Good sharp fine tip multimeter probes with very flexible leads

[rfmerrill]

I've been a pretty big fan of these probes: https://www.amazon.com/Pomona-Test-Lead-Precision-Probe/dp/B003UZJ3EQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

But my coworker doesn't like them and they have a good point in that they don't seem to consistently make good contact. When you are measuring resistance the resistance sometimes jumps above the value for a bit. Have noticed this with several sets of the same probes and it is quite disappointing considering the brand and the price.

My coworker bought a set of much bigger probes which also have sharp tips but I have a few things I dislike about those: The tips bend easily, the shrouds make them too big to fit in the probe holders on the back of the meter, and the cable is a bit more cumbersome (it's a more typical probe lead).

I'm mostly wondering if I'm missing something or doing something really wrong that I'm getting unreliable resistance readings from these probes or if there are better ones I can buy.

[bob91343]

Most unreliable resistance measurements are caused by corrosion.  The plating on the tip may be poorly done and rust or other oxide corrupts the surface.  Possibly the tips are just dirty.

You can't make good measurements below a few Ohms with most meters due to variability in contact resistance and probe lead resistance.  A better way is to cobble up a 4-wire ohmmeter, which I have done.  It uses a wall wart and one little 3 terminal IC and maybe two resistors.  You use any test leads you like with no problems, but of course now it's four leads not two.  I made them up from some old shielded audio cable and a couple of alligator clips.  So the shield is one lead and center is the other, two of them.  You use any DVM to get the reading.

Some DVMs come with decent probes.  The old VOMs used simple probes, easy to use and repair.

[voltsandjolts]

The Pomona 6275, 6341, 6342 are notorious for dodgy connection straight out of the box, just search the forum.

e.g.

Pretty sure I wrote flame email to Pomona because of the aluminum tube in the Pomona 6341,6342,6275 series. Awful connection for ohmmeter measurements. No mention of aluminum in their datasheet either 
and $71 CAD at Digikey. OUCH

It is such a shame because the shape and form of the probes are perfect for me.
I have a few pairs but I can't trust them.
I even tried soldering the tips in place on one pair but it didn't help, the bad connection is internal.

I wrote to them and their reply was simply 'speak to distributor' they didn't care they have a big design flaw. 

Maybe if Dave demonstrated it in a 'probe shootout video' it would embarrass them into doing something about it!

[Electro Detective]

When it comes to multimeter probes not doing their job, and or making more work for the user whilst trying to do work, 

it's up to the user to ensure the multimeter sockets and leads are tarnish and gunk free,

and proper mechanical tension so that the lead plugs are mating properly with the meter.

Probe tips need to be clean, in any manner that works for the user, to ensure close to zero (0.2  ?) resistance.


Give me a nice lead set, or cheapo bin jobs to sort out, and they will perform the way I expect.

FWIW: what you are probing may have layers of crap on it, don't just toss the blame at the sharp/blunt/dirty probes.

The multimeter manufacturers supply a warranty, not a maintenance plan to keep the meter and leads working Day One.

That's the users job,
or buy a new meter every six months, which is no problem for corporats,
but no good for urban battlers 
 

[voltsandjolts]

Clean them all you like, these Pomona probes are dodgy before you even open the packaging.

[Electro Detective]

Does ThreeHungLow produce them nowadays ? 

[voltsandjolts]

Hah, yeh!
Alledgedly they are made by Ponoma a.k.a Fluke a.k.a Danaher but who knows these days, maybe they are just a rebrand of ThreeHungLow.
For the price, they should be much better.

[Fraser]

I purchased Probemaster fine spring loaded tip probes through Simon on this forum and have not looked back. They are excellent quality and the spring loaded tips are perfect for keeping the tip where you want it, there are ‘solid’ tips included as well.

https://probemaster.com/dmm-multimeter-test-leads/

My probe set.....

https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/

They are the best test leads that I have used.

I have a set of the Pomona 6341 fine tipped probes and whilst they work for me, they do appear fragile. I treat them with great care !

Fraser

[Hydron]

Can confirm everything (other than the alleged internal aluminium tube, I didn't know _why_ they were so bad until now) about the Pomona ones, from multiple sets - iffy contact straight out of the box. Basically unusable for accurate resistance measurement under a few kohms, though you'd normally get away with voltage measurements, which is what I generally restrict mine to. It's a real shame, as they are a great form factor for poking around a dense PCB.

[Electro Detective]

I've got all manner of multimeter leads, from stiff cheapos, progressing up to the standard Fluke, Brymen, Appa leads, no-name/weird name  silicone knockoffs,
the $20 Jaycar silicone types (not bad at all )
and the overpriced Fluke flagship set with the retractable tip cover thingies   (half price sale = couldn't resist  ) 

Cleaned, lubed and tensioned properly, they ALL pretty much perform identically when touched and slid along a bar of clean stainless steel or copper tube etc.

