878B - B&K Precision - Datasheet.Live

Model 878B, 879B

Dual Display LCR

METER

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Safety Summary

The following safety precautions apply to both

operating and maintenance personnel and

must be observed during all phases of

operation, service, and repair of this

instrument.

DO NOT OPERATE IN AN EXPLOSIVE

ATMOSPHERE

Do not operate the instrument in the presence

of flammable gases or fumes. Operation of

any electrical instrument in such an

environment constitutes a definite safety

hazard.

KEEP AWAY FROM LIVE CIRCUITS

Instrument covers must not be removed by

operating personnel. Component

replacement and internal adjustments must be

made by qualified maintenance personnel.

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE PARTS OR MODIFY

THE INSTRUMENT

Do not install substitute parts or perform any

unauthorized modifications to this instrument.

Return the instrument to B&K Precision for

service and repair to ensure that safety

features are maintained.

WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS

WARNING and CAUTION statements, such

as the following examples, denote a hazard

and appear throughout this manual. Follow all

instructions contained in these statements.

A WARNING statement calls attention to an

operating procedure, practice, or condition,

which, if not followed correctly, could result in

injury or death to personnel.

A CAUTION statement calls attention to an

operating procedure, practice, or condition,

which, if not followed correctly, could result in

damage to or destruction of part or all of the

product.

Safety Guidelines

To ensure that you use this device safely,

follow the safety guidelines listed below:

 This meter is for indoor use, altitude up to

2,000 m.

 The warnings and precautions should be

read and well understood before the

instrument is used.

 When measuring in-circuit components, first

de-energize the circuits before connecting to

the test leads.

 Discharge capacitor before testing.

 The meter is safety-certified in compliance

with EN61010 (IEC 1010-1) Installation

Category II (CAT. II) 50 V, Pollution Degree

2 environment.

 Use the meter only as specified in this

manual. Otherwise, the protection provided

by the meter may be impaired.

 The power for the meter is supplied with a

single standard 9V battery. But also a line

operation is possible using a 12V AC to DC

adaptor. If a power adaptor is selected,

please be sure it fulfills the safety

requirements of a relevant IEC standard.

Safety Symbols

This symbol is a warning and

indicates that the user should refer to

the operating instructions located in

the manual.

DC Current

Indicates inside pin is positive (+),

outside is negative (-)

Compliance Statements

Disposal of Old Electrical & Electronic Equipment

(Applicable in the European

Union and other European countries with separate

collection systems)

This product is subject

to Directive 2002/96/EC

of the European

Parliament and the

Council of the European

Union on waste

electrical and electronic

equipment (WEEE) , and

in jurisdictions

adopting that Directive,

is marked as being put

on the market after

August 13, 2005, and

should not be disposed

of as unsorted

municipal waste. Please

utilize your local WEEE

collection

facilities in the

disposition of this

product and otherwise

observe all applicable

requirements.

Environmental Conditions

Operating Environment

0 °C to 40 °C

Storage Humidity

0 – 80% R.H.

Storage Environment

-20 °C to +50 °C

Pollution degree

Pollution degree 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Safety Summary ........................................................ 1

Safety Guidelines ...................................................... 2

Compliance Statements ........................................... 4

INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 10

PACKAGE CONTENTS ........................................... 11

FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW .................................... 12

Front Panel Display Descriptions .................................. 13

Front Panel Buttons ...................................................... 15

LCD DISPLAY OVERVIEW ...................................... 17

LCD Display Descriptions ............................................. 17

Special Display Indicators ............................................. 19

POWERING INSTRUMENT ...................................... 20

Installing Battery ........................................................... 20

Connecting External Power Source .............................. 22

Low Battery Indication .................................................. 24

Backlit Display (model 879B only) ................................ 25

OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS ................................. 27

Data Hold ...................................................................... 27

Static Recording ........................................................... 27

L/C/R/Z Select Mode .................................................... 30

D/Q/θ/ESR Select Mode ............................................... 31

Test Frequency ............................................................. 31

Relative Mode ............................................................... 50

Tolerance ...................................................................... 52

Utility Menu ................................................................... 56

Parallel and Series Measurement Mode ....................... 67

Calibration .................................................................... 85

USB .............................................................................. 90

Automatic Fuse Detection ............................................. 91

QUICK START GUIDE ............................................. 93

CAUTION ..................................................................... 93

Inductance Measurement ............................................. 94

Capacitance Measurement ........................................... 96

Resistance Measurement ............................................. 98

Impedance Measurement (Model 879B only) ............... 99

REMOTE COMMUNICATION ................................ 101

Connecting Instrument to PC ...................................... 101

USB (Virtual COM) Configuration ............................... 103

USB Operation ........................................................... 103

Command Protocols ................................................... 105

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ........................ 118

Selecting Test Frequency ........................................... 118

Selecting Series or Parallel Mode ............................... 120

Accuracy Discrepancies ............................................. 121

Guard Terminal ........................................................... 123

SPECIFICATIONS .................................................. 125

General Specifications ................................................ 126

Accuracy Specifications .............................................. 127

MAINTENANCE ...................................................... 133

Service ........................................................................ 133

Cleaning ..................................................................... 133

SERVICE INFORMATION ...................................... 135

LIMITED WARRANTY ............................................ 136

INTRODUCTION

B&K Precision’s 878B and 879B 40,000-count L/C/R

hand-held meter is designed ideally for measuring

inductance, capacitance and resistance components.

Simple to operate, the instrument not only takes

absolute parallel mode measurements, but also series

mode measurement. The meter provides direct and

accurate measurements with selectable testing

frequencies.

Front panel push buttons maximize the convenience

of function and feature selection such as data hold,

maximum, minimum and average record mode,

relative mode, tolerance sorting mode, frequency and

L/C/R selection.

The test data can be transferred to PC through a Mini

USB connection, great for applications that require

data logging

A tilt stand provides position flexibility for viewing and

operating the meter. The over-molding rubber case

protects the meter for better durability. Additionally,

top rubber visor molding above the screen is designed

to prevent scratches on the display when meter is

positioned upside down.

A single 9V battery or the included DC 12V power

adaptor (model 879B only) can be used to power the

meter. This gives user flexibility for portable or bench-

top use.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

Each 878B and 879B LCR meters are shipped with

the following contents.

 878B or 879B LCR meter

 Instruction Manual

 Mini USB Interface Cable

 Red & Black Banana to Alligator Test Leads

 9V Battery

 *AC Adapter (model 879B only)

*This can be purchased as an optional accessory for

model 878B.

Please locate them from the original packaging to

ensure nothing is missing. If in the case that an item

is missing, please contact B&K Precision immediately.

FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW

+ -

LCRR E L E S R

M A X AVGM IN ¦ÈQ

A U T O D

1% 5% 1 0% 2 0%

deg

k H z

PAL

S E R

¦ÌH

p F

¦Ì

R M T

M k

T O L DH

@O F F

U S B

D /Q /

/E S R

L /C /R /Z

P O W E R

R E C

R E L

H O L D

CAL

F R E Q

T O L

U T I L

L C R M ete r 87 9 B

Figure 1 - Front Panel Display (model 879B shown)

Front Panel Display Descriptions

1. LCD Display

2. Power ON/OFF Button

3. USB Communication / *Back light button

4. Secondary Display mode (for dissipation

factor(D), quality factor (Q), *phase angle (θ),

*equivalent series resistance (ESR)

measurement) selection button

5. Primary Display mode (for inductance,

capacitance, resistance, and *impedance

measurements) / Parallel or Series

measurement method selection button

6. Tolerance mode / Utility down arrow selection

button

7. Hold Display mode / Record mode selection

button

8. Utility menu button

9. Test Frequency / Utility up arrow selection

button

10. Relative mode / Calibration mode selection

button

11. 12V DC adapter input (use with an external

power adapter (rated 12VDC, 150mA, 4mm

power plug))

Note: Use with included power adapter only.

Use with improper power adapters may

damage instrument.

WARNING: Before connecting an external

power adapter, please check the battery

compartment in the rear side of the unit. If

a battery is installed, be sure that the

polarity matches the (+) and (-) labels as

indicated inside the battery compartment.

If it is not installed correctly, please

remove the battery and install it with

correct matching polarity as indicated in

the compartment. See “Installing Battery”

section for details. DO NOT, at any time,

connect an external power adapter when a

battery is installed incorrectly. Doing so

will damage the instrument and void its

warranty.

Input sockets (banana jack inputs) and terminals for

positive, negative, and guard (see “Guard Terminal” in

“

12. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION” section for

details)

13. Standard mini USB port (for remote

controllability)

*For model 879B only. Not included on model 878B.

Front Panel Buttons

All front panel buttons have specific colored labels on

them. They are all marked in white, blue, or yellow

color. Each color has a specific representation, as

described below:

White – With the exception of the

button, all white colored labels

represent the primary function of that

button; meaning that function will be

set or configured upon pressing it.

Blue – Some of the buttons have a blue label

underneath a white label. This means

the function indicated by the blue

label will be set or configured if that

button is pressed and hold down for 2

seconds.

Yellow – There are total of 3 buttons with

yellow labels. They are

. These functions are

exclusively for use when entering

UTIL menu only. See “Utility Menu”

section for details.

LCD DISPLAY OVERVIEW

LCRR E L ESR

M A X AVGM IN ¦ÈQ

A U T O D

1% 5 % 10 % 20%

de g

kH z

PAL

SER

¦ÌH

p F

¦Ì

R M T

M k

T O L DH

@OFF

2 5 9 10

202126

232425

6 7

Figure 2 - LCD Indicator Display

LCD Display Descriptions

1. LCRZ – Primary display function indicator (*Z

display)

2. MAX – Maximum reading indicator

3. AVG – Average reading indicator

4. MIN – Minimum reading indicator

5. REL – Relative mode indicator

6. Θ – *Phase angle indicator for secondary

display

7. Q – Quality factor indicator

8. ESR – *Equivalent series resistance indicator

9. – Secondary display

10. – Beeper tone indicator for tolerance

mode

11. deg – *Phase angle degree indicator

12. Ω – *ESR(ohm) units indicator

13. % - Tolerance percentage indicator

14. kHz – Frequency units indicator

15. PAL – Parallel mode indicator

16. SER – Series mode indicator

17. – Inductance units (Henry) indicator

18. – Capacitance units (Farad) indicator

19. MkΩ – Resistance units (Ohm) indicator

20. RMT – Remote mode indicator

21. – Primary display

22. D – Dissipation factor indicator

23. DH – Data hold indicator

24. AUTO – Auto-ranging indicator

25. TOL – Tolerance mode indicator

26. – Low battery indicator

27. @OFF – Auto power-off indicator

28. 1%5%10%20% - Tolerance sorting

percentage indicator

29. MAX AVG MIN – Recording mode indicators

*For model 879B only. Not included on model 878B.

