Have been using the probes that came with my Siglent 1104 X-E scope. love the scope, perfect for what I need. The probes suck. Poor ground connection from the cable to the probe body. Lots of intermittent power line noise.
So, looking for a quality probe that's not too expensive. While I like the 1x-10x convenience, if the price is right, I could go with 4 1x and 4 10x, likely more reliable.
I would like a dedicated 10x probe to reach 500 volts, but not absolutely necessary.
What has been your experience? what would you recommend?
I am an experienced user and have used scopes and probes from many manufactures, but don't know much about today's market.
So, looking for a quality probe that's not too expensive. While I like the 1x-10x convenience, if the price is right, I could go with 4 1x and 4 10x, likely more reliable.
I would like a dedicated 10x probe to reach 500 volts, but not absolutely necessary.
What has been your experience? what would you recommend?
I am an experienced user and have used scopes and probes from many manufactures, but don't know much about today's market.
I have generally replaced the stock probes with new ones from TPI, or used HP or Tektronix probes if complete and in good condition.
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/tpi-test-products-int/SP200B/268018 (I use these)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/tpi-test-products-int/SP100B/268016
Somewhat surprisingly my Picoscope 5242D came with good probes. Neither the Tektronix TBS1052B nor the Rigol 1054DZ came with acceptably performing probes. I gave away my analog Tek 2245A, and the TBS, but still have a TekScope that was gifted to me by a friend who is no longer with us.
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/tpi-test-products-int/SP200B/268018 (I use these)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/tpi-test-products-int/SP100B/268016
Somewhat surprisingly my Picoscope 5242D came with good probes. Neither the Tektronix TBS1052B nor the Rigol 1054DZ came with acceptably performing probes. I gave away my analog Tek 2245A, and the TBS, but still have a TekScope that was gifted to me by a friend who is no longer with us.
I have yet to run into that problem, it helps though to check what the manufacturer recommends for compensation capacitance value range and purchase a probe that accommodates that requirement. As far as TPI probes go I have never had a problem compensating them on any scopes I have owned including a 545A. 😀
If one is looking for golden probes, I use the "Probe Master San Diego USA" 5905-1 500MHz model as198$US or one likes the 1/10 switched as 4902-2 model as 64$US
4902 Model 5905 Model
4902 Model 5905 Model
I have the same issue with the siglent probes. Good probes are really important and something to be protected. I have some specific preferences:
For fine (SMD) probing the HP miniature probes are the best- e.g. 10041 http://hparchive.com/Application_Notes/HP_Op_Note_5955-6270_Scope_Probes.pdf
The Tek switchable probe will fit on the Siglent and are quite durable e.g. P6063B https://chrisgrossman.com/manuals/tektronix/voltage_probes/Tek_P6063B_Service_Manual.pdf
For high voltage look for P6009 100X probe. https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/P6009 I prefer the older design even though is clunky because it keeps the operator further from the DUT.
I use all of these with my Siglent 1104X-E. I find the new China probes are mostly fragile and a bit marginal on performance. It seems there is one or two vendors and many brands stuck on them. They all have the same part number: P6100 and are $12/pair on eBay.
For fine (SMD) probing the HP miniature probes are the best- e.g. 10041 http://hparchive.com/Application_Notes/HP_Op_Note_5955-6270_Scope_Probes.pdf
The Tek switchable probe will fit on the Siglent and are quite durable e.g. P6063B https://chrisgrossman.com/manuals/tektronix/voltage_probes/Tek_P6063B_Service_Manual.pdf
For high voltage look for P6009 100X probe. https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/P6009 I prefer the older design even though is clunky because it keeps the operator further from the DUT.
I use all of these with my Siglent 1104X-E. I find the new China probes are mostly fragile and a bit marginal on performance. It seems there is one or two vendors and many brands stuck on them. They all have the same part number: P6100 and are $12/pair on eBay.
I bought a $179 Tek x10 probe for my low cost Rigol dual channel 100MHz scope. No more probe problems with that scope since. The other more fancy Rigol 600MHz scope uses passive probes which are good but they cost around $475/each. OTOH, cheap probes never last long. Usually its the hook tip that fails first. It gets intermittent.
Thanks, it looks like the 4200 series is what best fits for me.
Just ordered 2, 1X and 2, 10X probes. $215 with markers and shipping.
Hope the quality and reliability is as good as they appear.
Just ordered 2, 1X and 2, 10X probes. $215 with markers and shipping.
Hope the quality and reliability is as good as they appear.
Cheap probes are a bit of a lottery, but they are cheap - so you could buy some more and check them all, expecting a few to be duds. Sometimes its possible to re-tension some of the springs in the tip assemblies - worth a go.
I did tear one of my crap probes down to see if it could be fixed. There are 2 places on the probe body, one at each end that have crimp connections for the ground. Tried to solder but my first attempt was not successful. Possibly needed more heat, but did not want to mess up the guts. A spot weld vs a crimp by the manufacturer would eliminate what I expect is a wide spread issue with these.
