comman d whe n the LC102 is not in a test function has no effect.

j INDUCTOR

le a k a g e

/‘“'s CURRENT

Test Function Capacitor Value Capacitor Leakage (current) Capacitor Leakage (ohms)

Dielectric Absorption Capacitor ESR Inductor Vafue

Inductor Ringer

Fig. 29 - The LC102 TEST functions are selected via IEEE using the Test Function Commands.

ί tNlDU'i TOH

Commands

CAP LKI LKR D/A ESR iND RIN

The LC102 starts a test from its beginning every time it receives another Test Function Code. Therefore, if the LC102 has been preset to a function for a delayed reading,mak e certain that the controller does not re-

send the cod e just before a reading is taken.

General Codes:

The four general listener codes activate spe cial func tions wh en sent to t he LC102. The codes let the control

ler instruct the LC1 0 2 to compensate for the test leads, clear a fun ction, or return control of the LC10 2 to the front-panel switches.

The LC102 must subtract residual effects of the test

lea ds when testing ESR, and small capacitor or inductor

val ues. The Lead Zero (LDO) and Lead Short (LDS)

listener cod es duplicate the operation of the front panel

LEAD ZERO button to null out the effects of the re

sid ual resistance, capacitance, and inductance of the

test leads and test fixture. The leads must be shorted

before sending the LDS co mma nd and opened before

send ing the LDO comma nd. If not, the test lead impe

danc e will not be compensated for,

Note: The leads can be nulled manua lly before turning

contr ol of the L C 1 0 2 over to the automated system. Sim,- ply follow the procedures for manually nulling the ef f ect s

of the le a d s, as explained on page 1 6 . T he LC 1 0 2 will

remember the corre ct compensation unti l th e pow e r is

turned off.

The No Function Command (NFC) cancels any test that

is in progre ss and places the LC102 into the standby

mode (no button pressed). You on ly need to send “NFC”

if you want to clear a test. For example, you may wish to turn off the capacitor value test function while you

remove one component and replace it with a different

one. It is not necessary to send “NFC” when changing

IMPORTANT

Do not disconnect or connect any components to the LC102 after performing any capacitor

or inductor test without first sending a No Function Command (NFC) or other command first to clear the test function. The LC102 may be damaged if charged capacitor, or static voltage is connected to it. Also, a severe shock hazard may exist to the user if a capacitor is removed after a leakage test without first being discharged.

The front panel switches are automatically disab led whenever the LC1G2 receives its first GPIB c ommand through the IB72. As a reminder of this, any LEDs ass ociated with the COMPONENT TYPE switches will turn off as soon as the LC 1 02 receives a GPIB c ommand. The panel will remain locked out for all function s until the Control Panel On (CPO) code is sent or until power to the.LC 10 2 is removed.

N O T E : One exception is the capacitor leakage func ti on . Depressing an y of the front-panel switches wi l l m a n u 

all y un-latch the I E E E use of the leakage power supply.

READING DATA FROM THE LC102

The LC102 will send data to the controller through the computer interface accessory whenever the controller sends the correct talker address and a “Talk” command. The data returned over the bus will be the same as the reading appearing in the LCD display.

Error messages will also be returned over the b us. The error codes will be the same as the codes during manua l (non-bus) operation, and are listed on page 37.

N O T E : Most contr ol le rs automatically combine the

“Talk” c o m m a n d with the instruction containing the

address, so there is not a separate st ep required in t h e

program. Consult the manu a l for t h e contr o ll er you are

using for information on it s ope ration.

Once addr essed, the LC102 sends a reading over the bus every time it updates the reading on the LCD dis play. The software in the controller determines how many readings are recorded. Some applications only ne ed a single reading, while other appli cations may require collecting several readings in a row.

The only difference between collecting a single re ading or collecting a series of readings is in the controller software. If only one reading is desired, the controller will trigger the talker function, and then wait until one reading is received. Then the controller sends a bus instru ction which cau ses the LC102 to sto p send ing readings.

One way to stop the LC1 0 2 from sending readings is to simply address a different instrument on the b us with the controller. The LC1 02 will remain in the test functio n, but the readings will not be sent to the control ler until the LC102Js talk address is again selected by the controller.

N O T E : T h e LC 1 0 2 will return a Control Panel O n (CPO) header if it is addressed to t a l k but has not re

ceived a valid l is te n er code. A N o Function C o m m a n d

(NF C ) is returned if the L C 1 0 2 has received a valid

lis t e ne r code, but h as not been given a Test Function C o m m a n d .

A second method to stop the LC1 0 2 from sending read

ings is to send any listener code, including the No Func tion Code (NFC), to the LC1 0 2 . This will bot h stop the readings and place the LC102 into its standby mod e. Always us e this method if a different component is going to be connec ted to the LC102 .

N O T E : The LC 1 0 2 does not need (nor does i t respond

t o) the special “G E T ” (group-execute-trigger) c o m m a n d used in some co ntr o l l e r s . It w il l begin sending resu l ts

as soon as the tal k c o m m a n d is complete.

DATA FORMAT

All data returned from the LC102 falls into a standard

data format. Each data string is 17 characters long and

contains information in four data fields. The software

can keep the entire string of characters together, or it can separate the data into three parts for calculations or processing.

JL-LJL2L2L2L_l_J!L2L2LJL2L2L2Lil£5H:

—.—-v.

Header Numeric Data Fieid / End

Fig. 30 - The data format returned by t he LC102 is a string of 17 characters long.

-----------,---- - -- -- - -

GOOD/BAD Indicator

, f —

I Terminator

Numerical Data Field: The 11 spaces following the Header (characters 4 through 14) contain the numerical results of a talker fun ction. The va iues returned from a test function are in scientific notation, allowing any

value to be represented with the same number of characters. Error codes appear as a single digit (from

1 to 7) without the scientific notation.

GOOD/BAD Indicator: The single space following the

Numerical Data Field (the fifteenth character) is re served for the results of the automatic LC102 GOOD/ BAD test s. The single letter “G” or “B” appears in this positio n when the LC102 h as sufficient information to determine if the reading is good or bad. If a piece of data (such a s the tolerance or ideal value) is missi ng, the positio n occupie d by the GOOD/BAD Indicator is left blank.

N O T E : A leakage te s t function ma y require f rom 4 t o 8 readings for the leakage to se ttl e before providing a G O O D / B A D indicati on.

End Terminator: All d ata ends with both a carriage- retum (ASCII decimal 13) and a linefeed (ASCII deci  mal 10) character, as recomme nded by the IEEE 488 standar d. Many controllers respond to either character, while others only re spond if the linefeed is present. A few controllers, however, may stop acce pting data when the carriage-return character is sent, leaving the

1 0 2 hung up waiting to send its last (linefeed)

LC character. If this happens, yo u may need to put an extra GET or INPUT statement into your program to let the LC102 send its last character into an unused variable. Refer to the manual for th e specific controller that you are using for information on the end terminator it acts on.

The four fields of the data string are: 1. Header, 2. Numerical Data Field, 3. GOOD/BAD Indicator, and 4. End Terminator. Each field has the same number of

characters for all test functions, allowing the sa me sub routines to process any returned data. Here are the details for each field of data.

Header: The first three characters identify the test function which prod uced t he reading. The three charac ters sent back from the instrument are usually the same as the test function comm and s us ed to select a function when the LC102 ac ts as a listener. These c odes let the software identify the source of the data, confirm that the correct funct ion is producing readings, or label the data for future retrieval.

In certain cases, the Header identifies some special con ditions, such as erro rs or shorted or open com ponents. The controller software should test for these conditions before proce ssing readings for ac curate test results, as explained in the section Error Testing on Page 37.

SEPARATING DATA FIELDS

The BASIC commands neede d to separate the three fields of information into separate variables are LEFT$ and MID$. The LEFT$ command can collect the three char acters of the Header if they need to be compared to information within the program. The MIDI com mand is used to separate the Numerical Data Field and the GOOD/BA D Indicator from the other results.

20 00 REH SUBROUTINE TO SEPARATE DATA INTO 3 PARTS

2010 HEAD$»LEFT$(RESDLT$ ,3)s REM FIND HEADER

20 20 ANSWER=VAL(MID${RESULT$,4 ,1 1 )); REH VALUE

20 30 G00D$-MID$(RESULTS,1 5,1): REM FIND GOOD/BAD

20 40 RETURN: REM JUMP BACK TO MAIN PROGRAM

Fig. 31 - The formatted data returned by the LC102 can be easily separ at ed into string-variables using simple BASIC comma nds.

For example, the controller coul d place a reading from the LC102 into a string-variable called RESULTS. Th e

sub r o u t in e i n Figure 31 can then separate the Header

into the string-variable HEAD$, the Numerical Data into the numerical-variable ANSWER, and the Good/' Bad Indicator into the string-variable GOOD$.

Line 2010 mov es the first 3 characters into the Header

var i a b le. Line 2020 selects the 11 characters, starting

at the fourth positi on, a nd then converts the result to a value (with the VAL statement) before placing it into

ANSWER. Line 2030 selects the fifteenth character

and moves it to GOOD$. This subro utine can be used to separate data from any reading into the three main parts.

Program languages other than BASIC have similar commands which can separate the data into its different fields.

A DVANC ED PROGR AMMING IDEAS

Most errors cause the LC1 0 2 to return a Header with

the three letters “ERR". A simple test for this Header

allows the program to be alerted to the error. The value of the Numerical Data Field tells the controller which of seven errors have occurred. The error codes are sum marized in Table 11. Refer to the section entitled “Error Codes’' on page 16 for a more detailed explanation of each error condi tion. The program segment listed in Figure 32 tests for errors and then prints a message which indicates its cause.

200 GOSUB 2 000: REH SEPARATE DATA INTO P ARTS

210 IF HEAD$<>"ERR" THEN GOTO 300: REM NO ERROR FOUND

220 ON ANSWER GOTO 230,240,250,260,270,280,290

230 PRINT "COMPONENT TYPE SELECTION ERR OR": GOTO 300

240 PRINT "VALUE BEYOND RANGE OF UNIT”: GOTO 300

250 PRINT "VALUE BEYOND RANGE OF TEST": GOTO 300

After the data has been separated, there are many things your program can do to process it. This section explains how to add these refinements to your BASIC programs. In each ca se, we will refer to the short sub routine listing in Figure 31, with a GOSUB 2000 state ment, resulting i n the LC102 reading being stored in the variables HEAD$, ANSWER, an d GOOD$.

Error Testing

Your controller software should test for error conditions (often called “error trapping”) after every reading has been collected from the LC102 to avoid an error from caus ing unexpe cted results. The software can either report the error or sk ip over it, but should do one or the other without crashing the program. If your prog ram is particularly advanced, it may test for the type of error (as indi cated by the error number returned in the Numerical Data Field) and then branch to different parts of the progra m which can take the correct act ion to compensate for the error.

Error Description

Com p onen t Typ e s e lecti o n error

E nte red va lu e bey o nd r ang e o f un it

E ntered value beyo n d r a n g e of test

3 4 Va l ue beyond z e r oing li mit 5

No volt a ge ente r e d

in v alid IE EE com mand Com ponent ou t of tes t r ange

260 PRINT "VALUE BEYOND ZEROING LIMIT": GOTO 300

270 PRINT "NO VOLTAGE ENTERED" : GOTO 3 00

280 PRINT “INVALID IEEE COMM AND": GOTO 300

290 PRINT "COMPONENT OU T OF TEST RANGE" : GOTO 300

300 ...(Rest of Progr am)

Fig. 32 - A simple BASIC subroutine allows any errors

to be identified .

Line 210 in Figure 32 c auses the program to jump over the error messages for any Header excep t “ERR”. The next line takes advantage of the ON..GOTO function of BASIC which sends t he program to line number 230 if ANSWER = 1 , to line 240 if ANSWER = 2, etc.

N O T E : Errors detected by the LC1 0 2 do not cause a

ser vi ce request (S R Q ) on the bu s. The L C 10 2 does not

respond to ser ial or parallel polls because erro rs are sent

as part of the norm al data str i n g , instead of with a

serv ic e request.

GOOD/BAD Results

The string-variable GOOD$ in Figure 31 will contain a single ASCII character, either G or B . The contents of GOOD$ can be tested with simple IF statements and us ed to produce any desired output. If the GOOD/BAD Indicator Field is blank, the prog ram can indicate that the result is not available bec ause the LC102 has insuf ficient data to make a comparison. If the field contains the letter “G” or “B”, the controller can pr int a messa ge concer ning the quality of the part. Figure 33 lists a BASIC subroutine which can be used to check the GOOD/BAD test result.

Table 11 - Error codes returned by the LC1 02 during IEEE operation.

140 GOSUB 2 000: REH SEPARATE DATA IN T O PARTS

150 IF GO OD$**" " THEN PRINT "N O GOOD/BAD TEST”

160 IF GOOD$*”G" THEN PRINT "THE RESULT I S GOOD"

17 0 IF GOOD$=”B” THEN PRINT "T HE RESULT IS BAD"

180 ...{ Rest of Program)

Fig. 33 - This subroutine can be use d t o read the result of the LC102 aut omatic GOOD /BAD test

Shorted Capacitors:

The LC1 0 2 automatically senses if a capacitor is

sho rted before performing a capacitor value test. If a shor t is detected, the LC102 sends the letters “SHT” as the Header Field of the returned data a nd displays

“SHORT” in the LCD display. Adding one line of prog ram code will test for this condition. This line should appear before any part of the software program which depends on a value reading, so that the value test will be skipped in case of a shorted capacitor. The program sec tion listed in Figure 34 tests for shorts, prints an error message on the CRT, and jumps to line 400, which hand les the er ror.

200 GOSUB 2000: REM SEPARATE DATA INT O PARTS

21 0 IF HEAD$*”SHT" THEN PRINT "CAP IS SH ORTED ": GOTO 400

220 __(Rest of Program)...

400 ...(Er r or Handling Functions)

Fig. 34 - The LC102 retur ns a “SHT” data Header when a shorted capacitor is tested . This sam ple subroutine checks for the short indication.

Making Leakage Tests with IEEE:

When testing for leakage on large capacitors, the first reading returne d by the LC102 may be out side the nor mal leakage limits because the capacitor is char ging. In the case of electrolytics, several readings may be needed before the capacitor drops to a “GOOD” level, since an electrolytic also goes through a re-forming pro cess every time it is charged from zero. This means that the controller software should ignore the first few readings in order to accept a meaningful reading.

There are several ways to hand le this in the so ftware. For example, the program c ould place the LC102 into the leakage function (with th e “LKI” listener code) and

then set a softwear timer to insert the correct del ay

(based on the normal charging time of the ca pacitor)

before reading the leakage value. During this time, the

controller could work with other instruments on the

bus to keep the delay from slowing down other steps

in the automate d system. Rather than a fixed time delay, the software c an be written to ignore a certain number of readings before recording the one which is to be checked for value.

In either case, the controller can base its decision on

whether the capacitor is go od or bad by using the

GOOD/BAD Indicator in the returned data . For the automatic GOOD/BA D test to function the capacitor's value, voltage, and type must be sent to the LC102 prior to the test. This allows the LC102 microprocessor to compare the leakage readings to the internal for mulas an d tables. The progra m, steps listed in Figure

36 can be used to report on the capacitor’s condition. The program then jumps to line 200 for further testing.

If GOOD$ contains neither a “G” nor a “B” then the

steps from 140 to 199 take the steps needed to work

with a non-GO OD/BAD test.

10 0 ...(Program with leakage delay)

Open Inductors:

The LC102 automatically senses if an in ductor is open (or if the test leads are not connected to the coil) before performing an inductor value test. If an open is de tected, the LC102 se nds the letters “OPN” as the Header and displays “OPEN” in the LCD display. On e additiona l program line will test for this condition . Place this line before any portion of the program which depends on an inductor value reading, so that the value test will be skip ped in case of an open inductor. The program sect ion listed in Figure 35 tests for opens, prints an error message on the CRT, and jumps to line 300, which handles the error.

10 0 GOSUB 2000: REM SEPARATE DATA INTO PARTS

110 IF HEAD$»" O PtT THE N PRINT "COIL IS OPEN: GOTO 300

120 ...(Re st of Program)...

