Products > Test Equipment
Fault tracing meter with novel displays - Mechanic Sherlock V2.
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Fraser:
I have been using the Sherlock V2.0 today and I must say I find it very convenient. I have the choice of glancing at the display on the probe or the main units large display. When using my Optivisor stereo magnifier I find the probe mounted displays very easy to view whilst probing small SMD components. I also wanted the diode check beep ‘OK’ feature as my Fluke lacks this. The units design has the feel of a skilled technician wanting such a unit, designing it for them-self and then a company buying the rights to manufacture and distribute it. Whilst it is not agricultural in design, it seems “low volume” and almost bespoke test gear. The sort of design I often see on this forum…. Like the “Shorty” short tracing tool  :-+ The name of the product on the PCB’s is also completely different to the name on the Mechanic branding and, to date, this unit has three names associated with it. The one on the PCB’s…. “Super-Prober”, “Spy 2.0”and “Sherlock V2.0”  ;D

I am very happy with the units for the price paid. They are definitely a niche product and clearly a relatively small production run item. The hand soldering of the 2mm socket cables is tragic with heaps of sticky flux around a blob of lead free solder, but I can forgive that and will tidy it up myself.

Do I have any negative comments on the unit ? Well no, not as yet. It does what is claimed of it and works well. The continuity response is slow compared to my Fluke but this is not a big issue for me. As has been stated by Kean, this looks to be due to the processing time and design of the system. Still very useable though.

All in all, a very useful tool that will be ever present on my lab bench.

Fraser
Muttley Snickers:

--- Quote from: Fraser on July 06, 2023, 11:56:37 am ---(snip....)
All in all, a very useful tool that will be ever present on my lab bench.

--- End quote ---
I watched all the video reviews but wondered how well those displays would appear out in broad daylight?  just in case you needed to check a fuse or circuit in an automotive or marine application outdoors.   :-DMM :)
Fraser:
I just took my unit out into the garden and had the sun shine on its displays. In slightly overcast conditions the displays are easily read. When the sun is out and shining brightly, the displays may still be read, with the OLED displays brighter than the LED display on the base unit. At the end of the day, you are up against basic physics. Just like with a sunlight readable laptop display, you would need a lot of nits to cope with very high levels of sun illumination and then there would be a need for brightness control as the sunlight setting would be too bright for workshop use.

In the photographs, the camera was showing the OLED raster so some of the display is not seen.

Fraser
Fraser:
I have owned the Sherlock 2 for a couple of months now so thought an update was due to this thread.

I have been using the Sherlock 2 for voltage testing and reverse engineering of PCB's and have found it to be a very convenient tool to use when wearing my Optivisor and working "close-in" to the PCB. I am able to quickly look at one of the probes displays as I probe around on the PCB. Unlike the bulkier probe multimeters I find the slender probes with their very sharp probe tips very convenient and the nice flexible cable is of no hindrance at all. The bright OLED displays on the probes are ajoy to view and provide fast feedback on both voltage drop (diode mode) and resistance (Resistance mode). I do note the settling time on the resistance mode is slower than conventional multimeters but for continuity checking is is plenty fast enough to show a "Zero Ohms continuity" situation. I do wish that unit provided a <10 Ohms continuity tone to aid continuity checks whilst in Resistance mode, as is the case with multimeters (often <20 Ohms for sounder activation). A variable tone continuity mode would be great but that is a luxury item.

Over the past two months I have been using the Sherlock regularly for electronics repair and a lot of PCB reverse engineering. I found the sharp probes perfect fro high density SMD probing and I used the resistance mode for a lot of continuity testing as the Diode mode tends to give too  many false positives when trying to trace PCB continuity nodes. I might add that the resistance mode is better when working in proximity to my Wife and cats as the constant beeping of a continuity tester can lead to trouble....annoyed wife and very curious kitties !  ;D

Would I buy this unit again ?

Absolutely ! It is an unusual, somewhat specialist, tool that I find very useful. So useful in fact that I own two !

I have no connection to "The Mechanic" company or any vested interest in the product, I am just very pleased with what this unusual meter can do for me in my daily work. I consider the asking price for the Sherlock 2 to be very fair considering what it can do for me in the workshop.  It is most definitely NOT a replacement for a general use Multimeter though ! I use the Sherlock 2 in harmony with other tools such as my Fluke 87 MkIII, Wavetek/Fluke SF10, PEAK ATLAS Pro DCA75 and a Micsig Tablet DSO.

Fraser
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