Products > Test Equipment
Tektronix A622 current probes - el (not so) cheapo clones.
(1/3) > >>
hibone:
Dear all,

while looking for a second hand A622 current probe, or an equivalent one, I found oh so many clones out there.

Among them I can remember the Agilent 1146B, Chauvin Arnaux E3N (SL261), Fluke 80i-110s, as well as the (not so clone but almost) Pintek PA-622 and the Wellzion PT-710 and PT-710A.

I also found a tear down of the chauvin arnaux model...


... and a meltdown of the Fluke one...
http://www.niell.org/DeadProbe/deadprobe.html

The cheap no brand models can cost about 280 €/$, thus, I was wondering if they are worth the while or if they may be fake. Does anyone has/had the chance to open a no brand clone apart?

Also, if the clones are the real thing, I wonder if it is possible to buy them at lower price, let's say down to 150 usd. I bet many users in this forum will appreciate that as well.     

Regards
scopeman:
The Tek and the HP/Agilent/Fluke and any reputable  major test company that uses these buys them from Chauvin Arnaux as the AEMC (SL261) and they are rebranded Tek/HP/Fluke,etc. I think that the HP/Agilent ones are built in gray plastic cases instead of the standard black.

I have the schematic for this probe somewhere. When I find it I will post it. They are great probes.
They will also repair and recalibrate re-branded SL261's at a reasonable cost. IIRC it is a fix all flat rate.

I plan to add a bandwidth switch to one of mine to cut the bandwidth down as that will make it easier to make lower current measurements.

As a rule AEMC makes pretty good stuff. I have one of their small Rowgowski coil probes that I use on a 200KHz power amplifier. They are very reliable as long as you don't forget to change the battery!

Good company that I would not hesitate to recommend.

Sam
W3OHM
artag:
I'd be interested to see that schematic.

I have one of these probes and it works well. The only snag is it's easy to leave them switched on, so if you don't use them often, take the battery out. They're often available much cheaper than the Tek branded ones, because ebayers don't realise they're the same thing. Though perhaps there is a difference : according to that video, it rattles and the Tek one doesn't. Mine rattles too. Maybe the tek one has a little bit of goo in it to stop it.

I have an almost identical probe (type E14), also made by Chauvin Arnoux, apparently for a 3-phase analyser that they sell. (That rattles, too). It's only marked as AC and has no zero adjustment. However, I think it has exactly the same hall-effect measurement system because it has a bandwidth that's more or less flat down to about 1Hz. I think it's the same thing, but with a DC blocking capacitor and no zero adjuster.

Since AC current probes are always cheaper than DC, especially secondhand, there's a bargain here if you don't need 0Hz.  It may even be possible to remove the capacitor, add the pot, and operate it down to DC.

HighVoltage:

--- Quote from: scopeman on January 25, 2016, 12:50:46 am ---
I have the schematic for this probe somewhere. When I find it I will post it.
Sam
W3OHM

--- End quote ---

I really would appreciate a copy of that schematic and if possible, a service manual.

These are really great probes.
I have several of them in different branding and I have not seen any differences between them.

Instead of a battery, I use rechargeable, then its not such a pain, when you leave them on.
 
scopeman:
I am curious what brands other than HP/Fluke/AMEC/Chauvin Arnoux you have seen these probes under.

Now for a dog ate my homework story.....

I went to dig up the schematic today and spent time getting a new power supply for my computer. I turned it off before the USA East Coast "Snow Armageddon" on Friday and when I went to turn it on this morning nothing happened. Probably bad caps but no time to fix it. It ran for 10 years so I really can't complain.

In any event I should have the machine up tomorrow and I will look for that schematic.

Sam
W3OHM

P.S. We had a strange event at work today. Three of our large windows that look out the front of the building cracked.  We believe that it was due to the snow load on the roof! One of my colleagues was in his office when one went pop! Just has a hairline crack all the way across in the horizontal direction (but not a straight line).
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod