I have the $5/dozen Ebay and Radio Shack variety made in China and have wasted half an hour chasing an open circuit only to find my test lead has too much resistance or is open. Any suggestions for a quality brand online?
Who makes good alligator clip test leads?
- Thread starter atikovi
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https://probemaster.com/ also.
Yup, those 2 brands mentioned.
For automotive I would buy quality alligator clips and banana plugs on Digikey, then make my own to a more suitable length and in some cases, larger jaw size, or higher current capacity.
Decent quality ready made brands include Pomona, Simpson, Fluke, Multicomp, Cal Test, Mueller, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Decent quality ready made brands include Pomona, Simpson, Fluke, Multicomp, Cal Test, Mueller, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
They all break eventually. Always test your leads before and after you use them.
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Klien and Fluke
Just about any of these will be decent:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/test-leads-jumper-specialty/626
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/test-leads-jumper-specialty/626
Second the Fluke recommendation. Had an AEMC power quality analyzer that was fine but the included leads were terrible. Replaced 'em all with Flukes that were much better.
A lot of the cheap alligator clips improperly "crimp" the wire to the alligator clip leading to a poor connection. I put crimp in quotes because they actually just crush the alligator clip body around the wire AND insulation leading to just a pressure fit instead of a cold weld of a proper crimp.
Many years ago (more than ten) I bought a set of Mueller clips that were good quality and the wires were actually soldered to the clip. They look like the ones pictured here:
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mueller-Electric/80120?qs=y6ZabgHbY%2Byx8bdTNKfmiw==
Unfortunately, the datasheet in the above link shows what appears to be your generic bad quality clip with a "pressure" fit so I fear the quality may not be what it once was :-(.
If you do gamble on a set of Mueller clips however, either the set of 5 above or the set of 10 here:
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mueller-Electric/BU-00287?qs=MKfBgOLYr9DERPDsh/qDDA==
please let us know if the wire to clip connection is soldered or not.
Many years ago (more than ten) I bought a set of Mueller clips that were good quality and the wires were actually soldered to the clip. They look like the ones pictured here:
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mueller-Electric/80120?qs=y6ZabgHbY%2Byx8bdTNKfmiw==
Unfortunately, the datasheet in the above link shows what appears to be your generic bad quality clip with a "pressure" fit so I fear the quality may not be what it once was :-(.
If you do gamble on a set of Mueller clips however, either the set of 5 above or the set of 10 here:
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mueller-Electric/BU-00287?qs=MKfBgOLYr9DERPDsh/qDDA==
please let us know if the wire to clip connection is soldered or not.
Here are the slightly bigger Mueller clips which may be more useful for automotive applications:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/mueller-electric-co/080119/5800878
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