I just got the meter leads I ordered. They have a very fine point that is very sharp. They will be very useful to test connections, since they can pierce the oxide layer of old solder joints. The tiny point will let you probe inside some connectors without seperating them. and on the side of the Dupont type header connectors.
They are sold as four sets for $21.99 and have shrouded plugs, for newer meters.
Frankly..Id be careful of those. The ad indicates Sharp COPPER probe tips and copper is very fragile/bendable.
What I do..is take a set of leads with the common steel tips..and carefully grind them to a sharp point. They last a very long time that way and I can be brutal with them.
The ad mentioned them being useful for reading close packed SMDs and whatnot rather than any ability to punch through jacket material.
whoops...just reread your posting..."oxide layer" not jacket material...sorry...just woke up.
Blush!
Gunner
"The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination." --Voltaire
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From the photo -- it looks closer to a brass or bronze.
I don't really like steel for electrical work -- though there is something which used to be available (and may still be available for all I know) were test probes with collets on the end which would hold the old acoustic phonograph "needles" -- which I have also seen as replacement tips on dividers, calipers, and scribes.
I wonder what these look like under the heat-shrink sleeving. I see a step-down in diameter about half-way along, which suggests that it might be a replaceable tip in a sleeve.
With the help of a stereo zoom microscope, at least.
Phone company test clips often have a pad of very short needles on either side, just long enough to poke through the vinyl insulation on the solid wires typically used for phone wiring.
Still -- a sharp point is a benefit there.
Enjoy, DoN.
They aren't copper. They are plated steel, and the plating looks like gold.
Again? ;-)
Needles are cheap on Ebay. about $4 a hundred, but the collets were made by H.H. Smith. they were bought out, and every distributor they list has zero stock. A set of used probes sold for over $30 on Ebay recently. that's why I took a chance on these.
There is no movement, so I think the heat shrink is just insulation for tight spaces.
I still have a few new telco clips with the pad of needles. They used to be common on butt sets.
I'll take some good photos when I get a chance & post them on my Flikr account.
Ill have to check...but I recall a boot box sized container of probe tips and whatnot..many of the probes have a jam nut and a collet nose that can be used to replace the tip.
If I can find it..you want it?
Gunner
"The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination." --Voltaire
Yes. I have at least 100 new steel phono needles that fit.
Ok, Ill dig it out over this week. Im trying to remember exactly where I saw it last....sigh
Gunner
"The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination." --Voltaire
No rush. Whenever you find them will be fine. :)
Too much work to put that together, when these cost $5.50 per set. :)
I have made several sets of micro-probes using sewing needles. They are a bear to solder to, but you can eventually get solder wetted to them. I have some old .080" tip jacks, and solder the needles to them. These snap onto the ends of most meter probes.
These can pierce insulation or probe tiny chip leads without shorting to adjacent leads.
Jon
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