Where they differ is in the handling and entanglements, not still/moving about meter reading changes,
and how well they dig in to dirty contacts and stay 'dug'

FWIW if you use/abuse even the best sharp probes, thy will get just as blunt or ball up over time as the cheaper prods,
and might give you even worse readings in that sorry state, than the less used 'tangled ball of spaghetti' cheapies chucked in the corner 

Once a decent set of probes lose their stabbing power, rather than toss or re-purpose them, I wack on a magnifier and fine file and re-shape them back to usability,
especially after an oopsie zap has obliterated and blackened the tip end    
and keep a watch the filed tips don't tarnish/corrode and blunt a lot quicker once you go down that filing path

i.e. we can bang heads and slag products, but the reality is blunt and corrosion/tarnish that's hard to see, will always shaft any cheap or top spec multimeter, especially on low level readings.

What we really need is either replaceable tips (but not at FlooQ price markup hell  )

or better still, slip on tips with various shapes etc to better suit the prodding at hand

[0culus]

https://probemaster.com/


No, I'm not affiliated with them. Yes, I own two pair of their retractable shield DMM leads to use with old voltmeters that don't support shrouds. Very nice stuff, will be buying more. 

[rfmerrill]

I'm talking to Pomona's product manager and their side of the story seems to be that some contact issues are expected due to the stainless steel probe tips (I'm guessing the advantage there is hardness, they're designed to be pressed hard against whatever you're measuring) but some of the ones they've shipped in the past (which fits the timeline for the other two pairs I've bought) had plating defects. So if you buy one now and it has a recent manfuacturing date you might get a bit better performance.

Unfortunately the only non-stainless tips they offer are all spring-loaded, which is useful sometimes but not always :/

BTW I bought those probemaster probes and one gripe I have is that the spring-loaded tips actually fully retract into the probe housing. You can pull them out slightly but then they'll slide back in if you apply enough pressure.

I'm guessing when it comes to really fine probes it's always going to be a tradeoff between good contact and durability.

[voltsandjolts]

I'm talking to Pomona's product manager and their side of the story seems to be that some contact issues are expected due to the stainless steel probe tips

That's just their way of telling us "you're not using them right, press harder".
I say BS.
The probes are intermittant with solid tips, sprung tips, gold plated or stainless.
If Pomona have a big stock of these and won't admit a problem - then shame on them.
If they are still making these in production, for goodness sake stop and fix 'em.

[2N3055]

I'm talking to Pomona's product manager and their side of the story seems to be that some contact issues are expected due to the stainless steel probe tips (I'm guessing the advantage there is hardness, they're designed to be pressed hard against whatever you're measuring) but some of the ones they've shipped in the past (which fits the timeline for the other two pairs I've bought) had plating defects. So if you buy one now and it has a recent manfuacturing date you might get a bit better performance.

Unfortunately the only non-stainless tips they offer are all spring-loaded, which is useful sometimes but not always :/

BTW I bought those probemaster probes and one gripe I have is that the spring-loaded tips actually fully retract into the probe housing. You can pull them out slightly but then they'll slide back in if you apply enough pressure.

I'm guessing when it comes to really fine probes it's always going to be a tradeoff between good contact and durability.

That is bull.
Bad contact is somewhere between cable, crimped aluminum tube on copper cable, or between aluminium tube and tips (just a snug fit).

But for voltage measurements they are good enough. I really hate TOO soft and TOO thin cables, that are TOO flexible and keep on getting in the way, getting in the   DUT, getting caught on components. They would be better if they were a bit thicker and stiffer, so they fall nicely in a nice radius behind my hand. The way they are now, they behave like a wet thread... It's annoying.
I actually use modular cables with sharp tips lately, not those little Pomona ones. Which is a shame because handle size is nice for fine stuff..

[nukie]

The product manager probably never even handled the probes before. It's such a tight fit how can it cause connection issue. If so then all the pogo pins test jigs in this world will be full of problems. These crooks are FULL OF LIES.

My sex on stick probes as with many on this forum comes with STD. I would guess that there is a manufacturing defect where the wire joins the pin sockets. I tested my negative probe it was perfect. My positive probe not so happy. The resistance would jump up and down whenever the cable was tugged. The only solution is so solder the cable directly to the pin socket but the material used for moulding the handle does not tolerate soldering temperature.

Anyway the Pomona 6341 / Fluke TL910 is garbage don't buy it. The probe masters seems to be a better product.

[Fraser]

I am sat here reading the latest posts on these Pomona probes and a thought popped into my head. If someone is willing to risk their probes and also owns a thermal camera.... they could connect the probe and its associated cable across a constant current lab PSU and pass a decent current through the assembly whilst watching it with the thermal camera. The area of poorest conduction or contact should become very clear in the thermal image if the camera and current level is setup correctly.

