Even more expensive LCR tweezers tend to shoot components into oblivion. At work we used a strip of double sided tape - stick the component to it and it won't go flying into the void
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 I need to pick up a set of locksmith's tweezers that have a little dimple at the end for picking up pins, it seems like those would do a great job of picking up little raised components without pinging them into oblivion. Would probably still struggle picking things up from a flat surface though.
One way to keep components from flying off tweezers, is to apply a tiny bit if solder at the very end of each tip and then roughen it with a small file or sand paper. It will give it extra bite.
"I don't have a way to measure inductance, but with a capacitor it makes a resonant circuit and we can calculate the frequency" Ok, that escalated quickly. 😆
The scope video wasn't a bad review, it was a great review of a bad product. You gave some excellent feedback and suggestions, far beyond what I've seen other reviewers give
Bought these 3 days ago, although I already have the ST5C Smart Tweezers for work. They are much easier to use and easier to read. So I will leave the old ones in the drawers. The price of these tweezers is also unbeatable.
I just bought the MD1 tweezers after seeing it on another yt review before I saw this. Mine also had the habit of flicking the component away due to the same smooth tweezer tips. My solution was to put the tip on a hard solid surface, put a needle file on top of the tweezer tip and lightly tap on it with a small hammer. This made a knurled surface finish without removing the gold plating. It worked well and didn't flick components off as often as before.
For the C and L measurements DMMs usually have a 'reset' or 'zero' button to take into effect the cables (i.e. this is like calibrating the DMM) before the start of a measurement. This needs to be done especially e.g. for pF range capacitances, where the cable loading effect is comparable to the device under test. Also measuring frequency naturally gives different values, but this is normal - try to measure a capacitor at 100Hz, and then at 30MHz (use a VNA for this) you may see it's actually an inductor... nice video, tnx
Don't forget that coils have some capacitance of their own, which will lower the resonant frequency, assuming it's below their own self-resonant frequency. You could add 2 different capacitors to the same coil to figure out what the self-capacitance is.
At high enough frequencies they self resonate, and not just at one frequency. Key is to use them with a much bigger capacitor OUTSIDE the coil so the internal capacitance doesn't matter so much.
Get the alligator clips that go over your probe tips. Use one for holding the small part and the other to point probe with. I usually clip one wire when I'm hunting for continuity. Leaves both hands free that way. I bought new probes a long time ago with an accessory kit, nobody could tell me if soldering a broken probe would toss it off calibration. Came with the little spring loaded clamps, sheathing piercing tips and gator clips. One stays on or near my meter always. Really helps.
Nice test! I have their USB tester and their USB-C soldering iron... Not entirely sure how well they compare to others in the market, so reviews are always welcome. Their stuff is pretty well built, but can't say anything about the specs since I don't have anything else to compare here. :P But they do have a wide range of good looking products. xD
Wow, I haven't heard the term "condenser" used to describe capacitors other than in old documentation from vacuum tube era stuff - that's a real "blast from the past" - especially if you pick up the "condensers" when they're charged up!
actually, i just had to replace a 1.5 henry choke in a tone circuit of an old amplifier. i couldn't buy one so had to find a little transformer with a winding that was close. Had to do a lot of measuriing the 1 Henry range
I picked up a off brand set of LCR tweezers a few years ago, hardly ever use them ... its in a drawer and I gotta plug a thing into the other thing (on that specific set) and I have done the chopstick grip on normal probes for decades. I do have a set of smart tweezers band name ones at work they get used a bit more though cause they are much faster ... like almost instant ... but like 300 bucks. EDIT yes they all suck on in circuit testing, mostly not making contact though the "no clean" flux used on most electronics, a probe can stab pretty hard into the solder
There is a trick for measuring SMD components, that when desoldering, we solder through one of the pads so that the other terminal is in the air. That way it won't fly anywhere.
I see in the link that they can measure ESR. Now I would be interested in them for that, it's a shame you didn't test it as I can't afford to buy them if they don't do it well.
Tweezers that probes can plug in the back of would be great. Or of course tweezers that have integral leads that plug direct into the meter. Or retrofit the tweezer gadget to accept your meter probes.