300 ...(Error Handling Functions)

Fig. 35 - Open test leads or an open inductor causes the LC102 to return the data header “OPN”. This simpl e subroutine may be used to c heck for an open condi tion.

110 GOSUB 2000: REM SEPAR A TE DATA INTO PARTS

12 0 IF GOO D$="G' * T HEN PRINT "LEA KAGE IS OKA Y": GOTO 2 00

130 IF G00D$=" B" THEN PRINT "LEAKAGE IS B AD": GOTO 200

14 0 ...(Program steps for no G/B test) . ..

200 ...(Re st of Program)

Fig. 36 - The GOOD/BAD in dica tor Field Returned by the LC102 can be checked to test capacitor leakage.

Making ESE Tests with IEEE:

The capacitor test for Equivalent Series Resistance may

cause unexpected program errors if your software does not handle the returned data correct ly. Remember that ESR tests are only valid on electrolytic capacitors with values larger than 1 mic rofara d. Also remember that some capacitors may have such high levels of ESR that the value is above the measuring range of the test. Therefore, make certain that your software tests fo r the following condi tions.

1 . An “ERR 1.” occurs if any component type other than

ALM, DBL, or TAN has been sent to the LC102 in its

listener mode.

2 . An “ERR 3” o ccurs if the capacitor under test meas

ures less than 1 microfarad.

3 . An “ERR 7” occurs if the amount of ESR is above 200 0 oh ms.

4 . The leads must be zeroed (either manually or by

using" t he “LDS” listener function) before making ESR tes ts , or the added lead resistance m ay cau se erroneous

results.

Programming Examples

Line 10000 will be unique to each controller. Refer to the manual for the specific controller you ar e using for details on how it sends data to the IEEE bus.

The steps listed in Figure 37 se nd all the informati on needed by the LC 102 to test an aluminum electrolytic capacitor with an ideal value of 50 uF, a working vol tage of 15 volts and a tolerance of +80% and —2 0 %.

The primary address of the LC102 is 8 . Each “GOSUB

1 0 0 0 0 ” line sends the data to the unit.

It wou ld be impossible to write a program that would work for every LC102 user. First, there are numer ous

types of bus controllers. Additionally, dozens of per

sonal computers (PC’s) can be converte d to bus control lers by adding a GPIB control card or expansion device. Each PC could use any of several different GPIB ca rds. But in a ddition to hardware differenc es, th e application of the LC102 will be different for each bus s ystem. For example, a Reliability Lab will run different tests than an Incoming Inspection system will.

Several programming hints are pr ovided in this section

to help you get your LC102 bus sy stem up and runnin g.

The first examples are “building block” programs which allow you to plug the specific details for your controller into an LC1 0 2 AUTO-Z test program. Two compl ete programs are included at the end of this se ctio n. Those

pro grams are ready t o run, provided y ou have the s ame

hardware for which they were written.

Sending Listener Codes

The specific steps nee ded to send listener c odes to in

strum ents on the bus depend on the controller you are using. Some controllers only require the addition of a special code (such as a control character) into a standard

PRINT statement. Most, however, require several addi tional initialization steps to tell, the controller’s micro proc essor which expansion slot or memory location con ta ins the interface card, the ad dress of the instrument being addressed, which method is used to address the talkers or listeners, and so on .

This doesn’t have to complicate programming, however, if you us e subroutines to take care of all these details. You sim ply debug these subroutines once, and call them eac h time you send information over the bus. Your main program places a couple of pieces of information

into variables before turning control oyer to the sub routine w hich, in turn, handles all the details of com municating with the bu s.

Fig. 37 show s an example of a program which uses a

su broutine at line 1 0 0 0 0 to send information to any instrument on the bus. This subroutin e needs two piec es

of informa tion: the listener ad dress of the instrument

and the data t o s end t o it. The primary address is placed

into the variable ADDRESS, and the data into the string-variable CODE$ before calling the subrou tine. Once ADDRESS has been loade d, it doe s not need to be changed unless the controller needs to work with a different ins trument . This is the reason line 1 0 0 is the only one which uses the variable ADDRESS.

100

110

120 GOSUB 10 0 0 0:

130

140

150

160 GOSUB 1 00 0 0

170

180 GOSUB 1 0 00 0

190

20 0

Fig. 3 7 - This sample progra m uses a su brout ine t o simplify s ending data over the bus to the LC102. The subrout ine called up is unique to each controller.

ADDRESS-8·: REM PRIMARY ADDRESS OF L C 1 0 2

CODE$="50 UF'

C0DE$~'* 15V" :

GOSUB 100 00

CODE$=”ALMM:

CODE$* "80+Z·’ :

CODE$=,* 20-%’·:: REH NEGATIVE TOLERANCE

GOSUB 10 00 0

*: REH IDEAL VALUE

REH SEND VALUE TO L C 1 02

REM WORKING VOLTAGE

REM CAPACITOR TYPE

: REM PO SITI VE TOLERANCE

Sending Talker Codes

As with sending listener codes, all the s teps needed to transfer information from the LC102 bac k to the con troller can be done in a subroutine which is called every time the program req uests a reading. In the example listed in Figure 38, the subroutine is at line 1 2000. The listener subro utine is still at line 1 0 0 0 0 .

Some controllers require a different talker and listener address, but these addresses can be calculated by the program . The subroutine at line 10000 calculates the neces sary listener ad dress, while the subroutine at line

1 2 0 0 0

calculates the needed talker address from the value already stored in the variable ADDRESS. Thus, it is not ne cessary to place a new value into th e AD DRESS variable.

The last line of the subroutine starting at line 12000 includes an INPUT statement which collects the LC102 reading a nd places it into the string variable RESULT!. RESULT$ is then processe d through an other su b routine to separate the da ta into its three parts.

210 CODE$**” C AP": REM LISTENER CODE FOR CAP VALUE

22 0 GOSUB 10000: REM SEND CODE TO UNIT

230

GO SU B

120 00: REM REQUEST READING FROM UNIT

240 CVALUE$“ RESULT$: REM TRANSFER FROM SUBROUTINE

250 CODE$=” LK I“ : REM LISTENER CODE FOR LEAKAGE

260 GOSUB 10000: REM SEND CODE TO UNIT

270 GOSUB 12000: REM REQUEST READING FROM UNIT

280 LEAK$=RESULT$: REM TRANSFER FROM SUBROUTINE

290 CODE$-” D/A” : REM CODE FOR DIELECTRIC ABSORB.

300 GOSUB 10000: REM SAME AS BEFORE

310 GOSUB 12000

32 0 DA$“ RESULT$

330 C0 DE$=” ESR‘· : REM CODE FOR ESR TEST

340 GOSUB 10000

350 GOSUB 12000

360 ESR$*»RESULT$

Fig. 38 - A subrout ine can be used to simpl ify reading

the data sent over the bus by the L C1 02. The subroutine ca lled is unique fo each controller.

Sample Programs

The two sample programs which follow are ready to run. However, they will only work for the type of bus controller stated in the o pen remark sectio n of the prog ram. Use them as a guide for conn ecting the LC102

into your IEEE bus system.

1 REM THIS PR OGRAM ALLOWS THE USER TO EN TER THE

2 REM STANDARD VALUES FOR ANY CAPACITOR/ SENDS THE 3 REM VALUES TO THE LCI02, AND THEN SHOWS THE RESULTS

4 REM AS GOOD OR BAD. COPYRIGHT (C) SENCORE FIELD

5 REM APPLICATION DEPARTMENT, 1987. THIS PROGRAM MAY : 6 REM MAY BE USED AS IS OR MODIFIED BY ANY LC102 OWNER 7 REM WITHOUT FURTHER PERM I SION FROM SENCORE, INC . ' 10 REM

20 D$ = CHR$ (4 ): REM DOS COMMAN D CHA R ACTER 30 Z $ « CHR$ (26):

40 Q$ = CHR$ (17): REM SCREEN TO 40 COLU MNS

50 G$ = CHR$ (7): REM RINGS BELL 60 FOR X = 1 TO 19:BL$ = BL$ + " NEXT X: REM

FOR MS 20 BLANK SPACE S 70 DATA ALM,DBL, TAN ,CER,AOC 80 FOR X = 1 TO 5: READ CT$(X ): NEXT X

1000 REM ******* IN PUT DESIR ED VALUES ******* 10 10 HOME : GOSUB 10200: REM SELECT PRIM ARY ADDR ESS 1020 RE M ******* BEGIN IDEAL INPUT ** ***** 10 30 HOME : VTAB 7: INV ERSE : HTAB 6: PRINT *’ ENTER

IDEAL VALU ES: NORMAL 10 40 PRIN T : HTAB 6: INPUT." VA LUE : ";V$ 10 50 V - VAL (V$): REM CONVERT TO NUMERIC VALUE 1060 IF V = 0 GOTO 1020: REM ZERO VALUE NOT ACCEPTED 10 70 VTAB 9: HTAB 1 6: PRINT V;" 10 80 VTAB 11: HTAB 1 : INVER SE : PRINT "MULTIPLIER:'1;:

NORMAL : PRINT " [1] PF, [2] UF, [3] F "; : GET K$ 10 90 MU$ = "F ":VM = 1 11 00 IF K$ = " 1“ THEN MU$ = "PF":VM = IE - 12 1110 IF K $ = ”2" THEN MU$ = " UF'· :VM = IE - 6

REH IE EE

CARD COMMAND CHAR A CTER

1120 IF K$ < " 1” OR K$ > ''3” GOTO 1 080: REM R EPEAT UN TIL

VALID

1130 VTAB 10: PRINT BL$;BL$: REM COVER WITH B LANK

SPA CES

1140 VTAB 9: HTA B 2 5: PRIN T M U$: REM ECHO SELE CTION TO

SCRE E N

1150 V$ = STR$ (V) + MU $: RE M PREPARE STRING TO SE ND TO

METER 1160 HTAB 6: INPUT " +%: ";PP$ 1170 PP = VAL ( PP$): REM REMOVE NON -NUMERI C CH ARACTERS 1180 PP$ = STR$ (P P) + REM PREPA RE STRING TO SEND

TO METER 1190 HTAB 6: INPUT " "; PN$ 1200 PN = VAL (PN$): REM REMOVE NON-NUMER I C CH ARACTERS 1210 P N$ = STRS (PN) + 1220 HTAB 6: INPUT " VOLTAGE: ";VT$ 1230 VT = VAL (VT$): REM REMOVE NON-NUMERIC CHA RACT ERS 1240 VT $ = STR $ (VT ) + "V“

12 50 PRIN T : PRINT " ARE THESE VALUES COR RECT? (Y/ N)

1260 IF K$ = V THEN K$ « "Y " 1270 IF K$ < > " Y" THEN 1020

12 80 HO M E : VTAB 7: INVERSE : HTAB 6: PRI NT “ SELE CT

1290 PRINT

1300 HTA B 6: PRINT "[1] ALUMINUM LYTIC"

1310 HTAB 6: PRINT "{ 2] DOU BL E LAYER LYTIC” 1320 HTAB 6: PRINT "( 3] TANTA LUM LYTIC" 13 30 HTAB 6: PRINT "{4] CERAM I C C AP" 13 40 HTAB 6: PRINT "(5] ALL OTHER CAPS" 1350 PRINT : HTAB 6: PRINT "SELECT NUMB ER FOR TYPE:

1360 IF ASC

13 70 TY$ =

1380 VTAB 19: HT AB 6: INVERSE : PRINT " SEN DING VALUES

13 90 GOSUB 10000 : REM TURN ON IEEE CAR D 1400 PRINT LA$;Z$;V$: PRINT LA$; Z$;PP$: PRINT

1410 R E M--LA$=°LIS TEN ADDRESS, Z$=CON TROL-Z 14 20 RE M ******* BEGIN TAKIN G READ ING ******* 1430 F G = 0: REM RESET 'COMPONENT B AD' FLAG 1440 GOSUB 10100: REM RETU R N COMMUNICATI ONS TO

1450 HOME : VTAB 14 : HTAB 6 : INVER SE : PR INT " TAK ING

1460 GOSUB 10000: REM TURNS ON IEEE CARD 14 70 DA$ = "D/A": GOSUB 1050 0

1480 ZD $ = RZ$

1490 DA$ * "CAP": GOSUB 10500

1500 ZV$ = RZ$ 1510 DA$ =■ "LKI": GOSUB 10 500

15 20 ZI$ * RZ$ 1530 DA$ = "E SR": GOSUB 10500 1540 ZR$ - RZ$ 15 50 DA$ » "NFC": GOSUB 10500: REM CANCEL PANEL

15 60 GOSUB 10100 15 70 REM ******* PRINT RESU LTS ******* 1580 HOM E : REM CLEARS SCREEN 15 90 PRINT " TH E RESULTS OF THIS TEST ARE:": PRI NT

16 00 PRI NT "IDE AL VALU E: ” ; V$ 16 10 RE$ = ZV$; REM LOAD VALUE INTO SU BROUTINE

1620 GOSUB 2 000: REM SEPARATE DATA INT O PARTS

16 30 IF HE$ = "ERR" THEN GOSUB 2 100: GOTO 1710

16 40 IF HE$ = "SHT” THEN PRINT "C APACITOR IS SHORTED":

1650 PRINT " MEASURED VALUE: "AN

16 60 GOSUB 2200 : REM GET GO OD/BAD RESULT

1670 PC => 100 * (AN - (V * VM)) / (V * VM): REM

1680 PC = INT (10 * PC) / 10: RE M SET DECIMAL AT ONE

16 90 PRINT " THE'VALUE DI FFERED B Y "PC*'%"

1700 PRINT : PRINT " THE LEAKAG E T E STED AT "VT" VOLTS”

1710 RE $ = ZI$: REM LOAD LEAKAGE INTO SUBROUTINE

17 20 GOSU B 20 00: REM SEPARATE DATA I NTO P ARTS

1730 IF HE$ = " ERR " THEN GOSUB 210 0: GOTO 1770

1740 LK = AN * 1E6

GET K$

CAPACITOR TYP E: ": NORMAL

GET K$: PRINT K$

G$;G$: GOTO 1280: REM ACCEPT ONLY 1 THROUG H 5

CODE

TO Z METER NORMAL

LA$; Z$;PN$: PRINT LA $;Z$; VT$: PRIN T LA$;Z$;TY$

KEYBOARD

READI NGS ": NORMAL

VARIABLE

GOTO 1920

CALCULATE PERCENTAGE

PLACE

VARIABLE

(K $ ) <

CT$ ( VAL

49 OR ASC (K$) > 53 THEN PRINT

(K$)): REM SELECT THR EE-LETTER

1750 PRINT " WA S "L K" MICROAMPERES." 1760 GOSUB 2200: REM GET GO O D/BAD RESULTS 17 70 PRINT : PRINT "D/ A TES T:"

1780 RE$ = ZD$: REM LOAD D/A RESULT S INTO SUBROUTINE

VARIABLE

1790 GOSUB 2000: REM SEPARATE DATA INTO PARTS

1800 IF HE$ = "ERR " THEN GOSUB 2100: GOTO 1840

1810 AN = INT ( 10 * AN) / 10: REM SET DECIMAL TO 1

PLACE

1820 PRINT " DIELECT R IC ABSOR PTION: ’ΆΝ"%."

1830 GOSUB 2200: REM GET GOOD/BA D RESULT 1840 PRINT : PRINT "ESR TEST:" 1850 RE$ * ZR$: REM LO AD ESR VALUE INTO SUBROUT INE

VARIABLE 1860 GOSUB 2000: RE M SEPARATE INTO PARTS 1870 IF HE$ = "ERR" TH EN GOSUB 2100: GOTO 1900 1880 PRINT " SERI ES RESISTANCE: "AN " OHMS," 189 0 GOSUB 2200: REM GET G OOD /BAD RESULTS 1900 GB$ - ” GOOD IF FG - I THEN G B$ = " BAD " 1910 PRINT : PRINT "TH E CAP ACITOR IS INVERSE : PRINT