A risky action would be to ‘flash’ the Probe assembly with a high current pulse to see if an arc/spot weld can be formed at the point of highest resistance. Worth a go if the probes are of no use if not fixed.

Fraser

[nukie]

According to this users post https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/pomona-test-leads-repeated-failure/msg1535624/#msg1535624 another post related to Pomona probe cable failure...

So there is a brass barrel in the probe handle. This brass barrel should not twist or move inside the handle as it is molded over quite tightly and stickly.  The connection between the stainless tip socket and the brass body is very robust. The only suspect is the wire. Hey so called Product Manager at Pomona I just did your job for you!! Now your next step is to rectify the problem!

The Fluke TL910 test leads are not much better, the wire keeps breaking "inside" the probe ! After the second set of probes failed I hacked one apart. Inside the probe body there is a brass barrel to hold the replacable probe tips and the wire is soldered onto the end of the barrel and that is where it fails. If fluke had used a bit of common sense and crimped the wire they might have been decent probes.

here's another member's fix
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/finest-possible-multimeter-test-leads/msg720753/#msg720753

Looking at this Xray image... https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/smt-probes-comparison-probe-master-8151-vs-pomona-6341-tl910-inc-x-ray-images/msg1017621/#msg1017621

And this genius did a half cut dissection sacrifice his cable for everyone here! Thank You!
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/smt-probes-comparison-probe-master-8151-vs-pomona-6341-tl910-inc-x-ray-images/msg1030927/#msg1030927

I did a big tug and twist on the poor wire and it did fixed the problem but I am not confident with reliability. Im tempted to drill a hole near the end of the internal brass tube where the solder joint is. Redo the joint and fill the hole with silicon for future maintenance  .

Anyway post like these are great warning to stay away from the Pomona 6341 / Fluke TL910 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-tl-910-test-leads-poor-quality/msg327873/

[voltsandjolts]

Yeh, I chopped one in half also:



The wire crimp at the top of the internal brass tube seems fine.
But the other end of the brass tube is crimped to an aluminium tube....who thought that was a good idea? The accountant?
The replaceable tips then slide into the alloy tube...also a bad idea.

With some keyhole surgery it might be possible to put some solder on the brass/alloy crimped joint but otherwise bypass wires are the only way.

Pomona:

[rfmerrill]

So the replacement sets arrived and they were nice enough to throw in a full tip set with each one.

I can confirm I find basically no issue with the springloaded gold tips. Basically perfect resistance reading every time, so far at least. I actually kind of prefer them to the probemaster probes, but they're about equivalent so I don't mind either.

When I was comparing the several-year-old pomona pair to the brand new ones I did notice that the old ones seemed to have a much looser fit on the tips, and they're all a *lot* looser than the probemaster ones (which are tight all the way, whereas the pomona tips are loose until they're most of the way in).

They did also throw in a sample of the 7619a test probes which I do rather like although they are a very different type of product to these.

The Mueller probes my coworker bought a while back appear to be these, but I can't find where to buy them: https://www.muellerelectric.com/products/BU-2741-R-36-2

[Brutte]

When you are measuring resistance the resistance sometimes jumps above the value for a bit.

I think measuring 2-lead resistance with 1000V 10A probes indicates the problem itself.
You want one set of convenient probes for 100nA to 10A and 10uV to 1kV? That is a really niche market, but I can imagine a trip to Mars when I can take one set only, I'd probably pick this Pomona. However, on Earth...

For <100mA currents and <50V voltages I use 2x1m long stranded AWG28 (stripped from USB cable) with brass 4mm banana plug at one end and crimped stainless steel needle at the other end. If you cannot punch through the oxide with stainless insuline needle then there is no hope for that circuit.

[eKretz]

I have a set of these and mostly ignored them because of the high and seemingly variable resistance. Then one day I started trying to figure out where the problem was. I held the tips in contact while connected to my meter in resistance mode. Started flexing and wiggling the cables looking for possible variability that might indicate a break in the wires. Very slight changes in resistance, nothing significant.

Then I flexed the body of the probes up near where the wire exits. Instant change for the better! I then took both probes and sort of rotated/twisted them while flexing that end again. Afterward, indicated resistance was under 0.1 ohm, and stayed there. I would say there's some corrosion going on somewhere internal to the probe handle/grip area. Now, every time I use them I do that flexing while rotating thing just before use by force of habit and no more problems.

[2N3055]

I have a set of these and mostly ignored them because of the high and seemingly variable resistance. Then one day I started trying to figure out where the problem was. I held the tips in contact while connected to my meter in resistance mode. Started flexing and wiggling the cables looking for possible variability that might indicate a break in the wires. Very slight changes in resistance, nothing significant.

