Probes are one of the main components of any measuring instrument, including a multimeter - are included in its kit, regardless of the type and model. Often this device breaks down within a matter of days or months - the wire of one or two contacts breaks, the insulating base cracks, or the tip breaks off. This is due to the fact that most devices include the cheapest products made from low-quality materials.
Many people think about whether it is possible to make probes for a multimeter with their own hands or how to choose quality products in the store to circumvent common problems with them. To answer these questions, you first need to familiarize yourself with the varieties of this component of the measuring instrument.
Types of styli by quality
Conditional on price and quality characteristics wires with tips for a multimeter can be divided into two categories:
- Budget (amateur, basic);
- Branded (professional).
Budget
The cheapest probes, which are included in almost all low-cost multimeters, are equipped with an insulating wire base made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and the tip holders and plug elements in them are made of plastic.
A highly thin wire is attached to the steel electrode inside the holding part, which does not guarantee the durability of the product if handled carelessly, since these tips can often come off and the cable simply break. Repair broken ones budget options probes are problematic.
IN different models Multimeter probes can have different mounting depths of the plug element and electrode lengths. The thickness of the electrode in all products is the same - 4 mm, which does not allow the use of such probes for some types of work and measurements.
In addition, do not forget about the disadvantages inherent in insulation from PVC material which are as follows:
- Probe cables retain their shape when they are wound for a long time - inconvenient to use;
- such isolation is scary high temperatures and can be easily damaged by the same soldering iron - low heat resistance;
- low temperatures make the insulation hard, which can lead to deformation and cracks in the cable - fear of frost.
Branded
The multimeter probe can be made of different materials. Reliable and high-quality probes used for professional purposes must meet the following characteristics:
- The wire for the multimeter must be made of a highly flexible base;
- The tip holder entry must also be flexible and sealed, and the conductor in it must be firmly seated and resist unintentional jerking;
- The base of the holding element must have a low slip coefficient so that it is comfortable to hold the probes in your hand during operation. To do this, the holders must be covered additional material, for example, rubber or synthetic rubber.
Interesting to know. The most popular probes among professionals and amateur electricians are made of silicone, as they have all the required characteristics.
Professional probes in most cases are equipped with special protective caps for electrodes and plugs, which prevent dirt from entering the product elements and also protect a person from getting puncture injuries.
Important! Often the holder inputs are made of plastic. It is necessary to ensure that in such products certain recesses are made on the holding element to ensure the required flexibility of the design.
The cable of such products is characterized by high flexibility, strength, resistance to unintentional jerks and does not crack when used in the cold.
Types by purpose
An important part of a multimeter probe is the tip, which mainly determines the purpose of the product.
According to their purpose, probes can be divided into the following most common types:
- universal options on which various tips are put on;
- thin probes for SMD mounting;
- crocodiles;
- tweezers for checking SMD;
- thermocouple for a multimeter (probe for measuring temperature);
- probes in the form of all kinds of clamps, hooks for electronics.
Probes for SMD mounting
Working with SMD elements requires frequent measurements with a multimeter. Only special devices for this purpose can cope with this, which are distinguished by a very thin needle tip made of steel or brass, which can withstand an electrical voltage of even 500-600V for a long period of time. They can pierce the insulation of cable products and scrape off the solder mask on the electrical circuit for further measuring activities.
Check with a tester or multimeter required parameters small SMD elements on a board or microcircuit, when repairing equipment, you can use special pliers that are similar to tweezers. The use of such tweezers guarantees the quality of contact, since during measurement they tightly clamp the component.
A distinctive feature of these products is a rather short cable, but for these purposes another cable is not needed.
Alligator clips
A very common version of the tips of this product are crocodiles in the form of a clamping mechanism. Such crocodiles can have different dimensional parameters, but in all cases they are distinguished by a reliable shell with dielectric properties.
Such tips can act as an auxiliary element to universal devices, which, if necessary, are simply fastened to it. Crocodiles are very convenient for holding thin and inconvenient contacts of small elements, which, due to their shape, securely fix them.
Advice. Recommended for professional activity purchase universal wiring with a set of various tips, which will greatly simplify the measurement process and prevent their frequent repairs. In this case, the tips are attachments that simply screw into the holder.