GB$: NORMAL 1920 PRINT : PRINT "END OF R ESULTS, PRES S ANY KEY

GET K$ 1930 HOME : VTAB 9: HTA B 6: INVERSE : PRINT " SELECT

NEXT OPTION: NORM AL 1940 PRINT : HTAB 6: PRINT ”[1] ENTER NEW VALUE" 1950 HTAB 6: PRINT

1960 HTAB 6: PRINT ’*[3] REPEAT PRINTOUT"

1970 PRINT : HTAB 6: PRINT "SELECT NUMBER OPTION:

GET K $

1980 IF K$ < "1” OR K$ > "3" THEN PRINT G$: GOTO 1930 1990 ON VAL (K $) GOTO 1020,1420,15 70

20 00 REM

2010 HE$ = LEFT$ (RE$,3): RE M FIND HEADE R

2020 AN = VAL ( MID$ (RE$,4,1 1)): REM FIND NUMERIC

VALUE 2030 GD$ = MID$ (RE$,15,1): REM FIND GOOD/BAD RESULT 2040 RETURN

2100 REM W##//#SUBROUTINE FOR ERROR HANDL ING###//) '/## 2110 PRINT G $; "Z-MET ER ERROR #"AN*' DETECTED:" 2120 ON AN GOTO 2130,2 140 ,2150,2160,2170,2180, 2190 2130 PRINT "COMPONE NT TYPE SELECTION ERRO R": RETURN 2140 PRINT "VALUE BE YOND RANGE OF UNIT": RETURN 2150 PRINT "VALU E BE YOND RANGE OF TEST": RETURN 2160 PRINT "VALUE BE YOND ZEROI NG LIMIT": RETURN 2170 PRINT ”N0 VOLTAGE ENTERE D": RETURN 218 0 PRINT "INVAL I D IEEE CO MMAND": RETURN 2190 PRINT "COMPONE NT OUT OF TEST RANGE": RETURN 2200 REM ### //## SU BROUTINE TESTS GOOD/BAD RESULT

IH H H H H t

"[2]

MAKE ANOTHER TEST"

SUBR OUTINE SEP A RATES DATA

# ## # # #

2210 IF GD$ = " " THEN PRINT "NO GOOD / BAD TEST" 222 0 IF GD$ « "G " THEN PRINT ’’THE RESULT IS GOOD" 223 0 IF GD$ = ”B" THE N PRINT "THE RESULT IS INVERSE

: PRINT " BAD ": NORMAL :FG = 1 224 0 RETURN 9997 REM

9998 R EM THE FOLLOWING SUBR OUT INE S A PPLY TO

AD DRESSIN G THE APPLE-BRA ND IEEE-488 CONT ROLLE R CARD

FOR THE APPLE // COM PUTER .

9999 R EM

'k 't rk 1 (i(i i1 rfi'k' kicirki rir1 e 'k 'k 'k 1 rki citick& 'k' k'kic 'k 'k ir k 1e'kie 'k -k tf('k- ir ki ('k'k 'k ic'k 'k

10000 REM ////##?; SUBROUTI N E ENA BLES BUS W W 10010 PRINT D$

10015 PRINT D$ ; " IN/ /4" : REM CARD IS IN SLOT FOUR 10020 PRINT D$;"PR/ M": REM TURNS ON SLOT FOUR 10030 PRINT "LF1": REM EN ABLES LINEFEED FO R EOF

CHARA C TER

10040 RETURN 10100 REM #//### SUBROU TINE RETU RNS TO KEYBOARD ««//

10110 PRINT D$;"PR#0": REM RETURNS OUTPUT T O CRT 10120 PRINT D $ ΙΝ//0" : REM RETURNS INPUT TO KEYBOA R D 1013 0 RETURN 1020 0 REM

#####

1021 0 REM RETURNS TA LK AD D RESS IN VARIABLE T A$ 10220 REM RETURNS LISTEN ADDRESS IN VARI ABLE LA$ 10230 VTAB 7: HTAB 6: INVERSE : INPUT *’ EN TER PRIMARY

ADDRE SS:";K$ : NORMAL

10240 AD = VAL (K$)

10250 IF AD < 1 OR AD > 30 THEN . HOME : VTAB 9: PRINT

G$;G$;" ADDRESS MUS T BE BETWEEN 1 AND 30": FOR X - 1 TO 50 0: NEXT X: GOTO 1 023 0

10260 LA = AD + 32: REM CALCULATE LISTE N ADDRESS

10270 LA$ = "WT” + CHR$ ( LA)

10280 TA = AD + 64 : REM CALCULATE TALK ADDR ESS 10290 TA $ - " RD" + CHR$ (TA ) 10300 RETURN

10500 REM iH HHHf SUBROUTINE COMMUNICATE S WITH BU S

###«

10510 REM DATA MUST BE IN DA$ BEFORE CA LLI NG

10520 REM LISTEN AN D TALK ADDRESSES ARE IN LA$ AND TA$

10530 I » 1: REM SET LOOP COUNTER TO NORMAL

10540 IF DA$ = "LKI" OR DAS = "LKR" THEN·! =3: REM

TAKE THIRD LEAKAGE READI NG

10550 PRINT LA$;Z$; DA$ : RE M SEND LISTEN AD DRESS AND

COMMAND 10560 FOR N = 1 TO I 10 570 PRINT TA$;Z$;: REM SEND TALK ADDRESS 10580 INP UT RZ$: REM COL LECT READING IN RZ$

10590 NEXT N 10600 RETURN

m i §

SUBROUTI NE FINDS TALK/LI STEN ADDRESSES

Fig. 39 — Sample program using the Apple He as a cont roller with an Apple IEEE-488 controll er card installed. To

use the Apple He with a different control card change lines 10,00 0-10,600 accordin gly .

1 0 ,

15 ! I 20 I T his s am pl e prog ra m is w r itte n fo r the Fluk e 17XXA In stru m ent ! 25 ! c o n t r o l ler . It illustr a t e s the bus o pe rat ion o f th e IC1 0 2 and ! 30 ! command syn t a x neede d t o auto ma t ica ll y analyze a c a p a c i tors o r ! 35 I ind uctors . W ritte n by Sen c o re , th is pr o g ra m may be used ' as i s '!

k0 ! or may be m o d ifi ed as needed b y an y LC 102 owner w it h o u t any !

45 ! f u rth e r p e r m is s i on from Se n c o re , Inc. ! 50 ! ί 55 ! LC102 i s at IEEE addre s s 10 !

100 DIM C (10),C$( 1 2 ) 110 TIMEOUT 0 120 INIT 130 CL $-CHR$(27 )+ 112J* 140 PRINT CPOS(0,0)+CL$ 1000 ! *** Ent e r Cap acita n c e Te s t Da ta *** 1010 PRINT CL* 1020 PRINT CPOS(5 ,3 0 )+ M Aluminum L y t i c '; 1030 PRINT CPOS(6 ,3Q )+ '2 Dou ble Laye r L ytics'; 1040 PRINT CPOS(7r 30) +'3 Ta n ta lu m c a p s'; 1050 PRINT CP O S(8 ,3 0 )+ ‘ 4 Ce ram ic caps' ; 1060 PRINT CPO S(9 ,30>+'5 A U o ther c aps 1; 1070 PRINT CPOSC11, 30)+' E n t er the ca p a c ito r type '; \ INP UT Ct1) 1080 ! C {1) =capacitor ty p e

1090 IF C(1)<> 1 AND C(1 )< >2 AND C<1)<>3 AND C<1><>4 AND C<1)<>5 THEN 1010 1100 PRINT CL *+CPO S ( 8, 0 ) + 'E n t e r th e cap aci tor w or kin g v o lta g e ‘ ;\I NP UT CC2> 1110 ! C(2 ) =capacit o r wo r k i n g voltage 1120 PRINT CLS+CPOS(8,0)+‘ E nter the cap aci tor valu e ( , 01uF)<; 1130 INPUT C$ (0 ) 1140 ! C$ < 0 >=ca p a c i to r v alu e 1150 PRINT CL$ +C P OS(8,0 )+ 'Enter t he c a p a c i t o r tole ran c e*; \ IiiR UT C(4 ) 1160 ! C ( 4 )=capacitor tole r a nc e 2000 ! ** * LC102 Lead Ze ro ***

2010 LC$ = C H R$(27 > + '[ 2 K '\ C $ ( 5 )= t C $ \ C $ ( 4) = L C $ 2020 C $(2 ) =L C $ \ C $( 3 )= L C $ 2030 PRINT aiO. 'CPO' 2040 PRINT CL$+CHR${7) 2050 PRINT CPOS{8 ,22 )+'O pe n the n lea ds and t ouch t h e screen*

2060 WAIT FOR KEY\K%=KEY 2070 PRINT CL$+CHRJ(7%) 2080 PRINT a i0 , 'lD 0 ' 2090 INPUT 3 1 0,2$ 3000 ! ** * L C102 Tes t Da ta Se t - u p * * * 3010 PRINT CL$+CHR$(7%) 3020 PRINT CPOSC8,10) ; 3030 PRINT 'Hook th e leads t o the cap a c it or to t es t and t o u c h the s c ree n ' 3040 WAIT FOR KEY\IO=KEY 3050 PRINT CL$+CHR$(7%) 3060 T1$= MID(‘ALMD9LTANCERAOC1,(C (1)*3 %)- 2% ,3% )

3070 C$ (6 )= " 3080 FOR J%=1 TO LEN(C$(0)> 3090 T2$=MID(C$(0>,J%,1 %) 3100 IF INSTRC1% , 'upfU PF',T 2 $ ) THEN C$ (6 )= C $ {6 )+ T 2 S 3110 IF IN ST R(1% ,< .0 12 3 45 6 7 8 9* , T 2 $ ) THEN C$C7) =C $ <7 )+ T2 i 3120 NEXT J% 3130 PRINT 31 0 , T1$ 3140 PRINT 31 0 , C (2 );1 V‘ 3150 PRINT ai0 , VAL(C S{7 ) ) ; C S(6)

3160 PRINT 31 0,C < 4 );'+%’ 3170 PRINT 31 0 ,CC4) ; ‘ 4000 ! ** * C a p aci tor Value Tes t Rout i ne ** * 4010 PRINT 31 0 ,'CAP· 4020 INPUT ai0 , C$<1 > 4030 IF M I D C C S d M S X .W - 'G’ THEN C$( 8 ) = 'Good ' ELSE C$(8}= l Bad' 4040 IF L EFT ( C${1 ) , 3)<> ' ERR ' THEN C${1 )=M iO <C ${1 ),4 %,1 1% ) 4050 Z1 4 = M ID ( ‘ FuFpF 1, { INT(VAL( RIG H T(C $(1) , 10%})/6%)*2%)+1%,2%) 5000 ! * * * Capacitor Leakage T e s t R outi n e * ** 5010 PRINT ai0,< LKI' 5020 INPUT 3 10,C $( 2) 5030 IF L E FT(C$ ( 2 ) ,3 %)='E R R 1 THEN C${2)=CHRS(27)+>C2K'\GOTO 8010 5040 I%=INSTR < 1%,C${2 ) , '-‘ ) 5050

IF I%<4% OR !%>10% THEN S%=3%

5060 C$(2)= N UM $ (V AL (M !D (C $< 2 ), I%+1%,10%· I S ))) 5070 PRINT 31 0 , 'L K R * 5080 INPUT 310,C$( 3) 5090 C$ (3 ) - N UM$(V At(MID(C$< 3 ) ,4%, 750 ) ) 5100 IF VAL CC$(3))=8 fi8 8 THEN 0${3 ) =ΟΗ Κ ί { 27) +'[5m8888'+CHR$<27)+'Cm* 5110 IF C ( 1 ) = 2 THEN 6060 6000 i ** * Capacitor D e le ctr ic A bsorp t i o n Te s t Rou ti ne * * * 6010 PRINT 31 0 ,‘ D/A* 6020 INPUT 3 10,C S(4) 6030 IF M ID(C$( 4 ) ,15%, 1 %)=*G ‘ THEN C$<11}='Good> ELSE CSC115=·Bad' 6040 IF L E FT < C S (4 } ,3 % )= , ERR' THEN C$<4)=LC$\GOTO 6060 6050 C${4 )= NUM$(V A L (M ID(C$(4 ), 4% ,7 % ) )) 6060 IF C ( 1 ) >3 THEN 8010 7000 ! * ** Capacitor ESR Te s t R outi n e * ** 7010 PRINT 310 , 'ESR> 7020 INPUT 310 , C $ < 5 ) 7030 IF M IO<C$(5 ) ,1 5 % ,1 % ) = ’ G! THEN C$<12)=<Good* ELSE C${ 12)=,8 adl 7040 Ct( 5 )= N U M $ C V A L (M I 0 (C $ (5 ), 4%,7%})) 8000 ! ** * D isp l a y R esults on Scr e en *** 8010 PRINT CL$ 8020 PRINT 31 0 ,'CPO' 8030 PRINT C P OS<4 , 25)+*Value 8040 PRINT CPOS<4,65)+C ${8) 8050 PRINT CPOS{5,2 5)+ 'Leakage (c urren t ) 8060 IF C$ (2 ) <> L C$ THEN PRINT ‘uA';CPOS (5,65); C S ( 9 > 8070 (PRINT CPOS(5 ,65)+C $<9 ) 8080 PRINT CPOSC6,25 )+'L e akage (resistan c e ) -· ';C $ (3 );

8090 If C$<3)<>LC$ THEN PRINT CHR$<24); ! CP OS (6,6 5);C $( 10)

8100 PR!NT CP O S(7,2 5 )+ 'D iele ctr i c Abso r ption - '; C $(4); 8110 IF C$ ( 4 ) olC $ THEN PRINT '% ’ ;CPO S (7 , 65 ) ;C $ ( 11)

8120 PR Iff T CP O S ( 8 ,2 S )+ ‘ ESR ......................................... ';C$ < 5 > ;

8130 IF CS(5> « LC$ THEN PRINT CHR$(24 ); C PO S ( 8, 6 5) ;C $ ( 12 ) 8140 PRINT CPO S ( 1 4 ,2 5 ) + 'T o u c h the sc r e e n to rerun the p r og ra m * 8150 WAIT FOR KEY\K %* K£ Y 8160 PRINT CHR$(77.) 8170 GOTO 130

.................................... ' ; VAL(L EF T ( C $< 1 ),7 %));Z1$ ;

.........

‘;C $(2);

Fig. 40 — Sampl e program us ing a Fluke con troiler.

AP P L IC A T I O N S

Introduction

The procedures explained in the OPERATION section of this manua l explain how to use the LC102 AUTO-Z. Once you become familiar with the basic operation of the AUTO-Z, you will discover many additional appli cati ons of the unit. This section will provide you with further information on using the LC102 features for extended capacitor and inductor tests, as well as other special applications.

Identifying Capacitor Types

Capacitors are often grouped according to the kind of dielectric that is used to separate the plates, and are named accordingly. For example, an aluminum elec trolytic capacitor ha s an aluminum oxide dielectric. While a mylar capacitor use s mylar dielectric. (Refer to the APPENDIX for an explanation of dielectric and other capacito r the ory).

Many different types of capacit ors are used in elec tronics. Each type has certain properties that make it

better suited for particular applications. Properties suc h as temperature coefficient, ESR, dielectric absorp  tion, leakage, voltage break down, and frequency characteristics are taken into a ccount when selecting the capacitor type to be used. When troubleshooting a circuit, it is not important to know why a certain typ e of capacitor w as selected. It is best to simply replace a bad capacitor with a good capacitor of the same type value and voltage rating. This is especially true when

the co mponent is in a “Safety Critical” circuit. Because

different ca pacitor types have different characteristics, it is important that you know what type of capa citor you are testing in order to know if the LC 102 test results are acceptable or not.

Capacitors are divided into five different types for test ing with the LC102. Each has different parameters which require different GOOD/BAD limits. These five capacitor types have different physical characteristics to determine an unk nown capacitor type. These charac teristics are explained in th e following paragraphs and are summari zed in figure 41.

Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors

ΕΞΗ

2 _ 1

L , mt

Tantalum Capacitors

+ Polarity Indicator

1 j ^

Ceramic Capacitors

+ Polarity Indicator

Double Layer Electrolytic Capacitors

(Ty pica ll y much smal ler ph ysi c ally t h a n sim il a r

val u e A l u minum Lyt i cs . Va l ue usua l ly marke d in F.)