Then I flexed the body of the probes up near where the wire exits. Instant change for the better! I then took both probes and sort of rotated/twisted them while flexing that end again. Afterward, indicated resistance was under 0.1 ohm, and stayed there. I would say there's some corrosion going on somewhere internal to the probe handle/grip area. Now, every time I use them I do that flexing while rotating thing just before use by force of habit and no more problems.

Problem is that probe tips are sitting inside aluminium tube.. Aluminium oxide is fabulous insulator. By twisting and wiggling probes and reinserting tips you scrape surface oxides and it gets better. After some time it gets worse. And so on...

Probes have nice form factor for small stuff. They only had to do one thing, tosses, to extend brass tube that they crimped cable to all the way to the tip...
Also, I find cables TOO soft and too thin, they are like wet thread, getting in the way...

[eKretz]

I have a set of these and mostly ignored them because of the high and seemingly variable resistance. Then one day I started trying to figure out where the problem was. I held the tips in contact while connected to my meter in resistance mode. Started flexing and wiggling the cables looking for possible variability that might indicate a break in the wires. Very slight changes in resistance, nothing significant.

Then I flexed the body of the probes up near where the wire exits. Instant change for the better! I then took both probes and sort of rotated/twisted them while flexing that end again. Afterward, indicated resistance was under 0.1 ohm, and stayed there. I would say there's some corrosion going on somewhere internal to the probe handle/grip area. Now, every time I use them I do that flexing while rotating thing just before use by force of habit and no more problems.

Problem is that probe tips are sitting inside aluminium tube.. Aluminium oxide is fabulous insulator. By twisting and wiggling probes and reinserting tips you scrape surface oxides and it gets better. After some time it gets worse. And so on...

Probes have nice form factor for small stuff. They only had to do one thing, tosses, to extend brass tube that they crimped cable to all the way to the tip...
Also, I find cables TOO soft and too thin, they are like wet thread, getting in the way...

Nope - at least in my case - it is on the other end of the probe that I did the twisting and flexing - where the wire exits. I too assumed it was the area that the tips went in that was causing the high/varied resistance issues and even went so far as to clean and DeOxit those. That didn't help.

[nukie]

I think the other end is stainless tubing, at least for my set. I dont see it as aluminium because it's particularly soft and its easily damaged when small force is applied especially with such thin tubing.

My probes issue was fixed by tugging and twisting the wires near the end of the handle. The crimp connection near the wire is the problem. Probe Masters are soldered not crimp. So its much better solution.

[2N3055]

I think the other end is stainless tubing, at least for my set. I dont see it as aluminium because it's particularly soft and its easily damaged when small force is applied especially with such thin tubing.

My probes issue was fixed by tugging and twisting the wires near the end of the handle. The crimp connection near the wire is the problem. Probe Masters are soldered not crimp. So its much better solution.

It is aluminium and a very soft one. You can shave it with a blade like a butter..

[FreddieChopin]

I think the other end is stainless tubing, at least for my set. I dont see it as aluminium because it's particularly soft and its easily damaged when small force is applied especially with such thin tubing.

My probes issue was fixed by tugging and twisting the wires near the end of the handle. The crimp connection near the wire is the problem. Probe Masters are soldered not crimp. So its much better solution.

It is aluminium and a very soft one. You can shave it with a blade like a butter..

You could probably replace it with a sharpened tungsten electrodes used for TIG welding. They are very hard and pretty cheap.

[2N3055]

I think the other end is stainless tubing, at least for my set. I dont see it as aluminium because it's particularly soft and its easily damaged when small force is applied especially with such thin tubing.

My probes issue was fixed by tugging and twisting the wires near the end of the handle. The crimp connection near the wire is the problem. Probe Masters are soldered not crimp. So its much better solution.

It is aluminium and a very soft one. You can shave it with a blade like a butter..

You could probably replace it with a sharpened tungsten electrodes used for TIG welding. They are very hard and pretty cheap.

Not the tips. Tips are pogo pins or SS hard tips. They are very good. It's the tube inside handle that you insert tips into.. That one is made of soft aluminum, that is connected somehow to other piece of brass tube that is crimped on the cable and that whole thing is injection molded around it into plastic handle.

[chris_leyson]

After the third or fourth failure of a pair of Fluke TL910 probes in three or four years I decided to open up the a probe. On high density surface mount boards I was making less than 100 measurements in a week on average. It would appear that the open circuit was somewhere where the cable is crimped to the internal brass tube, I might have been in the cable just behind the crimp. The connection from the brass tube to the probes themselves was OK.

When I first discovered the TL910 probes I splashed out and bought myself a pair and they were not cheap at the time and I think they are £68 from Farnell these days. When they work they are great for high density surface mount debugging but when they fail you are stuffed, what do you use to probe 0402 or 0201 components ? I still have them but rarely use them.