Can you work out a deal with LCR Research and test their tweezers? I've been wanting a reason to buy their Pro 1 or Pro 1 Plus. Tell them that a positive review about them will definitely sell one whole pair. I'm sure they will be impressed with that prospect!
I know how frustrating it is to test SMD, I purchased two products. One is a tweezer to banana jacks so I could use my standard multimeter, and the other one is one made by UNI-T, they were cheap so I could afford them, the pro version also measures voltage across the components in circuit. But those tweezers you had were just flinging the parts everywhere... and you'll probably be finding those microscopic components for years to come. LOL, I know, I laugh, but I know from experience... you DARE not even sneeze or you'll never find that resistor or capacitor for your project.
It's really two probes in a tweezer format than tweezers. Same for tweezer soldering irons. It's just extremely convenient because many components have two ends. Very useful and all measurement devices have caveats and traps. Makes me laugh when I see people posting about fluke accuracy versus a cheaper meter when they have no clue what the reading actually represents and why they differ and more importantly why neither is wrong. They make a reading of a device under test in a test circuit which contains non-ideal components.
I love the video. But is there any chance we can see some more mini lathe projects? Please. I've bought one and then built a new PC and have lost interest somewhat in making lathe things. Maybe some videos will kick my interest back up
One solution to the inability to use the multimeter needles like a pair of chop sticks, would be to make a wooden tweezer body that they mount onto, thereby turning them into a pair of tweezers. You'll probably want them to be mounted so that the needles point slightly inward rather than just being straight.
If that was all you had for whatever reason, you could add a guide to one arm that kept the other aligned with the it. Just a bit of whatever that is parallel, a slot for it to ride in.
resistor codes suck! especially if you're color blind so i always end up having to use a multi meter, it was hard to get a reading from that first board you tested cause it looked like it had a coating on it. edit: you mention that later... nevermind
How about if the tips of the tweezers were flattened with sandpaper and then use the device more vertically? Like adjust the tweezers to the length of the SMD and push the electrodes _down_ onto the component against the table? Best on a hard rubber mat, probably.
Not entirely surprised the electrolytics didn't measure well, since it's doing an AC measurement half the time they're being charged at the wrong polarity. Surely that would screw things up. It would be nice if it could do a DC measurement in manual component mode.
I wish all these tweezers were angled at least 45deg downwards, because it's hard to read them at an angle that you need to hold them to access the components. Also the gold looking plating must be very poor, since I can make a good contact to smd parts with any other multimeter probes.
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 ESR can be challenging for some low cost meters and if you take a capacitor, make note of it's ESR and then put say a 2 ohm resistor in series and then repeat the test the ESR reading should simply be the old ESR plus 2 ohms but I have one of those cheap component testers where this fails. Curious to know if yours would pass the test.
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 Doh! I assumed. Seems like a bit of an oversight in the design. But it has my gears turning now that I'm aware this class of device even exists.
@@modorangeorge4991 Looks like a nice tool, but I already have devices that can do internal battery resistance. And everything else this does too. What really sets this little thing apart for me is the form factor. I am in love with the concept because for probably 90% of the time I'm using a DMM this form factor would not just suffice but would actually be superior. My gears are turning now that I think I could at least make a nice, wide range tweezer lead set for my current favorite simple auto ranging DMM on a 3D printer.
I would hold across the middle of the components using the good tweezers and then try to clamp the ends using the probes. (Am I missing something? Would that risk breaking the surface mount components?)
i've never seen someone write the Greek letter mu in their notes before! the digital age has just trained everyone to use the roman letter "u" even though most digital systems can handle greek letters now. i used to hold out and write mu a lot, but it annoyed enough people that i switched to hand writing "u". its even worse if you type a "mu" and put it in a pdf because you have no idea what will happen with various readers down the line. same goes for ligament characters, but that's a whole different nightmare lol
which lcr meter do you have? The DE-5000? I've heard that one is very good, but I have even nicer (if older and bench rather than handheld) LCR meters already.