Special Display Indicators

Indicates short connectors

Indicates open connectors

Error indication

Indicates calibration mode

Indicates damaged or open fuse

AD converter error

POWERING INSTRUMENT

Before beginning to operate the instrument, a power

source is necessary for it to turn on. There are two

methods to power the instrument: Battery and

external source.

Installing Battery

The 878B and 879B LCR meters can use a battery to

provide power to the instrument so that it can be

portable.

The meters use a standard 9V size battery (or

NEDA 1604, JIS006P, IEC6F22 carbon-zinc or

alkaline battery).

To install the battery:

1. Place the meter upside down. Open up the

back-flip stand, and locate the screw that

tightens the battery compartment cover as

indicated in Figure 3. Use a screwdriver to

unscrew and remove the cover.

Figure 3 - Back Cover

2. Insert 9V battery into compartment. Note the

positive (+) and negative (-) terminals as

indicated inside the battery compartment (See

Figure 4). Be sure to insert the battery with

matching polarity.

3. Place the battery compartment cover piece by

sliding it into the top slid first. Place screw at

the bottom of the cover piece and tighten

down with a screw driver.

4. Push and hold down the button for 2

seconds to turn on the instrument.

Connecting External Power Source

The 878B and 879B can also be powered using an

external AC adapter. The model 879B comes with

this adapter included in the package, while it is

optional for model 878B.

Figure 4 - Battery Compartment

For external power, use AC adapter rated for

output 12VDC, 150mA, with a standard 4mm

connector only.

WARNING: Use of incorrect adapters may damage

the instrument. Please use B&K Precision’s adapter

only.

To connect the adapter, do the following:

1. If a battery is installed, please check the

battery compartment again that the polarity of

the battery matches the polarity as indicated

by the labels inside the compartment. If it is

not, please remove and insert the battery with

matching polarity. If a battery is not installed,

continue to the next step.

WARNING: DO NOT, at any time, connect

an external power adapter when a battery

is installed incorrectly (reverse polarity or

non-matching polarity to indicator of

battery compartment). Doing so will

damage the instrument and void its

warranty.

2. Connect the AC adapter connector into the

right side panel of the instrument. See Figure

5 below.

3. Now, connect the AC Adapter socket into an

electrical outlet.

4. Push and hold down the button for 2

seconds to turn on the instrument.

Note: The meter can be operated with a battery

installed while an AC adapter is plugged in at the

same time (As long as the battery is inserted properly

with correct polarity). In this event, the meter will

automatically switch to consume power from the AC

adapter instead of the battery to preserve battery life.

Low Battery Indication

The LCR meter has a low battery indicator to notify

the user when to replace battery. When the display

12VDC Input

AC Adapter

Figure 5 - Connecting AC Adapter to Meter

starts flashing the indicator, the battery voltage

is below normal working voltage. In this case,

accuracy of the meter will also decrease. It is

recommended that the battery be replaced as soon as

possible before continuing operation. See “Installing

Battery” for instructions.

Backlit Display (model 879B only)

Model 879B LCR meter has a backlit display that

allows you to see the LCD display in dark conditions.

To turn on the back light, press and hold down

button for 2 seconds. Back light will turn on and

brighten the LCD display.

To turn off the back light at any time, press and hold

down button for 2 seconds again. Back light

will turn off and return to normal display.

When Using Battery Power

When the meter is powered using 9V battery, the back

light display will turn on upon holding down the

button for 2 seconds. It will stay at maximum

brightness for 15 seconds. After another 15 seconds

(30 seconds total from the time of turning on), the

back light will automatically turn off to conserve

battery power.

When Using External Power

When the meter is powered using an external AC

adapter, the back light display will turn on upon

holding down the button for 2 seconds. It will

stay at maximum brightness continuously until the

user presses and holds down the button for 2

seconds again.

Note: If a battery is installed while using an AC

adapter simultaneously, unplugging the AC adapter

will automatically turn off the back light after it has

been lit for 30 seconds.

OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS

Data Hold

The data hold function allows the user to freeze the display

when pressed, holding the measured value until data hold is

turned off.

Turn On Data Hold

To use data hold, press the button once. The “DH”

indicator will display on the screen when data hold is active.

Turn Off Data Hold

To disable the data hold, press again. The “DH”

indicator will disappear on the screen, and meter will remain

in normal operation mode.

Note: Changing the primary function, secondary function,

or test frequency will automatically turn off the data hold.

Static Recording

This mode is used for recording maximum, minimum, and

average values. It is often useful for testing the range of

values in which a component is expected to fall within upon

measurement.

Enable Static Recording

Press and hold down the button for two seconds to

enter the static recording mode. The display should indicate

“MAX AVG MIN” simultaneously. This indicates the meter is

in static recording mode and recording is performed

immediately.

Using Static Recording

There are four different modes that can be selected in

static recording. They are indicated by the

descriptions below. These modes can be changed

with each button press. Per each press of the

button, the modes will change and repeat in

the following order:

Recording Mode Maximum Mode Minimum

Mode Average Mode

Recording Mode

This is the default mode when first enabling static

recording. In this mode, the screen will display “MAX

AVG MIN” indicator. At this point, the meter will start

making recordings based on measured values from

the input sockets or terminals. As recording is

performed, maximum, minimum, and average values

will be stored after a brief moment. A beep tone will

sound once a recording has been stored.

Note: Subsequent beep tones may occur in this mode if

there are new values that are recorded. For example, if a

new maximum is detected, it will beep once again to indicate

that the new value has been stored. Any previously stored

values will be overwritten with the new recorded values.

Maximum Mode

In this mode, the “MAX” indicator will be shown on display.

This indicates that the value in the primary display

represents the recorded maximum value.

Minimum Mode

In this mode, the “MIN” indicator will be shown on display.

This indicates that the value in the primary display

represents the recorded minimum value.

Average Mode

In this mode, the “AVG” indicator will be shown on display.

This indicates that the value in the primary display

represents the recorded average value. This average value

is obtained by taking the maximum and minimum recorded

values and taking the average of the two values.

Disable Static Recording

To exit this mode, press and hold the button for two

seconds. The “MAX AVG MIN”, “MAX”, “MIN”, or “AVG”

indicator will disappear on screen.

Note: Changing the primary function, secondary function,

or test frequency will automatically turn off static recording.

L/C/R/Z Select Mode

The primary display of the LCR meter is used to

indicate measured values under four different modes

(three modes for model 878B, which excludes Z

(impedance) measurements). These modes are:

L (inductance), C (capacitance), R (resistance), and Z

(impedance).

To change between these four primary modes of

measurement, press the (or for model

878B) button. The modes will change and repeat

upon each button press. On the screen, the indicators

“L”, “C”, “R”, or “Z” (model 879B only) will be

displayed to indicate which mode the meter is in.

D/Q/θ/ESR Select Mode

The secondary display of the LCR meter is used to

indicate measured values for four various parameters

(two for model 878B, which excludes θ and ESR

measurement mode), which provide additional

information of the component being tested and is

supplementary to the primary mode measurements.

These modes are: D (Dissipation factor), Q (Quality

factor), θ (Phase angle), and ESR (Equivalent series

resistance).

To change between these measurement parameters,

press the (or for model 878B) button.

The parameters for measurement will change and

repeat upon each button press. On the screen, the

indicators “D”, “Q”, “θ” (model 879B only), or “ESR”

(model 879B only) will be displayed to indicate which

secondary mode the meter is in.

Test Frequency

The 879B and 878B LCR meters use an AC signal to test

and measure components at the input sockets or terminals.

With this measurement method, a test frequency must be

selected. The test frequency can affect the accuracy of the

results depending on what frequency is selected and what

type and value of a component is being measured or tested.

For details on selecting the optimal test frequency for

measurement, refer to the “

REMOTE COMMUNICATION

The meter has the capability to communicate with a

PC over the mini USB interface. Upon installation of a

USB driver, the PC can control the instrument over

virtual COM (RS-232). The mini USB communication

interface of the meter is designed in full duplex and

has a 64-byte input and output buffer, making it

reliable and efficient for data transmission.

Connecting Instrument to PC

Follow the below procedures for connection setup.

1. Download the USB drivers from

www.bkprecision.com .

2. With the included mini USB cable, connect the

mini USB end to the LCR meter and the other

end to an available USB port on the PC (see

Figure 14).

3. When Windows recognize the USB

connection, do not follow the default Windows

driver installation wizard. Simply run the

setup file from the downloaded USB drivers

and follow the prompt to install drivers.

4. When completed, the computer will recognize

the instrument as a USB (virtual COM) device,

meaning it will be detected as a serial COM

port. Windows will automatically assign a

COM port to the instrument. Please verify

which COM port Windows has assigned by

going into “Device Manager”.

Figure 14 - USB Connection

USB (Virtual COM) Configuration

The USB will be recognized as a virtual COM on the

PC, thus serial port settings must be configured

properly for remote communication to be successful.

Below are the settings used by the 878B and 879B

meters.

 Baudrate: 9600

 Data bits: 8

 Parity: None

 Stop bits: 1

 Flow Control: None

USB Operation

There are two modes that describe the operation of

the meter when it is setup for remote communication.

They are remote mode and auto fetching mode.

Remote Mode

Upon connecting to the instrument, sending any

commands listed in the “Command Protocols” section

will automatically set the LCR meter into remote

mode. In remote mode, the LCD display will show the

RMT indicator. When this is shown, all front panel

buttons will be disabled, except for the (or

for model 878B) button.

To exit remote mode and go back to local mode,

press the (or for model 878B) button

once. The RMT indicator will disappear on the LCD

display. Pushing the same button once more will put

the meter into auto fetching mode, which is described

in the next section.

Auto Fetching Mode

When connected to a PC, the meter can be

configured to auto-fetching mode. This means, the

meter will continuously fetch data to the PC after

every measurement cycle is completed. It fetches

data from measured readings of primary display and

secondary display, as well as tolerance compared

results. This mode is useful when doing quick data

logging using PC.

Enable/Disable Auto Fetching

To toggle between enabling and disabling auto

fetching, press the (or for model

878B) button. When enabled, data will be fetched

constantly after every measurement cycle is

completed. When disabled, no fetched data will be

available.

Note: Alternatively, auto fetching mode can be

disabled when a remote command is sent to the

instrument, turning it back into remote mode. In this

event, the RMT indicator will appear on the LCD

display, and auto fetching will be disabled

automatically. To re-enabled auto fetching again in

this state, first press the (or for model

878B) button once to exit out of remote mode and

return to local mode. Then, press the button once

more to have it set to auto fetching mode again.