- Polarity In dicator

-h Polar ity Indi cator

No r ou n de d corners, fang lead is p osit ive

Fig. 41 — Each capacitor type may be identified by its unique physical characteris tics .

Aluminum Electrolytics

Al uminum- electrolytic capacitors (ALUMINUM LY TICS) are the easiest capacitor type to identify. They are most commonly cylinder shaped and have radial or axial leads. Large value aluminum lytics often have screw terminals or solder lugs. The case of an aluminum lvtic usually is rolled in or formed out near the lead end to hold the end cap and seal. All aluminum lytics

hav e a seal that is soft and rubber like to allow gasse s

to ven t. Depending on the physical size of the case, the

soft seal may make up the entire end of the case, or it may be just a small section of a hard end cap. Aluminum lytics have the largest physical size to capacity ratio of

all capacitor types. These capacitors may also have sev

eral sections, with each section having a different capacitance value but sharing the same negative termi nal, usually the case. This is unique to aluminum elec trolytics, and whenever you enco unter a capacitor hav

ing severa l different capacita nce value sect ions, it will be an aluminum electrolytic.

Because of their unique physical characteristics, most

aluminum lytics usually aren’t easily confused with other capa citor types. Axial lead aluminum lytics, how ever, may possibly be mistaken for axial lead tantalum lyt ics. The lead weld, sh own in figure 43, is an identify ing characteristic of the tantalum in electrolytic and is a quick way to differentiate between an axial lead alu minum lytic and a tantalum lytic. Aluminum lytics do not have a lead weld on either terminal.

leads. Lead polarization is often the only way to distin guish a tantalum lytic from another type of capacit or. On ce you becom e familiar with the polarity markings us ed, tantalum lytics are not difficult to identify. The polarity markings are not meant to be difficult to notice or understand , although if you are not aware of them, they might be overlooked. Pay careful attention so that you d o not overlook the polarity indicat ion and mi s- identify a tantalum capacitor as another typ e.

The simplest and most common polarity ind icator is a “ + ” sign near one of the leads. This is often used along

with a second type of indica tor. Figure 44 shows several

examples of lead identification used in tantalum cap acitors. In addition to the “ + ” sign, eac h capacitor shown has a second indication of the “ + ” lead: a lead

weld, a tapered case, a rounded corner, a line, or an

extra ridge near the “ + ” lea d.

Fig. 43 — Axial lead tantalum capacitors, like the one

sho w n here, are easily id entified from axial lead

aluminum electro lytics by a solder weld on one end.

Fig. 42 — A ll alum inum electrolytics have a rubber seal.

Tantalum Electrolytics

Dip ped tantalum electrolytics are replacing aluminum lytics in many electronic circuits. They have less leak age and higher value tolerances than aluminum lytics. Tantalum electrolytic capaci tors are about one half the size of a similar aluminum electrolytic of the same value and voltage rating.

A “ + ” indicator is not printed on all tantalum cap acitors. In many cases the polarity indicator will simply be the lead weld, a tapered case or rounded corner, a line, or a n extra ridge on the case. Several other polarity identifiers are als o used. The end or side nearest the plus lead may be painted o ne color. Also at times, just a dot or a line on the side of the package will be used.

NOTE: Tantalum capacitors may use dots or stripes to

indicate value or toleran c e . Do not confuse the value color code for th e polarity indicator of a tanta lu m capacitor. The polarity indicator will be larger and iso lated from the color c ode .

The most common sha pes of tantalum capacitors are illustrated in figure 44. While they may have man y shapes, tantalum capaci tors always have polariz ed

Fig. 44 — Tantalum el ectrolytic capacitors always have a pol ari ty indicator.

Fig. 45 — A tantalum chip capacitor (left) c an be id en

tified f rom a ceramic chip capacito r by its positive

le ad.

Tantalum capacitors are also available in the small surface mount or ‘‘chip’’ type. Tantalum chip caps could be confused with the ceramic chip cap, since they are similar in size and appearance at first glance. But as figure 45 shows, a tantalu m chip capac itor is polarized and has an easily identifiable positive lead. The polarity identification that may give you the most difficulty in identifying a tantalum capacitor is lead length. The only identification of the positive lead on some tan talum capacitors is that it is longer than the other lead. Of course, this presents no prob lem when the capacitor is new, but once it has been installed into a circuit board, the leads are cut off' to the sam e length. In this situation, use the circ uit as the clue to the cap’s type and polarity.

Double Layer Electrolytics

Double layer electrolytic capacitors are comm only known by trade names such as “Super cap” or “Gold Cap”. These capacitors are quite easy to identify. Dou ble layer lytics have an extremely large capac itance value for their physical size. They are found in various physical shapes and sizes, as shown in figure 46. Their value is marked in Farads, rather than in picofa rads or microfarads.

Ceramic Capacitors

Ceramic capaci tors may be found in many different

siz es and shap es. The most common type of ceramic

capac itor is the flat, round ceramic disc, as shown in figure 47. The ceramic disc is un ique in its shape, and is easily identifiable from other ceramics, and other types of capacitors. The ceramic disc is also unique from other types of ceramic capacitors in that it may have small amounts of normal leakage.

RMC

.01

tc%

Fig. 4 7— The most com mon type of ceramic c apac itor is the ceramic d is c. It has unique parameters which

require it to be tested differently than other ceramic, or film capac itors.

Two other kinds of ceramic capacitors whic h are easily

identified from other capacitor types are the axial lead

and chip types. As figure 48 shows, some axial lead ceramic capacitors may look the same as res istors and

indu ctors which also use the same case type. You can

easily determine if the compon ent is a resis tor,

capacitor or inductor from its locati on in the circuit. The LC102 can also be used to help identify these un

known components, as explained in a following section,

“Identifying Unknown Compone nts” (page 48).

The polarity of a double layer lytic is often printed on the case, although a longer lead may also be used to identify the positive terminal. So me double layer lytics us e a line next to one lead which may be either “ + ” or

If there is no other marking, the terminal that is

part of the metal case is the negative lead.

Fig. 46 — Double layer lytic capacitors have a v ery large amount of capacitance for their physic al size.

Their value is usually marked in Farads.

Fig. 48 — Ce ramic ca pacito rs may also include an

ax ial lead and chip-type p ackage. Axial lead ceramics

oft en look like other axial lead com ponents.

Ceramic chip capacito rs are unique in appear ance, as sho wn in figure 45. Tantalum c hip ca paci tors have a polarity indicator, ceramic chip capacitors do not.

There are a few other kinds of ceramic capacitors be sid es the three types identified here. These types, suet as molded ceramics and encapsulated ceramics, a re very similar in appe arance to film capacitors, and an difficult to differentiate from films by p hysical appear ance . This presents no problem though, when testing thes e ceramics with the LC10 2, since any leakage oi D/A in a ceramic cap acitor, other than a ceramic disc is not allowable. If you are unable to identify th< capacitor as a ceramic, test it as an “ALL OTHEI CAPS” type.

All Other Capacitors

The final capacitor type grouping for LC102 AUTO-Z GOOD/BAD testing is “ALL OTHER CAPACITORS”. As its name implies, capacitors in this category do not have the electrical (or physical) characteristics to fit into any of the other categories. Capacitors included in this grouping are films, micas, air dielectrics, papers, oil filled capac itors , and other similar types. (There are nu merous types of film capacitor s such as mylar, polyes ter. polycarbonate, polystyrene, and polypropylene). Tho ugh each of th ese capacitor types have different dielectri cs and som ewhat different parameters, they are all similar in that whe n tested with the LC102, they should have no dielectric absorption or leakage. Also, because of their relatively low capacitance value, ESR is of little importance and is not measurable. If

you measure any leakage, or D/A in an “ALL OTHER

CAPACITOR” type it is bad.

N O T E : W h e n replacing a ny of these capacitors, always

replace it with t he s ame ty pe originally used in the cir c ui t. Fo r example, a mylar film capacitor should only be r e p l ac e d , with another mylar fi l m . This is especially important for components in areas of the schematic de 

signated'■ as “ Safety Crit ic al",

Identifying Inductor Types

Ind uctors, like capacit ors, may be found in many shapes and sizes dependi ng on the application in which they are used. The LCI02 will provide an accurate Ringer

test on all types of air core and ferrite core inductors, provided the proper Inductor COMPONENT TYPE switch is selected. Each inductor type has a normal range of impedanc e, and the Inductor COMPONENT TYPE switch es match the impe dance of the LCI02 Ringer circuits to the particular induc tor type being tested. With the proper COMPONENT TYPE switch sele cted, an inductor with just a single shorted turn will pr oduce a “BAD” indication in the Ringer test.

Air and ferrite core inductors break into three, easy t o identify types: Yokes and Flybacks, Switching Trans formers, and Coils. Select o ne of these three Inductor COMPONENT TYPE switches when performing the Ringer test.

Fig. 49— Yokes (top) and fiybacks (bottom) are induc t o r types which are easiiy i dentified.

Switching Transformers

Switching transformers are used in power supply cir cuits to step voltages up or down. However, they are much different from conventional pow er transformers in both appearance and opera tion, and should not be mistaken for a power transformer. Power transformers usually operate at 60 Hz, and therefore contain a lami nated iron core which is often visible. Bec ause the iron core is low Q and absorbs all ringing energy, power transformers cannot b e tested with the LC102.

Switching transformers, o n the other hand, are much smaller and lighter than power transformers. They are wound around a ferrite co re which easily rings when good. Switching transformers opera te at much lower curren ts and much higher frequen cies than power transformers. Two common switching transformers, PC board mount and toroid types, are shown in figure 50.

Yokes and Flybacks

Yokes are used exclusively in video applications to de flect a CRT election beam. As shown in figure 49, they can not be easily mistaken for any other type of induc tor. Yokes have a ferrite core, surrounded by two pairs

of windings, which fits over the CRT neck. It is held in place with a plastic shell attached to the CRT neck.

Flyback transform ers are als o easy to identify. They too are used exclusively in video applications , and pro duce high voltage for the CRT. A flyback has several terminals which are often soldered to a PC board chas sis. One or two heavily insulated leads exit the flyback to carry high voltage to a tripler, or to the CRT directly.

Fi g, 50 — The torriod (ief t) and PC mount are two

common types o f s w itching trans formers.

Coils

All non-iron core inductors which can not be classified as yokes, flybacks, or switching transformers are t ested with the “COILS” INDUCTOR COMPONENT TYPE switch selected. These includ e RF/IF transformers, RF chokes, posta ge stamp inductors, axial lead inductors, free form coils , as well as some other types.

Fig. 51 - Air and ferrite core induct ors are te sted with

the “COIL ” component type sw itch selected.

Identifying Unknown

Componen ts

Occasionally you may encounter small value inductors and axial lea d ceramic capacitors whic h look like the more common axial le ad film resistor. If these compo nents get mixed up in your parts bin, you may have difficulty identifying the component. This may also be a co ncern with chip capacitors , chip induc tors, and a few other axial lead inductors and capacitors o n which the markings ar e difficult to interpret or are not visible.

You can use the LC10 2 tests to sort these component types from each other. Figure 53 shows, in flow chart form, the procedure you need to follow. Before begin ning the test, zer o the test leads in bot h the “SHORT” and “OPEN” position of the LEAD ZERO switch. You begin identifying the co mponent with a capacitor value test. Depending on the re ading, you either use t he leak age test or inductor value test to further isolate the com ponent. Finally, if the component appears to be an inductor, you use the ringing test as confirmation.

C o n n e c t U n k n o w n C apa cit o r in du c t o r o r R e s is to r

Mea su re C Va lu e

< 200 P* 'OOOO^ortrT’J > 2Q° 9*

C o m p o n e n t m a y be

J r e s istor o r s m ai l c a pa ci t or

M ea s u r e

I I

le ak a g e at 10 V

j > O u A j O u A

C o m p o n en t is

re si stor

C o m p o n e n t i s c ap ac ito r

or r es is to r > 10 0m o h m

Mea su re L V alue

< o ! > 0 j “O p e n ’'

C o m p on e n t i s

sm a i l v alue re s is t o r

In du ctor R inge r Te st

r _ _

C o m p o n e n t is c a pa ci t or

R e a d in g is v a lue

(C o m p o n e n t m a y b e | l a rge re si s to r

* 10 ! >1 0

C om po n e n t m a y tie

re s is t o r or

ve r y t ow Q coi l

C o m p o n e n t is

in du ct or

Fig. 52 - Some small value in ductors (left) capaci tors (ce nt er ), and resistors (right) may be ha rd to tell a part.

The LC102 provides a quick test to identify such un

kno w n components.

Fig. 53 — Use this flow chart to help identify small axial l ead indu cto rs, capac itors, and resistors from one another.

IMPORTANT

Do not apply more than 10 volts across an unknown capacitor resistor or inductor. Most chip, “film” package, and axial lead inductors and capacitors will have voltage ratings

greater than 10 volts. If in doubt about an unknown component’s voltage rating, use another method to identify it, if possible, or use a lower test voltage.

N O T E : This te st i s only intended to help y ou sort induc

t or s, capacitors an d re s i s t o r s in “ film resi st or ” ty pe , chip type or small ax ial lead packages which are diffic ult to

ident if y by physical appearance or any other means.

Capacitor Testin g

A p p li c a tio n s

Checking Leakage Between Sections Of A Multi-Section Lytic

Interpreting Capacitor Value Readings

The LC102 AUTO-Z automatically displays the three mos t c o mmon capacitor values of picofarads (pF), micro farads (uF), and Farads (F). When measuring capaci tors with the LC1 0 2 , you may encounter some capa citor s with a value marked without a decimal, s uc h as “25000 pF”, but that read “.0250 uF” on the LC102 display. You may also encounter, as an example, a capacitor which is marked “3300 pF” by some manufacturers , yet an identical replacement is marked “.0033 uF” by

another manufacturer.

As these examples illustrate, capacitors can be marked in pF, uF or even F. A fourth value multiplier, the nan ofarad (nF) is seldom used to mark a capacitor, but is used occasionally in design and in dustry. Table 1 2

will help you to easily convert from one reading to

another.

Cha nge to F r om

Farads

Mi cro fara ds

Nan ofa r a ds

Pi c ofa r ads

Fara ds Microf arads

mo ved e c i ma! 6 place s le f t

move decimal 9 pla ces left

m ove dec imal

1 2 places l eft

Multiple section alum inum electrolytic capacitors are

common, especially in many older power supplies. Su ch

capacitors are actually several capacitors inside one

can sharing th e same negative terminal. Leakage sometimes develops between one or two sec

tions of multi-section lytics. This leakage is especially difficult to troubleshoot without the LC102 leakage te st because signals from one section of the cap acitor are coupled to another section. This results in multiple symptoms in the operation of the device in which the capacitor is used. An ohmmeter will not show leakage between sections of a multi-layer cap because the leak

age only occurs near the c apacitor’s operating voltage.

To isolate this type of leakage with the LC102 you simply perform the standard leakage test. As you test each sectio n, short each of the remaining sectio ns to grou nd. Any increase in leakage when a section is shorted to ground indicates leakage between sections.

m ove deci mal 6 pl a ces rig ht

m ove decimal 3 places left

m ov e d e cima l 6 plac es left

Nano f ara d s Pic ofa r a ds

mo ved e c i ma! 9 pl a ces right

m ov e d ecimal 3 pl a c es rig ht

m ove dec imal 3 pla ces le ft

mo v edec ima! 1 2 places to right

m ove d ecimal 6 pl a ces right

m ov e d ecimal 3 pl a ces rig ht

Table 12 — Capaci tor value conversion chan.

Dielectric Stress

Many ceram ic capacitors change value when they are DC biased. The applied DC voltage ca uses physical stress within th e ceramic dielectric cau sing it to de crease in value. This value change is called “dielectric stress”. Normally a ceramic capacit or will return to its nor mal value within several seconds after the voltage is removed .

You will not normally notice dielectric stress when checking a ceramic capacitor with the AUTO-Z, unless you apply a voltage to it with the capacitor leakage test. Then you may find that the capacitance value has decreased by as much as 50% in ceramic capacitors having values 10 pF or smaller. This is a normal charac  teristic of small value cera mics.

