Kelvin clips - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: wiss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:03:08 pm
content: HiDoes anyone have opinions on these kelvin clips?http://www.ebay.de/itm/2-Messpinzetten-2x-Einzeln-oder-Kelvin-mit-4mm-Steckern-fur-LCR-Meter-und-DMMs-/261267737565?pt=Mess_Pr%C3%BCftechnik&hash=item3cd4c54bddThey seem to be ok (for the price).Should I buy a pair?

author: plesa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:17:04 pm
content: Depends on what you are going to measure. In my next order list are Kelvin clip 6440 they seems to be fine for smaller packages.Agilent has some decent kelvin grabbers, byt they are quite expensive.

author: wiss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:24:33 pm
content: I plan to use them for normal legged resistors and the like. When you want something hooked up quick. If I have a reference I can take my time and connect 4 wires

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:25:47 pm
content: Quote from: plesa on February 05, 2014, 09:17:04 pmIsn't all the agilent probes nowadays re-branded Pomona probes?

author: plesa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:28:12 pm
content: Quote from: wiss on February 05, 2014, 09:24:33 pmFor such a stuff the clips you mentioned seems to be quite big. I will rather use for clips bellowhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/AGILENT-HP-5090-4356-Mini-GRABBERS-IC-CLIPS-PKG-20-NEW-/321315296037?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4acfe25325They are reliable and cheap.

author: wiss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:36:21 pm
content: Are those kelvin?

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:39:43 pm
content: OP:That style of 'clip' is common on Ebay. Quite a few vendors sell/ship just the kelvin clips. I have a set that I wired up to use with my Rigol HP1116A power supply which has a 4 wire mode.The clips are reasonably quality (for the price...) and are true Kelvin clips. They are LARGE - which is fine for my power supply use running a bunch of amps. I wouldn't use them for measuring anything small... and no - the small HP/Agilent clips of the other post are NOT kelvin - they are commonly supplied with their logic analysers etc.cheers,george.

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:46:31 pm
content: I still have one set ofthese kelvin clipsthat I made available.Edit: Sold

author: wiss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:51:00 pm
content: Judging from the picture they are 10 or 12 cm long? (2 banana-plugs)Ok, that might be rather large, I'm not going to use them in-circuit anyway so large size would not be catastrophic, only inconvenient.Maybe these would be better?http://www.ebay.de/itm/newv-LCR-Meter-Low-Resistance-Test-Leads-LCR-test-Clip-Terminal-Kelvin-Test-/111050454976?pt=Mess_Pr%C3%BCftechnik&hash=item19db1f77c0These looks cool but way too low price for 4 BNC, and the BNC would be very inconvenient for me.http://www.ebay.de/itm/newv-LCR-Meter-Test-Leads-LCR-test-Clip-Terminal-Kelvin-Test-Line-High-Quali-/121112664114?pt=Mess_Pr%C3%BCftechnik&hash=item1c32e09832

author: DmitryL
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:59:45 pm
content: Quote from: wiss on February 05, 2014, 09:36:21 pmNo, they are not. They are a high-quality grabbers, but not Kelvin type; I have a bunch of them.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 10:03:48 pm
content: Those prices seem high to me.A couple of years ago I bought a pair of cheap kelvin clips (they're available from multiple vendors on ebay) and added my own cables. My milliommeter shows 0.01 milliohms when they're shorted together. They're a bit of a hassle to solder the leads onto. It's hard to do the job without touching the iron to the plastic. There's no strain relief for the cable so you'll have to figure out something for that. But, for the price, they're good enough for me.Ed

author: lowimpedance
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 10:15:53 pm
content: I have seen Agilent use 'Mueller' BU-75K clips which are compact but can be a bit fiddly stay on component leads. Which depends on how stiff the leads connecting the clips to the meter are.Digikey have them for US $11.30 each , others have them also.

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 11:07:56 pm
content: Quote from: edpalmer42 on February 05, 2014, 10:03:48 pmMe too! Why is it so much cheaper to buy the kind with 4 BNC connectors instead of the kind with 4 banana plugs?QuoteYou can remove the jaw/terminal completely from the plastic shell to solder it.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2014, 12:13:14 am
content: Quote from: edavid on February 05, 2014, 11:07:56 pmI wondered about that, but I didn't see an obvious way to do it so I decided not to 'Take It Apart!'.Ed

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2014, 12:51:54 am
content: The cheap LARGE clips like on Ebay can be dis-assembled easily. You just pull out the 'floating' spring inside and then the metal contacts just slip out. Solder your wires on and then slip them back into the jaws and reinstall the 'floating' spring without getting it into your eyecheers,george.

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2014, 12:56:33 am
content: Here's a pic with one dis-assembled.cheers,george.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2014, 05:08:25 am
content: Quote from: georges80 on February 06, 2014, 12:56:33 amYup, those are the ones I've got. I didn't look close enough. I thought there was a shaft through the pivot of the connector and since it appeared to be plastic, I didn't want to take the chance of breaking it. Oh well, I got the job done, even though it won't win any beauty contests!Ed

author: wiss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2014, 10:20:45 pm
content: Thanks for the tips!You have talked me out of ordering those from ebay but I got interested in the siamese clips, I will probably try to make a pair!

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2014, 01:38:35 am
content: Speaking of shit kelvin probes, check out the quality assembly of these cheapies I got from fleabayI pulled the plug out of the socket and was left with thisI shudder to think whats going on under the heatshrink

author: CaptnYellowShirt
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2014, 06:07:17 am
content: Quote from: georges80 on February 06, 2014, 12:51:54 amI second george.I bought two pairs directly from China. Buy just the clips -- pay no attention to the auctions with the wires already hooked up.Get the clips (super cheap), hook them up any way you want. That way, you'll know for sure what's what.