Command Protocols

Overview of Command Type and Format

All commands are entered in either the upper case or

the lower case. There are two types of the meter

programming commands: IEEE 488 common

commands and Standard Commands for

Programmable Instruments (SCPI). Some commands

are device-specific to the meter. They are not included

in the version 1999.0 of the SCPI standard. However,

these commands are designed with the SCPI format

in mind and they follow the syntax rules of the

standard.

Common Command Format

The IEEE 488 standard defines the common

commands as commands that perform functions like

reset and system query. Common commands usually

come with the asterisk “*” character, and may include

parameters. Some examples of Common command

like: *IDN?, *GTL, *LLO.

SCPI Command Format and Query Format

The SCPI commands control instrument

functions. A subsystem command has a hierarchical

structure that usually consists of a top-level (or root)

keyword, one or more lower level keywords, and

parameters. The following example shows a

command and its associated query:

A. FUNCtion:impa L

Select L as primary parameter

B. FUNCtion:impa?

Return primary parameter

function is a root level keyword with the second level

keyword, impa, and L is the command parameter. The

query command ends with a question mark “?”.

Note: SCPI stems from IEEE488.1 and IEEE 488.2.

Although the IEEE 488.2 standard addressed some

instrument measurements, it principally dealt with

common commands and syntax or data formats.

Please refer to the IEEE488.2 and SCPI reference

manual for more information.

Termination Character

A terminator is a character sent by a host, which

identifies the end of a command string. A valid

terminator consists of two-byte data:

<CR> (Carriage Return, ASC(&H0D)) or <LF> (Line

Feed, ASC(&H0A)) or <CR><LF>

Responding Message

Returned result

After the meter executes a query command, the return

of the result will be in the following format:

For example, in auto fetching mode, the meter will

send the measured data automatically when the

measurement cycle is completed. The format of the

printed data will be shown as the following:

<Primary measured data, Secondly measured

data, Tolerance Result > + <CR> <LF>

Data Types

Returned message is an ASCII string from the meter

responding to a query. A query is a command

accompanied a “?” mark. Table 4 below explains the

different data types.

Table 4 - Data Type of Responded Messages

Data Type

Explanation

Example

<NR1>

An integer

+800,-200,100,-50

<NR2>

This numeric

representation has

an explicit radix

point

+1.56,-0.001,10.5

<NR3>

This representation

has an explicit

radix point and an

exponent

+2.345678E+04

-1.345678E-01

A parameter for

Boolean setting.

Always return “0”

or “1” for Boolean

ON or OFF

query command

A string is used as

command

parameters with

short literal form

HOLD

SCPI Commands

This section described all the SCPI commands

supported by the meter. The meter can accept both

upper case and lower case commands.

Table 5 - SCPI Symbol Conventions

Text Symbol

Meaning

[ ]

Option; can be omitted

Exclusive OR

< >

Defined element

( )

Comment

Question mark

Separated two command

keywords

*IDN?

Description: Queries the instrument ID.

Response: <instrument model>, <firmware

version>, <serial number>

*LLO

Local Lockout. This means that all front panel

buttons, including the "USB" key is not available.

*GTL

Go to local. Puts the meter into the local state,

clearing the remote state and front panel lockout.

FREQuency Subsystem

FREQuency <value>

Description: Set measurement frequency

Parameters: Parameters are 100, 120, 1000,

10000 (879B only) or

100hz,120hz,1khz,10khz (879B

only)

Example: FREQuency 100hz

Set 100Hz frequency

FREQuency?

Description: Query the measurement frequency

Response: 100hz, 120hz, 1khz, 10khz (879B

only)

FUNCtion subsystem

FUNCtion:impa < L | C | R | Z >

(Z for model 879B only)

Description: Select primary parameter

Example: FUNCtion:impa L

Selects L as primary parameter

FUNCtion:impa?

Description: Query primary parameter

Response: Return L, C, R, Z (879B

only),NULL

FUNCtion:impb < D | Q | THETA | ESR >

(THETA and ESR for model879B only)

Description: Select secondly parameter

Example: FUNCtion:impb D

Select D as secondly parameter

FUNCtion:impb?

Description: Query secondly parameter

Response: Return D, Q, THETA (879B only),

ESR (879B only), NULL

FUNCtion:EQUivalent < SERies | parallel |

PAL >

Description: Set equivalent mode

Parameters: SERies — serial mode

Parallel — parallel mode

Pal — parallel mode

Example: FUNCtion:EQUivalent SERies

Set series mode

FUNCtion:EQUivalent?

Description: Query the equivalent mode

Response: Return “SER” or “PAL” format

string

CALCulate subsystem

CALCulate:RELative:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable relative

function

Example:

CALCulate:RELative:STATe ON

CALCulate:RELative:STATe?

Description: Query the relative state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:RELative:VALUe?

Description: Query the relative value

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable tolerance function

Example: CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe ON

CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe?

Description: Query the tolerance state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:TOLerance:NOMinal?

Description: Query the nominal value of

tolerance

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:VALUe?

Description: Query the percent value of

tolerance

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe < 1 | 5 | 10 |

20 >

Description: Set tolerance range

Parameters: 20 (879B only)

Example: CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe 1

Set 1% tolerance range

CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe?

Description: Query the tolerance range

Response: Return “BIN1”, “BIN2”, “BIN3”,

“BIN4” or “----” format string

CALCulate:RECording:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable recording

function

Example: CALCulate:RECording:STATe

CALCulate:RECording:STATe?

Description: Query the recording state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:RECording:MAXimum?

Description: Query the maximum value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:MINimum?

Description: Query the minimum value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:AVERage?

Description: Query the average value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:PRESent?

Description: Query the present value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

FETCh Subsystem

FETCh?

Description: Returns the primary, secondary

display value and tolerance

compared result of device’s output

buffer.

Response: Return <NR3, NR3, NR1> format

string

Example: FETCh?

Summary of Supported SCPI Commands

Table 6 - Summary of SCPI Commands

Command

Parameter

Explanation

FREQuency

<Value>

Set Test Frequency

FREQuency?

Query Test Frequency

FUNCtion

:impa

Select primary display

parameter

:impa?

Query primary display

parameter

:impb

Select secondary display

parameter

:impb?

Query secondary display

parameter

:EQUivalent

Set equivalent mode

:EQUivalent?

Query equivalent mode

CALCulate

:RELative

:STATe

Enable/disable relative

function

:STATe?

Query relative state

:VALUe?

Query relative value

:TOLerance

:STATe

Enable/disable tolerance

function

:STATe?

Query tolerance state

:NOMinal?

Query nominal value of

tolerance

:VALUe?

Query percent of tolerance

:RANG

<Value>

Set tolerance range

:RANGe?

Query tolerance range

:RECording

:STATe

Enable/disable recording

function

:STATe?

Query recording state

:MAXimum?

Query max. value of

recording

:MINimum?

Query min. value of recording

:AVERage?

Query average value of

recording

:PRESent?

Query present value of

recording

FETCh?

Return data any time last

reading is valid

Error Codes

In certain situations, errors may occur, and an error

code will be displayed on the meter. Below defines

the error description based on the error code.

E10: Unknown command

E11: Parameter Error

E12: Syntax Error

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION” section.

Selecting Frequency

To select or change the test frequency, push the

button once. With each press, the test

frequency will be indicated on the secondary display

of the meter. This will remain displayed until a

different function for the secondary display is selected.

The selectable test frequencies for 879B meter are:

100 Hz, 120 Hz, 1 kHz, and 10 kHz.

The selectable test frequencies for 878B meter are:

120 Hz and 1 kHz.

Relative Mode

Relative mode is used when the user wants to “zero”

the meter based on a reference value or wants to

obtain a reading that is relative to a reference value.

For example, if test leads are used in the

measurement, the user may want to set a reference

with the test leads inserted into the input terminals so

that any measurements taken will not take into

account the test leads.

Setup Relative Mode

To setup the relative mode, simply press the

button once. The value that is on the display will

immediately be stored as the “reference” value. This

reference value will be used for all measurements so

as long as the meter is in relative mode, which is

indicated by the “REL” indicator on the display.

A common use of relative mode is to “zero” out the

meter. With nothing connected to the input sockets

and terminals, simply press the button once and

the meter will “zero” out, meaning all display reading

will become 0.

To make measurements within a specific test setup or

with test leads, it is recommended that the user first

have test leads or wires connected to the meter in the

fashion that they desire. Then, press the button

once to “zero” out the meter as reference. This way,

any measurements taken would not be affected by the

test leads or setup.

Disable Relative mode

To disable relative mode, simply press the

button once more. The “REL” indicator will disappear,

which indicates the relative mode is disabled.

Note: Changing the primary function, secondary function,

or test frequency will automatically disable relative mode.

Tolerance

The tolerance mode feature is specifically used for

component sorting purposes. Users who need to test

and sort through a large number of components will

find this function quite helpful.

Tolerance Range

The tolerance function is configured primarily by range

in percentage, meaning a percentage is used to

define whether a measured value is within tolerance

or out of tolerance.

(for model 879B) Selectable tolerance range is: 1%,

5%, 10%, and 20%.

(for model 878B) Selectable tolerance range is: 1%,

5%, and 10%.

Setup Tolerance

1. Select the primary measurement mode based

on the type of components to be measured.

This is done by pressing the (or

for model 878B) button to configure the

desired measurement mode.

Note: Be sure to select the correct

measurement mode, as tolerance mode

cannot be activated unless the correct mode

is selected. For example, if the component is

a capacitor, be sure to select “C” for

capacitance. If not, tolerance mode will not

be activated following the proceeding steps

below.

2. Insert the component to be used as the

“standard” reference value. Another words,

insert a known “good” component that will be

used for testing against all other components.

(See Figure 6 for illustration)

Note: The tolerance mode cannot be

activated unless the meter senses a

component is connected to either the input

sockets or terminals.

WARNING: If the component to be measured

is a capacitor, be sure that the capacitor is

fully discharged BEFORE inserting it into the

input sockets or terminals. For large

capacitors, it may take longer periods of time

for a full discharge. Inserting a charged or

partially charged capacitor into the meter’s

input sockets or terminals may produce an

electric hazard and may also damage the

instrument, making it unusable.

Figure 6 - Inserting Component to Inputs

3. Once the desired measured reading is

displayed, press the button once to

store the reading as the “standard” value or

test reference value. At this point, the “TOL”

will be displayed on the screen, indicating that

the tolerance mode is activated.

Note: Any value which appears on the LCD

display, such as DH (data hold) or

MAX/MIN/AVG, can also be used as the

“standard” value or test reference value for

sorting components.