How to make homemade probes
Many people prefer not to buy new products, but to make probes themselves when factory probes fail and cannot be repaired. There are two common options for making them yourself.
Standard pen probes
In order to make such an element for the meter, you will need fountain pens and darts disassembled without rods. The manufacturing process is as follows:
- Select components by trying on dart tips for pens;
- Insert them into the handles, having previously heated them with an industrial hair dryer or burner;
- Place inside the fountain pen heated and soaked in soldering acid a piece of solder;
- Place the wires in it and wait for it to cool and fix all components feeler gauge
On a note. For more reliable fixation, the tip of the dart can be additionally fixed with glue.
Insulation piercing probes
For self-creation thinSMD-probes will need the following materials:
- sewing needles of the required sizes;
- collet pencils with replaceable leads;
- Super glue;
- solder;
- cable;
- heat shrink (optional).
CreationSMD-probes are produced in the following way:
- Initially, you need to solder the wires to the needles;
- Next, insert them into the central part of the pencil collet and glue them so that when pressed they do not disappear inside;
- Solder the plugs to the wires;
- It is also recommended to apply heat shrink to the product.
On a note. Protective element in homemade products Ordinary pen caps may protrude.
Probes should be selected according to their quality characteristics and purpose - it is better to give preference to silicone options. In many cases it is impractical to repair probes; it is easier and more reliable to make probes yourself.
Video
Quite often, such a nuisance occurs as a wire (cable) breaking near the plug. This happens especially often with wires that are subject to constant vibrations and movements. For example, headphones, chargers, multimeter probes and the like. We notice the gap, as a rule, only after the thing we are using stops working. And it’s actually quite difficult to notice this. If only by chance we see... A rupture does not occur immediately, with the exception, of course, of rough mechanical impact. The cable braid is usually damaged first.
After a certain period of time, the strands of the copper wire themselves break due to constant kinks. To prevent this trouble, you need to inspect the wires every time before starting work. But who will do this inspection and when, if you can’t wait to get to work as soon as possible... Today we will talk about multimeter probes. So, so that work doesn’t stop at the most inopportune moment, I suggest making spare probes for the multimeter. The work ahead is not dusty, not boring or difficult and, I would even say, interesting.
Will need
- Soldering iron, tin and flux.
- Scissors.
- Stationery knife.
- Heat-shrinkable tubes (various calibers).
- Secondary glue and soda.
- Two thin markers.
- A tube or pin with a diameter suitable for the probe connector in a multimeter.
- A pin from a CD drive (on which the laser head moves), or a regular knitting needle.
- Lighter.
- Electrical wires, copper, flexible (with a maximum operating voltage of at least 300 volts).
- Insulating tape.
- A drill with a cutting disc, or good wire cutters, for separating a hairpin (or knitting needle) into fragments.
We make probes with our own hands
First, let's prepare the wires. Unfortunately, I didn’t find red and black cables in my household, so I took a neutral gray one for both probes. The cable is designed for a maximum operating voltage of 300 volts, despite its small thickness. The cables from the “original” multimeter probes are designed for a maximum operating voltage of 600 volts.
So new probes for home use will do just fine! Moreover, this is only a temporary replacement for failed probes until the original ones are purchased. So, we measure the new wires, along the length of the old ones, and cut off the necessary pieces.
Cleaning up stationery knife 5 mm each. from the ends of both wires, and tin them with tin for further convenience when soldering.
Next, take the pin from the laser CD drive and cut it in half.
Why a hairpin - it fits perfectly in its parameters, it has sharp ends and is made of excellent steel. Next, we process the sawn-off edges of the stud with flux, solder tinned wires to them at one end of each wire, put on thermal tubes, and seat them with a lighter.
Now we cut off the upper part of the felt-tip pens, 5-7 cm. These will be the handles of the probes.
We thread the pins, with the wires soldered to them, from top to bottom, so that the pin comes out of the tip of the felt-tip pen, where the writing pen used to stick out. Add a drop of instant glue there and throw in a pinch of soda to secure it all from the inside. We thread the resulting probe handle into a red heat-shrinkable tube and seat it with a lighter. We repeat the same procedure with the second probe, only now with a black thermal tube.
