Hi everyone,
The probes of my Fluke 70 multimeter (see attached picture) tend to be too thick for testing small components on laptop motherboards, SSD, and other devices. So, I am looking for thiner ones to test surface mounted components, mostly to diagnose/troubleshoot board.
As not having owned any other multimeter probes, I am a novice in this field and would appreciate hearing about knowledge and experience from others.
For a pair of Chinese probes, price seems ranging roughly from 2 € to 10 €.
In comparison the handfree ones from SensePeek (
https://sensepeek.com/webshop-1) cost 29 €+VAT (model SP10) to 39 €+VAT (model SQ10).
Of course not the same kind of probes, and I assume having both handheld and handfree ones would be useful, or alternatively handheld ones together with holders like PMK's 3D Positioner arm (
http://www.pmk.de/en/products/3d_positionierer) which also would have other possible usages.
From experience with other equipment and supplies (hot air station, soldering iron, electrical wire), for handheld probes I would pay attention to the following::
- coating material of the power chord (silicon and not PVC). Some sellers even mention a double layer of silicon, which I assume offers more flexibility.
- enough length: those that came with my Fluke 70 are 1.35 meter, which I find comfortable, but maybe shorter ones would be enough for board repair
What else?
Diameter and material of the core of the chord?
Test probes seems coming with extension needles. I assume that contrarily to the durable probes that I currently have, the needles from thin probes are to replace from time to time. So, should I pay attention to the possibility of replacing the needles?
I also see that the thin needles are often mentioned as gold plated. Should I be concerned about the thickness of the plating?
Is the availability of replacement needles something to check before the purchase?
Sometimes, cheap tools can have a very correct quality. Other times, it is really worth putting the price in premium tools.
Visually speaking, even the cheapest handheld Chinese probes are appealing. Are they decent or pure crap?
So, what about the quality of multimeter probes and the factors to pay attention to?
Thank your for your advices.