4. To select the tolerance range, press the

button once more. For each button

press, the meter will cycle through the

tolerance range percentage in this order: 1%,

5%, 10%, 20% (model 879B only). These

percentage ranges will also be indicated on

the LCD display by the indicators “1%”, “5%”,

“10%”, or “20%” (model 879B only)

respectively. The component to be tested for

will be verified with the tolerance within the

selected % of the “standard” value or test

reference value (as configured from step 3).

5. Within a few seconds, an audible tone will be

heard.

One single “beep” or tone means the

component is within tolerance.

Three “beeps” or tone means the component

is out of tolerance.

Disable Tolerance Mode

To disable or exit out of tolerance mode, simply press

and hold down the button for two seconds. The

“TOL” and/or the percentage indicators “1%”, “5%”,

“10%”, or “20%” (for model 879B only) will disappear

on the LCD display.

Note: Changing the primary function, secondary function,

or test frequency will automatically disable tolerance mode.

Utility Menu

The LCR meter has a built-in utility menu that allows

you to configure some user preferences and settings.

The buttons used to set and control the menu are

colored in yellow. They are , , and

. User can configure the beep sound, auto

power-off timing, power-up state, and reset instrument

to default settings.

Entering Utility Menu

Press and hold down the button for two

seconds or until the primary display shows “bEEP”.

This indicates the meter is currently in the utility menu.

Configuration and Settings

There are four different menu options and

configurable settings under each option. Below is a

table that lists these options and settings.

Table 1 - Utility Menu Options and Settings

MENU OPTIONS

SETTINGS /

PARAMETERS

bEEP

ON / OFF

AoFF

5 / 15 / 30 / 60 / OFF

PuP

PrE / Set

dEF

yES / NO

The four menu options allow users to control the beep

sound setting (bEEP), auto power off setting (AoFF),

power-up state settings (PuP), and resetting

instrument to default settings (dEF).

By default, the first option after entering the utility

menu is “bEEP”. The primary display indicates the

menu option, and the secondary display indicates the

current settings or parameters configured for the

selected option. To change the settings or

parameters, use the and arrow keys. To

change or select a different menu option, press the

button once. For each button press, the

meter will traverse through each menu options and

will repeat itself in the following order:

bEEP AoFF PuP dEF

Note: The settings and parameters are temporarily

“remembered” once the button is pressed to

select a different menu option. To save all settings

permanently, exit the menu using the save and exit

method. With the exception of “bEEP” and “AoFF”

settings, in which case under these settings, changes

are temporarily saved even when exiting the menu

without saving. (See “Exit Utility Menu” section for

details).

Beep Sound Setting (bEEP)

The “bEEP” menu option allows the user to enable or

disable the beep sound for every key press.

Note: This option only disables the beep sound for

each key press. It does not disable the beep sound

for “Static Recording” and “Tolerance” mode, as well

as the “auto power-off” warning.

To turn ON the beep, push either the or

arrow keys until the secondary display shows “ON”.

To turn OFF the beep, push either the or

arrow keys until the secondary display shows “OFF”.

Default Setting: ON

Auto power-off Setting (AoFF)

The “AoFF” menu option allows the user to select the

auto power-off timer. This timer is always counting

continuously. It resets every time a button is pressed

or if an action occurred. If the meter is left untouched

or unattended, the timer will count until the configured

time is up. This is particularly important if the user

wants to preserve battery life or run the meter

continuously without interruption.

Note: When the timer has reached the configured

time, the meter will make an audible “beep” sound

continuously for 10 seconds before auto power-off.

To stop the “beep” sound, simply press any button to

resume operation and reset the timer count.

The available timer settings are: 5 minutes, 15

minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and off.

When the primary display shows “AoFF”, push the

or button to select the timer setting. The

settings will be shown on the secondary display as

follows:

Table 2 - Auto Power-off Options

SECONDARY

DISPLAY

REPRESENTATION

5 minutes

15 minutes

30 minutes

60 minutes

OFF

No timer. Manual

power off only

Default Setting: 15

When the auto power-off option is set to any of the

configured settings in Table 2 (except for “OFF”),

upon exiting the utility menu the LCD display will have

a “@OFF” indicator. This means a timer has been set

for auto power-off.

Note: When an external 12VDC AC adapter is used

to power the instrument, the auto power-off feature

will automatically be disabled. This is indicated on the

LCD display when the “@OFF” indicator disappears.

Under this condition, the meter will remain powered

ON continuously. In this state, powering off the

instrument would require manually pushing and

holding down the button for 2 seconds.

When external power is removed, the meter will

automatically re-enable auto power-off again and

“@OFF” indicator will re-appear if a time has been set

from the “AoFF” option of the utility menu.

Power-up State (PuP)

The “PuP” menu option allows user to configure the

power-up state of the LCR meter, allowing user to

restore settings saved into internal EEPROM memory

at power-up.

In the utility menu, when the primary display shows

“PuP”, there are two settings selectable and shown on

the secondary display. “PrE” and “SEt”.

Default Setting: PrE

Storable Settings

 Primary function mode (i.e. L/C/R)

 Test frequency

 Secondary function mode (i.e. D/Q)

 Tolerance mode state

 Reference value for Tolerance mode

 Relative mode state

 Reference value for Relative mode

Configure and Save Power-up State

Follow the below procedure to setup and store a

power-up state into internal memory.

1. Before entering into the utility menu, configure

all the settings and parameters desired for

power up state. Do this by turning on any

modes and setting values as desired. (Only

the settings listed above in “Storage Settings”

are stored). If the meter is currently in the

utility menu, exit first and setup the desired

settings for recalling at power-up. (see “Exit

Utility Menu” for details)

2. Once settings are configured, enter/re-enter

the utility menu by holding down the

button for 2 seconds.

3. Traverse through the utility menu until you see

“PuP” on the primary display. The secondary

display should also show “PrE”.

4. In order to save the current meter settings for

power-up state into internal memory, use

either or button to change the

settings so that the secondary display shows

“SEt”.

5. Press button to select the next menu

option. Once all other utility options are

configured, exit the utility menu by holding

down button for 2 seconds.

6. The meter has now saved all current settings

into internal memory. At next power-up, the

meter will turn on and recall the saved

settings.

Note: The meter allows one set of settings to be

stored into memory. Therefore, the same

procedure is used to overwrite previously stored

settings into memory.

Prevent Overwrite of Stored Settings

In the utility menu, the “PuP” option default setting is

always “PrE”. This represents “previous settings”.

Keeping this setting will prevent the meter from

overwriting previously stored settings for power-up

state. Therefore, when entering the utility menu, be

sure not to change to “SEt” to prevent overwriting any

previously stored power-up settings.

Reset Default Settings (dEF)

The last option in the utility menu allows you to reset

the meter to default settings. When the primary

display shows “dEF”, the secondary display will show

“NO” by default. The meter will also default this

setting to “NO” to prevent accidental reset of

instrument settings.

Default Setting: No

To reset the meter to default settings, first select the

“dEF” menu option by using the use button to

browse through the utility menu. When the primary

display shows “dEF”, either press or

button to change the setting so that the secondary

display shows “yES”. Upon saving and exiting the

utility menu, the instrument will automatically reset

back to its original settings. Below is a table of all the

settings that will be restored.

Table 3 - Instrument Default Settings

Settings

Default Configuration

Primary Function

C (Capacitance)

Secondary Function

None

Measurement Method

SER (Series)

Test Frequency

1 kHz

Beep

Auto Power-off

15 (15 minutes)

Power-up State

PrE

Reset Default Settings

Note: In the case where under “PuP” option, “SEt” is

selected and “dEF” is set to “yES”, the “PuP” setting

has priority over the “dEF” setting. This means the

instrument will not be set back to default upon saving

and exiting the utility menu. Instead, the power-up

settings will be stored and will be recalled upon the

next power-up of the instrument.

Exit Utility Menu

There are two methods for exiting the utility menu.

One saves all the changed settings before exiting, and

the other exits the menu without saving any changes.

Saving and Exiting

To save all utility menu option settings and to exit the

menu, press and hold down the button for 2

seconds. After this, the meter will exit the menu, and

all settings will be saved.

Exiting without Saving

If user decides to exit the utility menu without making

any changes or saving any changes to “PuP” or

“dEF”, it can be done by simply pressing any front

panel buttons except , , , and

. Note that settings that are changed under

“bEEP” and “AoFF” options are still temporarily set

until the next power-up of the instrument.

Parallel and Series Measurement Mode

The LCR meter offers the option to select between parallel

or series measurement mode. Depending on which mode is

selected, the method to measure the component will be

different. Additionally, one measurement mode may provide

better accuracies over the other measurement mode

depending on the type of component and the value of the

component to be tested. For more details, refer to the “

REMOTE COMMUNICATION

The meter has the capability to communicate with a

PC over the mini USB interface. Upon installation of a

USB driver, the PC can control the instrument over

virtual COM (RS-232). The mini USB communication

interface of the meter is designed in full duplex and

has a 64-byte input and output buffer, making it

reliable and efficient for data transmission.

Connecting Instrument to PC

Follow the below procedures for connection setup.

5. Download the USB drivers from

www.bkprecision.com .

6. With the included mini USB cable, connect the

mini USB end to the LCR meter and the other

end to an available USB port on the PC (see

Figure 14).

7. When Windows recognize the USB

connection, do not follow the default Windows

driver installation wizard. Simply run the

setup file from the downloaded USB drivers

and follow the prompt to install drivers.

8. When completed, the computer will recognize

the instrument as a USB (virtual COM) device,

meaning it will be detected as a serial COM

port. Windows will automatically assign a

COM port to the instrument. Please verify

which COM port Windows has assigned by

going into “Device Manager”.

Figure 14 - USB Connection

USB (Virtual COM) Configuration

The USB will be recognized as a virtual COM on the

PC, thus serial port settings must be configured

properly for remote communication to be successful.

Below are the settings used by the 878B and 879B

meters.

 Baudrate: 9600

 Data bits: 8

 Parity: None

 Stop bits: 1

 Flow Control: None

USB Operation

There are two modes that describe the operation of

the meter when it is setup for remote communication.

They are remote mode and auto fetching mode.

Remote Mode

Upon connecting to the instrument, sending any

commands listed in the “Command Protocols” section

will automatically set the LCR meter into remote

mode. In remote mode, the LCD display will show the

RMT indicator. When this is shown, all front panel

buttons will be disabled, except for the (or

for model 878B) button.

To exit remote mode and go back to local mode,

press the (or for model 878B) button

once. The RMT indicator will disappear on the LCD

display. Pushing the same button once more will put

the meter into auto fetching mode, which is described

in the next section.

