C Meter click is first of a series of click boards meant to be used as tools. This one is for measuring the value of capacitors.
C Meter click is based on a NE-555 precision timer IC. A popular chip that has been in continuous use for decades. We wrote more about it in the post about Pulse click.
On C Meter, the NE-555 is employed as an astable multivibrator with swappable capacitors. The board has four 5 slots for placing capacitors (four sizes for SMD caps and one socket for thru-hole). Any capacitor you place will impact the frequency of the square wave that NE-555 outputs through the interrupt pin.
Since there's a colleration between the value of the capacitor and the outputted frequency, you can use a simple algorithm to determine the exact value of the capacitor you are testing. After you're done, remove (unsolder) the capacitor you tested and reuse C Meter click the next time you need it.
This is a novel concept, a click board that substitutes much more costly capacitance measuring equipment. Similar clicks that can be used as tools are coming up.
Libstock example is up. The schematics is on the Docs page. Details on the product page.
Sincerely Yours,
MikroElektronika