I would assume so! Its already iffy enough measuring components in-circuit, as the surrounding circuitry may provide alternate paths for the current and potentially throw off the measurements
I don't understand the use-case. Once a component is on the board, it can no longer be measured independently. Besides, I get the boards assembled already by a machine. For my diagnostic needs, Testpads are my friends
It's fun to watch you being smart. I'm not flirting. Just stating facts: intelligence in a man is a total turn-on! It's like being a superhero with your brain.
How do these compared to the specifications they post on their listing? That's a huge problem with so many electronic things on Amazon. Manufacturers post these glowing specifications and meeting none of them. To me, that's an instant zero star review. I don't think any company should be selling things with specifications that are just pure fabrication.
Blaming the device for measuring errors is unfair IMO. You can think, it cannot 😊 Engineers know that measuring device results require interpretation by the user. Thus the engineer.
Yes, things often aren't shipped with full batteries for safety's sake, so battery life could be even longer. I recharged them, but don't have the patience to do a full discharge test
I wish way more UA-camrs had the integrity of Matthias.
Matthias is a wizard :)
Even more expensive LCR tweezers tend to shoot components into oblivion. At work we used a strip of double sided tape - stick the component to it and it won't go flying into the void
Ah, so better tweezers shoot even further? I thought it was the other way around!
Used in the past tense? What happened to the strip of tape, is he alright?
@@BobofWOGGLE lol. Maybe, but I don't work there anymore :D
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 I need to pick up a set of locksmith's tweezers that have a little dimple at the end for picking up pins, it seems like those would do a great job of picking up little raised components without pinging them into oblivion. Would probably still struggle picking things up from a flat surface though.
One way to keep components from flying off tweezers, is to apply a tiny bit if solder at the very end of each tip and then roughen it with a small file or sand paper. It will give it extra bite.
"I don't have a way to measure inductance, but with a capacitor it makes a resonant circuit and we can calculate the frequency" Ok, that escalated quickly. 😆
The scope video wasn't a bad review, it was a great review of a bad product. You gave some excellent feedback and suggestions, far beyond what I've seen other reviewers give
What a handy little device. I'm pretty good with chopsticks but I still haven't mastered the DMM lead chopstick move.
I think the little flange near the points really gets in the way for the chopstick move
Bought these 3 days ago, although I already have the ST5C Smart Tweezers for work. They are much easier to use and easier to read. So I will leave the old ones in the drawers. The price of these tweezers is also unbeatable.
I just bought the MD1 tweezers after seeing it on another yt review before I saw this. Mine also had the habit of flicking the component away due to the same smooth tweezer tips. My solution was to put the tip on a hard solid surface, put a needle file on top of the tweezer tip and lightly tap on it with a small hammer. This made a knurled surface finish without removing the gold plating. It worked well and didn't flick components off as often as before.
neat idea, but you need a very fine file for this
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 i used the ones for fine work about 6in long including the handle. The serrations were fine enough to work well.
*Every* factory out there should hire Matthias for a part-time job in R&D and part-time in QC.
He's a brilliant electronics engineer that should have several electronics engineers working under him.
For the C and L measurements DMMs usually have a 'reset' or 'zero' button to take into effect the cables (i.e. this is like calibrating the DMM) before the start of a measurement. This needs to be done especially e.g. for pF range capacitances, where the cable loading effect is comparable to the device under test. Also measuring frequency naturally gives different values, but this is normal - try to measure a capacitor at 100Hz, and then at 30MHz (use a VNA for this) you may see it's actually an inductor... nice video, tnx
Don't forget that coils have some capacitance of their own, which will lower the resonant frequency, assuming it's below their own self-resonant frequency.
You could add 2 different capacitors to the same coil to figure out what the self-capacitance is.
At high enough frequencies they self resonate, and not just at one frequency. Key is to use them with a much bigger capacitor OUTSIDE the coil so the internal capacitance doesn't matter so much.
Get the alligator clips that go over your probe tips. Use one for holding the small part and the other to point probe with. I usually clip one wire when I'm hunting for continuity. Leaves both hands free that way. I bought new probes a long time ago with an accessory kit, nobody could tell me if soldering a broken probe would toss it off calibration. Came with the little spring loaded clamps, sheathing piercing tips and gator clips. One stays on or near my meter always. Really helps.
