Signstek MESR-100 V2 Auto Ranging in Circuit ESR LCR Meter Capacitor/Low Ohm Meter Up to 0.01 to 100R, Support in Circuit Testing

I do electronics repair as a second job. This is a great tool for troubleshooting and saves me a lot of time. Bad capacitors are a frequent problem but they are difficult to test and I don't have the time to just replace every capacitor I run across on finicky equipment. PROs: Tests capacitors better than a multimeter without having to desolder them. Posts the results in plain English as well as the numeric readings. It's reliable. I have tested quite a few capacitors so far and the results so far are accurate and repeatable. It's inexpensive. I shopped around for a quality ESR and found that units typically cost more than this, have to ship from China or Russia, and frequently don't have as many features. CONSs: The battery door is difficult to get to. The stand is in the way. It's a minor hassle. I plan to just remove the stand entirely as I do not use it. It's not extremely precise, particularly on small capacitors. Caps below a certain point you have to look up on a table (which is handily printed on the unit). The numbers can vary a little but not enough to make a difference for what I'm testing. All I want to know is the answer to one question: "Is this a good cap?" It's precise enough to be accurate in answering this question and that is all I care about.

Love this thing, but the leads slip around when trying to clamp them and they are very short they should be longer and have the ability to put tiny probes on as well!!

I have used this meter now to test over 500 capacitors and it has performed flawlessly. The only situation I would advise users of is not to relay only on the auto-ranging capability of the meter. Auto-range works great but for some capacitors the ESR is close to the limit of two ranges and the meter will jump back and forth trying to resolve the resistance. If this occurs simply press the mode range button once or twice until the reading stabilizes. This meter can be used for in-circuit testing of capacitors as well but so far I have not needed it for that.

Works well to identify defective capacitors. As many people have said, the leads are not just too short, they are tied to close to one another. The leads need another 4" and the separation needs to be another 2" to be able to get to awkward connections.

Simple operation, accurate results.