Multi meters cables & options - Market News

[Kiriakos-GR]

Subject : Product information

I do not aware why any BNC to Banana , male of female adapter looks to be as overpriced ..
Like to be someone, who likes to take an revenge , up to any one who likes to share gear of oscilloscopes,
with digital multimeters and the reverse.

Called also as BNC to banana , or speaker adapter..
I just hope speaker bananas  to have the same dimensions as  banana to banana ..with DMM's
Or else I will use it just as decoration in Christmas    

If not , it will be an useful add on , specially if your DMM has an frequency counter, and you like to ad one set of leads with a coaxial cable on it.    

[Kiriakos-GR]

Subject : Product information

We all have multimeters - all sort of testers -mini flash lights , with all sort of battery types.

Yes but with devices with multiple batteries, some times, not all of the batteries worth to be trashed ..
Some do have some energy left ... but how to tell witch one..
The measurement just with one multimeter could not tell the truth ..

The German Ansmann found the solution, a bit expensive but an truly well made solution.
One digital tester with load ... plus self test function (Internal battery diagnostic )  

Officially called as " Energy Check LCD " ..  got it with some skepticism,
now I know that it is invaluable.
Saves cash to me, thats what it does ..

The pictures are taken with single hand, so the quality varies.  

1) Self test..
2) Every battery test lasts an specific time of three seconds,
controlled by the device.
  


  

[Kiriakos-GR]

Subject : Product C o m p a r i s o n  

Advertisers do their job, and me, as an average troubleshooter in electronics, do my ..

And my job are to invest on fine grade materials, so to be able to offer the most accurate services ,
that will help me to maintain my " Good name " as troubleshooter.  

So I got the over-hipped  Premium Fluke leads, in order to have them as " main " test leads,
and "safe keep" the standard ones, as spare set.

By the use of the Fluke 87-5 (V)  in the high Resolution Ohm scale found that the Premium leads,
does not look that "Premium"  in Praxis ...  

True deferences can be found only at the feeling in your hand.
As the TL-71 have one rubberize feeling , that makes the hands very hard to slip on them,
no matter the point that you are holding them..

The Standard TL-71 , haves also this  rubberize feeling in 50% less degree .

And possibly any imitation, will be 100% plastic , so forget the rubberize feeling ..

The Chinese CHI-SHING  modular probes ( Page 1)  are made of good quality plastic.
But not rubberize feeling too.

I can only imagine , that the no name probes, would have even less quality, in their plastic .
And I assume this, because the  Chinese CHI-SHING , have one retail price of  3 EUR its one....  

Round No 2
Fluke VS Fluke  ... Cables quality ...  
The same "extra rubberize feeling" ... its on the cables insulation too,
I do not know who will found pleasurable this upcome , they are more soft than the standard ,
In one degree , that I would personally called it  "as unwanted soft feeling" for normal climate conditions.

If  divide the planet in three major climate conditions and name them by countries names.
Like  Mexico=( Hot )   USA=( Medium)  Canada=( Cold )
The Mexico will never buy the Premium cables ..  
The USA will feel the TL-75 sufficient .
The Canada will probably find the TL-71 as more usable.

Round No 3
The TL-71 called as special cables for measuring mV ..  If they are how they do it ??
Their resistance look alike with the standard ones ...  

The only thing that stops me from screaming about the fake specs ,
are that the price deference of the two, are very small ..
For 4-5 EUR extra you buy the  "extra rubberize feeling" .

But nothing more ..

Round No 4
Lets see now the performance  of Japanese cables with the Chinese CHI-SHING  modular probes..
I will describe it as " Kick under the belt "  

After taking the pictures !!!
I had double check all the measurements , with extreme pressure on the probes .. so to get the best of them...
TL-75 Standard  = 0.15 Ohm
TL-71 Premium  = 0.14 Ohm
Gunston cables +  CHI-SHING = 0.12-0.13 Ohm    !!!

 

  


 
      

[Kiriakos-GR]

Round No 5

Cables length ... I know that my messages are read by knowledgeable people ,
so the resistance of the wires VS length , it will presented too.

Gunston cables +  CHI-SHING  = 13 Cm sorter Than the Premium ones
TL-75 Standard  =  3 Cm  sorter Than the Premium ones

[alm]

When I read about the resistance, I thought that you either were doing something very wrong or had the wrong units, but indeed, the display shows about 0.15 ohm, which sounds reasonable. Not sure what you mean about cable flexibility versus ambient temperature, the extra flexible cables are silicone. The flexibility of silicone hardly changes at either low or high temperatures (certainly any temperature that human's can comfortably survive), so they would be just as flexible in Canada as in Mexico.

