Hey all,
I'm having a devlish time with several oscilloscope probes I own. I have several probes for my oscilloscopes, including some cheap ones that came with a cheap scope, a bunch of old ones that I don't trust too much, and a pair of 200MHz probes that I bought recently to make sure I was getting clean measurements on some of my RF projects.
One issue appeared recently in the cheap "came-with-the-scope" probes where they don't connect to the oscilloscope at all unless they're at the right angle, like a poor pair of headphones. It seemed that pushing in towards the scope would bring the probe back to life (I'd just sit there and put my finger on the end and mess with things to see when it came back) but all in all it is too finicky to use. I took one of them apart, because the other didn't have the problem. I couldn't make much out of it, because the probes are fortress-like in their assembly. (So much rubber!) I was tearing thing with cutters to get to where I thought the problem was, but couldn't find much.
I assumed it was the cheap probes, and continued using my better probes, when suddenly the exact same problem happened to both of them, rendering them useless most of the time. But, again, sometimes I can push in towards the oscilloscope and get them to jump back to life for a second. I hate breaking things, because I'm in college, and I don't have money. I love fixing things, but after that first probe I lost some confidence.
I hang my cables on a pair of hooks next to my work station and grab scope probes just above the probe itself to distinguish them from the rest of the cables and wires, then give it some tugs- only on the cable itself, not near connections.
So I'm thinking this must be a common problem. It seems unlikely that multiple probes from different manufacturers have the exact same problem. I'm trying to retrace my steps to find where the problem is, because this all started once I got to college. But that's also where I used them most, so it's not sure-fire. For what it's worth, I have four oscilloscopes- a digital, two analog, and a USB. Same problem on all. In the mean time I'll continue investigating. (Pictures upon request, though they all look identical to one-another.)
If anybody out there knows what's going on, and how to fix it, I would be forever grateful. Fixing = good. Buying new ones = bad. Bonus points for identifying where the problem is. Thanks so much in advance.
Sam Gallagher
I'm having a devlish time with several oscilloscope probes I own. I have several probes for my oscilloscopes, including some cheap ones that came with a cheap scope, a bunch of old ones that I don't trust too much, and a pair of 200MHz probes that I bought recently to make sure I was getting clean measurements on some of my RF projects.
One issue appeared recently in the cheap "came-with-the-scope" probes where they don't connect to the oscilloscope at all unless they're at the right angle, like a poor pair of headphones. It seemed that pushing in towards the scope would bring the probe back to life (I'd just sit there and put my finger on the end and mess with things to see when it came back) but all in all it is too finicky to use. I took one of them apart, because the other didn't have the problem. I couldn't make much out of it, because the probes are fortress-like in their assembly. (So much rubber!) I was tearing thing with cutters to get to where I thought the problem was, but couldn't find much.
I assumed it was the cheap probes, and continued using my better probes, when suddenly the exact same problem happened to both of them, rendering them useless most of the time. But, again, sometimes I can push in towards the oscilloscope and get them to jump back to life for a second. I hate breaking things, because I'm in college, and I don't have money. I love fixing things, but after that first probe I lost some confidence.
I hang my cables on a pair of hooks next to my work station and grab scope probes just above the probe itself to distinguish them from the rest of the cables and wires, then give it some tugs- only on the cable itself, not near connections.
So I'm thinking this must be a common problem. It seems unlikely that multiple probes from different manufacturers have the exact same problem. I'm trying to retrace my steps to find where the problem is, because this all started once I got to college. But that's also where I used them most, so it's not sure-fire. For what it's worth, I have four oscilloscopes- a digital, two analog, and a USB. Same problem on all. In the mean time I'll continue investigating. (Pictures upon request, though they all look identical to one-another.)
If anybody out there knows what's going on, and how to fix it, I would be forever grateful. Fixing = good. Buying new ones = bad. Bonus points for identifying where the problem is. Thanks so much in advance.
Sam Gallagher