Newer Fluke Probes

[BillWojo]

There used to be a guy on DIYAudio from Taiwan that sold some nice probe kits. Very reasonable price and the set I carry on my truck has been with me almost 5 years now. He said he could get any thing custom made so I had 2 sets of 2 meter lead extensions made up. They have come in handy many times when troubleshooting problems on a large piece of machinery. Between the probe kit and the extension leads I can check switches, etc while being on the other side of the machine and still see my meter.

BillWojo

 

[tarior]

I used to buy Probemaster, but nowadays I very much prefer Pomona. 6342 are my go to probes.

 

[arts]

I used to buy Probemaster, but nowadays I very much prefer Pomona. 6342 are my go to probes.

Why?

 

[tarior]

The pointed tips on the Pomonas hold up better. They are also replaceable and available in different lengths and styles.

 

[tarior]

BTW, it's the 6341 kit that I like. Comes with a variety of tips that work well for electronics.

 

[dbxdx5]

I use the Probemasters too. IMO they can't be beat for the price. That said, like Tarior, I've found the tips can blunt somewhat easily if you're not careful. I contacted Probemaster once about this, and they very graciously replaced gratis a probe I blunted.

 

[DEAFASABAT]

Hmmm. How did you bend your probes that bad?

Letting the meter fall while the leads were plugged into the test points of something or other. What surprised me was that they didn't break off. They appear to be fairly soft brass with a nickel or chrome plating.

I have a pair of Klein flat jaw pliers, with 3/8" or so wide jaws, having no gripping ridges or cutting blades. Made for straightening component leads, using them carefully can reform the gnarliest of squiggly leads or solid wires, which is just right for attempting the repair of abused test lead tips.
Cheap, knockoff faux leads need not apply though.
-DAAB

 

[arts]

Hmmm. How did you bend your probes that bad?

Oh ok,I'll fess up too! I have always had the bad habit of sticking the ground lead through a convenient screw hole,usually one for a removed cover

 

[gadget73]

Isn't that what screw holes are for?

Whenever I have to poke about in the MCC at work, there is a multi-strand ground cable in there that I stab the probe into. I'm not the first to do it either, there is a very obvious probe-sized gap between the strands.

 

[arts]

Yeah,guilty of probe stabbing too....

 

[Ross6860]

Fluke is made in china nowadays

Great...so it is Fruke? Is all their gear made in China? I've seen some inexpensive Fluke products.

Just bought a pair of Fluke 725s. For work, not for me.

A pretty nice used motorcycle can be had for the same price.

 

[83Hertz]

Until you've seen a scope (a really frickin nice Tektronix one too!) get taken out by a forklift you haven't lived

I bet there's a good story behind that one...

 

[DEAFASABAT]

Why?

I've always considered all Pomona Electronics products to be of the finest quality.
However when I recently needed a bunch of Double Banana Plugs, I found them, made by Mueller Electric, at TEquipment.net on sale at half the price of the Pomonas. Equivalent quality IMO.
The only problem I've had with this vendor is navigating their catalog, what with the overwhelming amount of items they sell. A bit of searching always gets me to what I was looking for.