I've always wondered what they meant about recommended for mV (wasn't it uV?) measurements. The only thing I can think of is that they did something to the plating to minimize thermal EMF.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Explanation message :

1) The true silicone it will remain soft no matter what, but the cable insulation are an mixture.

2) The " Standard " version TL-75 , it will had one more soft feeling, in hot climates than the cold ones.

3) The measurement of millivolts , demands the most low in resistance cable leads.
Every extra Ohm on the cable leads, it will lower the voltage value by allot.

Thats my understanding ... at list . 

   
 

 

[Kiriakos-GR]

Additional Explanation message :

Millivolt and Microvolts  

The 97% of the people dealing with electronics in praxis, they have no clue about Microvolts,
and I am one of them ..

So I had to look school books , so to fresh up my memory about this value .

1V = 1000 millivolts  
1mV = 1000  uV   ( or in my Greek keyboard  ?icro Volt )  Lets hope that you can see the Greek m ..  

From theory to praxis ,
the Fluke 87-5(V) , has as lower volt scale  the 0-600 millivolts.  
With 0.1 millivolt resolution = 100 microvolts.

Personally if I see one measurement of  001.20 Millivolt (0-600 high resolution)
I will describe it  as  " one point two millivolts "
But if you like to describe it as microvolts you should call it as 1200 microvolts !!  

The people who does not own an instrument with so low voltage scales ,
they have no reason to bother about microvolts ..

And some pictures of the scales in praxis, that I love that much ..    
 
The Fluke 87 looks that at the High resolution it does as 0.01 millivolt resolution = 10 microvolts.

If I have to make one conclusion... it will be that the 87V  needs another one digit ,
so to be able to measure  1 microvolt .  

Now just stop and think , what are the resolution of your DMM , smile , and forget what you have read from my words.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Subject : Professional AC/DC Clamp for DMM & oscilloscope  

There is no many options available.

But I got the best one for my needs,  AC/DC Rms  nominal 0.40-40-400A  
True specs  0.10-40A-400A  

I am planing one mini review , of this amazing clamp , and I will add the link soon.
Some pictures just for you ..  

Edit : Link  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=660.0


 

[Kiriakos-GR]

And another two ..  

[NiHaoMike]

Subject : buying tip

LCD protectors .. 
We have all starting to use them on mobile phones , PDA's , digital cameras , etc etc .
Why not on your multimeter LCD ?

Very few, they do what they say, as specs.
Especially of about be resistant to scratches.

So I will just suggest few tips :
1) Select from the ones that are suggested for digital cameras.
2) Do not select anything that is suggested for devices with soft tough screen.
3) Buy many ... the installation its the hard part..
( even the smallest grain of dust it will cause an air bubble , and you have to damp the protector, and try another one , by cleaning again the surface)

I got from ebay  two deferent brands, by just looking product specs - feedback of happy customers- and at the end , that I had spotted the worthy product, started looking for sellers with the lowest prices.

So I can now tell, that the ones made by Pisen  and by 3MP ,
are made with good standards, and qualify as protectors.

If you find equally good products from other brands , just post the link. 

For small screens (at least one side less than 1.8"), very cheap screen protectors can be made from clear tape. I use "HD Clear" tape for my iPod and multimeters.

[Kiriakos-GR]

For small screens (at least one side less than 1.8"), very cheap screen protectors can be made from clear tape. I use "HD Clear" tape for my iPod and multimeters.

I had use too clear tape and clear thin plastic , in between display screen and clear tape .
The clear tape alone , it does not protect that good.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Well by adding three more bench-top DMM in my collection , I sudden got in the need for more test leads..
The meters came used with out any.

So I got in the known deli-ma  , quality or three simple extra pairs of leads , so to be just satisfied .  

And I select to go for quality , but by getting something from Amprobe.
So to be able to do and some direct comparison, with the many Fluke and other leads , that I do own ..

So here it is ...   probably the classic Amprobe  leads set , with those crocks , that I had start to like  allot.
I have also the Fluke crocks , so another comparison will be made after the leads.

One week of patience , and the truth about their quality will shine too ..  


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[Kiriakos-GR]

Nice cables , truly good quality , comparable with the TL-71 .

Great set , with one little " catch " , the leads tip , are just a bit wider than 2mm ,
and the crocks are compatible with those leads , but totally incompatible with any other test leads !! Fluke or not ..   

[Kiriakos-GR]

Subject : Market News ..

The famous Hirschmann handed over its Business Segment " Test & Measurement "
to SKS Kontakttechnik GmbH

More reading here ...  
http://hus.hirschmann.com/Espanol/Test-and-Measurement/index.phtml


And the Home page ...  http://www.sks-kontakttechnik.eu/

[Kiriakos-GR]

Before two days I got down to the capital Athens, and visited the most large retail business about electronic parts, an true paradise for every repairman ..

