[YiraldyGuber]

I have a bunch of these. They're great, except for being frustratingly "floppy" at times. Imagine huddling over a PCB carefully positioning all these probes, not daring to breathe... only for the slightest brush to send them all tumbling over like dominoes. More than a few curse words have been let loose over this gear, but I couldn't do without them.

It looks like they have new ones that address this: "The new SQ series of handsfree probes from Sensepeek have a lower point of gravity making them even more stable compared with the original SP series of handsfree probes."

[ofrzeta]

> making them even more stable

Not related to the topic but it seems this marketing blurb has become the norm: They can't say they fixed something without claiming that it was already very good. I've come to hate this. No, they are not now "even more stable", "we made them more stable" because honestly they weren't that stable to begin with.

[jdietrich]

I would strongly recommend adding a couple of dial indicator stands to your kit. They are rather more bulky than the included arms, but as they're designed for holding precise mechanical measurement instruments they are rigid, stable and can be very finely adjusted.

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/dial-indicator-stands/

For more complex probing, it is now remarkably straightforward to 3D print a bed-of-nails test jig.

[anymouse123456]

I'm considering buying these. Are you saying they're floppy as in, the bendable part doesn't hold it's shape? or floppy as in, the magnet isn't strong enough and the whole thing falls down?

I'm assuming there's a magnet. I hope these aren't just using weight to hold their position....

[kedikedi]

One side has a magnet, and it firmly attaches the base board (steel). But the other side just has the pogo and is fixed there just by the weight of the thing. It works good if there's enough "bite" and the rest of the system applies force the right way. If not, we'll, it slides off.

In my case for example, it is excellent for test points but somewhat challenging with soldered SMD component pads and very challenging if the density is high.

[adhesive_wombat]

If you're able to solder on and the signal can stand the stub, a little dot of copper tape on top of the IC and a tiny wire down to the lead in question and soldered on can help give an easier "hitbox". You can add the ground pad as well next to it and use the spring for the probe.

[anymouse123456]

If I'm going to have to solder, I'll just keep using clamps on the end of the jumper wire...

[anymouse123456]

Ah, that's really helpful.

I assumed they were those bendable wire things like old style podium mic stands. Those tend to sort of stay where you put them, but not very precisely.

[adhesive_wombat]

I find the magnet is usable but weaker then I'd like if the steel is under an ESD mat, which are usual 2mm thick. If anything they're a just little bit too long which means they can be slightly floppy in the cross-wise direction.

Thinking about it I might try a piece of low-profile bike chain and a copper wire and see if I can do better.

[YiraldyGuber]

The magnet is very strong, no issue there.

I mean the 'bendable' part. The nearest consistency I can think of would be a bag of sand. They are weighty but not rigid. They are not designed to hold their shape. Unfortunately this means that it takes very little sideways force to make them "flop" over.

Still, I can't recommend them highly enough. I use them all the time. Seriously, a PCBite plate with probes on-hand is now a permanent fixture on my main desk. If you do half as much fiddly electronics stuff as I do, they will pay for themselves. But you will also occasionally find them infuriating.

[ghosty141]

We have them at work too, like you said they are too floppy and you gotta be extremely careful not to touch anything, especially if the point you are testing is very tiny. Apart from that they are great but yeah, there needs to be a way to fix them in place.

[The_Double]

I have bought the new SQ probes and went back to only buying the older version.

The new ones are heavier, but that makes it harder to put them at an angle, they fall over more quickly. And the probe heads are bigger so you can't put as many close together.