I think Fluke and Pomona need to step up their act and have a design review with a failure analysis.
The probes might get a 5 star review but that is probably when they are brand new and just out of the packet.

To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't got something to do with moisture ingress findind its way to the cable.

Dave did a review a while back and I wonder if they're still working.



Edit: Actually I really like the pogo pin approach to probe tips because you can always buy new pins if the need arises and you have the option of different pin styles for different situations.

If they really cost £68 a pair and you buy one or more pairs of test leads a year then that's equivalent to how many Fluke multimeters ? It's quite a sizable income.

[tooki]

Another vote for probe master here. I have both their fine, spring loaded probes and their regular probes.

Even the regular probes (which are gold plated stainless steel) are extremely sharp, easily able to draw blood, and fine enough for most components. Maybe not 0201, but they work fine for 0402. Without a receiving tube for the pogo pin insert, these probes cannot really fail. (I did have the fine spring loaded ones fail, which they replaced under warranty.)

[ender4171]

I will through my lot in with ProbeMaster as well.  I have a bunch of their DMM and DSO/MSO stuff, but for basic probes, you can't really beat their 8000 series on price or quality.  Their customer services is out of this world as well, should you ever need it!

[moss99]

I purchased Probemaster fine spring loaded tip probes through Simon on this forum and have not looked back. They are excellent quality and the spring loaded tips are perfect for keeping the tip where you want it, there are ‘solid’ tips included as well.

https://probemaster.com/dmm-multimeter-test-leads/

My probe set.....

https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/

They are the best test leads that I have used.

I have a set of the Pomona 6341 fine tipped probes and whilst they work for me, they do appear fragile. I treat them with great care !

Fraser

Are these available in the uk anywhere  ? , the links you added are not currently shipping to uk

[2N3055]

I purchased Probemaster fine spring loaded tip probes through Simon on this forum and have not looked back. They are excellent quality and the spring loaded tips are perfect for keeping the tip where you want it, there are ‘solid’ tips included as well.

https://probemaster.com/dmm-multimeter-test-leads/

My probe set.....

https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/

They are the best test leads that I have used.

I have a set of the Pomona 6341 fine tipped probes and whilst they work for me, they do appear fragile. I treat them with great care !

Fraser

Are these available in the uk anywhere  ? , the links you added are not currently shipping to uk

You can try getting them from Simon:
https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product-category/probemaster/

Also other source I know in EU is Welectron in Germany..

[moss99]

I purchased Probemaster fine spring loaded tip probes through Simon on this forum and have not looked back. They are excellent quality and the spring loaded tips are perfect for keeping the tip where you want it, there are ‘solid’ tips included as well.

https://probemaster.com/dmm-multimeter-test-leads/

My probe set.....

https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/

They are the best test leads that I have used.

I have a set of the Pomona 6341 fine tipped probes and whilst they work for me, they do appear fragile. I treat them with great care !

Fraser

Are these available in the uk anywhere  ? , the links you added are not currently shipping to uk

You can try getting them from Simon:
https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product-category/probemaster/

Also other source I know in EU is Welectron in Germany..

Thanks , i thought those links were for simon ..

[moss99]

  i just got blocked on his site , too many page not found replies for a human !! ,,

[SpecialK]

I must be doing it wrong.  I have a set of Pomona 6275 at work and another set at home.  I love them, and have had no issues.

I'm wondering if this is akin to having a ballpoint pen explode.  I've never had that happen either, but other kids at school would.  I think they would use too much pressure and deform the ball into the socket.

That is to say, I don't generally try to stab what I'm measuring.  Nor do I put sideway pressure on the tips.

[2N3055]

I must be doing it wrong.  I have a set of Pomona 6275 at work and another set at home.  I love them, and have had no issues.

I'm wondering if this is akin to having a ballpoint pen explode.  I've never had that happen either, but other kids at school would.  I think they would use too much pressure and deform the ball into the socket.

That is to say, I don't generally try to stab what I'm measuring.  Nor do I put sideway pressure on the tips.

I never had problems with tips. I'm very gentle with them.Original ones are still needle sharp, and I use very little force. Whole point in pogo pins is that you can make sure you don't use too much force.  Problems are elsewhere: Losing contact from tip to cable (by pulling out pogo pins a bit a pushing them back in it gets better, or twisting the cable), and cables being too damn soft and thin, making them like wet threads that are dropping vertically under their own weight and constantly getting caught on to something on the desk or inside device....

I still have them (I really like form factor of probes) but use pogo pin tipped Probemasters most of the time instead, because they have no problems with contact and cables are much better (they are still nice silicone type just better). Probemasters are bigger in hand and smaller Pomonas would be actually better sometimes, but I can't stand the cables.. They are in the way all the time...

It could be that there are actually production variants, and you have slightly different (maybe fixed) version, or maybe mine had a manufacturing defect and your's didn't.