SftoL'&vr

7^Uxa'!:\ '

Fig . 54 — Test the l eakage o f one section of a m ulti section lyti c, then short one of the remaining secti ons to ground. Any increase in leaka ge current indicates leakage between th at section and grou nd.

-WARNING -

This test should only be performed by a per son who understands the shock hazard of up to 1000 volts applied to the test leads during the capacitor leakage test. DO NOT hold the capacitor in your hand, or touch the test leads or capacitor leads when making this leakage test.

Simply connect the capacitor to the LC1 02 and measure its value. Then apply heat to the capacit or while you continue to measure its value. A COG or NPO type capacitor will not change in value, or change very slightly as heat is applied. An N type ceramic will de crease in value, while a P type ceramic will increase in capacitance .

Checking Capacitance Of

Silicon Diodes and Transistors

To check for leakage between sections of a multi layer cap:

1. Connect one sectio n of the capa citor to the LC102

test leads. Be sure to observe proper polarity.

2 . Enter the working voltage of the section being tested.

Note that a multi-layer lytic may have a different work ing voltage for each sectio n.

3. Depress the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button and read the leakage current on the LCD display. It mu st be within the maximum allowable leakage limits for its value and voltage rating.

4. Connect o ne end of a short jumper to the common

terminal of the capacitor.

5. While depressing the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE but ton, connec t the other end of the jumper to each of the

capac itor terminals n ot already connected to the LC102 test leads.

6 . A good multi-section electrolytic will show no in

crease in the leakage reading as the jumper is connected to each terminal.

Intermittent Capacitors

Occasionally an electrolytic capacitor may become in termittent. A poo r weld of the lead to the internal foil plates or other mechanical problem can cause the capacitor to function randomly. Often such capacitors will als o exhibit high ESR when they are working. (The internal construction of an electrolytic capacitor is shown in the APPENDIX).

If you suspect an intermittent capacitor, move its leads around and pull on them as you perform a capa citor value test. A change in capacitance indicates an inter mittent component which should be replaced.

Checking Ceramic Capacitor

Temperature Characteristics

The capacitance of silicon diodes and tran sisto rs, as well as the reverse leakage paths of silicon and ger manium transistors can be easily me asured using the LC102. Figure 55 shows the con nections necess ary for these measurement s. If the LC102 display shows “0.0 pF” when testing capacitance, or flashing “8 8 . 8 8 mA” when testing leakage, the connections are reversed. No special precautions are necessary when measurin g capacitance, however be sure to follow these prec au tions when testing leakage:

1 . Do not apply more than 3 volts to a transistor whe n

testing IBEO.

2. Set the leakage supply to the ma ximum voltage rat ing of the transistor when testing ICBO or ICEO, but do not exceed the rated voltage. Exceeding th e rated voltage may cause the transistor to zener, and will dam

age the ju nctions.

N O T E : T h e capacitance of g e rm a n iu m t ra n si st o rs a n d diodes can not be mea s u red with the L C 10 2 because of thei r high leakage. Leakage tests of g erm a n iu m dev ic es are the s a me as fo r sil i co n d ev ic e s.

PNP

Black

ICBO an d ^

8 to C Capacity

Red

iCEOand

Red

Ibeo and

, B to £ Capacity

"Black'*’

E to C Capacity

^Red->.

fCBO and

B to C Capac ity

Black

IBEO and

B to E Capacity

NPN

Black

ICEO and

E to C Capacity

'"Red

Ceramic capacitors are designed to have a wide range of capacitance value and temperature characteristics, (More details are given in the APPENDIX.) Replacing a capacitor with one that has the same characteristics is especially important in certain oscillator s and other temperature critical circuits. You can quickly deter mine the ba sic temperature characteristics of a ceramic using the LC102 and a heat source, such as a heat gun.

Red

Fig . 55 — The connection for measuring the capaci tance of silicon junctions and leak age pa ths for silicon and germanium junctions.

Reverse

Leakage

and Junction Capacity

Black

Junctions are shown Reverse bias. Ex change Red and Black for forward con duction.

Testing High Voltage Diodes

Reforming Electrolytics

High voltage diodes, such as those found in video high voltage a nd focus voltage sections may require up to

200 vol ts before they are forward biased and begin to

c onduct. They cannot be tested with an ohmmeter since, with only a few volts appl ied, a good high voltage diode will simply indicate open no matter how the ohmmeter is connected.

The capacitor leakage test of the LC102 provides suffi cie nt voltage to bia s high voltage diodes into conduction

and also to test them, for reverse breakdo wn. Test the diode for normal forward conduc tion first. Then reverse

the test leads and che ck for reverse leakage.

—j Η Η'ΉΉ Η.H.—

Fig. 56 — To tes t a high voltage diode, enough volta ge

is needed to forward bias all the junctio ns,

--------------------WARNING

This test should only be performed by a per son who understands the shock hazard of up to 1000 volts applied to the test leads when

the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE TEST button is

depressed. DO NOT hold the diode in your

hand, or touch the test leads or diode leads

when making this test.

To test a high voltage diode:

1 . Connec t the red test lead to the diod e anode end)

and the black test lead to the diode’s cathode (“ -f ” end) .

2 . Enter 50 volts into the leakage supply an d depress

the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE test button.

3. If the LC1 0 2 display shows no leakage, apply more voltage until the diode begins to co nduct , as indicated

by a leakage current reading of 100 uA or greater.

---- ------------- ---

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors often decrease in value and develop leakage if they sit unused for long periods of time. (This is often the case with electrolytics

on stockroo m shelves or in par ts b ins). These symptoms

are caus ed by the loss of some of the oxide dielectric. The oxide is formed by a chemical reaction in the elec trolyte when voltage is applied to the plates. With time, this oxide deteriorates. In many cases the electrolyte has not dried up and the oxide coating can be reformed by applying a DC voltage to the capacitor for a period of time.

You can use the LC102 leakage test power supply to reform the dielectric. Reforming may take an hour or longer before the capacitor reforms and the leakage drop s to a normal amount.

Use the 39G201 TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN ROD supplied with the LC1 0 2 to hold the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button depressed while you are reforming the capacitor. The hold down rod fits between the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE test button and the carrying handle, a nd can be adjust ed longer or shorter as needed. A hold down rod rather than a locking button is use d a s a reminder to you and others that voltage is being applied to the test leads.

- ---

—

--------

—W ARNING

--------- -----------

Use the 39G201 Test Hold Down Rod with ex treme caution. Do not touch the test leads or the capacitor leads while the Test Hold Down Rod is being used. Voltage up to 1000 volts is present when the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE TEST button is depressed. Make sure that the capacitor being reformed will not touch or

come in contact with any metal object while

voltage is applied to it.

jfc0 ITdH«IH 0U C TO fii& !$i& LY ZE R

4. Once the diode begins to conduct , do not apply any higher voltage as t his will cause excessive current flow through the diode and damage it.

5. If you apply 999.9 volts to the diode and it still shows no cond uct ion, it is op en and you do not need to continue the test.

6 . When the diode begins to conduct, release the

CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button and reverse the test lead connection to the diod e.

7. Set the leakage power supply to the PIV (peak inverse

•voltage) of the diode shown in a replacement guide. If the PIV is greater than 1000 V (as it will be for most

diodes) set the leakage power supply to 999.9 volts.)

8 . Depress the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button and

read the leakage current. A good high voltage di ode will typically show less than 2 uA of reverse current.

Fig. 57 - The TEST BU UON HOLD DOWN ROD keeps the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button depressed when re forming capacitors.

To reform an electrolytic:

1 . Connect the capacitor to be reformed to the test leads.

2. Enter the rated voltage of the capacitor into the LC102 .

3. Depress the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button, and while holding it in, place the 39G201 TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN ROD between the button and the handle.

4. Adjust the length of the rod by holding one end and

turning the other until the hold down rod keeps the

CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button depresse d.

5. After the capacitor has reformed for at least one hour and the leakage has dropped to a normal amount, allow it to set for 30 minutes. Then recheck the value an d

leakage to see if reforming has improved the capacitor.

Often an inductor mount ed in-circuit has leads which are too short to attach the test lead clips t o. The (op tional) 39G8 5 TOUCH TEST PROBE is especially use ful for measuring such c oils. It provides 2 needie-sharp points which will pierce through the coating on the foils

allowing contact to the coils leads .

)$ϊν

--------------------

WARNING---------------------

NEVER use the TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN

ROD to hold in any button except the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button. Damage to the LC102 may result if it is used to latch

another button since the protection circuits inside the LC102 are bypassed when a test button is depressed. The warranty will be voi

ded if the LC102 is damaged by connecting a charged capacitor or any other voltage to it with any of the other buttons held in with the TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN ROD.

Inductor Testing Applications

Testing Inductors In-Circuit

The LC102 AUTO-Z can be used to measure the induc

tance of a coil with the compon ent still in circuit. In-cir

cuit inductance measurements, however, may be af

fected by the impedance of the circuit. Low values of

parallel resistance will lower the circuit impedanc e and cause the LC102 to me asure a lower inductance value. Table 13 lists the amou nt of parallel resistance which will cause a 10% or less change in the measured induc tance. Resistances larger than the amounts shown will not have a significant effect on the inductance test.

Inductor

1 uHto 18uH

18uHto 180-uH

180 uHto 1.8mH

1.8 mHto 18 mH

18 mHto 180 mH

180 mHto 1.8H

1.8 Hto 20 H

Table 13 — Indu ctors may be measur ed in-circuit if the parallel resistance is greater than the amo unts listed here.

N O T E : Go o d inductors m a y not normally ring if co n

nected in-c ir cu i t, unless the paralleled impe dance i s quite high. However, if a n inductor does ring in - ci r cuit,

it is good.

Value Minimum Parallel Resistance

10 to 100 ohms

25 to 200 ohms

50 to 500 ohms

150 ohms to 1.3 k ohms

400 ohms to 3 k:ohms

800 ohms to 7 k ohms

5k to 25 k ohms

Fig. 58—-Use the optional touch test probe to measure

inductors mounted on PC boards.

Mutual Inductance

Mutual inductance occurs when tw o or more coils are wound on the same form and connec ted together. In such ca ses, the total induc tance measured across the windings will not equal the sum of the measured ind uc tanc es of the individual coils. This is due to the mutual inductance of th e coils. The total measured value may be higher or lower than the individual inductances, depending on whether the coils are aiding or opposing. In addition, the effects of mutual i nducta nce depend on the type of c ore material, the spacin g of the tu rns, and the type of turns use d. The amount of inductance mea sured by the AUTO-Z will be the s ame inductance se en by the circuit.

0 _ϊ _ί Τ$ 7Π Γ \ .__L / w m__o 0 j L_ j nn n ri n

T 1000 uH TTlOOOuH J t 1000 uH [j 1000 uH T

I i ■ i■ ■

_______

{When Mutual In ductance A dds)

Fig. 59 — The effects of mu tual ind uctan ce ma y add

or subtract from the sum of the individual.

. ....

. . . . . . . . . . . .

I "

2280 uH_______| \

. . . . . . . »'» ' " i t in . — ■ mi .. . ... . . .

_______ 1870 uH _______f

(When Mutual Inductance

____

__ 1870 uH _

Subtracts*

Ringing Peaking Coils

Peaking coils are ofte n wound aroun d a resistor. The resistor serves to lower the Q of the-coil to prevent ringing. For this reason, some g ood peaking coils will not rea d good on the INDUCTOR RINGER test. The lower the resistor value, th e fewer rings the coil will

read.

Th e best test for peaking coil s is to observe the number of rings, rather tha n the GOOD/BAD indication, a nd compare the coil to an identical known good component.

Kinging Metal Shielded Coils

Som e ti m es coils, such as IF transformers, may be placed

inside a shie ld to reduce in-circuit interference. These

s h ie lded coils may not ring good when tested with the

INDUCTOR RINGER test beca use the metal shield a b sorbs some of the ring energy.

A shielded co il is good if it rings ten or more. However,

if it rings less than ten, remove the metal shie ld, if poss ible, and test the coil again. If it now rings 10 or more, the coil is good. If you are unable to remove the metal shield, make a co mparison test using an identi cal, known good component.

Ringing Flyback Transformers

A flyback transformer is a speci al type of transformer which produces the focus and sec ond anode voltages for a CRT. Many flybacks also have several lower voltage,

relatively high current windings which power other circuits and the CRT filament. Because of the high voltages pr esent, a flyback transformer may develop an internal shorted turn. A shorted turn reduces the efficiency of the transformer and usually cause s severe circuit problems . Induc tance measurements are of little value when troublesh ooting a flyback, since a shorted turn causes little ch ange in inductance value. In addi tion, the i nductance value is seldom known. The LC102 INDUCTOR RINGER test will detect a shorted turn in any of the primary or second ary windings of a flyback.

Red Lead

A flyback transformer may be te sted in or out of circuit with the LC102 Ringer test, alt hough several external loads may need to be disc onnected before a good flyb ack will ring. Conn ect the LC102 to the primary of the

flyback and select the “YOKES & FLYBACKS'’ COM

PONENT TYPE switch. Depr ess the Inductor Ringer

test button an d read the condition of the flyback as

“GOOD” or “BAD” in the LC102 display. If the flyback rings “BAD”, disconnect any loads until the display reads “GOOD”. If the flyback is completely disco n nected and still rings “Bad” the flyback has a shorted turn, or the winding to which the test leads are con nected is open. In either ca se, the flyback should be considered bad.

N O T E : Certain flybacks have removeable co r e s . T h e fer

r it e core must be in st al led inside the windings in order

for the flyback to ring “G O O D ”.

A few flybacks used in some small solid state chassis have a low impedance primary which will not ring when good. However, th ese flybacks will always have a sec  ondary winding which will ring good if the transformer is good. Simply ring the secondar y windings. If one rings good the flyback does not have a ny shorted turns. If no winding rings goo d the flybac k is b ad.

A coil in the secondary of a flyba ck may occasionally open, rather than sh ort. An open coil will not load the other windings as a short does. If the operation of the chassis indicates the possibility of an open winding, leave the LC1 0 2 connected to the primary winding and short each of the windings with a jumper. Shorting out

a winding will reflect back to the primary and cau se the ring test to go from “GOOD” to “BAD”. If the ring test does no t change, the winding being shorted with

the jumper is open .

--- --------------

WARNING

------------------

Damper

H. Opt Tube

Black Lead

Tube

Fig. 60 — Connect to the primary side o f a flyback to

do the ringing test

Do not connect the LC102 test leads to a flyback in-circuit until all power to the chas

sis has be removed, and the AC line cord has been disconnected.

Fig. 61 — Use a jumper to determine if a flybac k win d

ing is open. An open winding will not cause the ringing

test to c hange wh en a jumper is placed across it.

To Ring a flyback transformer:

1. Connect the red test lead to the collector of the hori zontal output transi stor, or to the plate cap of a horizon tal output tube.

2. Connect the b lack test lead to B + side of the primary windin g. In a tu be se t con nect to the cathode of the dam per diode o r anode of the boost rectifier.

3. Pull the socket off the CRT (remove the high voltage rectifier tube in a tube chassis) to prevent the filaments from loading the sec ondary and giving a false ringing indication.

4. Depress the INDUCTOR RINGER test button. If the LC102 display reads “GOOD” the flyback is good, and the remaining steps are not necessary.

CRT, since a sho rted winding may be caused by the pressure of the yoke mountin g. Relieving the pressure may ca use the short to go away.

A deflection yoke has two sets of windings (horizontal and vertical) wh ich must both test good. The yoke leads must be disconnected from the circuit. This is often

accomplished by simply pulling the yoke plug from the ch assis. The vertical windings may often have damping resistors across them which also must be disconnect ed. These resistors may be o n the chassis, in which case simply pulling the yoke plug will dis connect them.

They may also be s oldered right to the yoke, meaning you will need to unsolder one side of t he resistor. Test

both yoke windings with the “YOKES & FLYBACK”

COMPONENT TYPE button selected.

A “BAD” reading indicates that either the flyback h as a sho rted turn or that it is being loaded down. The following steps will locate the d efect. Continue discon necting the loads in the following order until the flyback rings “GOOD”. If the flyback rings “GOOD” after you disconnect a load , double check that load to make sure it is not defective.

