Posted on Tuesday, 16th August 2011 by Auw Jimmy

Some people send me an email asking about how to measure cathode current and resistor rating. I will show you how to do it and actually this way is not only applicable for cathode resistor (but commonly used for that purpose).

Basically, there is 2 common way to do it. First, put you Ampere meter in series with the resistor. Second, is to measure the voltage on the resistor, then calculate the current based on the Voltage, Current, and Resistance formula (which V=I*R).

For the sake of simplicity, we can opt to use the second method. We cut the shrink from the resistor pins and put the probes there.

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Tags: bias, cathode resistor, Sanwa
Posted in DIY Audio, Measurement | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 2nd April 2010 by Auw Jimmy

My Sanwa PC510 multimeter has the capability to measure the temperature via small probe. So, I’m curious to measure my tube glass/surface temperature. I test the 6N1P, 6N6P, and 5U4G tubes.

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Tags: measurement, Sanwa, temperature, tube
Posted in Collectible Stuff, DIY Audio | Comments (0)

Posted on Sunday, 3rd January 2010 by Auw Jimmy

On this lazy new year, I do a comparison between some of my old cheap meter (for Capacitance and Multimeter) and my new well know brand, Sanwa.

I finish some measurement for Capacitor and Resistor. It seems even the old cheap meter (cost <US$10) could measure very well compared with my expensive Sanwa (rated at 0.08% accuracy, cost >US$100). But for some special purpose, especially very small value measurement, the more expensive meter would do it better and more accurate. If you don’t mind with the “very standard” (more polite word for “cheap”) build quality, rarely measure small value item, and don’t need extra digit accuracy, then you can go with cheaper meter.

I compare 3 meters here. One is multipurpose meter, Sanwa PC510. High tech meter from Japan brand, Sanwa. Claims 0.08% accuracy, AC True RMS, and capable of testing Capacitance and Temperature (beside a standard AVO function of a Multimeter). This meter cost around US$ 150. The others are two my old meter. One is Heles UX35 (a standard AVO meter, cost around US$ 5) and the other is China brand Capacitance Meter CM8601A+ (up to 20.000uF, Capacitance meter only, cost less than US$ 8).

As the subject, I pick Audio Note Copper Foil Mylar-In-Oil Capacitor (default value at 0.47uF) and three value of 12W Mills Resistor (3R9, 22R, and 22K).

The photo below will speak by themselves.

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Tags: capacitance meter, heles, Sanwa
Posted in Collectible Stuff, Personal | Comments (11)

Posted on Sunday, 2nd August 2009 by Auw Jimmy

Still remember the Extreme Capacitor Battle article? Well, it’s not done yet, but we are very close on it. The break-in session has reached around 180++ hours. I can feel the characteristic from each capacitor.

To simplify (and easier) comparison session, I have prepared two ELMA switch (2 poles, 6 positions). You can see the photo below.

You might ask, why do I need two pieces of this ELMA? One should be sufficient, right? Keep reading. As you may also notice that I have a “bad habit” as a perfectionist, so this is still related with it

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Tags: comparison jig, ELMA, Sanwa, switch
Posted in DIY Audio | Comments (5)