Auto Fetching Mode

When connected to a PC, the meter can be

configured to auto-fetching mode. This means, the

meter will continuously fetch data to the PC after

every measurement cycle is completed. It fetches

data from measured readings of primary display and

secondary display, as well as tolerance compared

results. This mode is useful when doing quick data

logging using PC.

Enable/Disable Auto Fetching

To toggle between enabling and disabling auto

fetching, press the (or for model

878B) button. When enabled, data will be fetched

constantly after every measurement cycle is

completed. When disabled, no fetched data will be

available.

Note: Alternatively, auto fetching mode can be

disabled when a remote command is sent to the

instrument, turning it back into remote mode. In this

event, the RMT indicator will appear on the LCD

display, and auto fetching will be disabled

automatically. To re-enabled auto fetching again in

this state, first press the (or for model

878B) button once to exit out of remote mode and

return to local mode. Then, press the button once

more to have it set to auto fetching mode again.

Command Protocols

Overview of Command Type and Format

All commands are entered in either the upper case or

the lower case. There are two types of the meter

programming commands: IEEE 488 common

commands and Standard Commands for

Programmable Instruments (SCPI). Some commands

are device-specific to the meter. They are not included

in the version 1999.0 of the SCPI standard. However,

these commands are designed with the SCPI format

in mind and they follow the syntax rules of the

standard.

Common Command Format

The IEEE 488 standard defines the common

commands as commands that perform functions like

reset and system query. Common commands usually

come with the asterisk “*” character, and may include

parameters. Some examples of Common command

like: *IDN?, *GTL, *LLO.

SCPI Command Format and Query Format

The SCPI commands control instrument

functions. A subsystem command has a hierarchical

structure that usually consists of a top-level (or root)

keyword, one or more lower level keywords, and

parameters. The following example shows a

command and its associated query:

A. FUNCtion:impa L

Select L as primary parameter

B. FUNCtion:impa?

Return primary parameter

function is a root level keyword with the second level

keyword, impa, and L is the command parameter. The

query command ends with a question mark “?”.

Note: SCPI stems from IEEE488.1 and IEEE 488.2.

Although the IEEE 488.2 standard addressed some

instrument measurements, it principally dealt with

common commands and syntax or data formats.

Please refer to the IEEE488.2 and SCPI reference

manual for more information.

Termination Character

A terminator is a character sent by a host, which

identifies the end of a command string. A valid

terminator consists of two-byte data:

<CR> (Carriage Return, ASC(&H0D)) or <LF> (Line

Feed, ASC(&H0A)) or <CR><LF>

Responding Message

Returned result

After the meter executes a query command, the return

of the result will be in the following format:

For example, in auto fetching mode, the meter will

send the measured data automatically when the

measurement cycle is completed. The format of the

printed data will be shown as the following:

<Primary measured data, Secondly measured

data, Tolerance Result > + <CR> <LF>

Data Types

Returned message is an ASCII string from the meter

responding to a query. A query is a command

accompanied a “?” mark. Table 4 below explains the

different data types.

Table 4 - Data Type of Responded Messages

Data Type

Explanation

Example

<NR1>

An integer

+800,-200,100,-50

<NR2>

This numeric

representation has

an explicit radix

point

+1.56,-0.001,10.5

<NR3>

This representation

has an explicit

radix point and an

exponent

+2.345678E+04

-1.345678E-01

A parameter for

Boolean setting.

Always return “0”

or “1” for Boolean

ON or OFF

query command

A string is used as

command

parameters with

short literal form

HOLD

SCPI Commands

This section described all the SCPI commands

supported by the meter. The meter can accept both

upper case and lower case commands.

Table 5 - SCPI Symbol Conventions

Text Symbol

Meaning

[ ]

Option; can be omitted

Exclusive OR

< >

Defined element

( )

Comment

Question mark

Separated two command

keywords

*IDN?

Description: Queries the instrument ID.

Response: <instrument model>, <firmware

version>, <serial number>

*LLO

Local Lockout. This means that all front panel

buttons, including the "USB" key is not available.

*GTL

Go to local. Puts the meter into the local state,

clearing the remote state and front panel lockout.

FREQuency Subsystem

FREQuency <value>

Description: Set measurement frequency

Parameters: Parameters are 100, 120, 1000,

10000 (879B only) or

100hz,120hz,1khz,10khz (879B

only)

Example: FREQuency 100hz

Set 100Hz frequency

FREQuency?

Description: Query the measurement frequency

Response: 100hz, 120hz, 1khz, 10khz (879B

only)

FUNCtion subsystem

FUNCtion:impa < L | C | R | Z >

(Z for model 879B only)

Description: Select primary parameter

Example: FUNCtion:impa L

Selects L as primary parameter

FUNCtion:impa?

Description: Query primary parameter

Response: Return L, C, R, Z (879B

only),NULL

FUNCtion:impb < D | Q | THETA | ESR >

(THETA and ESR for model879B only)

Description: Select secondly parameter

Example: FUNCtion:impb D

Select D as secondly parameter

FUNCtion:impb?

Description: Query secondly parameter

Response: Return D, Q, THETA (879B only),

ESR (879B only), NULL

FUNCtion:EQUivalent < SERies | parallel |

PAL >

Description: Set equivalent mode

Parameters: SERies — serial mode

Parallel — parallel mode

Pal — parallel mode

Example: FUNCtion:EQUivalent SERies

Set series mode

FUNCtion:EQUivalent?

Description: Query the equivalent mode

Response: Return “SER” or “PAL” format

string

CALCulate subsystem

CALCulate:RELative:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable relative

function

Example:

CALCulate:RELative:STATe ON

CALCulate:RELative:STATe?

Description: Query the relative state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:RELative:VALUe?

Description: Query the relative value

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable tolerance function

Example: CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe ON

CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe?

Description: Query the tolerance state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:TOLerance:NOMinal?

Description: Query the nominal value of

tolerance

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:VALUe?

Description: Query the percent value of

tolerance

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe < 1 | 5 | 10 |

20 >

Description: Set tolerance range

Parameters: 20 (879B only)

Example: CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe 1

Set 1% tolerance range

CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe?

Description: Query the tolerance range

Response: Return “BIN1”, “BIN2”, “BIN3”,

“BIN4” or “----” format string

CALCulate:RECording:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable recording

function

Example: CALCulate:RECording:STATe

CALCulate:RECording:STATe?

Description: Query the recording state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:RECording:MAXimum?

Description: Query the maximum value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:MINimum?

Description: Query the minimum value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:AVERage?

Description: Query the average value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:PRESent?

Description: Query the present value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

FETCh Subsystem

FETCh?

Description: Returns the primary, secondary

display value and tolerance

compared result of device’s output

buffer.

Response: Return <NR3, NR3, NR1> format

string

Example: FETCh?

Summary of Supported SCPI Commands

Table 6 - Summary of SCPI Commands

Command

Parameter

Explanation

FREQuency

<Value>

Set Test Frequency

FREQuency?

Query Test Frequency

FUNCtion

:impa

Select primary display

parameter

:impa?

Query primary display

parameter

:impb

Select secondary display

parameter

:impb?

Query secondary display

parameter

:EQUivalent

Set equivalent mode

:EQUivalent?

Query equivalent mode

CALCulate

:RELative

:STATe

Enable/disable relative

function

:STATe?

Query relative state

:VALUe?

Query relative value

:TOLerance

:STATe

Enable/disable tolerance

function

:STATe?

Query tolerance state

:NOMinal?

Query nominal value of

tolerance

:VALUe?

Query percent of tolerance

:RANG

<Value>

Set tolerance range

:RANGe?

Query tolerance range

:RECording

:STATe

Enable/disable recording

function

:STATe?

Query recording state

:MAXimum?

Query max. value of

recording

:MINimum?

Query min. value of recording

:AVERage?

Query average value of

recording

:PRESent?

Query present value of

recording

FETCh?

Return data any time last

reading is valid

Error Codes

In certain situations, errors may occur, and an error

code will be displayed on the meter. Below defines

the error description based on the error code.

E10: Unknown command

E11: Parameter Error

E12: Syntax Error

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION” section.

Default Settings

For Capacitance and Resistance measurements, the

default measurement mode is parallel.

For Inductance measurements, the default

measurement mode is series.

Selecting Measurement Mode

The measurement mode of the meter is displayed by

the indicators “SER” or “PAR” on the LCD screen.

“SER” means meter is in series measurement mode.

“PAR” means meter is in parallel measurement mode.

To toggle between the two modes, press and hold

down (or for model 878B) button for 2

seconds. The indicators on the display should toggle

between “SER” and “PAR”.

Calibration

Calibration is available on all modes. It is

recommended that to achieve optimal readings,

calibration should be done before making any

measurements.

To enter calibration mode, simply press and hold

down the button for 2 seconds. A calibration

prompt will be displayed. There are two types of

calibration available. One is the open circuit

calibration. The other is the short circuit calibration.

To exit calibration mode, simply press and hold down

the button for 2 seconds again.

Open Calibration

Open calibration can be done when meter first enters

into calibration mode. If the input sockets or terminals

have nothing connected, the display should show

Figure 7. Also, “REL” indicator will be blinking on the

display. This is to prompt the user that the meter is

waiting for an action. At this point, open calibration

will be done when the button is pressed once.

Within a few seconds, the meter will return to normal

display and meter will be calibrated based on the test

frequency and settings selected prior to entering the

calibration mode.

Figure 7 - Open Calibration

Short Calibration

Short calibration can be done when meter first enters

into calibration mode. If the input sockets or terminals

have nothing connected, the display will be like Figure

7. For short calibration, simply put a shorting bar or a

short piece of conductive metal (i.e. paper clip) across

the “+” and “-“ input sockets or terminals. Within 2

seconds, the meter will display the same screen as

Figure 8, which prompts for a “short”. Also, “REL”

indicator will be blinking on the display. This is to

prompt the user that the meter is waiting for an action.

At this point, short calibration will be done when the

button is pressed once. Within a few seconds,

the meter will return to normal display and meter will

be calibrated based on the test frequency and settings

selected prior to entering the calibration mode.

Figure 8 - Short Calibration

Quick Procedure

Below is an example of steps to follow to do both

open and short calibration.

1. Select the primary function mode for

measurement (i.e. L/C/R/Z).

2. Select the test frequency for measurement.

3. Select the measurement mode (i.e. Series or

Parallel)

4. Once all settings are configured, hold down

button for 2 seconds to enter into

calibration mode.

5. First, do open calibration. Follow instructions

under “Open Calibration” section.

6. Next, do short calibration. Follow instructions

under “Short Calibration” section.

7. Now, the meter should go back to normal

display and user may proceed to take

measurements of components.