I bought one of these things - Awesome little tool - Hardly use my Fluke meter anymore.
You could buy tweezer probes for your multimeter too.
Hadn't considered that. Though for very low cap values, not ideal.
I am a big fan of my LCR-T4 Mega328 for identifying electronic components. cheap and works pretty well for me.
The PCB you had trouble measuring some SMT resistors on appears to have been conformally coated. That could explain the issues with probing it.
As indicated in the video
Really interesting device indeed, Matthias! Thanks a bunch! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Nice test!
I have their USB tester and their USB-C soldering iron...
Not entirely sure how well they compare to others in the market, so reviews are always welcome.
Their stuff is pretty well built, but can't say anything about the specs since I don't have anything else to compare here. :P But they do have a wide range of good looking products. xD
Wow, I haven't heard the term "condenser" used to describe capacitors other than in old documentation from vacuum tube era stuff - that's a real "blast from the past" - especially if you pick up the "condensers" when they're charged up!
Ive only heard them referred that way for old engines with points for spark
is he german? it's pretty much the german word for it.
I'm thinking it's the french Canadian influence, but he uses capacitor/condenser interchangeabley. I guess it's a case of potato/potahto :p
We indeed use both "condensateur" or "capacitance" terms in (belgian) french. Maybe that's why, if he has Canadian french influences.
I'm a 84-year old Brit, and I still think of capacitor as the 'modern' term for a condenser.
actually, i just had to replace a 1.5 henry choke in a tone circuit of an old amplifier. i couldn't buy one so had to find a little transformer with a winding that was close. Had to do a lot of measuriing the 1 Henry range
I picked up a off brand set of LCR tweezers a few years ago, hardly ever use them ... its in a drawer and I gotta plug a thing into the other thing (on that specific set) and I have done the chopstick grip on normal probes for decades. I do have a set of smart tweezers band name ones at work they get used a bit more though cause they are much faster ... like almost instant ... but like 300 bucks. EDIT yes they all suck on in circuit testing, mostly not making contact though the "no clean" flux used on most electronics, a probe can stab pretty hard into the solder
There is a trick for measuring SMD components, that when desoldering, we solder through one of the pads so that the other terminal is in the air. That way it won't fly anywhere.
You find the coolest gadgets
Cool idea
Great review
Thanks for the review!
I see in the link that they can measure ESR. Now I would be interested in them for that, it's a shame you didn't test it as I can't afford to buy them if they don't do it well.
Yes, I was wondering about this too.
Tweezers that probes can plug in the back of would be great. Or of course tweezers that have integral leads that plug direct into the meter. Or retrofit the tweezer gadget to accept your meter probes.
That math formula you have on the paper is for the Resonant Frequency. The formula for frequency of oscillation is f=1/T
Can you work out a deal with LCR Research and test their tweezers? I've been wanting a reason to buy their Pro 1 or Pro 1 Plus. Tell them that a positive review about them will definitely sell one whole pair. I'm sure they will be impressed with that prospect!
I know how frustrating it is to test SMD, I purchased two products. One is a tweezer to banana jacks so I could use my standard multimeter, and the other one is one made by UNI-T, they were cheap so I could afford them, the pro version also measures voltage across the components in circuit. But those tweezers you had were just flinging the parts everywhere... and you'll probably be finding those microscopic components for years to come. LOL, I know, I laugh, but I know from experience... you DARE not even sneeze or you'll never find that resistor or capacitor for your project.
Interesting! Maybe build tweezers that you can plug into your own meter. Nice work and thanks for sharing!
It's really two probes in a tweezer format than tweezers. Same for tweezer soldering irons. It's just extremely convenient because many components have two ends. Very useful and all measurement devices have caveats and traps. Makes me laugh when I see people posting about fluke accuracy versus a cheaper meter when they have no clue what the reading actually represents and why they differ and more importantly why neither is wrong. They make a reading of a device under test in a test circuit which contains non-ideal components.
