Extech LCR Primer?

[David Schwab]

Well I know that some manufacturers like Rickenbacker for instance do use the Extech also, so I can't imagine that they wouldn't have a replacement for it on plan.

Well the meters they have aren't going to stop working when they discontinue the model...

[Joe Gwinn]

These [Extech LCR meters] are also being discontinued, not being made anymore, I wonder if they are coming out with a newer better one

Where did you get this tidbit? Lots of distributors still claim to carry these. Sometimes, when a distributer drops a line or model, they will claim discontinuance, so people will settle for something else, something that distributor still happens to carry.

[Joe Gwinn]

Tecpel, a Taiwanese firm, sells an identical LCR meter.
http://www.tecpel.com/LCR_612.htm

So few things are made in the US anymore, I suspect
that Extech's meter is a rebranded one.

-drh

It sure looks like my Extech, both by picture and by specs.

[dpm]

Apart from AC resistance, is this meter's purpose in pickup making to measure inductance? Is there any reason a cheap meter like this one wouldn't work if all you're after is an inductance value?

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...Max=&SUBCATID=

[Joe Gwinn]

Apart from AC resistance, is this meter's purpose in pickup making to measure inductance? Is there any reason a cheap meter like this one wouldn't work if all you're after is an inductance value?

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...Max=&SUBCATID=

Because cheap inductance meters cannot handle the large DC and AC resistance of guitar pickups. Said another way, many LCR meters (not necessarily all cheap) require the "Q" (inductive reactance divided by series resistance) to be far higher than any real pickup can achieve.

The test is to connect an iron-cored ~2-henry inductor (one winding of a power or output transformer works) in series with a 50K pot, and use the instrument to measure the inductance of the whole assembly. As you turn the pot from low resistance to high resistance, does the inductance reading change much? If it does, the instrument will be useless for measuring pickups.

I learned this the hard way, when my then LCR meter (BK Precision 875B) gave totally wild answers on pickups. It was off by a large factor, at least an order of magnitude, not merely a percentage.

[dpm]

very interesting, thanks Joe.