Review on 🔍 LCR Research Pro1 Plus - High Precision 100KHz LCR Meter with 0.1% Accuracy, LED Tester, ESR Meter, Smart SMD Tweezers, and Spare Test Tips by Brian Carrizales

I was a bit reluctant to buy them as I had already ordered the ST5S from the Smart Tweezers brand and wasn't sure if it was worth the additional $29 price increase. via ST5S. However, I am very happy with them and would highly recommend them to anyone who uses them. This is the short version. Here is the long one. Having ordered both the "LCR Research" Pro1 Plus and the "Smart Tweezers" ST5S about the same, I thought it would be good to compare them in case anyone else out there is going through the same solution. They cost about the same, look almost the same, and both count as LCR meters. However, they are not the same. First I will start with their aesthetics and functionality. The first thing you'll notice when you open the two side by side (see images) is that at first glance the ST5S looks like it has more stuff in it. It comes with a USB drive, a charging cable, an AC-to-DC adapter (is that a Blackberry brand? I think they still have some leftovers from those things), a calibration certificate, a small hard plastic case, and finally the tweezers yourself. a simpler but more effective approach. It comes with a charging cable, hard plastic case and tweezers. Doesn't look like much, but honestly, who doesn't have a USB port to plug in when they need to charge, or who needs another cheap USB stick? As for the old Blackberry charger that came with the ST5S, I thought it was funny, but I don't think you want your customers to laugh at your product. The only plus was that the packaging was nicer, but that doesn't matter in the end. The cases that come with each of them have two completely different designs. The ST5S has a thick, hard, black plastic tube that you insert your tweezers into. The problem I'm having is how to know if the tips of the tweezers are touching the bottom of the "tube". For example, let's say you accidentally drop it and the impact causes the pins to sink to the bottom of the "tube" and break the dots. But you never know if you don't have X-Ray Vision because it's made of black plastic. The Pro1 Plus has a hard black plastic body with a foam cutout that forms around the tweezers and especially the tips. Protect them in case he accidentally falls to the ground. If I had seen both in one store I would have boldly chosen the Pro1 Plus case over the ST5S. Now the tweezers themselves. The first thing you'll notice when you turn on both screens is the difference in size. The Pro1 Plus is bigger, and for such a small device, that makes a big difference. Not only is the screen itself bigger, but the font the Pro1 Plus uses is bigger too. The following shows how each implements a different navigation system for menu access. If you notice that you have a "joystick" for navigation on ST5S. You can move up, down, left or right or press the button. Seems like a good system, but the "joystick" is so small that on mine with fat fingers I sometimes push in the wrong direction or push it instead of pushing left etc. The second problem, that i have There was a slight delay between pressing the button and the screen responding. Or I thought I clicked on it and heard a "click" but nothing would happen at all. So I never knew if I should wait because of a delay or press again because it wasn't registered or if I had pressed wrong. Also, the screen is so small and the font is even smaller. I don't have such bad eyesight and had to be 6 inches from it to read the OSD/settings, not the measurements. Every time I wanted to change something and make sure I set it up correctly, I had to see it in front of my eyes. The Pro1 Plus has a much sharper and larger display that seemed to have more contrast between screen blacks. and font. In fact, I can control what I'm measuring and changing settings with no problem. The Pro1 Plus navigation system is much easier to use and much more responsive. You can scroll down or press enter, which makes toggling the options you want to turn on or off much easier and more intuitive. Even if you press and hold the button for half a second to go to the main menu screen. It takes half a second and no more, and it works the first time, every time. Let's move on to using the meter for measurements. The Pro1 Plus really outperforms the ST5S in this regard: more features, better accuracy and, in my experience, better circuitry. testing. I will mention some notable features, but if you want to know more about all the features, you can go to their website and check them out. What I have found useful is a very low test voltage for testing circuits. The Pro1 Plus drops to 0.2V and the minimum voltage of the ST5S is 0.45V. Another thing I liked was that the Pro1 Plus went to 100kHz bandwidth for the test frequency while the ST5S only went up to 10kHz goes. Also, I thought it was nice that LCR Research ran a self-calibration test to keep it accurate for the conditions you're in. Another notable feature of the Pro1 Plus is that they have very small precision tips. I know Smart Tweezers makes a line of "precision nibs" but they cost an additional $60 and the ST5S comes with standard nibs. I didn't see much difference between the two when it came to measuring circuit components as shown in the picture and tested with my Fluke 87v. Where I noticed the big difference is in the chain. If you look at my photos (sorry I tried to put them in order but it didn't let me or I don't know how) you can see that I'm measuring the same resistance with each pair and the ST5S continues resistors like read hats. Of course there are caps with these resistors, but that's still not the component I'm measuring. I should note that they were both in automatic mode when I tested them. This happened several times. There were times when the ST5S recognized the right component, but the ratio was really bad. Another feature of the Pro1 Plus that the ST5S lacks is the LED test. I tested it as you can see in my photos and it lights up with an LED and displays Vf and If. ST5S put into diode mode just tested as "Short". If you want to learn more about the many features of the Pro1 Plus then visit the website as I don't feel like just listing them again here. Another experience that motivated my purchase. The solution was that I emailed the LCR Research sales team and asked them a few questions about the Pro1 Plus. A gentleman named Chris called me back very quickly and answered all my questions and then some. He also assured me that if I had any issues with the Pro1 Plus I could contact him and that he would respond just as promptly. Also buy PC Link which is sold separately and comes with free software and it sounds really cool and I can't wait to try it. Unfortunately, their program does not work under Windows XP. Only works on Windows 7 and later. I guess it's about time my labor paid off for a new computer, right? In any case, I think the Pro1 Plus is better in every respect, right down to the case design. This company is new so I don't think they have a good reputation but if they keep going like this they will soon dominate the market for these tools. It's sad to say I can't find anything on the ST5S that I like more than the Pro1 Plus, but that's the way it is. I sent my ST5S back for a refund this morning. I'll try to update this when I get a chance to use the PC Link software features and let you know how I like it. I hope this helps someone make a decision they've been toying with for a while.