Well, the upper parts of the probes are ready. All that remains is to make the plugs. For the plug, I used a brass tube from the antenna - it perfectly matches the diameter of the connector in the multimeter. We saw off 3 cm pieces from the tube.
We plug the tube into the connector. The remaining pieces from the felt-tip pens fit perfectly under the plug housing in the multimeter connector. We insert a plastic one over the brass tube, measure it, and cut it off.
Next, we solder the remaining ends of the wires to the brass tubes, increase the diameter on them with electrical tape to fit the plastic tubes, lubricate them with second glue and insert them into the plastic tubes. You can secure everything on top with a second of glue and soda.
We cut off 4 cm of thermal tubes, red and black, put them on the corresponding plugs, and seat them with a lighter.
When purchasing a multimeter, probes are always included in the package. However, multimeter probes are not always of good quality and soon fail. Broken wire is the most common problem with broken probes. Of course, it is not difficult to eliminate this defect, but after
After some time, the weak probe wire may break again.
Therefore, it is better to make reliable probes from a thick section of wire yourself or purchase more quality option. To do right choice When purchasing this product, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic criteria and technical characteristics probes
Types of styli
There are several types of multimeter probes on sale. The main types are: universal, budget and branded. Distinctive Features them apart are:
- cost of products;
- functional orientation; sizes of wires and tips;
- the quality of this product.
It should be added that it is better to purchase probes in a specialized store.
Universal
These are ordinary probes with a set additional attachments, which add additional functions to the multimeter.
Some types of multimeters are equipped with alligator clips, both removable and auxiliary elements for the main tips. So there are sets of tips with different modifications. The master himself makes the choice towards those models of tips that make the measuring process more convenient.
Common additional attachments are: pliers, crocodile clips, hooks, and terminal adapters. These options, while simplifying the measurement process, make universal species more expensive. The advantage of such probe models is conductors that have good flexibility.
Branded
Manufacturers of these types use higher quality and highly reliable materials in production. The wires of branded probes have good flexibility. The tip holder has excellent tightness, while the core remains stable. The surface of such probes is made of rubber, which prevents your hand from slipping when making measurements.
Sometimes the lead-in parts of the holders are made of plastic. All branded products have caps on the plugs and electrodes that protect the probe parts from contamination.
Branded models differ from other types in their high reliability, flexibility and convenience.
Budget
These devices are the simplest and least expensive. They are included in the kit of the cheapest types of multimeters. The probe wires are made of PVC, and the remaining parts are made of plastic. These probes are very thin and fragile, so they must be handled very carefully, otherwise they will quickly break. The probes of each model have their own size.
Probes for SMD mounting and alligator clips
When producing SMD installations, you have to periodically take measurements. For the convenience of this process, the multimeter should have thinner probes. These devices have needle-shaped tips made from of stainless steel or brass. These tips are very sharp and must always be capped to protect the user from injury and prevent electrode breakage.
These probes are very convenient for piercing the insulating layer of the wire, as well as for cleaning the solder mask from the surface of the board for further measurements. The advantage of such probes is the ability to measure in an electrical network with a voltage of 600 volts.
There are also tester probes for these types of work. They have the ability to measure the necessary indicators, both on the desktop and on the board. In this case, the SMD components are clamped with pliers, which ensure effective contact.
Such probes have a very short wire, but for these types of work a long cable is not very convenient. To avoid touching other parts when taking measurements, it is necessary to use probes with holes at the ends. These holes help you take measurements on printed circuit boards, as well as during electrical installation work, eliminate the occurrence of short circuits.
Alligator clips are also in very high demand among craftsmen. In some cases, they are even more effective than sharp electrodes. Their sizes can vary, but they must always be in a dielectric shell.
How to make your own probes
Some professionals in this field prefer to make their own probes in accordance with the tasks at hand. There are several ways to make homemade products.
The most common method requires two collapsible fountain pens and two darts. It is necessary to unscrew the fountain pens, remove the rods and insert dart tips in their place.
In this case, the handles must be preheated using construction hair dryer. The solder must be moistened in soldering acid and heated, then placed inside the handle. Also thread the cable through the pen.