I love the video. But is there any chance we can see some more mini lathe projects? Please. I've bought one and then built a new PC and have lost interest somewhat in making lathe things. Maybe some videos will kick my interest back up
The mini lathe is super handy from time to time, but I don't make projects around it. but did you see my big wooden screw video I did with it?
One solution to the inability to use the multimeter needles like a pair of chop sticks, would be to make a wooden tweezer body that they mount onto, thereby turning them into a pair of tweezers.
You'll probably want them to be mounted so that the needles point slightly inward rather than just being straight.
I learned that a micro-henry is a real thing!
Almost everything else was too much for me.
I could have used that many years ago. I don't really do electronics work any more.
If that was all you had for whatever reason, you could add a guide to one arm that kept the other aligned with the it. Just a bit of whatever that is parallel, a slot for it to ride in.
Recently i bought Zoyi ZT-MD1 and was testing 0,002 ohm shunt resistor, the measured value was 0,0019 ohm. With 0,5 uH inductor it measured 0,6 uH.
I got some banana jack cables with grabbers on the other end for this reason. Also some banana jack to breadboard adapters.
those things are great to measure capacitors ESR
Yes, multiple things on the display is really nice.
Ohms impedance (AC resistance) across speaker terminals varies with frequency.
yes, but the number printed on the speaker is always the DC resistance.
resistor codes suck! especially if you're color blind so i always end up having to use a multi meter, it was hard to get a reading from that first board you tested cause it looked like it had a coating on it. edit: you mention that later... nevermind
Even if you aren't colour blind the red can look a lot like brown and orange can look a lot like red. Especially in poor light.
How do they respond to diodes diagnostics? Do they single beep on diode and long beep on short, like a fluke?
Could you use them to measure the components without removeing them with the 0.3v setting ?
I wish I could be that bad thanks
How about if the tips of the tweezers were flattened with sandpaper and then use the device more vertically?
Like adjust the tweezers to the length of the SMD and push the electrodes _down_ onto the component against the table?
Best on a hard rubber mat, probably.
Micro Henry I have never heard of dam boy
Someone needs to make a tweezer style set of probes to plug into your regular multimeter....
they do, I've got some
Not entirely surprised the electrolytics didn't measure well, since it's doing an AC measurement half the time they're being charged at the wrong polarity. Surely that would screw things up. It would be nice if it could do a DC measurement in manual component mode.
I think for that use case the solution is: Use a different meter.
Is there a setting to flip the display around for left-handed people?
no
As left handed, I am interested can you turn the text upside down?
no
The zoyi md1 has the left handed mode that's why I bought that one the moment I knew it had that function.
Have you tried measuring stuff in-circuit?
You do have to consider, for surface mount work, what's the better option? These could be better than nothing.
I wish all these tweezers were angled at least 45deg downwards, because it's hard to read them at an angle that you need to hold them to access the components.
Also the gold looking plating must be very poor, since I can make a good contact to smd parts with any other multimeter probes.
probably just some conformal coating left on the parts, as the pcb had a thin layer of that on it.
Your dad probably remembers the riddle: We misst misst Mist.
Wer*
I'm sure he knows it himself, pretty sure he still speaks German and has some relics (condenser).
It's a component launcher. Did they come with a complimentary magnifying glass and knee pads?
Does it give ESR and if so, how well? Try a 220uf capacitor and then add a few ohms in series and see how accurate it is.
yes, it does give an ESR reading. I haven't verified it against anything, but resistance readings generally are accurate.
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 ESR can be challenging for some low cost meters and if you take a capacitor, make note of it's ESR and then put say a 2 ohm resistor in series and then repeat the test the ESR reading should simply be the old ESR plus 2 ohms but I have one of those cheap component testers where this fails. Curious to know if yours would pass the test.
I'd pay another $15 if this thing could open wide enough to also test AAA, AA batteries. That would also be incredibly handy!
it doesn't measure voltage
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 Doh! I assumed. Seems like a bit of an oversight in the design. But it has my gears turning now that I'm aware this class of device even exists.
Maybe an internal battery resistance tester is what you want. Fnirsi has HRM-10 device exactly for these purpose. It also measures voltage.