5. Disconnect the horizontal yoke windings and repeat the ringing t est.

6 . If the ringing test still reads BAD, remove one end

of the damper diode in solid state chassis and repeat the t est.

7. If the ringing test still reads BAD, unplug the con vergence coils and repeat the test.

8 . If the ringing test still indicates BAD, dis connect

any remaining low voltage, AGC or other windings one at a time.

9. If all the load s are disconn ected and the ringing test still indic ates BAD, the flyback has a shorted turn.

Many flybacks used in solid state chassis have the high voltage rectifier diodes (tripler) built into the secondary winding. These flybacks are called Integrated High Vol tage Transformers (IHVTs). The Ringing test will lo cate defective turns in these types of flybacks as well. A problem with the diodes will result in problems with the high voltage, even though the Ringing test indicates “GOOD”. If the flyback rings “GOOD” but produces no high voltage, one of the diodes is open. If the high vol tage is several thousand volts too low and the flyback rings good, one or more of the diodes is shorted. In either case, the flyback is defective and must be re placed.

N O T E : Test the vert ica l windings individually on yokes

that have s e r i e s connected vert i c a l windings. The v e r ti

cal windings should read within 3 rings of each o the r ,

but ma y not necessarily ring “ G O O D ” with 10 or more rin gs . An y such yoke that has a ring d i ff er enc e greater than 3 rings , or an inductance value di ff er enc e greater than 1 0 % wil l give problems in the ch a ss is .

------------------- W ARNING

------------------

Do not connect the LC102 to the yoke in the chassis until all power has been removed and the AC plug has been disconnected.

F ig. 62 — Test deflection yokes with the ringing test

whil e the yoke is still mounted on the CRT.

Ringing Deflection Yokes

Video deflection yokes are special inductors which are

used to move a CRT electron beam both vertically and horizontally. As with flybacks, the LC102 Ringing test provides a quick and reliable GOOD/BAD test. Yokes sh oul d be tested while they are still mounted on the

To test horizontal yoke windings:

1 D is c o n n ect th e yoke fr o m th e ci r c u it b y p u lling th e

y oke plug or unso ld e r ing th e w ire s. 2 C o n n ect the test leads to the horizon tal winding.

3 . Select the “YOKES & FLYBACKS” COMPONENT

TYPE button.

4 . Depress the INDUCTOR RINGER test button and

read the test result in the LC102 display.

5 if the horizontal windings tests “GOOD”, continue

on and test the vertical winding. The vertical windings must als o test “GOOD” before you consider the yoke

goo d. If the horizontal winding tests “BAD” the yoke

is defective and there is no need to test the vertical windings.

To test the vertical windings:

6 . If the yoke has damping resistors across the vertical

winding, unsolder one end of the resistor.

7. Connect the test leads to the vertical winding.

8 . Depress the INDUCTOR RINGER test button and

re ad the test result in the LC102 display. 9 . If the vertical windings do not test “GOOD”, the yoke

is defective.

Special Note On Solid State Yokes And Flybacks:

A few yokes and flybacks have very low Q for use in cer tain solid state cha ssis. These comp onents may not ring “GOOD” but may rather ring only 8 or 9 times. To determine if they are good or bad simply add a “shorted turn” and again check the number of rings. If the yoke or flyback is good, the nu mber of rings will d rop drastically when the short is a dded, A defective

yoke or flyback will not be affected by the shorted turn

and the nu mber of rings will change only 1 or 2 counts if at all.

L1 = Series Inductance C1 = Shunt Capacitance

= Shunt Resistance (dielectric leakage)

R2 = Series Resistance

Fig. 63— A length o f coaxial cable cons ists of capaci

tance and inductance distributed througho ut the

cable’s length.

Determining A Cable’s Length Or Dis

tance To An Open

A length of coaxial cable open at both ends is equivalent to a long capacitor, with the two conductors forming the plates . Every type of coaxial cable has a normal amo unt of ca pacitance per foot, specified in picofa rads per foot (pf/ ft). The capacitance per foot values for some common coaxial cable types are listed in Table 14 . The length of a piec e of cable , as well as the distance to an op en, is found by simply measuring the ca pacit ance between th e center and outer conductors and dividing this total capacitance by the cable's capacitance per' foot value. If poss ible, measure from both ends of the cab le to more accurately pinpoint the break. In most cases, the length of a cable can be determined within

1- 2% .

A simple “short ed turn” is a piece of solder or heavy gauge wire formed into a loop. Press the loop close to the windings of the yoke or wrap it around the core or wind ings of th e flyba ck.

Cable Testing Applications

Testing Coaxial Cable

Coaxial, cab les and transmission lines have ch aracteris tics of both an ind uctor and a cap acitor, as illustrated in figure 63. The LC102 AUTO-Z can be used to deter mine the length of a piece of coaxial cable (or the dis tance to a break) and the distance to a short between

the center conductor and shield. Any breakdown in the

dielectric can also be detected using the LC102 leakage

pow er supply .

Fig. 64 - Use the LC102 to meas ure the dista nce to break s or shorts in buried cabl e.

To measure the length of a cable:

1 . Zero the LC102 test le ads.

2. Con nect the red test lead to the center conductor and

the bla ck test lead to the braided shield outer conductor

of an op en (unterminated) cable.

3. Press the CAPACITOR VALUE test button and read the total capacitance of the c able.

LOCATING A SHORT IN COAXIAL CABLE

4. Divide the LC102 capac itance reading by the cable’s capacitance per foot value. This gives the length of the cable, or the dis tance to the break in feet.

You can also use this test to determine the length or to pinpoint a break in multic onductor cable that has 3 or more conductors. Due to variations in cond uctor spac ing and n oise pickup, however, the accuracy will not

be as good as for coaxial cable. Follow the same proce

dure as above, except tie all but one of the conductors together to form the outer “shield”. Measure the capaci tance between this “shield” and the remaining single wire. You can determine the capacitance per foot for the cable using the procedure in the section “Determin ing Capacitance And Inductance Per Foot”.

N O T E S : 1 . The accuracy of these measur e ments d e pend s on the cable to l er a nc e . The values l i s te d in Table

14 are n ominal a m o u n t s which m a y very sligh tl y (within

2%) with cable manufacturer. 2. Excessive crimping or clam ping along the cable wil l change the t o t al capaci

tance reading.

50-55 Ohm

A coaxial cable which has a short between its center con ductor and outer conductor is similar to a very long inductor. The LC102 can b e used to determine the dis tance to a short using the INDUCTOR VALUE test. The amount of inductance per foot of a coaxial c able is not usually published by the cable manufacturer, and the amount for the same type of cable may vary signific antly from one manufacturer to another. Therefore, to calculate the distance to a short you must first use a sample length of cable to determine t he inductan ce per foot value, as explained in the following sectio n. Record this amount in Table 14 for e ach type and manufacturer of cabl e you encounter.

To determine the distance to a short:

1. Zero the LC102 test leads.

2. Connect the red test lead to the center conductor and the black test lead to the braided shield outer conductor of a shorted cable.

70-75 Ohm

Nominal Nominal RG/U Cable Type 5B/U 8U 8U Foam 8A/U 10A/U 18A/U 58/U 58/U Foam 58A/U 58C/U 58C/U Foam 74A/U

174/U

177/U 212/U 213/U 214/U 215/U

219/U 225/U 224/U

Tab le 14 — Capacitance per foot vaiues fo r common coaxial cable types.

Impedance

50 52 50 52

53.5 50 50 50 50 52 50 30-30.8 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

CapinpF/FT

29.5

29.5 28

29.5

28.5 26

30.8

29.5 26

29.5

30.5

30.5 30 30 30

Nominal

Inductance

RG/U Cable Type 6A/U 6A/U Foam 1 1U 11U Foam 11A/U

12A/U

13A/U 34B/U 35B/U 59/U 59/U Foam 59/BU

164/U

216/ U

R G/U Cable Type 62/U 62A/ U 63B/U 71 B/U 79 B/U

Nominal

Impedanc e

75 7 5 7 5 7 5 75 75 7 4 7 5 7 5

7 5 7 5 7 5

90-125 Ohm

Nominal

Impedanc e

9 3

1 25

9 3

12 5

Nom inal

CapinpF

2 0 2 0 2 0.5

17 .3

20.5 2 0.5 2 0.5 2 0 2 0.5 21

17.3

2 0.5

20.5 2 0.5

Nomin a l

Nomina l

Inductance uH/FT

Nomina l

CapinpF Inductance uH /FT

1 3.5

13.5 10 1 3.5

3 press the INDUCTOR VALUE test button and read

the total inductan ce of the cable.

4 D i v ide the LC 102 inductance reading by the cable’s

i n d uct a n c e per foot value. This gives the distance to

the short in feet.

N O T E : To help pinpoint the short with greater accuracy, measure the inductance from both ends of the c a b le .

Determining Capacitance

And Inductan ce Per Foot

Th e capacitance and inductance per foot values for a particular type of coaxia l cable can be determined by

m e a s u ri n g a sample c able of known length. After you

measure the amount of capacitance and inductance with the LC10 2 , simply divide the total amount by the length of the sam ple. A sample length of at least 10 feet is recommend for an accurate capacitance measure ment, and 25 feet for acc urate inductance measure

m ent.

To determine capacitance and inductance per foot amounts:

The LC102 leakage pow er supply also provides a good test of a cable's condition. Simply meas ure the amount of leakage through the dielectric between the conduc tors. Most cabl es have a maximum operating voltage of 10 0 0 volts or more and should be tested with the LC10 2 leakage supply set to 999.9 volts. A few "‘air space’' dielectric types of coaxia l cable, such as RG37, RG 62, RG71, and RG72 have a maximum operating voltage of 750 volts and should be tested at this lower voltage.

------------------WARNING

------------------

This test should only be performed by a qual ified person who understands the shock and safety hazards of up to 1000 volts applied to the test leads and open ends on the coaxial cable.

A good piece of cable should have no leakage when the voltage from the LC 102 is applied between the center conduct or an d outside shield. The length of the cable being tested will make no difference o n the leakage reading. Any leakage reading indicate s the dielectric is breaking down.

1. Zero the LC102 test leads .

2. Con nect the red test lead to the center conductor and the black test lead to the braided shield outer conductor at one end of the sample cable.

3. Leave the other end of the cable open to measure capacitance on. Short them together to measure induc tance.

4. Press the CAPACITOR VALUE or INDUCTOR VALUE test but ton and read the total capacitance or indu ctance of the cable.

5. Divide the LC102 reading by the length of the sample cable.

Using The LC102 To Find Aging Cable

All coaxial cables eventually degrade to the point where they need to be replaced. The LC102 can be used for preventative maintenanc e chec ks of coaxial cable to determine if deterioration is beginning to occur. As a cab le begins to fail, the dielectric separating the conduc tors becomes contaminated causing a change in the cab le's capacitance and the DC leakage through the dielectric.

High Potential Testing

The LC1 0 2 AUTO-Z c an be used to locate leakage cur rents as low as .1 uA, such as the leakage between PC board foil s, leakage between windings of a transformer,

and leakage between switch contacts and s hafts. These

leakage cur rents are much too small to be mea sured with an ohmm eter, but are measurable when a high voltage potential (Hi Pot) is applie d with the LC102 leakage power supply.

1 C Q R E LC 1Q 2 AUTO .Z

CA(*C1T0B.||*DUCt0H AHAUISR

“ “ Γ ·ι J__

All cable has a normal amount of capacitance per foot and any significant change that occu rs over a period of

time indicates a developing problem. The best check

for aging cable is to measure and record the total capaci tance of the installation when it is first installed. If the initial value is not known, you ca n multiply the length oi the cable by its nom inal capacitance per foot. Then

compare periodic capacitance measurements back to the initial amount and look for any changes. As the dielectric becomes contaminated , the LC102 capaci tance reading will increa se.

Fig . 65 - Small leakage paths can be defected with the LC102 Hi Pot test

---------------- -W ARNING

----- ------------

These tests are only to be performed by a per son who understands the shock hazard of up to 1000 volts applied to the test leads and to the component under test when the Capacitor Leakage button is depressed. Do not hold the test leads or the component under test in your hands when making any Hi Pot test.

Traces on a bare printed circuit board should show no leakage when tested at 100 0 volts with the L C102. Any

leakage indicates contamination on the board, or fine, hair-like projections from the etched traces shorting between the trac es. The (optional) 39G85 TOUCH TEST PROBE may be used to make easy connection to the foils. It provides needle-sharp points that are adjust

able for different trace sp acings.

OHMS

Table 15 — To me as ure resistance values up to 1 gigoh m , enter the ne cessary leakage voltage amo unt to place the resistanc e v alue within the s haded area.

AC power transformers should be tested to make sure

they provide prope r isolation from the AC line. Trans formers shoul d b e tested for leakage between the pri

mary and secon dary, as well as for leakage between the windings an d the metal core or frame. To test for

leakage between primary and secondary disco nnect all

transformer le ads from the circuit. Connect one of the

LC102 test leads to one of the primary leads and the

other LC102 lead to one of the secondary leads. If th e transformer ha s more than one secondary winding, each should be tested for leakage. Most transform ers us ed today have a 1500 volt break down rating and should have 0 microamps of leakage when tested at

1000 volts with the LC102. Any leakage indic ates a

potential shock and safety hazard.

Measuring Resistors To 1 Gigohm

Focus and high voltage resistors u p to 1 Gigohm may be measured using the leakage power supply in the

LC10 2. These resistors are often much too large in value

to be measu red with any other test. The AUTO-Z will

read the resistance of these resistors without any calcu lations.

The range of resistance which the LC102 will measure

depend s on the applied voltage. Table 15 shows the

amount of ap plied voltage needed to produce a usable

resistance reading. Simply place the front panel LEAK

AGE switch in the “OHMS” position, set the leakage power supply to a voltage just high enough to read the

anticipated resistance, and depress the CAPACITOR

LEAKAGE test button. The AUTO-Z will display the

amount of resistan ce directly in ohms.

Applications Of The Leakage Power Supply

Many times a variable voltage DC power supply is needed in troubleshooting and other applications such as applying a bias voltage or powering a circuit. The LC102 leakage power supply may be used in these ap plications to provide voltages in 0 .1 volt steps from 1 . 0 to 999.9 volts DC. Simply enter the desired voltage using the COMPONENT PARAMETERS keypad and use the 39G201 TEST BUTTON HOLD DOWN ROD to keep the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button depressed.

The amount of current being drawn by the circuit con nected to the LC102 will be disp layed in the LCD dis- play up to 19.9 milliamps. (Cur rents greater than 2 0 mA will c ause the LCD display to overrange). The leak age power supply is current limited and will not be damaged by excessive current draw. When overl oaded, the output voltage will drop to a level that will not damage the suppl y. Table 16 s hows the amount of cur rent which the leakage power supply can provide with less than a 1 0 % reduction in o utput voltage.

-------------------

WARNING

-------------------

This test is only intended to measure high vol tage resistors. Some resistors have voltage ratings of 200 volts or less and will be dam aged by high test voltages. Apply only enough voltage to the resistor (as shown in Table 15) to produce a reading.

Voltage fVorte)

Thble 16 - Cu rrent output capabilities of the AUTO-Z leakage power suppl y.

M A I N TE N AN C E

Int roduction

The LC102 is designed to provide reliable service with very little maintenance. A fully equip ped Factory Ser vice D ep a rt m en t is ready to back the LC102 should any problems devel op. A schema tic, parts list, and circuit b oard l a y o u ts are included along with this manual o n separa te sheets.

Recalibr ation And Service

R e cal i b ra ti o n o f the LC102 i s reco mmended on a yearly

basis, or whenever the performance of the unit is notice

a b l y affected. Precise st andards are required to insure

accurate and National Bureau of Standards (NBS)

traceable ca libration. For this reason it is recommended that the LC102 be returned to the S encore Factory Ser vice Department for recalibration. The addr ess of the

Service Departm ent is listed below. No return authori zation is required to return the LC102 for calibration or service. In m ost cases, the unit will be on its way b ack to you within 3 days after it is received by the Ser vice Department at: Sencore Factory Service

3200 Sencore Drive Sioux Falls, SD 57X07 (605)3 39-0100.

1-800-843-3338 — US 1-800-851-8866 — Canada

blows or the discharge circuits ope n. If either of these conditions occur an LED will fla sh and an audib le alarm will be activated. When alarm is activated you should:

1. Shut off Z Meter.

2. Discharge capacitor through a 10k 1W resistor.

3. Determine cause of the alarm.

4. Replace the fuse if b lown.

5. Resume testing.

--------------------WARNING

------------ ------ -

When STOP TESTING alarm sounds, stop all

testing with the LC102. The capacitor being

tested may be charged.