If the dart tip is not held securely enough, then it needs to be additionally glued. After the product has cooled, the probe is ready for use.
For thinner probes that need to be used to pierce insulation, you need two sewing needles of appropriate thickness and two pencils, the leads of which can be changed. Next, you should solder the needles to the wires. At the next stage, you need to insert needles into the center of the pencil, where the leads were held, so that they do not fall out, and place them on the glue.
Finally, you need to solder the plugs to the wires. For the safety and reliability of the resulting device, it is recommended to tighten the heat shrink tube. In this case, the tube must be seated carefully so as not to damage the plastic of the pencil. In the role additional elements You can put pencil caps on the needles for protection.
Measurements with a multimeter are made using probes. Not all multimeter probes in kits are of good quality, so it would be preferable to make them yourself. It doesn’t take much time, but then it makes it possible not to be distracted by replacing them. It is also possible to equip the probes with crocodile clips, which will free your hands while taking measurements. Sometimes it is useful to have both measuring collapsible thin probes and a model with alligator clips; each of them will be indispensable in certain situations.
Materials for the version with crocodiles
Alligator probes are very convenient to use if you need to fix a conductor for accurate measurements with a multimeter. To carry out the work you will need the following tools and components:
Wires use stranded copper because copper has good conductivity and flexibility. Silicone shells are soft, flexible, and will not break or crack over time. You can find an option specifically designed for black and red multimeters.
Connecting the plugs
To make homemade probes, you need to connect the wires with plugs and clamps. If you know how to solder and have everyone necessary tools the procedure will take no more than half an hour.
It is advisable to select the same color for the plug, wire and clamp, so that one probe is, for example, completely red, and the second completely black. In this case, the multimeter will be convenient to use and it will be easy to observe polarity when taking measurements.
First, you need to insert the wires into “bananas”, through which they will be connected to the multimeter. The connection with the plug is not particularly difficult.
A bolt is unscrewed from the banana, after which a wire can be inserted inside, the end of which has been stripped in advance. Then you need to tighten the bolt, thereby securely fixing the wire inside. The same operation is performed with the other wire. At this point, the “bananas” can be considered connected.
Connecting the clamps
At this stage, the free ends of the wires that will go to the alligator clips are stripped and tinned. Next, take a crocodile clip for a wire that matches the color. The insulation is removed from it and the bolt is unscrewed.
Clamping the wire with bolts is not the most reliable solution for multimeter probes. It will be better to solder it in this place, having first made a small soldering pad out of tin. The second “crocodile” also joins.
Now you can start soldering the crocodile. To do this, a wire is inserted inside, bringing the tinned end to the prepared area.
The wire must first be covered with crocodile insulation so that it can then be pulled over the connection.
Solder is taken and the wire is soldered to the crocodile. The soldering must be strong so that the wire does not fly off at the slightest tension. When the wire is soldered, you need to clamp it with the lower edges of the crocodile body; this can be done using pliers.
After this, strong clamps are formed, which will guarantee the long-term serviceability of the homemade probe. Next, the insulation is put on the crocodile. This is necessary for its reliable and safe operation, as well as for its aesthetic appearance.
Making thin probes
You can also make thin probes for a multimeter. The cheapest and easiest option is to make them from the body of handles. Everything here is very similar, only instead of clamps you will need the following parts:
- two handles of different colors;
- silicone;
- 2 needle probes, 5-7 cm in size, so that they can be partially protruded from the bottom cap of the pen.
As a tip, either buy special thin probes for a dt multimeter, or use thin sewing or medical needles. It is better to use special probe needles, purchasing them on the radio market or in an online store.
Everything else you need is the same as in the previous version of making probes for a multimeter. The plugs are connected in the same way as described above, and securing the tips of future probes has several features.
To begin with, one hole is made in the top caps of the pens. This is necessary for the wire to go inside. It is desirable that their diameter matches the diameter of the wire. Next, the lower part of the handle is disassembled and a needle is inserted into it.
The needle must be soldered to the wire, which is previously inserted into the cap. The solder should not be made too thick, but it must be soldered securely. The soldering process was also described above.
