Dflip Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Anyone with some advice on how to measure the value of an inductor? Replacing these on a pair of Cornwalls was easy, Al K. was able to give me the values. I have a pair of older Paridigm speakers that I intend to replace the capacitors and hopefully the inductors in them. The capacitors are easy, the inductor is not marked and Paridigm is not willing to tell me what the value of the inductor is. The current inductor looks like it is made of very thin wire and could definitely be improved upon. They are part of my mini system (better sounding than the Sony speakers that came with it). Any assistance would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 I have a Meterman meter that will measure inductance. It cost $131 with tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Or you can use an audio oscillator, millivoltmeter, resistor of known value, and a little math. Easier to just get an inductance meter or multimeter with inductance function, though. Online sourcces like PartsExpress have them if you don't have a local source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 John, I am looking for an upgrade to my Sears Craftsman Multimeter that has served me well over the years. The main reason I want to upgrade is for additional features, not accuracy. (Most of the measurements I take are usually with the caveat of +- 5% anyway). I am looking for capacitance, inductance, frequency, temperature - I have even seen some with decibles- that would be neat for audiophiles. Do you have any models in mind? The Flukes don't seem to have all of these features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 I bought a Wavetek 27 mulitmeter about 5 years ago. It will measure inductance, plus many other things, and I like it very much. A quick surf shows the model line lives on. You will find there are some other meters available from e.g. Parts Express which are devoted to L, C and R. I don't have any experience with them though. Purists will point out, quite correctly, that these simple meters don't tell the whole story about the nature of the device under test. I.e the inductor. One is that the inductor has some series resistance. This is why some people favor inductors made of thick wire. You can measure resistance too. I'm just not informed on what to make of the two readings and come up with effective inductance and resistance. The other issue is that the meters are applying a sine wave at a given frequency and making some calculations based on that. Purists say that you should measure the value at the frequency where the component is being used in a crossover. None the less, the Wavetek is very good at identifying the mystery component. Please know, however, that you can't just hook up the test leads to the inductor in the circuit. One end of the inductor has to be free of connections to other devices. You have to have a schematic diagram or dope it out by examination. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 Thanks for the responses. As I suspected, there is no quick easy fix. I will have to see if I can find someone around TO who has a meter I can borrow for a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 Try one of these: http://www.metermantesttools.com/products/xtseries.asp I have a 27XT; it cost $125 + tax. It does not do temperature, maybe one of the others will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 Thicker wire isn't always better. An important part of the inductors overall function is it's DCR. It's part of the original circuit. Personally, I feel DCR match is critical in the high frequency part of the crossover. If you get the inductance right, and miss the DCR -- it will completely change how the speaker sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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