Fuse Replacement

The fuse for the test lead input is located be hind the BNC input jack. Remove the fus e holder by turning the BNC connector counter clock wise and unscrewing the connector until the fuse is free. The BNC connecto r of the test leads may be used as a “Wrench” to aid in the

C ircui t Description And Calibration Procedures

A complete circuit description, and a detailed calibra tion procedure listing the necessar y standards and equipment, are available for the LC102 AUTO-Z. These items may be purc hased separately through the Sencore

Fact ory Servic e Parts Department at the address and phone number listed abo ve.

Replace ment Leads

The 39G219 Test Leads on the LC102 are made from a special low cap acity cable . Replacing the test leads with a cable other than th e low capacity test lead will result in measurement errors. Replacement 39G219 Test Leads ar e available from the Sen core Service Parts Department.

“Spa re” Bu tton

The “SPARE” button on the front panel is provided to keep your LC102 AUTO-Z from becoming obso lete. If a new or different type of component is intr oduced in the coming years, your LC102 may be updated by changing t he EPROM chip or by changing the EPROM me mory i tself. Be sure to return the warranty card sent with the LC102 so that you can be notified if an update

takes place.

Fig. 66— Remove the TEST LEAD BNC j a ck to re pl ace

the i n put protecti on fuse.

removal of the fuse holder. When replacing the fuse holder, make sure it is sc rewed in tightly to prevent the connector from turning when connecting and dis connecting test leads . Replace the fuse with a 1 Amp Slo-Blo (3AG) fuse only.

Display Test

The LCD display of the LC102 AUTO-Z may be tested

at any time by performing th e battery test and pushing

the CLR but ton at the same time. All the segmen ts of

the LCD readout will momentarily tu rn on followed by a sequential readout of all the numbers an d symbols on the display. Any missing segme nts, symbols, or num ber s indicate a defect either in the display itself or an internal circ uit. In this case the Sencore Factory Service Department s hould be called for servic e instructions.

Te st L ead Fuse

A 1 amp, Slo-Bl o (3AG) fuse is located in the test lead input jack on the front of the AUTO-Z. This fuse protects

e unit from accide ntal external voltage or current

overloads.

For your safety the LC1 0 2 is equipped with a stop test ing alarm. This alarm is triggered when either the fuse

power switch to “ON & BATT TEST” to che ck LCD dis play.

AP P E NDI X

Introduction

The capacitor is one of the most co mm on compon ents used in electro nics, but less is known about it than any other compone nt in electronics. The following is a brief explanation of the capacitor, how it works, and how the AUTO-Z measures the important parameters of the capacitor.

Capacitor Theory And The AUTO-Z

the capacitor is actually stored in the dielectric matei ial. When the capacitor is discharged, the electric d pol es bec ome re-oriented in a random fashion, d ischar^ ing their stored energy.

The basic capacitor is a pair of metal plates separate d by an insulating material call ed the dielectric. The size of the plates, the type of dielectric, and the thickness of the dielectric determines the capacity. To increase capacity, you can increase the size of the plates, increase the number of plates, use a different dielectric or a thinner dielectric. The closer the plates, or the thinner the dielectric, the larger the capa city for a given size plate. Because flat plates are rather impractical, capacitor s are generally made by putting an insulating material (dielectric) between two foil strips and rolling the combination into a tight package or roll.

PT mTT m

•Ή 4“ 4* 4*

Fig. B — Applyi ng a potential t o a capacitor cause the dipoles in the dielectric to align with the applie

po tential. When the capacitor discharges the dipole

return to an unaligned, random orde r.

When a capacitor is connected to a voltage sou rce, do es not become fully charged instantaneously, b takes a definite amount of time. The time required f the capacitor to charge is deter mined by the size capacity of the capacitor, and the resistor in series wi the capa citor o r its own internal se ries resistance . Tfi is called the R C time cons tant. Capaci ty in F arads mi tiplied by resista nce in Ohms equals the RC time co stant in seconds. T he curve of the charge of the capacit is the RC charge curve.

4 4* 4- 4

CHARGED CAPACITOR

UNCHARGED CAPACITOR

Fig. A — Many capacitors are made o f fo il separated

by a dielectric and rolled into a tight p ackage.

The old explanation of how a capacitor works had the

electrons piling up on one plate forcing the electrons

off of the other to charge a capacitor. This made it

difficult to explain other act ions of the cap acitor. Fara

day’s theory more closely approaches the way a

capaci tor really works. He stated that the charge is in

the dielectric material and not on the plates of the capa citor. Inside the capacitor’s dielectric material, there are tiny electric dipo les. When a voltage is applied

to the plates of the capacitor, the dipoles are stressed

and forced to line up in rows creating stored energy in the dielectric. The dielectric has undergone a physical change similar to that of soft iron when, exposed to

current through an inductor when it becomes a magnet.

If we were able to remove the dielectric of a charged capa citor, amd then measure the voltage on the plates of the capacit or, we would find no voltage. Reinserting the dielectric and then measuring the plates, we would find the voltage that the capaci tor had been charged to before we h ad removed the dielectric. The charge of

ORC 1 RC

Fi g. C — Capacitors follow an RC charge time a s tt charge to the applied voltage.

2RC

3RC

4RC

The AUTO-Z makes use of this charge curve to measure the capacit y of a capacitor. By applying a pulsating DC voltage to the capacitor under test and measuring the time on its RC charge curv e, the capacity of the

capa c it o r can he determined very accurately.

Capacit or Types

There are many different types of capacitors, using dif ferent types of dielectrics, each with its own best capa bility. When replacing capaci tors, it is best to replace with a capacitor having not only the same capac ity and tolerance, but the same type of dielectric and tempera ture characteristics as well. This will insure of con tinued performance equal to the original.

The capacito r is often named according to the type of dielectric which is used, such as paper, mylar, ceramic, mica or aluminum electrolytic.

Paper and mica were the standard dielectric materials u se d in capacitors for years. Ceramic became popular due to its stability and controlled character istics and lower cost over mica. Today, there are many dielectrics with different ratings and uses in capacitors. Plastic films of polyester, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyp ropylene, and polysulfone are u sed in many of the newer large value, small size capacitors . Each film has its own special characteristics and is chosen to be used in the circuit for this special feature. Some of the plastic films are also metalized by vacuum plating the film with a metal . These are generally called self-healing type capacitors and should not be replaced with any

other type.

TEMPSR ATURE "C

Fig. D— Temperat ure change versus capacity change of P100 to N750 temperature compensated cera mic disc capacitors.

Ceramics

Ceramic dielectric is the most versatile of all. Many variations of capacity can be crea ted by altering the ceramic material. Capacitors that increase, stay the same value, or decrease value with temperature changes can be made. If a ceramic disc is marked with a letter P such as P100, then the value of the capacitor will increase 1 00 parts per million per degree centig rade increase in temperature. If the capacitor is marked NPO or COG, then the value of capacity will remain constant with an increase in the temperature.

Ceramic disc capacitors marked with an N such as N1500 will decrease in capacity as the temperature inc reases. The negative temperature coefficient is im portant in many circuits such as the tuned circuits of the radio and television IF. The temperature coefficient of an inductor is positive and the in ductance will in

crease as the temperature rises. If the tuning capacitor across the coil is a negative coefficient, then the net result will be a zero or very little change .

General type ceramic discs are often marked with such letters as Z5U, Z5F, Y5V, X5V, an d so forth. This indi cates the type of temperature curve for the particular capacitor. Ceramic capacit ors that are not NPO or rated with N or P type characteristics will have wider temper atur e variations an d can vary bot h positive and neg a-

-50 *

------

------ ------ ------

55 -45 35 - 2 ' -1 5 - 5 5 IS 2S 3i 45 55 65 75 »5 95 105 H S 125

i— J

-----

-------

------

TEMPERATURE ’C

-------

------

-------

------

----------

—1

Fig. E — Temperature change versus cap acity change of N750 to N5600 temp erature compensated c eramic disc capcitors.

tive with temperature changes . The Z5U probably has the greatest change and will only be found in non-crit-

ical applications such as B + power supply decouplin g. These type of capacitors should not be use d in critical applications such as oscillator and timing circu its.

A ceramic capacitor marked GMV mea ns that the value marked on the capacitor is the Guaranteed Minimum Value of capacity at room temperature. The actua l value of the capacitor can be much higher. This type

TEMPERATURE JC

STABLE TYPES

TEMPERATURE

Fig. F — Tempe rature change ve rsus capacity change of non-te mp erature compensated ceramic disc capacitors.

of capacitor is used in bypas s applications where the

SEMI-STABLE TYPES

Tantalum Electrolytics

actual value of capacity is not critical.

The tantalum electrolytic capacitor is becoming very

Ceramic capacitors have been the most popular

capacitors in electr onics because of the versatility of the different temperature coeffic ients and the cost. When replacing a ceramic di sc capacitor, be sure to replace the defective capacitor with one having the same characteristics and voltage rating.

popular. While the leakage in the aluminum lytic is very high due to the nature of its construction, leakage in tantalum capacitors is very low. In additi on, tan

talum capacitors can be const ructed with much tighter

tolerances than the aluminum lytic. The tantalum is much smaller in size for the sa me capacity and working

voltage than an aluminum lytic. Tantalum lytics are

popu lar in circuits where high capacity and low leakage

Aluminum Electrolytics

is required. The capacity an d voltage rating of the tan talum lytic is limited, and for extremely large values

The aluminum electrolytic capacito r or “Lytic” is a very popular component. Large value c apacity in a relatively

of capacity and higher voltages in power sup ply filter ing, the aluminum lytic is still the first choice.

small case with a fairly high voltage rating can be obtained quite easily. The, aluminum lytic is used in power supply filtering, audio an d video coupling and in bypass applications.

Cathode

Electrode

Dielectric

Oxide Layer

Anode

Electrode

The aluminum lytic is m ade by using a pure aluminum foil wound with a paper soaked in a liquid electrolyte. When a voltage is applied to the combination, a thin layer of oxide film, forms on the pure aluminum forming the dielectric. As long as the electrolyte remains liquid,

the capacitor is good or can b e reformed after sitting

for a while. When the electrolyte drys out the leakage,

goes up and the capacitor loses capacity. This can hap pen to aluminum lytics just sitting on the shelf. When an aluminum lytic starts drying out, the capacitor be

= Series Resistance {Leads, Electrodes,

And Electrolyte)

- Leakage Resistance Of Dielectric Film

gins to show dielectric absorption. Excessive ESR is als o a commo n failure condition for aluminum lytic capa citors.

Fig. G — Co nstruction of an ele ctrolytic capacitor and its equivalent circuit.

A Capacitor Is More Than A Capac itor

An ideal capacitor is defined as ua device consisting of two electrodes, separated by a dielectric, for introducing capacitance into an electric circuit.” Unfortunately, we don't work with ideal components. The capacitors we encounter every day in our service work are much more complex than this simple definition. In an actual capacito r, a certain amount of current leaks through the dielectric or the insulation. Capacitors have inter nal series re sistances, can exhibit an effect called dielec tric absorption, and the capacitan ce can change in value. If we were to draw a circuit to represent an actual capacitor, it might look like the circuit in Figure H.

Capacitor

ous leakage paths through the dielectric. Thus, as the amount of water in the electrolyte decreases , the capacitor will be less capa ble of healing the leakage

paths and the overall leakage current in the capacitor will ultimately incr ease. The increase in leakage cur rent will generate additional heat, which will speed up the chemica l processes in the capacitor. This process, of course, will use up more water and the capacitor will

eventually go into a run-a way mod e. At some point, the leakage current will finally get large enough to

adversely affect the circuit the capacitor is used in.

Dielectric Absorption

On e of the mo st common types of failures of electrolytic capacitors is dielectric abs orption. Dielectric absorptio n is the result of a capacitor remembering a charge that is pla ced on it. The capacitor cannot be completely dis charged and a voltage will reappear after t he capacitor has been discha rged. Another name for dielectric ab sorpti on is battery effect. As this name implies, a capacitor with excessive dielectric abso rption will act like a battery in the circuit. This will upset the circuit by changing bias levels. A capacitor with excessive dielectric absorption will also have a different effective capacitance when it is operating in a circu it. Dielectric absorption will not normally show up in film or ceramic capacitors, but if the AUTO-Z test does indicate dielec tric absorption the capacitor is likely to fail in use. Dielectric absorption in these ca pacitors will generally be associate d with a high leakage a s well.

Fi g. H — Equivalen t circuit of a practical c apacitor.

The capacitor Cl represents the true capacitance, the resistance Rp represents the leakage path through the capacitor, and the resistance Rs, called the Effective

Series Resistance (ESR) repr esents all of the combined internal series resistances in the capacitor .

Leakage

One of the most common capacitor failures is caused by current leaking throug h the capacitor. Some capacitors will show a gradual increase in leakage, while others will change rapidly an d even short out entirely. In order to effectively test a capacitor for leak ag e, it is necessary to test the capacitor at its rated voltage.

When a DC voltage is applied to a capacito r, a certain amou nt of current will flow through the capacitor. This current is called the leakage current and is the result of imperfections in the dielectric. Whenever this leak age current flows through an electrolytic capacitor, nor mal chemical proc esses take p lace to repair the damage done by the current flow. Heat will be generated from the leakage current flowing through the capacitor a nd will speed up the che mical repair processes.

Cathode

Lead

Resistance Cathode

Lead-To-PIate Resistance

Resistance Of Cathode Plate

Resistance Due To Electrolyte

Resistance Of Anode Plate

Anode Lead-To-PIate Resistance

Anode

Lead

Resistance

As the capacitor ages, the amount of water remaining

in the electrolyte will decrease , and the capacitor will

b e less capable of healing the damage done by the vari

Fig. I — The Effective Series Resist ance (ESR) is com

pos ed of al l the combi ned internal resistances in the

capacitor.

Equivalent Series Resistance

Another problem which develops in capa citors is high Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR). All capac itors have a certain amount of ESR . Sources that contribute to ESR include lead resist ance, dissipation in the dielec tric material, and foil resistance. Small, non-electroly- tic capacitors should have extremely small amounts of ESR. An electrolytic capacitor which has excessive ESR will develop internal heat which greatly reduces the life of the capacitor. In addit ion, ESR changes the im ped ance of the capacitor in circuit since it ha s th e same effect as adding an external resistor in series with th e component.

their capacitance due to the failure of the aluminum oxide film making up the dielectric. A chang e in value in an aluminum electrolytic will often also be preceded by other defects, such as high leakage, high dielectric absorption and/or high internal resistances.

Outer Coating

—— Ce ramic

Diele ctric

— Capacitor

Plate

Crack

(Fissure!

' Lead soldered

to ca pac itor

plate

Fig. K — A ceramic dis c is made o f a si lver coated

ce rami c dielectric which is coated with a protective

co ating. Larg e crac ks or fissures in the dielectric may

develop which change the capacitance value .

As Figure L show s, the ESR is the combined res istanc es of the connecting leads, the electrode plates, the resis tance of the lead to plate connectio ns, and the losses associated with the dielectric. All capacitors have some ESR. Normal amount s of ESR are tolerated by the capacitor and the circuit it is u sed in. Defects can occur,

however, in the capacitor which will increase the ESR

in the capacitor. Any increase in ESR can affect the circuit in which the capacitor is used, as well as the capacitor itself.

Fig. J — Th e Equivalent Series Re sistanc e has the result of isolating the capacitor from the power supply

line, re ducing its filtering capabili ties.