When everything is ready, silicone is poured into the lower part of the handle and until it hardens, the needle sticks out according to the level. She should not be disturbed for several hours.
You can do it this way. First, stick the needles out 4-5 cm, then put on the cap. Thus, the tips for the probes will independently take the desired position. When the silicone has hardened, the structure is strong and comfortable.
Examination
To check the device for functionality, you need to measure the resistance of the probes. To do this, you need to connect the multimeter to the network and set the switch to measure resistance.
If the multimeter does not have automatic range adjustment, you need to switch to measuring the lowest limit.
Insert the leads of the probes into the sockets of the device, and then connect the probes to each other. The resistance figure should be 0, or as close to zero as possible. If the multimeter is automatic, then a couple of seconds after the circuit is closed, the device itself will set to 0.
If you know the sequence of the process, then all the work will not be difficult. You need to have minimal soldering skills, and then everything will be done quickly, and the device will last for many years.
Price: $2,3
The probes that come with inexpensive testers (multimeters) are often not best quality. And sometimes they deteriorate: sometimes the wire breaks, sometimes you accidentally burn it with a soldering iron. And now, cheap disposable probes have to be thrown away and replacements have to be found.
These probes looked very solid in the photos in the store. Colored plastic, caps and plugs, good length (107 cm). The price is absolutely ridiculous.
And now I’m already printing out the parcel.
The first impression is great. Everything is very neat and beautiful. The wire is soft, silicone. The probes are simply pleasant to hold in your hands. They immediately registered on my work multimeter.
I've been using them for almost a year now. During this time, I realized that their price is quite justified.
Yes, they are beautiful, the handles are molded from two-color plastic.
There are grooves on the contacts, which is very convenient for measurements. The total resistance of the two probes is 0.9 Ohm. The caps and plugs got lost very quickly, but I don’t need them. Their main drawback is the banana connectors that are inserted into the sockets of the multimeter. They are beautifully made, filled with plastic, but they constantly lose contact.
I cut the protective plastic so that they would go deeper, but that didn't help much. The contact also fell off from time to time. I endured as long as I could. But this is very inconvenient, especially when you call many different circuits, there is no short circuit everywhere, and then you connect two probes and there is no contact there either. You understand that all the work needs to start all over again. And the question arises: “Do I need such probes if they are not trusted and constantly let me down and complicate my life?” I felt sorry for throwing them away; I was already used to them, so I decided to replace the unreliable link.
The connectors were mercilessly cut off and thrown away, and to replace them I picked up gold-plated “bananas” with a rotating slip ring. This is convenient because the connectors will not “break” the multimeter sockets when rotating and the contact should be more reliable. New connectors are inserted into the tester sockets very tightly and are fixed securely. They also have holes where you can insert the same “banana”, sometimes this can be very useful. Why did I choose these "bananas"? I just didn’t find specialized connectors for testers, but I had already used these “bananas” and I really liked them for their “tightness” in the socket and ease of rotation while maintaining excellent contact. And besides, they were bought from me a long time ago and are lying idle
In order to solder new connectors to the probes, I strip the insulation.
And here is another disappointment. Although the wire itself seems thick and solid, the twisted copper core in it is thin...
Now it’s clear why there is such resistance, the copper there is a cat crying... The quality of the wire is no good, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to change it. But the probe handles with contacts themselves are cast and non-removable. Changing the wire in such probes is the same as simply throwing them away. Therefore, I decide to leave the wire as is for now, and at my leisure look for blanks for probes and good wire and make new probes yourself.
In the meantime, we attach the new “golden” connectors to the wire. They are connected without soldering. Simply insert into the connector tube and secure with a screw.
To prevent the wire from breaking at the base of the connector, I reinforced it with heat shrink.
Then another heat shrink, shorter.
I run the clamping screw so that it can tighten easily.
And on top is the plastic part of the connector.
Here, in fact, is the result.
The first tests showed that the probes (which were far from ideal initially) began to behave noticeably better. The contact in the multimeter sockets is now quite reliable (in several months they have never popped out and the contact has never been lost), the probes themselves are movable and can be easily turned. Additional functionality has appeared in the form of additional contact holes for bananas.
