Hi,
I need to diagnose some potential issues in the field with very long digital addressable LED strips (~ 20m long strips). The strips are glued inside an aluminum profile, which is then glued to the ceiling quite high up (there is a lift platform available). I suspect I'm going to need two people, one for each of the two probes, to push it down to the contact pads on the strips:
Thanks to @artag for some super helpful
advice here.
However, even with a DMM and oscilloscope (will need to figure out a way to make my Analog Discovery ADP2230 portable, haha), I still need to find a long enough lead to reach test points along the LED strip.
My standard DMM leads are only around 36" (91cm) - and my oscilloscope leads I believe are similar.
I looked at Probemaster (where I got my leads originally), and the longest lead them have is 120" (~3m).
https://probemaster.com/9151-probe-lead/I did find these leads online (LANG1130) - they're 30" (10m) - but they seem to have alligator clips on the end, not banana plugs - so assuming they can't be used here?
https://www.henchman.com.au/LANG1130/Test-Lead-retractable-30ft/pd.php?srsltid=AfmBOoqSVS7LykHK8ArNgl--hzX3YoB9cfHBGro9QLMYuu1hkjsv3P3kOr there's this version - which has 3 leads - but is only 10" (3m) - and once again only has alligator clips, not banana plugs:
https://sydneytools.com.au/product/te-tools-3346-10ft-3050mm-3-colour-retractable-test-leadsElement14 also has their in-house Multicomp Pro brand ones - 5m (green), 10m (yellow), 20m (red) - however one end seems to be a fixed alligator clip as well:
https://au.element14.com/multicomp-pro/mp770519/test-lead-set-plug-alligator-clip/dp/349049202 (
datasheet)
I did find RS Components does have a
Test Lead Extension Reels category. In there, they have one of their in-house brand black leads, 12m long - with banana plugs on both ends
:
https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/test-lead-extension-reels/6120829 (
datasheet)
Mueller Electric is a US company that specializes in cables - they have these two test lead reels that are 40' (12.19m) - seem like good quality options:
https://www.muellerelectric.com/products/ai-5920t1202https://www.muellerelectric.com/products/ai-5920t11-0Digikey has this Pomona set - 144" (~ 3.5m):
https://www.digikey.com.au/en/products/detail/pomona-electronics/EM5908A-144/6125877Anyway - it seems so far that the Mueller Electric set is the best option - 12m long, seem like a reputable company.
If I want 3m long ones - I guess maybe Probemaster or Pomona are the best options?
For the oscilloscope - from what I've read, I can't simply extend the existing oscilloscope probes with a BNC extension cable, right? I don't need a massive amount of bandwidth, I just want to make sure that the digital signaling for the strips is getting through (artag suggested even 10Mhz would be fine).
RS Components also has this 7.6m BNC cable:
https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/test-leads/1799397Or what else would people suggest to extend the oscilloscope probes?
Thanks,
Victor