Helpful Tools

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Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
I found a a couple of helpful tools that seems to make life in electronics a little easier .. So I am posting a couple thing up and hope other people will join in ...
But I thought you guys might like this and this is not me





2mm Gold Plated Sockets and Mini Grabber Hooks



 

PackratKing

Joined Jul 13, 2008
847
This little device to insert between AAA, AA, C or D batteries to measure the given device in-use current draw off the battery supply.

Consists of a chunk of hard cardboard, some stick-on burglar alarm tape on both sides, and the wire. I've got a bunch of homegrown tools of that sort... like modified soldering tips for fine-pitch work...

BTW That's a dang nice idea for a lead-former... Is it copyrighted ?? :D
 

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inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
This little device to insert between AAA, AA, C or D batteries to measure the given device in-use current draw off the battery supply.

Consists of a chunk of hard cardboard, some stick-on burglar alarm tape on both sides, and the wire. I've got a bunch of homegrown tools of that sort... like modified soldering tips for fine-pitch work...

BTW That's a dang nice idea for a lead-former... Is it copyrighted ?? :D
Great idea.
I had some super thin double sided pcb material that iI cut a strip out of to do the same thing.

Certain remotes for a product that I sold (Dish Net) ate batteries like crazy.

4 AAA's
2 circuits for some reason. One side would draw quite a few ma all the time.
That is the easiest way to access with ammeter.

Don't mean to hijack in any way!
Hope to call attention to your great suggestion. A++++++
 

inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
Something I'm working on today.

Found these, lids?, in a free pile.

Anyone want to guess what they are? I don't have a clue!
There was a whole pallet of them.

I've been needing to expand my cap storage.
 

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inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
Well I guess I am taking over now. :p sorry!

When installed a lot of coax, I made my own identifiers a dozen at a time.
Kept losing them.

Gut a reverse balun and solder in a 9v battery clip.
Solder a resistor and led to a push-on connector. Use the resistor lead for the stinger.
 

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MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,618
I made a mod to my bench PanaVise, anyone who owns one knows that you either get the vacuum seal type to hold it in place, which I did not trust, or the screw to the bench type, which I did not want to have it fixed permanently in one place.
I happened to have some 10lb lead ingots (don't ask), I used a 1" thick lead disk and attached it to the bottom of the screw down vise, I can put this under the bench when not in use, and when in use is steady as a rock!
Max.
.
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
I've got an "octopus" for ringing out conductors. I made it while commissioning machines. 20+ same-colored wires go into a pipe on one end, and come out on the other. Most people I've seen use a two man team; one guy grounds a wire and the guy at the other end checks continuity to ground on all the wires at the other end until he finds the grounded one, then once they confirm they have 2 ends of the same wire, they label and terminate. I was working solo and walking back and forth was getting old, so grabbed 25 resistors of different values and soldered them all together on one end in a big wad with an alligator clip. Soldered wire leads with alligator clips to the other free ends. So then I would just go to one end of the pipe, label all my wires, and connect them to my grounded octopus and write down the value of the resistor for each wire number. Go to the other end and check resistance to ground; each wire you test, you get a "hit" the first time. No more fishing through the mess of them, looking for that ONE wire that has continuity. I could do it alone as fast or faster than two guys.

That's the most useful electrical/electronic tool I can recall making to date, albeit not the most elegant one.
 

THE_RB

Joined Feb 11, 2008
5,438
(sorry no photo) I have a lot of 10W to 25W power resistors, with short flyleads soldered on and small croc clips.

They are great for dummy loads for testing PSUs and power circuits, and you can clip them in any combination; series, parallel, compound etc to quickly give different resistances and more power capability if needed.

I also have a couple of automotive 12v bulbs with leads and croc clips, for the same type of use.
 

PackratKing

Joined Jul 13, 2008
847
To avoid having to change lead sockets constantly, or have extra leads on bench to confuse... I cobbled in this little switchbox to cover the issue... and included an easily changeable 300 mA fuse, 'cuz I sometimes get ahead of myself hooking up measurements...

Second pic... I don't know if this is still available at Rat Shack.. but it is very handy... the other side is an Ohms Law calculator...
 

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strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
To avoid having to change lead sockets constantly, or have extra leads on bench to confuse... I cobbled in this little switchbox to cover the issue... and included an easily changeable 300 mA fuse, 'cuz I sometimes get ahead of myself hooking up measurements...
That seems handy! But it makes me think more about the separate sockets. If you can do it with an external box, then fluke could have done it with the existing switch and eliminated the 2 extra ports. But they didn't. Why? There has to be a good reason for that. I'm a little slow, so I'll probably think of the answer just in time to come back here to post it, and find its already been posted.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
If you want to pretty it up, the bolts can be removed with a hydraulic press...or just saw them off. Follow up with flat black spray paint.:)
 

inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
Some of my dummy loads.
The 500 watt on an LCD stand is new for some current transformer testing.
Hmm picture isn't showing in preview.
 

gerty

Joined Aug 30, 2007
1,305
Here's something I made up about 30 years ago. Where I worked we had a lot of IR transmitter/receiver pair photo eyes. Most of them were across an assembly line that was about 12' wide, alignment was a nightmare as you can imagine.
So I made up a portable IR tester, it was from junk parts, and it still works today. It has an IR receiver from an old tv set, which is tied to a 567 tone decoder ic. When IR light is sensed it lights up a led through the 567 decoder. For transmitting it has a 556 in there to light up a led from an old remote.The transmit is on a separate button.
This thing has saved a lot of time in both troubleshooting and alignment.
 

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