Value Change

Capacitors can change value. On some multi-layer foil capacit ors, poor welding or soldering of the foil to the

leads can cause an open to one of the foils to de velop due to stress of voltage or temperature. This can result in a loss of almost one-half of the capacitor’s marked capacity. Ceramic disc capacitors can also cha nge value due to fissures or cracks. Small fissures or cracks in the ce ramic insulating material can be created by ther mal stress from exposure to heat and cold. Sometim es very small fissures develop which do not effect the capacitor until much later. The crack will reduce the capacito r to a smaller value. Although the ceramic is still co nnected to the leads, the actual value of capacity could be a very smal l portion of the original value de pending upon where the crack occurs. The AUTO-Z will let you know what the value of the capacitor is regard les s of its marked value.

Excessive ESR caused heat to build up within the capacitor, causing it to fail at an accelerating rate . ESR also reduces the ability of a capaci tor to filter AC. As the model in Figure J shows, the series resistance RS isolates the capacitor from the AC it is to filter.

Electrolytic capacitors are another example of

capa citors that can change value in circuit or o n the shelf. As these capacitors dry out, they eventually los e

Color

Rated

Voitage

Capaci

1st

Figure

Pico)

Dipped Tan ta lu m C apa cito rs

tance in

arads

2nd

Fig ure Multip lier

Black Brown Red 10 2 2 Orange 15 3 3 Yellow

Green Blue 35 6 6 Violet 50 7 Gray White 3

4 6

20 4

25 5 5 100,000

0 0 1

9 9

— — —

10,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

— —

Ceramic Disc C apacitors

Manufacturer’s

Code

Capacity

Vaiue

Tolerance

* Working

Voltage

Temperature

Range

Low

Temp. + 10°C

-30° C

-55°C

Typical Ceramic Disc C apa citor Markings

5 F 1 0 0 J

Letter

Symbol

2 Y + 65°C X + 85° C

High

Temp.

+ 45°C

+ 105°C + 125°C

Numerical

Symbol

2 4

Temperature Range Identification of

Ceramic Disc Capacitors

Max. Capac. Change Over Temp. Range

+ 1.0%

± 1.5% B ±1.1% C ± 3.3% D ± 4,7%

±7.5% ± 10.0% P ± 15.0% ± 22.0% S

+ 22%. -33% + 22%, -56% u + 22%,-82%

if No Voltage Marked,

Generally 500 VDC

1st & 2nd

Letter

Symbol

R T V

Fig. of

Capac itance

Multiplier

1,000 3 dz 10 %

10,000

100,000 5 + 100%, -0%

.01 8

Numerical

Symb ol

1 0

100 2

—

Toleran ce on Capaci tance

dfc 5 %

±20%

+ 80%.-20%

Capacity Value and Tolerance of

Ceramic Disc Capacitors

Letter

Symbol

J K M P Z

Film Type Capacitors

Ceram ic Feed Throug h Ca p a c i t o r s

Multiplier

Tolerance

MULTIPLIER

For the

Number

Multiplier

0 1 10

2 100 D 3 1,000

TOLERANCE OF CAPACITOR

Letter

B ±0.1 pF C

10 pF or L ess

± .25 pF

± 0.5 pF

F ± 1.0 pF ± 1 %

4 10,000 G ±2.0 pF 5 100,000

8 0.0 1 9

EXAMPLES:

152K = 15x100 = 15 00 pF or .0015 uF, ±10% 759J = 75x0 .1 = 7.5 pF, ±5%

0. 1

M ±20%

Over 10 pF

± 2%

± 3% ± 5%

±10%

Significant J 1st figure \ 2nd

Signifi-

Color

Black 0 Brown

Red

Orange

Yellow Gree n

Blue

Violet

Gray White

Goid Silver

cant

Figure

Multiplier

1,000

10,000

6 7

8 0.001 9 0.1

— — —

or Less

1 2 pF

10 0.1 pF

100

—

0.025 pF

10 pF

5 pF 5%

1 pF

Toierance

- _

—

Temperature coefficient

Over

10 pF

20%

1% N30

N60

N150

2.5%

N220 N330

N470

—

N750

P30

+ 120 to -750

10%

(RETMA)

+ 500 to -330 (JAN)

P100

—

Bypas s or coupling

Tempe rature

Coefficient

NOTE : The letter “ R” may be used at times to signify a decimal point; as in: 2R2 = 2.2 (pF or uF).

P ost ag e St am p Mica C a p a c i t o r s

Mica capacitors-Black

(AWS paper capacitors-

silver)

Characteristic

AWS and JAW fixed capacitors

(First dot silver or black)

First

significant figure

Second

.........

significant figure

First significant figure

{N ot silver

or black) c=

Voltage rating

o o o

-L-t

First significant figure

“ Second

significant figure

L- Decimal multiplier

-Tolerance

_ Decimal

multiplier

Second significant figure

Third

Ί 

significant figure

I i— Decimal multiplier

Tolerance

Color

Slack Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Viole t Gray

Wh it e

Goid Silver No colo r

Sig n i f ic ant

Figure Multiplie r

0 1

1 10 2 100 3 1.000 4 10,000 5 100,000 5 6 1,000,000 6 7 10,000,000 8 9 1,000,000,000

— —

100,000,000 8

0.1

0.01

Tolerance

(%)

1 2 3 4

9 5

Voltag e

Rating

—

100 200 300 400 500 600

700 800 900

1000

2000

500

Stan dar d Butt o n Mica

1st DOT 2nd and 3rd DOTS 4th DOT

Identifier

Capacitance in pF Multiplier

1 st & 2nd

Black

NOTE: Ident ifie r is omi tte d if capacitance must be specifie d to

three signif ican t figures.

Color

Bla ck

Brown Red

Orange Yellow

Green

Blue

Vi olet Gray

White Goid

Silver

Sig. Figs.

0 1

2 3

5 6

7 8

0.1

Radial o r Axial L ead Cera m ic Capac i t o rs

(6 Dot or Band System)

Either type lead

1 10

100 1000

5th DOT

Capacitance

Tolerance

Percent

Symbol

±20% ± 1%

± 2% or ± 1 pF

± 3%

±5% J

± 10% K

5 Dot o r B an d Cer a mic Capaci t o r s

Temperature coefficient —

8th DOT

Temp.

Characteristic

Letter

F F

GorB

+ 100

-20 P PM/°C

above 50 pF

±100 PPM /°C

beiow 50 pF

(one wide band)

- A-First significant figure

- 8-Second significant figure

-C-Oe cimal multiplier ^ D-Capacitance tolerance

T e m p . C o ef fi c ie n t

T.C .

P100 P03G

NPO

N030

N080 N150

N220 N330

N470 N750

N1500 N2200

N3300 N4200

N470G N5600

N330

~ 500

N750

± 1000

N3300

= 2500

tIE

1s t

C o lO f

C o io r

Red

Vioiet

Green

Blue

Blac k Brown

Red Orange

Yellow Green

Blue

Vio ie t

Orange

Yello w

Orange

Green

Orange

Green

Orange

Black

Green

White

Gray

Black

2n d

I s l a n d

2 n d S ig .

F I s .

2 3

' 4

8 9

C a p ac it an c e

M u lt i 

pl i e r

100

1,000

10,000

.01

N o m i ne ) C a pac itan c e

10 p F

or Le s s

C o lo r

Black Brown

Red

Orange

Yello w Green ± 0.5 pF

Biue Violet

Gray

Whit e ± 1.0 pF

±2 ,0 pF ±0,1 pF

± 0.25 pF + 80% -20%

T o le ra n c e

O v e r 10 p F

± 20% ± 1%

* 2% ± 3%

+10 0 % -Q£

± 5%

± 10%

DOTS OR

BANDS

C o i o r

Blac k Brown

Red Orang e

o Y e ll o w

Green

Blue Vio le t

Gray Wh it e

Color

Bla ck Brown

Red Orange

Yellow Green

Blue Viole t

Gray White

Fixed ceramic capacitors, 5 dot or band system

Color Code for Ceramic Capacitors

Ca pacitance

1st & 2nd

Signifi can t

Fig ure

Multiplier

100

1000

0.01

0.1 ± 10%

Tolerance

Over

10 pF

±20%

± 1%

± 2%

± 5%

10 pF

or Less

2.0 pF 0

0.5 pF

0.25 pF

1.0 pF

Temp.

Coeff.

N30

N80

N150

N220 N330

N470 N750

P 30 P500

5 Ban d Ceramic Capac i t ors

(ail bands equal size)

color

1st, 2nd Band Multiplier

Black

Brown

Red

Orange Yeilow

Green Blue

Violet Grey

White Gold

Silver

Mil Spec. Indent. Tolerance

1stFlg- «. 'j 2nd Fig.

Mult. a

Tolerance

0 1

±20% (M)

10 Y5S

100

3 1K 4

10K

N330

6 7

8 9

0.1 ±5% (J)

- 0.01

±30% (N)

SL(GP)

± 10% (K) Y5P

Tu b u la r En cap s u l ated RF Chokes

S 1

§ 2

Ο Λ

*5 3

Characteristic

NPO

Y5T

N150 N220

N470 N750

Y5R

Y5F

Back

Color

Black Brown Red

Orange

Yellow Green Blue Violet Gray White None Silver Gold

M ultiplie r is the fac t o r by w h ic h the two c olor figures are

multiplie d to o b t a in t he inductan ce valueof t h e c h oke coii in uH.

Valu e s w i ll be in uH.

Figu re Multipli er

0 1

. 1 10

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

100

1,000

To lerance

20%

10%

| L J C13.|"

“ POSTAGE STAM P” FIXED INDUCTORS

1st Digit 2nd Digit

Co lor

Blac k or (Blank) Brown Red Ora nge Yellow Green

Blue Violet Gray White

Gold

Silver

1 st Strip 2nd Strip

0 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Multiplier

3rd Strip

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

X.1

X.01

GL O S S ARY

Aging — operati ng a component or instrument at con trolled conditions for time and temperature to sc reen out weak or defective uni ts and, at the same time, stabilize the good units .

Anode — the positive ele ctrode of a capacitor or diod e. Capacitance — the measure of the size of a capacit or.

Usually expressed in microfarads and picofarads. De

termined by the size of the pla tes, an d the dielectric material.

Capacitive reactance — th e opposition to the flow of a pulsating DC voltage or AC voltage. Measured in oh ms.

Capacitor — an electronic component consisting of two metal plates separated by a dielectric. Can store and release electrical energy, block the flow of DC cur rent or filter out or bypa ss AC currents.

Cathode — the negative electrode of a capacitor or diode.

Charge — the quantity of electrical energy st ored or held in a capacitor.

Clearing — the removal of a flaw or weak spot in the dielectric of a metalized ca pacitor. The stored energy in the capacitor vaporizes the material in the im mediate vicinity of the flaw. Also called self-healing or self-clearing.

COG — same as NPO. Very small capacity charge for large temperatu re changes.

Coil — an inductor wound in a spiral or circular fash ion. Can be wound on a form or without a form such as an air coil.

CV product — the capacit ance of a capacitor multip lied by its working voltage. Used when determining the leakage allowable in electrolytic capacitors. The CV p roduct is also equal to the charge that a ca pacitor

can store at its maximum voltage. Dielectric — the insulating or non-con ducting mater

ial between th e plates of a capacitor where the electric

charge is stored. Typical dielectrics include air, impre gnated pa per, plastic films, oil, mica, an d ce rami c.

Dielectric absorption — the measure of the inability

of a capacitor to completely discharge. The charge that remains after a determined discharge time is expressed in a percentage of the original charge. Also called “Capacitor Memory” o r “Battery Action”.

Dielectric constant — the ratio of capacitanc e be tween a capacitor having a dry air dielectric and the given material. A figure fo r determining the efficiency of a given dielectric material. The larger the dielectric constant, the greater the capacity with a given size plate.

Disc capacitor — small single layer ceramic capacito r

consisting of di sc of ceramic dielectric with silver depo sited on both sides as the pl ate. The ceramic material can be of different compositions to give different tem perature curves to the capacitor.

Dissipation factor (DF) — the ratio of the effective series resistance of a capacitor compared to its reac tance at a given frequency, generally given in percent.

Electrolyte — a current conducting liquid or solid be

tween the plates or electrodes of a capacitor with at

least one of the plates having an oxide or dielectric film. Electrolytic capacitor (aluminum) — a capacitor

consisting of two conducting electrodes of pure

aluminum, the anode having an oxide film which acts as the dielectric. The electrolyte separate s the plates .

Equivalent series resistance (ESR) — All internal series resistances of a capacitor are lumped into one resistor and treated as one resistor at one point in the capacitor.

Farad — the measu re or unit of capacity. Too large for electronic use and is generally mea sured in mic ro farads or picofarads.

Fissures — cracks in the ceramic dielectric material of disc capacitor, most often caused by thermal shock . Some small fissures may not c ause failure for a pe riod of time until expo sed to great thermal shock or mechan ical vibration for a period of time.

Fixed capacitor — a capacitor designed with a specific value of ca pacitance that cannot be changed.

Gimmick — a capacitor formed by two wires or other conducting materials twisted together or brought into close proximity of each other.

GMV — Guaranteed Minimum Value, The smallest value this ceramic cap acitor will have. Its value could be much higher.

Henry — The unit of the m easure of induct ance. Also expressed in microhenry and millihenry.

Inductor — a device con sisting of one or more windings with or without a magnetic material core o r introducing inductance into a circuit.

I nducta nce — the property of a coil or transformer

which induces an electromagnetic force in that circuit or a neighboring circuit upon application of an alternat

ing current.

I nductive reactance — the opposition of an inductor

to an alternating or pulsating current.

I m pe dance — the total opposition of a circuit to the

flow of an alternating or pulsating current. Insulation resistance — the ratio of the DC working

voltage and the resulting leakage current through the dielectric. Generally a minimum value is specified, usu ally in the several thousand megohms range .

Iron core — the cen tral portion of a coil or tran sformer.

Can be a po wdered iron core as in small coils used in RF to the large iron sheets used in power transformers.

Leakage current — stray direct current flowing

throu gh the dielectric or around it in a capacitor wh en

a voltage is applied to its terminals.

Metalized capacitor — one in which a thin film of

metal has bee n vacuu m plated on the dielectric. When a breakdown occurs, the metal film around it im mediately bu rns away. Sometimes called a self-healing capacitor.

Temperature coefficient (TO — the changes in c ap 

acity per degree change in temperature. It can be posi tive, negative, or zero. Expressed in parts per million per degree centigrade for linear types. For non-linear types, it i s expressed as a percent of room temperature.

Time constant — the number of seconds required for

a capacitor to reach 63.2% of its full charge after a voltage is appl ied. The time consta nt is the capac ity in farads times the resistance in ohms is equal to seconds (T = RC).

Trimmer — a low value variable capacitor placed in

parallel with, a fixed capacitor of higher value s o that the total capacity of the circuit may be adjus ted to a given value.

Variable capacitor — a capacitor that can be changed

in value by varying the distance between the plates or the useful area of its plates.

Voltage rating — see working voltage.

Wet (slug) tantalum capacitor — an electrolytic

capacitor having a liquid c athode.

Working voitage — the maxim um DC voltage tha t

can be applied to a capacitor for continuous operation at the maximum rated temperature.

Monolithic ceramic capacitor — a small capacitor

made up of several layers of ceramic dielectric sepa rated by precious metal electrodes.

Mutual inductance — the common property of two

ind uctors whereby the indu ced voltage from o ne is in duced into th e other . The magnitude is dependent upo n the spacing.

NPO — an ultra stable temperature coefficient in a ceramic disc capacitor. Derived from “negative-posi tive-zero”. Does not change capacity with temperature ch anges.

Padder — a high capacity variable capacitor placed

in series with a fixed capacitor to vary the total capacity of the circuit by a small amount.

Power factor — the ratio of the effective resist ance

of a capaci tor to its impe dance.

Reactance — the opposition of a capacitor or inductor

to the flow of an AC current or a pulsa ting. DC current.

Self-healing — term used with metalized foil

capac itor s.

Solid tantalum capacitor — an electrolytic capacitor

with a solid tantalum electrolyte instead of a liquid. Also calle d a solid electrolyte tantalum capacitor.

Surge voltage — the maximum sa fe voltage in peaks

to which a capacitor can be subjected to and remain within the operating specifications. This is not the working voltage of the capacitor.

Sencore LC102 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual