Yeah, test leads not the most exciting topic in the world but I still felt these were worth reviewing. Walking through Fry's today wasting time and I came across these test leads. I don't really NEED test leads I knew Pomona tends to be high quality. At $13.99 for leads from a quality company I decided to splurge and take the gamble.
At this price you aren't getting much more than the leads but thats all I was interested in. The package contains a red and black test lead with matching caps for the probe tips. They are rated as Cat II 1000V without cap. Cat III 1000V/Cat IV 600V with the tip caps. The tips are super sharp and the caps fit snugly without being annoying.
If I had these caps much less likely I kill the zener in my 199. The 18AWG wires are wear-indicating double-layered safety silicone (finally! I have leads that aren't plastic/rubber coated) while the tips and handles are polypropylene with a soft elastomer coating which feels VERY nice in the hands. It reminds me of the soft-touch coating on some smartphones. The leads read 0.06ohms impedence when shorted on my UT61E. Speaking of, continuity testing using these tips is virtually instant with no signs of a coating. It really reinforces how nice the UT61Es continuity buzzer is.
Also, I should point out the banana plugs are real banana plugs not the typical split metal prongs like on cheaper probes. I know this pic doesn't show it very well but its the best I could do.
Summary:
First and foremost, I can say these leads are by far the nicest I have owned but they are also the first quality leads I have owned. So I have nothing to compare it to. The cable is double-layered safety silicone which doesn't tangle. One thing I should mention is how LONG they are. At 120cm (4 ft long for us yanks) the length is actually significantly longer than any of my other leads. I could see when using these on a test bench that length is welcome but I think in other situations it is a tad of a drawback. I actually like the caps as they are not cumbersome or annoying; simple to remove and simple to put on. Need I mentioned again that I got all of this for under $15 after taxes and I must say that I am QUITE happy.
Also, these are the EXACT thing as the Fluke TL71 test leads which cost at least $10 more. Both Fluke and Pomona (as well as Keithley and Tektronix) are owned by Danaher.
At this price you aren't getting much more than the leads but thats all I was interested in. The package contains a red and black test lead with matching caps for the probe tips. They are rated as Cat II 1000V without cap. Cat III 1000V/Cat IV 600V with the tip caps. The tips are super sharp and the caps fit snugly without being annoying.
If I had these caps much less likely I kill the zener in my 199. The 18AWG wires are wear-indicating double-layered safety silicone (finally! I have leads that aren't plastic/rubber coated) while the tips and handles are polypropylene with a soft elastomer coating which feels VERY nice in the hands. It reminds me of the soft-touch coating on some smartphones. The leads read 0.06ohms impedence when shorted on my UT61E. Speaking of, continuity testing using these tips is virtually instant with no signs of a coating. It really reinforces how nice the UT61Es continuity buzzer is.
Also, I should point out the banana plugs are real banana plugs not the typical split metal prongs like on cheaper probes. I know this pic doesn't show it very well but its the best I could do.
Summary:
First and foremost, I can say these leads are by far the nicest I have owned but they are also the first quality leads I have owned. So I have nothing to compare it to. The cable is double-layered safety silicone which doesn't tangle. One thing I should mention is how LONG they are. At 120cm (4 ft long for us yanks) the length is actually significantly longer than any of my other leads. I could see when using these on a test bench that length is welcome but I think in other situations it is a tad of a drawback. I actually like the caps as they are not cumbersome or annoying; simple to remove and simple to put on. Need I mentioned again that I got all of this for under $15 after taxes and I must say that I am QUITE happy.
Also, these are the EXACT thing as the Fluke TL71 test leads which cost at least $10 more. Both Fluke and Pomona (as well as Keithley and Tektronix) are owned by Danaher.
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I picked these up at a USA electronics store called Frys. Likely you can find similar in your country.
Yeah apparently even in Canada they cost twice as much. At least here in the USA it makes no sense to purchase the cheaper ones. These are so much nicer its no comparison. I didn't realize how much the silicone test wires make a HUGE difference. At 1.2m non-silicone wire would be virtually unworkable. These on the other hand aren't a problem at all.
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I have multiple Chinese leads, these feel better. They read equal to my lowest impedance leads. The banana plugs are way better quality. The wire is higher quality safety wire, the tips are turned not cast.
COO Made in America with imported parts.
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I'm shopping for a batch of leads right now, basic leads as well as back probes, clips, and alligators, and its just kind of weird to be looking at $50 to $100 in leads for $3 or $30 meters.
Generally I have no issues with my $4 ebay leads from China, but maybe its been too long since I used a good set of leads?
Generally I have no issues with my $4 ebay leads from China, but maybe its been too long since I used a good set of leads?
I haven't had any major issues with Chinese leads. Some are better than others, that being said the feel of these leads blows all of the others out of the water. The silicone cable makes a huge difference in usability. I would imagine that to get a silicone test lead from China it would be much higher than $4. Which at that point why not but the Pomona leads.
About where I am, that very pomona lead costs 40$ (Holy ****) and a silicone cable from china costs about 6$
About where I am, that very pomona lead costs 40$ (Holy ****) and a silicone cable from china costs about 6$
Look also for Brymen Silicone Gold Plated Test Leads on ebay.
I love Brymen stuff these are likely quite good as well. The main seller on ebay is a guy named Frank Tong is highly thought of on EEVBlog, he posts there under the name "iloveelectronics". His shop 99cent Hobbies (sellername is f-t-2000) is often recommended. He sources a lot of good stuff and then sells it from Hong Kong (where shipping is much faster than China Post).
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Had them in my hands on Thursday along with a set of double ended shrouded leads. Price mistake/ stocked on wrong peg, so the price on the second set was $13 instead of $8 on the shelf, irked me so I didn't buy either one.
I'm back to looking at Ebay and cheaper cables.
I got TL175 on my 87V but I ordered the Brymen for the other DMMs. Pomona are great value at $13 if living in the U.S. Small things like heavy tangling leads can be an annoyance on the bench when much stuff is deployed during tests. Silicone leads are a world apart vs. normal ones. I especially dislike the mechanical memory of the lesser leads.
I just ordered a pair of premium leads with alligator clips for $5.50 shipped from HK. Couple times a year I make it to one of the big regional hamfests (started by radio amateur groups 50 years ago, now a mix of computer stuff in a swap meet setting, but still free for non business radio hams), and they often have all sorts of cheap used test gear.
Leads arrived, not as flexible as silicone, but seem to work just fine. Insulated alligator clips snap on to probe tips via a small dip on the probe tip that retains them. Solid feel to the meter connection, but the shroud is same flex material as the wire, so its soft, but again seems to work fine.
I have the same set up:Fluke 87v with TL175 and in my Fluke 27FM(military version) I have the Pomona leads and to be honest...I like the Pomona better. yeah you can call me crazy for saying that
But the Pomona feel much better and yes, the Pomona is owned by Flukeif you press hard on the "shrouded" part where you connect the to input meter you will see and feel that on the TL175 is solid and can brake...but in the other hand the Pomona are way more flexible and will not brake as easily as the TL175.
You can see my short review here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/equipment-tools/241294-dmm-test-probes.html
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The Pomona 5898 leads seem almost identical to the 5519A leads except that the 5898 uses stainless steel and 5519A uses nickel plated Beryllium Copper for the probe tips. I would imagine the copper has lower resistance but the stainless is probably more durable.
Are there other differences I am missing? What would be the advantage of one over the other?
Are there other differences I am missing? What would be the advantage of one over the other?
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