[Fraser]

Moss99,

I have just been blocked as well after browsing Simons site and not a single “page not found error” yet I was told....

Block Reason:   Exceeded the maximum number of page not found errors per minute for humans.

I have reported the issue to Simon.

Fraser

[Simon]

i just got blocked on his site , too many page not found replies for a human !! ,,

Hi, Fraser has kindly let me know that this was happening. I have wordfence installed due to the well known fragility of wordpress and I do take security seriously. I have relaxed the settings to stop this happening. I don't know why this happens as the error is for bots trying their luck with "known" addresses and hitting no page which is not typical human behavior. If you have any further problems do let me know.

[moss99]

i just got blocked on his site , too many page not found replies for a human !! ,,

Hi, Fraser has kindly let me know that this was happening. I have wordfence installed due to the well known fragility of wordpress and I do take security seriously. I have relaxed the settings to stop this happening. I don't know why this happens as the error is for bots trying their luck with "known" addresses and hitting no page which is not typical human behavior. If you have any further problems do let me know.

 
I searched for the probes fraser put a link to a few posts up , do you have them or could you recommend some good quality fine tip probes that you do have  .
Thanks

[Simon]

i have essentially 2 main types, the ones with small sprung tips and the ones for higher currents with solid tips. Each type has a straight or right angle plug option. The ones with sprung tips can be supplied with a set of alternate tips listed separately on my site. The solid tip probes also come in straight and right angle plug variants but also have accessory kits so there are 4 variants of those for plug orientation and with/without accessories. If you tell me what you are looking for I ran link to them.

[moss99]

Hi , im after the right angled plugs , im not sure whether to go for the sprung tips or solid , i'm not doing high current stuff , phones and computers mainly .

[moss99]

i have essentially 2 main types, the ones with small sprung tips and the ones for higher currents with solid tips. Each type has a straight or right angle plug option. The ones with sprung tips can be supplied with a set of alternate tips listed separately on my site. The solid tip probes also come in straight and right angle plug variants but also have accessory kits so there are 4 variants of those for plug orientation and with/without accessories. If you tell me what you are looking for I ran link to them.

Hi , im after the right angled plugs , im not sure whether to go for the sprung tips or solid , i'm not doing high current stuff , phones and computers mainly .

[Simon]

well the sprung tips are good for small things as you can apply pressure without the tip slipping as the spring buffers the force you apply and they are smaller:

https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8152-spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-leads-only-90-deg/

optional tips: https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8160-alternative-tips-for-8152-8153/

I see that having a section for probes and probemaster is confusing so will make it all probes soon.

[Simon]

The fixed tips cannot be replaced, the sprung ones can as they are more delicate.

[moss99]

well the sprung tips are good for small things as you can apply pressure without the tip slipping as the spring buffers the force you apply and they are smaller:

https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8152-spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-leads-only-90-deg/

optional tips: https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8160-alternative-tips-for-8152-8153/

I see that having a section for probes and probemaster is confusing so will make it all probes soon.

So these : https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8152-spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-leads-only-90-deg/
don't come with the tips , i would have to order the tips separately ?

[Simon]

they do come with tips as shown, there is a separate kit with a second set with other alternatives.

[moss99]

they do come with tips as shown, there is a separate kit with a second set with other alternatives.

Order placed , thanks for your help .

[Simon]

Order picked, will pack and be wandering down to the post office in 1 hour.

[Fraser]

I can highly recommend the spring loaded tips  I work on 0402 components in thermal camera cores and the ‘pogo pin’ type spring loaded tips are superb. You press down on them and they stay in place even if you accidentally lift your hand slightly. Perfect for High density PCB probing. You can also for castellated Point spring loaded tips that apply multiple spikes to a test point for a very secure contact

Fraser

[Simon]

they also don't slip off if you press down more as the spring takes it, unless of course you really hand fisted.

[Fraser]

Simon,

I am just so pleased that you stock these excellent probes in the UK, as getting them from the USA is a pain.

 

Fraser

[Simon]

Yes that is precisely why I thought it would be good to sell them having bought a pair myself that cost as much to deliver as the probes themselves the economics made sense and they are far better than the pomona garbage that I bought before as I could never get new tips.

[Hydron]

Are the probemaster tips a standard pogo pin size?

[2N3055]

Are the probemaster tips a standard pogo pin size?

Yes they are, both Pomona and Probemaster. I did check once, but can't remember what they were, but I remember I found both online...
Probemaster one also use pogo pins that a little larger (despite tips being very fine) so the are more robust..
Unless you evaporate them, they are very robust when used properly, and won't be needing them being replaced very often..

EDIT

[Simon]

there is a standard pogo pin size? I bough some robust sprung pins from RS with a mustroom head for a test jig and the are thicker than the probemaster. Yes they should not need replacing often. I do not use mine full time but in trying to take a current measurement severely damage one probe with inrush current.

