Ideal-Tek Smart Tweezers ST-5S

Smart Tweezers™ - a valuable tool for greatly simplifying PCB testing and troubleshooting. Resistance, capacitance and inductance can be measured – auto-selected and auto-ranged.

Smart Tweezers™ is a new type of handheld LCR meter. It provides an ideal solution for quickly testing and identifying surface mount devices, as well as for troubleshooting complex electronic PCBs. Its unique mechanical and electronic design combines a pair of precise gold-plated tweezers and a digital LCR meter in compact, lightweight, battery powered instrument. The probe measures resistance, capacitance, and inductance to a high accuracy and automatically identifies component type.

Surface mount devices are very small and have no wire leads, making it more difficult to test and identify SMDs than conventional components. Smart Tweezers™ gives users an easy way to sort loose components and to perform on-board measurements and board repair. Precise tips produced by IDEAL-TEK S.A., Switzerland reliably contact even the smallest SMD components and take measurements from board-mounted devices. Smart Tweezers™ can also be used to test conventional components with wire leads that are too short to insert into conventional test terminals.

Smart Tweezers™ eliminate unnecessary trial and error due to the automatic component identification function. Smart Tweezers™ automatically detects L, C, or R with parallel and series mode and selects the correct measurement range and test frequency for high accuracy measurements. The unit displays component type and more detailed component analysis such as Z and ESR.

The integrated, insulated measurement head allows the operator to use a single left or right hand and be able focus attention on the component testing tasks. 4-wire shielded Smart Tweezers™ handles assure low capacitance and resistance offset during measurements.  Sorting, testing and troubleshooting now become more efficient and cost effective with Smart Tweezers™! 

The ST-5S is for built for professional engineers since it comes with an NIST-traceable calibration certificate. The ST-5S allows users to change the test signal (with 0.5 and 1.0 Vrms), as well as variable tolerances of 1%, 5%, 10%, and 20%. This device also does continuity and diode testing, and shows active and reactive impedance components on the display.   One of the features that saves time for users is that a semi-automatic offset subtraction feature automatically removes parasitic readings after set-up. The ST-5S is controlled by a joystick-like navigation; pushing the button directionally will change the test mode, test signal, etc., while pressing the joystick directly opens a menu to allow more customized measurements and features such as changing the screen orientation.