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Re: L & C measurements cheaply, how?
From: Alfred C. Erpel[SMTP:aerpel-at-op-dot-net]
Sent: Monday, December 29, 1997 4:56 PM
To: 'Tesla List'
Subject: Re: L & C measurements cheaply, how?
>I am curious how most of you are measuring L & C's for homemade tesla
>components. I am looking for an inexpensive way. At school I had DMMs,
>scopes, function generators, FFT analyzers, the works, ... but now that I
>have graduated and gone home, and it is painfully obvious that I lack
>even the basic tools. I don't even have a digital voltmeter. I went
>looking through the catalogs I have here, and found only one inexpensive
>DMM that has inductance measurements: the wavetek 27XT. This unit seems
>to be able to handle the ranges necessary for Tesla coil parts, is
>anybody using this for measuring homemade components?
>
>I have tried using my cheap rat-shack analog voltmeter and 120VAC 60Hz to
>measure my cap & choke values, but the voltmeter impedance is way too
>low, and it's highly parasitic. Plus, it doesn't even zero properly.
>Someday, I'll save up for a scope & func. generator, but now I just need
>something cheap and convenient.
Adam,
Try the following website for good used electronics equipment. I just
ordered a used function generator and a frequency timer/counter for a total
of $215. Mike Couture is the owner (the son of John Couture who is a
contributor to this list). He was very helpful and spent 20 minutes on the
phone with me as we homed in on what was best for my needs.
http://www.mgte-dot-com/h_te.htm
Regards,
Alfred