HP 6236B Triple Output Power Supply (w/ talk about GPD-3303S)

[Cubdriver]

I see four foot stackable  banana to banana Pomona cables for only $5.99 a piece on digikey. Am i not looking at the right ones?  Seems affordable.

Yup - those are the ones.  I've found that some people think $6 a pop is obscenely expensive.  Better to set low expectations.   

As mtdoc points out, they're a bit stiff with the PVC insulation, but since most of my stuff weighs a ton, it's not a huge issue for me.  As he suggests, getting the plugs alone and buying silicone wire elsewhere then 'rolling your own' is certainly a viable option too.  I may try that at some point in the future, but for now the somewhat limited flexibility of the premade ones doesn't bother me enough to do so.

-Pat

<edit- typo - iPads are teh suck for text editing in forum posts!!    >

[JenniferG]

Oh wait pomona are pvc?  Gah at that price thought i was gonna get silicone!

[Cubdriver]

<shrug>  If you happen to place a Digi Key order for something, order a pair of them for $12 and see if you like them.  I have a fair number of them, and we have quite a few in the lab at work, too.  I'm happy with them and plan to get some more next time I order something...

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

And as SingedFingers points out, they're less tangly than silicone leads.  That's one thing about silicone test probes that annoys the crap out of me - the damned things seem to be self tangling.  Sometimes I swear you can plug them into the meter and lay them on the bench and they'll twist themselves up in a minute or so, then need to be stretched out and have the Gordian Knot untangled before you can make a measurement.

[BU508A]

Have you had a look at Franky's store? He is one of the forum members here.

http://stores.ebay.com/99centhobbies/

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/franky's-sales-thread/

[2N3055]

I personally like softer PVC cable types best. I had a set of fancy (and expensive) Fluke modular probe cables and hated them with passion. They were too soft, always tangled, and they have stickier surface than PVC so the don't slide.. I could never had cable to stay in any place it was good for me...

I gave them as a present to a friend, and bought other cables...  The trick is that cable has to have very fine copper strands and have decent gauge. Rigidity is more defined by  softness of the copper than insulation.

I found some speaker cable that was ok, and good banana plugs (i like using spade connectors on PSU side) and just made a bunch..

[SingedFingers]

Pomona win always for me:

1. stacking
2. same leads they sold 30 years ago so no new lines or quality worries.
3. banana plugs dont wear out or get loose
4. tangle free wire
5. easy to get hold of in UK (Farnell)
6. never had a single faulty cable in years of use.
7. really strong.
8. massive range of products including BNC adaptors at same quality.
9. only damn banana plugs that universally fit in anything flush.
10. lots of pretty colours. purple ones are nice

[mtdoc]

The PVC is quite rigid on them but at least they stay put unlike the flappy silicone ones which turn into a spaghetti nightmare.

Horses for courses. 

Actually newer Pomona leads with softer PVC are fine, I just prefer my spaghetti silicone soft not al dente.

What I hate though is aged PVC that gets stiff. I have some very old Pomona leads that are almost rigid.

[JenniferG]

I'll try out the Pomonas now.  As a starting set for PS does 4 feet sound good or three?  Gonna get red black.. What color is standard for neg voltage?

[SingedFingers]

I use black for "common", red for "+volts", yellow for "-volts" and green for "earth".

4 feet is plenty. I use 2 feet usually with a couple of 4 feet ones.

[Cubdriver]

I'll try out the Pomonas now.  As a starting set for PS does 4 feet sound good or three?  Gonna get red black.. What color is standard for neg voltage?

The ones I have are three footers, and I need to get some that are longer.  With the way I have things stacked on the shelf above the bench, 3' often seems to be juuuuuuuuuust a gnats whisker too short and I need to move something. If you expect to be mostly working with everything on the same plane (like flat on the table, no shelves), then 3' leads are probably fine.

-Pat

[mtdoc]

That's another advantage of making up your own - custom lengths!   

[nfmax]

That's one thing about silicone test probes that annoys the crap out of me - the damned things seem to be self tangling.  Sometimes I swear you can plug them into the meter and lay them on the bench and they'll twist themselves up in a minute or so, then need to be stretched out and have the Gordian Knot untangled before you can make a measurement.

It is not widely known, but silicone test leads exist in a space of eleven dimensions, most of which are so tightly tangled up as to be undetectable, leaving only the familiar five.

[Cerebus]

That's right.  The Pomona plugs are great but I'm not crazy about the PVC insulated wire used in their test leads. I prefer silicone.

Someone, it might even have been you, was saying this before. I piped up and said something to the effect "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad" and they responded by posting a photo showing them holding a plug pointing towards the ceiling while they held the cable a couple of inches back from where it enters the plug. That's stiff.

[SingedFingers]

I like a stiff one

[Cerebus]

That's one thing about silicone test probes that annoys the crap out of me - the damned things seem to be self tangling.  Sometimes I swear you can plug them into the meter and lay them on the bench and they'll twist themselves up in a minute or so, then need to be stretched out and have the Gordian Knot untangled before you can make a measurement.

It is not widely known, but silicone test leads exist in a space of eleven dimensions, most of which are so tightly tangled up as to be undetectable, leaving only the familiar five.

"Up, sideways, forwards, time and 'what did I come into this room for?'" or "Up, sideways, forwards, time and Murphy"? 

I'm the other way to some here. I find that silicone leads are less prove to tangling, and easier to untangle when they do. I suspect that it's down to technique - I've spent so much of my life reeling up mike cables and the like that I can reel up a cable and put in the necessary 1/2 twist that makes it lie flat without even noticing I'm doing it.

[bitseeker]

I have Pomona leads in 2-, 3-, and 4-foot lengths. Most of the time, I'm using the 2' or 3'. It all depends on how far away your stuff is and/or how much current you're going to put through them.

Although the Pomono PVC is al dente, it's not too bad. Holding one 4" from the banana plug, it'll bend 90-degrees from its own weight. It's not silicone, but it's not bad. Sometimes it's helpful as a slight twist will make it hold a curve around or over other stuff on the bench.

The best thing about the firm insulation is when twisting leads for noise rejection. They stay together nicely without wire ties.

[mtdoc]

I'm the other way to some here. I find that silicone leads are less prove to tangling, and easier to untangle when they do. I suspect that it's down to technique - I've spent so much of my life reeling up mike cables and the like that I can reel up a cable and put in the necessary 1/2 twist that makes it lie flat without even noticing I'm doing it.

Yeah, maybe that's it. I spent years coiling climbing ropes with the same technique.

[mmagin]

I recommend a cable holder (the comb-shaped metal things) up high enough to hang everything up.  Though for really long stuff it works better to throw it over something by its midpoint. 

[SingedFingers]

Indeed. Mine just hang over my pile of crap

[JenniferG]

I recommend a cable holder (the comb-shaped metal things) up high enough to hang everything up.  Though for really long stuff it works better to throw it over something by its midpoint. 

Thanks, I have a 3D printer and have seen that people have made STL models for these already.  I'll probably print a couple of those