@@modorangeorge4991 Looks like a nice tool, but I already have devices that can do internal battery resistance. And everything else this does too. What really sets this little thing apart for me is the form factor. I am in love with the concept because for probably 90% of the time I'm using a DMM this form factor would not just suffice but would actually be superior.
My gears are turning now that I think I could at least make a nice, wide range tweezer lead set for my current favorite simple auto ranging DMM on a 3D printer.
I wonder if your board you were trying to test has a lacquer over the circuit, or if it's just corrosion making a bad connection
yes, as I indicated in the video
I challenge you to make tweezers of the probes of a normal multimeter... made of wood
its probably more useful for comparing the values than measuring.
Certainly for miliohm measurements, as these appear not to be that precise, but still nice to have it actually display miliohms
I would hold across the middle of the components using the good tweezers and then try to clamp the ends using the probes. (Am I missing something? Would that risk breaking the surface mount components?)
Do you think it would be worthwhile just removing the tweezers and putting clip leads on it?
Or I could just buy an LCR meter instead
i've never seen someone write the Greek letter mu in their notes before! the digital age has just trained everyone to use the roman letter "u" even though most digital systems can handle greek letters now. i used to hold out and write mu a lot, but it annoyed enough people that i switched to hand writing "u". its even worse if you type a "mu" and put it in a pdf because you have no idea what will happen with various readers down the line. same goes for ligament characters, but that's a whole different nightmare lol
Interessting at my uni and work all people write the greek mu
@@MrConminer yeah, it is done everywhere
I thought testing components in situ on the PCB may give wrong results???
Someone should develop a simple holder, that you can drop a pair of multimeter probes into, turning them into easy to use, chopsticks.
There is, you just tape their handles to a suitable size croc clip 👍
Don't use them for what?
No bueno. I'll stick with my cheap LCR meter from Amazon for now. It's fairly accurate and reliable.
Given how terrible these are at being tweezers, can't argue there. I wish these opened up more, seeing that I mostly use them as non-tweezers.
which lcr meter do you have? The DE-5000? I've heard that one is very good, but I have even nicer (if older and bench rather than handheld) LCR meters already.
Great device - I guess they assume . . .
Components are measured with no other dc or ac voltages applied . . . i..e. the circuit board is switched OFF
I would assume so! Its already iffy enough measuring components in-circuit, as the surrounding circuitry may provide alternate paths for the current and potentially throw off the measurements
Have you tried the latest firmware? It may give more accurate results
I just bought it, should not be out of date yet!
after watching this ,,I lower my head remembering that I cant read a multi-meter,,other than some basic functions.
😂
aaaanndddd it's gone 😂
I don't understand the use-case. Once a component is on the board, it can no longer be measured independently. Besides, I get the boards assembled already by a machine. For my diagnostic needs, Testpads are my friends
please watch the video. also for those prototyping smut by hand, a very useful tool, so long as it doesn’t fling components.
@@matthiasrandomstuff2221 I watched the video, you had to desolder them
What’s the multimeter?
reviewed it a while ago. Has capacitance function
It's fun to watch you being smart. I'm not flirting. Just stating facts: intelligence in a man is a total turn-on! It's like being a superhero with your brain.
How do these compared to the specifications they post on their listing? That's a huge problem with so many electronic things on Amazon. Manufacturers post these glowing specifications and meeting none of them. To me, that's an instant zero star review. I don't think any company should be selling things with specifications that are just pure fabrication.
Blaming the device for measuring errors is unfair IMO. You can think, it cannot 😊
Engineers know that measuring device results require interpretation by the user. Thus the engineer.
🥴
It looked like the charge wasnt 100%.......I'll let you fill in the blanks
Yes, things often aren't shipped with full batteries for safety's sake, so battery life could be even longer. I recharged them, but don't have the patience to do a full discharge test
@matthiasrandomstuff2221 The real question is will they be more accurate on a full charge?
哈哈哈哈啊哈，镊子夹不住是个问题
so to summarise both reviews: this vendor makes cheap junk.
"Condenser" ha ha, I didn't know you were in your 70s alresdy.
A volume warning would be handy for 01:44 😅
And 02:27
And 02:49