Recommendations

To achieve optimal measurement results, both open

and short calibration should be done. It is highly

recommended to calibrate extremely high or low

values for L, C, R and Z before making precision

measurements.

Notes:

1. If test frequency is changed, calibration

should be done again before making precision

measurements. Once calibration is done on a

selected test frequency, calibration data will

remain until power off.

2. Either open or short calibration is not

associated with measurement function,

therefore changing the test function does not

require re-calibration.

3. Re-calibration may be necessary depending

on many factors such as prolonged use,

changing environments, and contact variation

(i.e. alligator test leads or socket contacts).

USB

The USB button (or for model 878B) are

used for remote communication. See “

REMOTE COMMUNICATION” section for details.

Automatic Fuse Detection

The LCR meter has an internal fuse that protects the

inputs from severely damaging the instrument. When

the meter detects that the protective fuse is open, the

“FUSE” indicator will appear on the primary display

(see Figure 9) and an internal “beep” will sound

continuously. In this situation, none of the function

buttons can be operated and all other meter functions

will be disabled.

Figure 9 - Fuse Display

In the event that the above screen is displayed, a fuse

replacement is required. Turn off the meter by

pressing and holding down the button for 2

seconds. If this does not power off the meter, remove

external AC adapter if that is used and/or remove the

battery from the battery compartment. Refrain from

further operation until fuse is replaced. Please

contact B&K Precision for assistance.

QUICK START GUIDE

CAUTION

 Do not measure a capacitor that is not fully

discharged. Connecting a charged or partially

charged capacitor to the input terminals will

damage the instrument.

 When measuring within a circuit, the circuit must be

de-energized before connecting the test leads.

 When used in a dusty environment, the instrument

should be wiped and cleaned regularly.

 Do not leave the instrument exposed to direct heat

from the sun for long periods of time.

 Before removing the cover, ensure that the

instrument is disconnected from any circuit and is

powered OFF.

Note:

To achieve optimum precision for all L, C, and R

measurements at either the highest or lowest

ranges, calibrate the meter before testing. See

“Calibration” section for details.

Inductance Measurement

1. Press down button for one second to turn

on the meter.

2. Press (or for model 878B) button

until “L” is displayed on the screen to select

inductance measurement.

3. Insert an inductor into either the input sockets or

connect alligator leads into the banana jack input

terminals and connect the clips to the component

leads as illustrated in Figure 10.

4. Press button until the desired test

frequency is displayed on screen.

5. Press (or for model 878B) button

to select between D factor, Q factor, θ angle, or

ESR measurement for secondary display. (θ and

ESR function for model 879B only)

6. Read the display readings for inductance

measured values and selected measured values

on secondary display.

Figure 10 - Inductance Measurement Setup

Capacitance Measurement

WARNING Fully discharge capacitor BEFORE

inserting it into the instrument. Failure to do this may

result in damage to the meter and may cause

electrical hazards.

1. Press down button for one second to turn

on the meter.

2. Press (or for model 878B) button

until “C” is on the screen to select capacitance

measurement.

3. CAUTION: BEFORE inserting a capacitor or

capacitive component into the input sockets

or terminals, be sure to fully discharge the

component. Some larger capacitive

components may take longer to discharge. In

these cases, please allot enough time for a full

discharge. If proper discharging of the

component is not done correctly, it will

damage the input terminals of the meter.

4. Insert the DISCHARGED capacitor or capacitive

component into the input sockets or connect

alligator leads into the banana jack input terminals

and connect the clips to the component leads as

illustrated in Figure 11.

5. Press button until the desired test

frequency is displayed on screen.

6. Press (or for model 878B) button

to select between D factor, Q factor, θ angle, or

ESR measurement for secondary display. (θ and

ESR function for model 879B only).

7. Read the display readings for capacitance

measured values and selected measured values

on secondary display.

Figure 11 - Capacitance Measurement Setup

Resistance Measurement

1. Press down button for one second to turn

on the meter.

2. Press (or for model 878B) button

until “R” is on the screen to select resistance

measurement.

3. Insert resistor or resistive component into the

input sockets or connect alligator leads into the

banana jack input terminals and connect the clips

to the component leads as illustrated in Figure 12.

4. Press button until the desired test

frequency is displayed on screen.

Note: This meter does not provide a DC

resistance measurement of the component. It

uses an AC signal for measurement. For this

reason, some applications or device under test

may not give correct readings if they are designed

for measurement in DC.

5. Read the display readings for resistance

measured values.

Figure 12 - Resistance Measurement Setup

Impedance Measurement (Model 879B only)

1. Press down button for one second to turn

on the meter.

2. Press button until “Z” is on the screen to

select impedance measurement.

100

3. Insert component into the input sockets or

connect alligator leads into the banana jack input

terminals and connect the clips to the component

leads as illustrated in Figure 13.

4. Press button until the desired test

frequency is displayed on screen.

5. Read the display readings for impedance

measured values.

+ -

A U T O

@OFF

S M D

P A L

k H z

U S B

D /Q /

/E S R

L /C / R /Z

P O W E R

R E C

R E L

H O L D

C A L

F R E Q

T O L

U T IL

L C R M e t e r 87 9 B

Figure 13 - Impedance Measurement Setup

101

REMOTE COMMUNICATION

The meter has the capability to communicate with a

PC over the mini USB interface. Upon installation of a

USB driver, the PC can control the instrument over

virtual COM (RS-232). The mini USB communication

interface of the meter is designed in full duplex and

has a 64-byte input and output buffer, making it

reliable and efficient for data transmission.

Connecting Instrument to PC

Follow the below procedures for connection setup.

9. Download the USB drivers from

www.bkprecision.com .

10. With the included mini USB cable, connect the

mini USB end to the LCR meter and the other

end to an available USB port on the PC (see

Figure 14).

11. When Windows recognize the USB

connection, do not follow the default Windows

driver installation wizard. Simply run the

setup file from the downloaded USB drivers

and follow the prompt to install drivers.

12. When completed, the computer will recognize

the instrument as a USB (virtual COM) device,

meaning it will be detected as a serial COM

102

port. Windows will automatically assign a

COM port to the instrument. Please verify

which COM port Windows has assigned by

going into “Device Manager”.

Figure 14 - USB Connection

103

USB (Virtual COM) Configuration

The USB will be recognized as a virtual COM on the

PC, thus serial port settings must be configured

properly for remote communication to be successful.

Below are the settings used by the 878B and 879B

meters.

 Baudrate: 9600

 Data bits: 8

 Parity: None

 Stop bits: 1

 Flow Control: None

USB Operation

There are two modes that describe the operation of

the meter when it is setup for remote communication.

They are remote mode and auto fetching mode.

Remote Mode

Upon connecting to the instrument, sending any

commands listed in the “Command Protocols” section

will automatically set the LCR meter into remote

mode. In remote mode, the LCD display will show the

RMT indicator. When this is shown, all front panel

104

buttons will be disabled, except for the (or

for model 878B) button.

To exit remote mode and go back to local mode,

press the (or for model 878B) button

once. The RMT indicator will disappear on the LCD

display. Pushing the same button once more will put

the meter into auto fetching mode, which is described

in the next section.

Auto Fetching Mode

When connected to a PC, the meter can be

configured to auto-fetching mode. This means, the

meter will continuously fetch data to the PC after

every measurement cycle is completed. It fetches

data from measured readings of primary display and

secondary display, as well as tolerance compared

results. This mode is useful when doing quick data

logging using PC.

105

Enable/Disable Auto Fetching

To toggle between enabling and disabling auto

fetching, press the (or for model

878B) button. When enabled, data will be fetched

constantly after every measurement cycle is

completed. When disabled, no fetched data will be

available.

Note: Alternatively, auto fetching mode can be

disabled when a remote command is sent to the

instrument, turning it back into remote mode. In this

event, the RMT indicator will appear on the LCD

display, and auto fetching will be disabled

automatically. To re-enabled auto fetching again in

this state, first press the (or for model

878B) button once to exit out of remote mode and

return to local mode. Then, press the button once

more to have it set to auto fetching mode again.

Command Protocols

Overview of Command Type and Format

All commands are entered in either the upper case or

the lower case. There are two types of the meter

programming commands: IEEE 488 common

106

commands and Standard Commands for

Programmable Instruments (SCPI). Some commands

are device-specific to the meter. They are not included

in the version 1999.0 of the SCPI standard. However,

these commands are designed with the SCPI format

in mind and they follow the syntax rules of the

standard.

Common Command Format

The IEEE 488 standard defines the common

commands as commands that perform functions like

reset and system query. Common commands usually

come with the asterisk “*” character, and may include

parameters. Some examples of Common command

like: *IDN?, *GTL, *LLO.

SCPI Command Format and Query Format

The SCPI commands control instrument

functions. A subsystem command has a hierarchical

structure that usually consists of a top-level (or root)

keyword, one or more lower level keywords, and

parameters. The following example shows a

command and its associated query:

A. FUNCtion:impa L

Select L as primary parameter

B. FUNCtion:impa?

Return primary parameter

107

function is a root level keyword with the second level

keyword, impa, and L is the command parameter. The

query command ends with a question mark “?”.

Note: SCPI stems from IEEE488.1 and IEEE 488.2.

Although the IEEE 488.2 standard addressed some

instrument measurements, it principally dealt with

common commands and syntax or data formats.

Please refer to the IEEE488.2 and SCPI reference

manual for more information.

Termination Character

A terminator is a character sent by a host, which

identifies the end of a command string. A valid

terminator consists of two-byte data:

<CR> (Carriage Return, ASC(&H0D)) or <LF> (Line

Feed, ASC(&H0A)) or <CR><LF>

Responding Message

Returned result

After the meter executes a query command, the return

of the result will be in the following format:

For example, in auto fetching mode, the meter will

send the measured data automatically when the

108

measurement cycle is completed. The format of the

printed data will be shown as the following:

<Primary measured data, Secondly measured

data, Tolerance Result > + <CR> <LF>

Data Types

Returned message is an ASCII string from the meter

responding to a query. A query is a command

accompanied a “?” mark. Table 4 below explains the

different data types.

Table 4 - Data Type of Responded Messages

Data Type

Explanation

Example

<NR1>

An integer

+800,-200,100,-50

<NR2>

This numeric

representation has

an explicit radix

point

+1.56,-0.001,10.5

<NR3>

This representation

has an explicit

radix point and an

exponent

+2.345678E+04

-1.345678E-01

A parameter for

Boolean setting.

Always return “0”

or “1” for Boolean

ON or OFF

109

query command

A string is used as

command

parameters with

short literal form

HOLD

SCPI Commands

This section described all the SCPI commands

supported by the meter. The meter can accept both

upper case and lower case commands.