[2N3055]

I went and check my notes.
On web site of Fixtest, in their catalog, Pomona uses Fixtest Type 75 , and Probe master uses Type 100.
Those are standard sizes, in catalog you have detailed dimensions...
I have no doubt they could be sourced from many sources.
But....
As I said, you shouldn't need to change them often, and ones from Probemaster are of excellent quality. If I need them replaced I will buy Probemaster spare part, instead of sourcing something of questionable quality (for cheap) or spending time searching for quality replacement that will in the end cost the same.

[Simon]

I see, nice to know. So in making test jigs in the future I should be able to repeatably find pins of the same size elsewhere.

[Hydron]

Thanks Simon and 2N3055

I asked as I have a big stash of Type 100 size pins, and wanted to know if they would work or whether I should order spares with the probes if I buy some.

I don't always like the sprung pins, so probably would de-spring a pair too (should be able to wick a bit of solder into the gap between the sprung and solid parts).

[Simon]

They are gold plated so should stick but I think the pins sink in to the depth of the outer part so if the solder goes down that a bit it will stop the pins going right into the probe. I think one of the variants in the spares set is non sprung.

[Hydron]

They are gold plated so should stick but I think the pins sink in to the depth of the outer part so if the solder goes down that a bit it will stop the pins going right into the probe. I think one of the variants in the spares set is non sprung.

I don't think so going by the description, just seems to be various different pogo tips.

@Simon, I assume you prefer bank transfer for UK orders? (To save the CC/Paypal tax)

[Simon]

Yes bank transfer is nice it goes to a business account and i pay all tax due. if you want to use a card I also have stripe now that is cheaper than paypal.

[tooki]

They are gold plated so should stick but I think the pins sink in to the depth of the outer part so if the solder goes down that a bit it will stop the pins going right into the probe. I think one of the variants in the spares set is non sprung.

I don't think so going by the description, just seems to be various different pogo tips.

@Simon, I assume you prefer bank transfer for UK orders? (To save the CC/Paypal tax)

I own the set. One set of tips are rigid needles. The rest are pogo pins.

[Hydron]

Is this the set?:
https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8160-alternative-tips-for-8152-8153/ (from Simon)
https://www.welectron.com/Probe-Master-8160-Replacement-Tip-Kit (Welectron)
https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/ (with leads)

Doesn't look like any solid tips, all are listed as sprung - have they changed it maybe? Or are you referring to the Pomona ones (which do have solid options in two lengths)?

[tooki]

Is this the set?:
https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8160-alternative-tips-for-8152-8153/ (from Simon)
https://www.welectron.com/Probe-Master-8160-Replacement-Tip-Kit (Welectron)
https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/ (with leads)

Doesn't look like any solid tips, all are listed as sprung - have they changed it maybe? Or are you referring to the Pomona ones (which do have solid options in two lengths)?

The last link, bought directly from Probemaster. Maybe they’ve changed what’s included since I bought mine a couple of years ago. But somehow I vaguely remember the rigid needles being a surprise even at the time.

[2N3055]

Nowadays no rigid tips are offered by probemaster. Only Pomona has it in their set.
But with Probemaster their normal tips are sharp enough to be used for that purpose..

[Simon]

I've not looked at the replacement set in a while.

[moss99]

Got these today :   https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8152-spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-leads-only-90-deg/
didn't realise quite how bad mine were , these are great , definitely recommend them ..

[Simon]

Glad to see royal mail have got their act together.

[Fraser]

I have just ordered another set of these excellent probes from Simon. Not because the originals failed me, but because I like them so much I want a spare set 

Simon.... no hurry on dispatching these. Whenever convenient is fine with me

Fraser

[Simon]

Simon.... no hurry on dispatching these. Whenever convenient is fine with me

You mean like my next trip to the post office in 24 minutes?  It's great this working from home malarky

[Fraser]

 

[Hydron]

Likewise for me, no big rush (bank transfer could take up to a couple hours to clear in theory anyway).

[Simon]

Likewise for me, no big rush (bank transfer could take up to a couple hours to clear in theory anyway).

Yea tomorrow I am afraid but am going in to work so not sure if I'll be back it time before the post pick up but should be.

[Doctorandus_P]

Some years ago I made my own probes, and they are still the best I've ever used.
For Electronics stuff I do not care about CAT rating, but I do not want the 10+cm long pan handles, and neither do I want separate leads.

What I did was:
Take a piece of regular dual conductor PVC wiring, and attached std 4mm Banana buses on one side, and 2mm Hirschman connectors on the other side. Before assembly I drilled axial holes in the Hirschman connectors and soldered the tips of regular sowing needles into them. These needles are very sharp, have good chrome plating and the hardened steel keeps sharp for a long time.