Got lots of heat-shrink tubes and other stuff,  and found also cable for multimeter leads , just cable..
Got about 4 meters of its color , in the price of 0.42 EUR    

I had some second thoughts about the inner resistance as it had no brand on it..

But I am writing this lines because after measuring it , I have end up speechless ..

Four meters of cable just 00.15 Ohm , just unbelievable !!
This cable has an inner white tube and the external silicone body.
If you ever need such cable you can possibly identify it by my description.
The copper in it looks very shiny , the close up picture its a crop of the original .


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[david77]

Re: Hirschmann

Yes, sadly they have been split up some years ago. But at leat their fabulous products are still available.

I have always preferred to make my test leads myself and I'm very fond of using 4mm bananas.
Here's a photo of my most used probes and plugs. All is made by Hirschmann, except the small
blank croc on the left, but even those are quite usefull. The probe in the middle is my absolute
favourite, they are very sharp and slim. They are also available for use with 4mm safety plugs.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Re: Hirschmann

Ahhh  the search about Hirschmann bananas was top in my shopping  list ,
but I did not find any even in this major shop in Athens ..

Instead I got this ( pictured below ) , called as Italian product .. still unmarked,
for  1.25 EUR per banana ...  they do have an very tight fit , thanks God ..

I found Hirschmann bananas like this ( pictured below ) with the soft boot ( like the called Italians) ,
but those ebay German sellers had an overkill shipping ..

Even so I have not take it out of my mind so to get  6+6 ( red black) if I ever find an normal pricing.



  

[david77]

The Hirschmann bananas like the red one in my pic (Type: BÜLA20K) are usually around 1,00 Euro a piece
and the ones like the blue one (Type: BSB20K) usually about 1,50 EUR.
There are many cheap chinese knock-offs on the market, the funny thing is they're usually not much
cheaper, so I stick to the original.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Thanks for the info .. 

All that I need are the BULA20K  6+6 ..



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[Kiriakos-GR]

News : Product update


Well it looks that FLUKE upgraded the  Fluke TPAK Meter Hanging Kit, for third time ... in a year !!

Found the picture of an DMM considered as "Automotive " , still the TPAK Meter Hanging looks to have an additional hole on it ( hang it from nails ) .

Cars does not have nails yet ...   
And So my noose tells me , that this will become an new standard .

http://www.fluke.com/Fluke/usen/Digital-Multimeters/Fluke-233-A-Remote-Display-Automotive-Digital-Multimeter-Kit.htm?PID=69170 

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/usen/digital-multimeters/fluke-88v-kit.htm?PID=56149

Technically , it looks to have an less flexible body , that probably helps for single hand attach detach operations.


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[Kiriakos-GR]

Market News

Danaher to Acquire Keithley Instruments

Washington, D.C. and Solon, OH, September 29, 2010 - Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) and Keithley Instruments, Inc. (NYSE: KEI) announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Danaher will acquire all of the outstanding Common Shares and Class B Common Shares of Keithley at a purchase price of $21.60 per share in cash for an enterprise value of approximately $300 million net of cash to be assumed. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the Keithley Board of Directors.

More -->

http://www.danaher.com/news/news_detail.asp?key=386


Comments here :  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=1437.0

[qno]

So with intrest rates down to 0.0% it is easy to buy another company.
Danaher bought Tektronix and Fluke already. Now with aquiring Keithley they have 60% of the market.
You will see in the near future relabeled Fluke meters sold as Keithley and source measure units from Fluke.

Just like the the Fluke and Tektronix bench multimeters. They look the same only a small software change.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Personally I am expecting that the same " Join forces scenario will happen and in the east " ,
and the market will balance for one more time.  

[Kiriakos-GR]

Update : Nagging this time ..

Well one page back I had inform about the female BNC to dual banana adapter.
Well the cheap that I got , has lots of issues at the BNC center contact spot.
Its too soft and it does bad contact with the BNC male, and causes stress to me at every use.

And so I decided to get an " better " one and try it.
And so I had just order the Pomona 1269 .

From my current search it looks that also Fluke have the same Pomona 1269 on sale,
labeled as BP800.

( I found two used Pomona 1269 on ebay "Canada" on a good price ",
I will say more as soon I will test them)

But what I can say honestly are :   stay away of the cheap Chinese version.
Its totally troublesome.  

Pictures.

 
 

[Kiriakos-GR]

Market - News

Texas Instruments to Acquire National Semiconductor April 5, 2011

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3054.0