Table 5 - SCPI Symbol Conventions

Text Symbol

Meaning

[ ]

Option; can be omitted

Exclusive OR

< >

Defined element

( )

Comment

Question mark

Separated two command

keywords

110

*IDN?

Description: Queries the instrument ID.

Response: <instrument model>, <firmware

version>, <serial number>

*LLO

Local Lockout. This means that all front panel

buttons, including the "USB" key is not available.

*GTL

Go to local. Puts the meter into the local state,

clearing the remote state and front panel lockout.

FREQuency Subsystem

FREQuency <value>

Description: Set measurement frequency

Parameters: Parameters are 100, 120, 1000,

10000 (879B only) or

100hz,120hz,1khz,10khz (879B

only)

Example: FREQuency 100hz

Set 100Hz frequency

FREQuency?

Description: Query the measurement frequency

Response: 100hz, 120hz, 1khz, 10khz (879B

only)

111

FUNCtion subsystem

FUNCtion:impa < L | C | R | Z >

(Z for model 879B only)

Description: Select primary parameter

Example: FUNCtion:impa L

Selects L as primary parameter

FUNCtion:impa?

Description: Query primary parameter

Response: Return L, C, R, Z (879B

only),NULL

FUNCtion:impb < D | Q | THETA | ESR >

(THETA and ESR for model879B only)

Description: Select secondly parameter

Example: FUNCtion:impb D

Select D as secondly parameter

FUNCtion:impb?

Description: Query secondly parameter

Response: Return D, Q, THETA (879B only),

ESR (879B only), NULL

112

FUNCtion:EQUivalent < SERies | parallel |

PAL >

Description: Set equivalent mode

Parameters: SERies — serial mode

Parallel — parallel mode

Pal — parallel mode

Example: FUNCtion:EQUivalent SERies

Set series mode

FUNCtion:EQUivalent?

Description: Query the equivalent mode

Response: Return “SER” or “PAL” format

string

CALCulate subsystem

CALCulate:RELative:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable relative

function

Example:

CALCulate:RELative:STATe ON

CALCulate:RELative:STATe?

Description: Query the relative state

Response: Return ON or OFF

113

CALCulate:RELative:VALUe?

Description: Query the relative value

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable tolerance function

Example: CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe ON

CALCulate:TOLerance:STATe?

Description: Query the tolerance state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:TOLerance:NOMinal?

Description: Query the nominal value of

tolerance

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:VALUe?

Description: Query the percent value of

tolerance

Response: Return <NR3> or “-----” format string

CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe < 1 | 5 | 10 |

20 >

Description: Set tolerance range

Parameters: 20 (879B only)

Example: CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe 1

Set 1% tolerance range

114

CALCulate:TOLerance:RANGe?

Description: Query the tolerance range

Response: Return “BIN1”, “BIN2”, “BIN3”,

“BIN4” or “----” format string

CALCulate:RECording:STATe < ON | OFF >

Description: Enable or disable recording

function

Example: CALCulate:RECording:STATe

CALCulate:RECording:STATe?

Description: Query the recording state

Response: Return ON or OFF

CALCulate:RECording:MAXimum?

Description: Query the maximum value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:MINimum?

Description: Query the minimum value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

115

CALCulate:RECording:AVERage?

Description: Query the average value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

CALCulate:RECording:PRESent?

Description: Query the present value of

recording function

Response: Return <NR3, NR3> or “-----” format

string

FETCh Subsystem

FETCh?

Description: Returns the primary, secondary

display value and tolerance

compared result of device’s output

buffer.

Response: Return <NR3, NR3, NR1> format

string

Example: FETCh?

116

Summary of Supported SCPI Commands

Table 6 - Summary of SCPI Commands

Command

Parameter

Explanation

FREQuency

<Value>

Set Test Frequency

FREQuency?

Query Test Frequency

FUNCtion

:impa

Select primary display

parameter

:impa?

Query primary display

parameter

:impb

Select secondary display

parameter

:impb?

Query secondary display

parameter

:EQUivalent

Set equivalent mode

:EQUivalent?

Query equivalent mode

CALCulate

:RELative

:STATe

Enable/disable relative

function

:STATe?

Query relative state

:VALUe?

Query relative value

:TOLerance

:STATe

Enable/disable tolerance

function

:STATe?

Query tolerance state

:NOMinal?

Query nominal value of

tolerance

:VALUe?

Query percent of tolerance

:RANG

<Value>

Set tolerance range

:RANGe?

Query tolerance range

:RECording

117

:STATe

Enable/disable recording

function

:STATe?

Query recording state

:MAXimum?

Query max. value of

recording

:MINimum?

Query min. value of recording

:AVERage?

Query average value of

recording

:PRESent?

Query present value of

recording

FETCh?

Return data any time last

reading is valid

Error Codes

In certain situations, errors may occur, and an error

code will be displayed on the meter. Below defines

the error description based on the error code.

E10: Unknown command

E11: Parameter Error

E12: Syntax Error

118

SUPPLEMENTAL

INFORMATION

This section provides supplemental information for

user consideration when operating the LCR meters.

Some recommendations and explanations are

provided to help aid in the use of some functions and

features, in which can help the user gain optimal and

accurate measurement results.

Selecting Test Frequency

Test frequency can greatly affect the results of

measurement reading, especially when measuring

inductors and capacitors. This section provides some

recommendations and suggestions to consider.

Capacitance

When measuring capacitance selecting, the right

frequency is important in obtaining the most accurate

measurement results. Generally, a 1 kHz test

frequency is used to measure capacitors that are 0.01

µF or smaller. For capacitors that are 10 µF or larger,

a lower frequency of 120 Hz is used. Following this

trend, high test frequencies are best for testing very

low capacitance components. For large capacitance

components, low frequency would be optimal. For

119

example, if the capacitance of the component is to be

in the mF range, than selecting 100 Hz or 120 Hz for

test frequency would give much better results. The

results will also be obvious because if the same

component was tested with 1 kHz or 10 kHz, the

measured readings may look erroneous on the

display.

In all cases, it is best to check with the manufacturer’s

data sheet in order to determine the best test

frequency to use for measurement.

Inductance

Typically, a 1 kHz test frequency is used to measure

inductors that are used in audio and RF circuits. This

is because these components operate at higher

frequencies and require that they be measured at

higher frequencies such as 1 kHz or 10 kHz.

However, a 120 Hz test signal is used to measure

inductors that are used for applications such as filter

chokes in power supplies, in which are typically

operated at 60 Hz AC (in U.S.) with 120 Hz filter

frequencies.

In general, inductors below 2 mH should be measured

at 1 kHz frequency while inductors above 200 H

should be measured at 120 Hz.

120

In all cases, it is best to check with the manufacturer’s

data sheet in order to determine the best test

frequency to use for measurement.

Selecting Series or Parallel Mode

Just as test frequency can greatly affect measurement

results, selecting between series or parallel

measurement mode can also affect the accuracy of

the meter, especially for capacitive and inductive

components. Below are some recommendations to

consider.

Capacitance

For most capacitance measurement, selecting

parallel mode is the best. Hence, the meter defaults

to this mode when selecting capacitance mode. Most

capacitors have very low dissipation factor (high

internal resistance) compared to the impedance of the

capacitance. In these cases, the paralleled internal

resistance has negligible impact upon the

measurement.

Though in some cases, series mode would be

preferred. For instance, measuring a large capacitor

would require using series mode for optimal reading.

Otherwise, the meter may show the reading results as

121

out of accuracy or erroneous. Series mode is use

because large capacitors often have higher

dissipation factor and lower internal resistance.

Inductance

For most inductance measurement, selecting series

mode is the best. Hence, the meter defaults to this

mode when selecting inductance mode. This is

because in this mode, accurate Q (quality factor)

reading can be obtained from reading low Q inductors

and ohmic losses are significant.

Though in some cases, parallel mode would be

preferred. For example, iron core inductors operating

at higher frequencies where hysteresis and eddy

currents become significant would require

measurement in parallel mode for optimal results.

Accuracy Discrepancies

In some special cases, inaccuracies may occur in the

measurement of capacitive, inductive, and resistive

components.

122

Capacitance

When measuring capacitors, it is always most

desirable if the dissipation factor is low. Electrolytic

capacitors inherently have a higher dissipation factor

due to their normally high internal leakage

characteristics. In some cases, if the D (dissipation

factor) is excessive, measurement accuracy may

degrade and even read out of specification.

Inductance

Some inductors are intended to operate at a certain

DC bias to achieve a certain inductance value.

However, the 878B and 879B LCR meters cannot

produce such biasing scheme and external biasing

should not be attempted because external power

would be applied to the instrument and cause serious

damage to the meter. Therefore, in some cases,

measured inductance reading may not agree with

manufacturer’s specification. It is important to check if

specification pertains to DC biasing or not.

Resistance

When measuring resistance of devices, it is important

to know that there are two types or ways of

measurement. One type is DC resistance

measurement. Another type is AC resistance

measurement. The 879B and 878B uses AC

resistance measurement method and does not

123

provide an option for DC resistance measurements.

Therefore, when measuring a resistive component

that is designed to be measured with DC, readings will

be incorrect or inaccurate. Before using the meter to

measure resistance, please verify whether the DUT

(device under test) requires DC or AC resistance

measurement method. Depending on the method,

results will vary greatly.

Guard Terminal

One of the input sockets and terminals is labeled as

“GUARD”. This terminal does not have to be used in

all instances for the meter to make measurements.

But in some instances, it is very useful. Guard

terminal generally serves two purposes.

If user is using test leads, the guard terminal can be

used to connect to the shielding of the test leads.

Doing so can be useful when making large resistive

component measurements. For example, when

measuring a 10 MΩ resistor with test leads, at the

high range the reading may seem to be unstable as a

few digits may continuously be changing. Having the

shield of the test leads connected to the guard

terminal will help stabilize the reading in some

instances.

124

Guard terminal is also used to minimize noise and to

help minimize parasitic effects coming from the

component to be measured, thus allowing high

precision results.

125

SPECIFICATIONS

Below are some remarks in regards to all

specifications pertaining to both 878B and 879B LCR

meters.

*Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Notes:

1. Measurement performed at the test socket.

2. Measurements performed after correct open

and short calibration.

3. DUT and test leads must be properly shielded

to guard if necessary.

4. Based after 30 minutes of warm up time and

operated at 23 °C + 5 °C, <75% R.H.

5. Q value is the reciprocal of DF.

6. Accuracies based within 10% to 100% of full

scale of range; values outside of range should

be used as reference only.

7. Based on battery powered operation.

8. --- means parallel or series measurement

mode.