An added advantage of these probes is that you can easily stick them in a breadboard, and they do not have any tendency to fall over because they are so short.

If need arises, you can also stick them through almost any kind of isolation (PVC, Silicone, PCB solder mask, Oxides, etc)

Drilling the holes in the 2mm connectors was a bit finicky (about 0.8mm diameter, 4mm deep) but you only have to do 2 holes. The needles are very cheap, and also replaceable if need arrives, but they're still going strong.

To keep the wiring together, I wound some yarn around it and glued it in place. About 10cm from the Banana connectors and 20cm on the side of the 2mm connectors. The total lengh of the wire is also short enough that the probes never touch the carpet if the probes are hanging over the edge of my desk.

[2N3055]

There is an additional option with modular probes:
https://www.tme.eu/hr/en/details/pj464iec-r/probes-test-plugs/electro-pjp/464-iec-rt/
These are also very nice and have springed tips. Needle sharp.

[Fraser]

My set of probe master needle tipped probes (8152) have arrived 

Great service from Simon, as always 

Chuffed to have a spare set in case of need.

Fraser

[Fraser]

Probe master also do compact probes with needle tips for those who prefer that format. $10 a set.

https://probemaster.com/9189-smd-micro-spring-tip-probe/

Fraser

[Fraser]

Just a quick comment on my latest probe set purchase. I just bought the 8152 set that is just the probe leads with needle tips (spring loaded) and not the 8150 set that I previously purchased that came with alternative tip types.
My mistake but I want to avoid others suffering confusion. The 8150 set is more expensive due to the inclusion of the alternative tip set. It is good that buyers are offered the choice as some may only want the spring loaded needle tips.

8152 set....

https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-leads-only/

8150 set....

https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/

Fraser

[Hydron]

Got mine today, thanks Simon.

I gotta say, I still prefer the ergonomics of the fine tipped Pomona option, as well as the fixed non-pogo option. That said, the probe masters seem like they'll be much kinder on the cable (lack of effective strain relief eventually kills the big Pomona probes without fail) and have consistently low resistance, whereas the pomonas have a poor design leading to bad internal connections and a fairly high (up to maybe 10 ohms) and changing resistance, so can't be relied upon for many measurements.

I found some 3N pogo pins (originals feel to have maybe 1.5-2N force) in my stash which might work well as a compromise between springy pins and fixed, but I also managed to solder a couple into a fixed state for that option too. I think they'll do the trick, especially if I hold the probes on the black/red bit rather than the grey to decrease the point-to-grip distance (this is where the Pomonas shine, they let you hold them nice and close to the tip and are very slim).

[Simon]

They used to have a fixed pair in the spare/alternate tip set but last lot of stock I got the nice plastic vile had been replaced with cheap plastic tubing and the fixed set vanished.

[tooki]

Is this the set?:
https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/8160-alternative-tips-for-8152-8153/ (from Simon)
https://www.welectron.com/Probe-Master-8160-Replacement-Tip-Kit (Welectron)
https://probemaster.com/spring-loaded-micro-tip-test-lead-kit/ (with leads)

Doesn't look like any solid tips, all are listed as sprung - have they changed it maybe? Or are you referring to the Pomona ones (which do have solid options in two lengths)?

The last link, bought directly from Probemaster. Maybe they’ve changed what’s included since I bought mine a couple of years ago. But somehow I vaguely remember the rigid needles being a surprise even at the time.

OK, correction on my part: they used to include the rigid needles, now they don’t (instead, there’s a round end pogo pin).

My probes had been replaced under warranty, and I kept using the original tip set. Didn’t realize the replacement probes came with a different set of tips! I just checked, no rigid needles.

[thom]

Just figured I'd throw an update in this thread for anyone else that might stumble upon it.

I've been using the first set of electrodes for about 3 months now, and they are still needle sharp. I haven't noticed any connectivity issues with the wires on the leads either, and I haven't been treating them any different. I hang the probes by their cables above my head when they are not in use.

I ended up using a small piece of shrink tubing to keep the electrodes in the leads, since they'd sometimes catch when resting them in a test point hole and pull out, which was annoying.

otherwise, I am in love with these probes. the size and shape make them very easy to chopstick, and the consistent needle sharpness of the probes means I never have to guess if an open read is because the probes didn't pierce a piece flux residue.

[jonpaul]

We have Fluke meter probes, expensive but the best.
In 1980s, the German Hirschmann were great.

Some very old probes hd a pin vise tip to accept a phonograph needle!

Jon

PS: We used needle tip probes  inserted into a damaged wall, for a  MetraOhm 500V insulation tester.

It was to check megohms  for leaks and humidity in the walls. The needle tips entered 10 mm and left barely noticed pinholes.

 

[tooki]

We have Fluke meter probes, expensive but the best.

Good, but definitely not the best.

In 1980s, the German Hirschmann were great.

They still are!