126

General Specifications

Items

879B

878B

Measurement

Parameters

L/C/R/Z/D/Q/θ/ESR

L/C/R/D/Q

Test Frequency

Accuracy is 0.02%

of actual frequency

100 Hz, 120 Hz,

1 kHz, 10 kHz

(test setting)

120 Hz, 1 KHz

(test setting)

100Hz, 120.048Hz,

1 kHz, 10 kHz

(actual frequency)

120.048 Hz,

1 kHz (actual

frequency)

Tolerance Mode

1%, 5%, 10%, 20%

1%, 5%, 10%

Backlit Display

Yes

None

Test Signal Level

≈ 0.6 Vrms

Measuring

Circuit Mode

Series mode / Parallel mode

Basic accuracy

0.5%

Ranging Mode

Auto

Measuring

Terminals

3 terminals with sockets

Measurement Rate

1.5 reading/second (range auto

search not included)

Response Time

Response Time: ≈680 ms/DUT

Auto Power-Off

5, 15, 30, 60 mins, None

Operation

Temperature

32 °F to 104 °F(0 °C to 40 °C);

0-70 % R.H.

Storage

Temperature

-4 ° F to 122 °F (-20 °C to +50 °C);

0-80 % R.H.

Low Battery

Indication

≈ 6.8 V

Battery Life

≈16 hours using Alkaline Battery @ 1

kHz with 100 Ω DUT, with backlight

127

off

Power

Consumption

≈ 28 mA (under full power battery) for

operation/ 2 µA after Power-off.

Power

Requirements

1) DC 9V Battery

2)Ext. AC Adapter: DC

12 Vmin –15 Vmax.

(Load 50 mA Min.)

Dimensions

(L/W/H)

7.5 x 3.5 x 1.6”

(190 × 90 × 41 mm)

Weight

0.7 lbs. (330 grams)

Accuracy Specifications

Inductance

Frequency = 100 Hz*/120 Hz

Range

Max

Display

Accuracy

DF(Dx

<0.5)

Measurement

Mode

1000 H

1000.0 H

1.5% + 3

digits

1.5% +

50 digits

Parallel

400 H

399.99 H

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Parallel

40 H

39.999 H

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

---

4000 mH

3999.9 mH

0.5% + 1

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

Series

400 mH

399.99 mH

0.6% + 2

digits

0.6% +

50 digits

Series

40 mH

39.999 mH

0.9% + 2

digits

0.9% +

50 digits

Series

4 mH

3.9999 mH

2.8% + 3

digits

2.8% +

50 digits

Series

128

Frequency = 1 kHz

Range

Max

Display

Accuracy

DF(Dx

<0.5)

Measurement

Mode

100 H

100.00 H

1.5% + 3

digits

1.5% +

50 digits

Parallel

40 H

39.999 H

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Parallel

4000 mH

3999.9 mH

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

---

400 mH

399.99 mH

0.5% + 1

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

Series

40 mH

39.999 mH

0.6% + 2

digits

0.6% +

50 digits

Series

4000 μH

3999.9 μH

0.9% + 2

digits

0.9% +

50 digits

Series

400 μH

399.9 μH

2.8% + 3

digits

2.8% +

50 digits

Series

Frequency = 10 kHz*

Range

Max

Display

Accuracy

DF(Dx

<0.5)

Measurement

Mode

1000 mH

1000.0 mH

1.5% + 3

digits

1.5% +

50 digits

Parallel

400 mH

399.99 mH

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

---

40 mH

39.999 mH

0.5% + 1

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

Series

4000 μH

3999.9 μH

0.6% + 2

digits

0.6% +

50 digits

Series

129

400 μH

399.99 μH

0.9% + 2

digits

0.9% +

50 digits

Series

40 μH

39.99 μH

2.8% + 3

digits

2.8% +

50 digits

Series

Capacitance

Frequency = 100 Hz*/120 Hz

Range

Max

Display

Accuracy

DF(Dx

<0.5)

Measurement

Mode

20 mF

20.000 mF

8% + 3

digits

8% + 50

digits

Series

4000 μF

3999.9 μF

2% + 2

digits

2% + 50

digits

Series

400 μF

399.99 μF

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Series

40 μF

39.999 nF

0.5% + 1

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

Series

4000 nF

3999.9 nF

0.5% + 1

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

---

400 nF

399.99 nF

0.5% + 2

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

---

40 nF

39.999 nF

0.7% + 1

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Parallel

4 nF

3.9999 nF

2.5% + 2

digits

2.5% +

50 digits

Parallel

130

Frequency = 1 kHz

Range

Max

Display

Accuracy

DF(Dx

<0.5)

Measurement

Mode

1000 μF

1000.0 μF

3.7% + 3

digits

3.7% +

50 digits

Series

400 μF

399.99 μF

2% + 2

digits

2% + 50

digits

Series

40 μF

39.999 μF

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Series

4000 nF

3999.9 nF

0.5% + 1

digit

0.5% +

50 digit

Series

400 nF

399.99 nF

0.5% + 2

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

---

40 nF

39.999 nF

0.5% + 2

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

---

4000 pF

3999.9 pF

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Parallel

400 pF

399.9 pF

2.5% + 2

digits

2.5% +

50 digits

Parallel

Frequency = 10 kHz*

Range

Max

Display

Accuracy

DF(Dx

<0.5)

Measurement

Mode

100 μF

100.00 μF

3.9% + 5

digits

3.9% +

50 digits

Series

40 μF

39.999 μF

3.7% + 3

digits

3.7% +

50 digits

Series

4000 nF

3999.9 nF

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Series

131

400 nF

399.99 nF

0.5% + 2

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

Series

40 nF

39.999 nF

0.5% + 1

digit

0.5% +

50 digit

---

4000 pF

3999.9 nF

0.5% + 2

digits

0.5% +

50 digits

---

400 pF

399.99 pF

0.7% + 2

digits

0.7% +

50 digits

Parallel

40 pF

39.99 pF

2.5% + 2

digits

2.5% +

50 digits

Parallel

Resistance/Impedance*

Frequency = 100 Hz*/120 Hz/ 1 kHz/10 kHz*

Range

Max

Display

R/Zx

Accuracy

Θ*

Accuracy

Measurement

Mode

10 MΩ

10.000 MΩ

5.5% + 3

digits

±3.2°

Parallel

4000 kΩ

3999.9 kΩ

2.5% + 2

digits

±1.5°

Parallel

400 kΩ

399.99 kΩ

0.7% + 2

digits

±0.4°

Parallel

40 kΩ

39.999 kΩ

0.5% + 2

digits

±0.3°

---

4000 Ω

3999.9 Ω

0.5% + 2

digits

±0.3°

---

400 Ω

399.99 Ω

0.5% + 2

digits

±0.3°

Series

40 Ω

39.999 Ω

0.7% + 2

digits

±0.4°

Series

4 Ω

3.9999 Ω

2.0% + 2

digits

±1.2°

Series

132

ESR*

Frequency = 100 Hz*/120 Hz/ 1 kHz/10 kHz*

Range

Max

Display

ESR

Accuracy

Measurement

Mode

1000 Ω

999.9 Ω

0.5% + 2

digits

Series

100 Ω

99.99 Ω

0.5% + 2

digits

Series

10 Ω

9.999 Ω

0.7% + 2

digits

Series

1 Ω

.9999 Ω

2.0% + 2

digits

Series

* = Model 879B only

133

MAINTENANCE

WARNING: Do not perform any service by yourself.

Service should only be done by qualified personnel

and trained technicians.

Service

If the instrument fails to operate, check battery and

test leads. Replace them as necessary. If the

instrument still cannot work, verify with the operating

instructions to make sure correct procedures are

followed.

When servicing, use specified replacement parts only.

Note: The meter must be completely turned off while

replacing the battery. Refer to “Installing Battery”

section for details.

Cleaning

WARNING: To avoid electrical shock or damaging

the meter, prevent water from getting inside the case.

In the case that water gets inside, remove the battery

immediately and do not operate the instrument

134

immediately. Doing so will immediately damage the

instrument and void it’s warranty.

Before cleaning this meter, make sure the power is

OFF and remove external AC adapter if one is used.

To clean the meter, wipe the dirty parts with a soft

cloth soaked with diluted neutral detergent. Avoid

having the instrument too wet to prevent the detergent

from penetrating into the inside components of the

meter, causing damages. After cleaning, make sure

the instrument is completely dried before operating it

again.

135

SERVICE INFORMATION

Warranty Service: Please go the support and service section on our

website www.bkprecision.com to obtain a RMA #. Return the product in

the original packaging with proof of purchase to the address below.

Clearly state on the RMA the performance problem and return any leads,

probes, connectors and accessories that you are using with the device.

Non-Warranty Service: Please go the support and service section on our

website www.bkprecision.com to obtain a RMA #. Return the product in

the original packaging to the address below. Clearly state on the RMA the

performance problem and return any leads, probes, connectors and

accessories that you are using with the device. Customers not on an open

account must include payment in the form of a money order or credit card.

For the most current repair charges please refer to the service and support

section on our website.

Return all merchandise to B&K Precision Corp. with pre-paid

shipping. The flat-rate repair charge for Non-Warranty Service does

not include return shipping. Return shipping to locations in North

America is included for Warranty Service. For overnight shipments

and non-North American shipping fees please contact B&K

Precision Corp.

B&K Precision Corp.

22820 Savi Ranch Parkway

Yorba Linda, CA 92887

www.bkprecision.com

714-921-9095

Include with the returned instrument your complete return

shipping address, contact name, phone number and

description of problem.

136

LIMITED WARRANTY

B&K Precision Corp. warrants to the original purchaser that its

products and the component parts thereof, will be free from defects

in workmanship and materials for a period of three years from date

of purchase.

B&K Precision Corp. will, without charge, repair or replace, at its

option, defective product or component parts. Returned product

must be accompanied by proof of the purchase date in the form of a

sales receipt.

To help us better serve you, please complete the warranty

registration for your new instrument via our website

www.bkprecision.com

Exclusions: This warranty does not apply in the event of

misuse or abuse of the product or as a result of unauthorized

alterations or repairs. The warranty is void if the serial number

is altered, defaced or removed.

B&K Precision Corp. shall not be liable for any consequential

damages, including without limitation damages resulting from loss

of use. Some states do not allow limitations of incidental or

consequential damages. So the above limitation or exclusion may

not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific rights and you

may have other rights, which vary from state-to-state.

B&K Precision Corp.

22820 Savi Ranch Parkway

Yorba Linda, CA 92887

www.bkprecision.com

714-921-9095

(Page intentionally left blank)

22820 Savi Ranch Parkway

Yorba Linda, CA 92887

www.bkprecision.com

Printed in China v020415