Quality clip leads? Where do I find them?
JonTitus
Posts: 193
Where can I buy good-quality clip leads (alligator clip)? I work with middle-school kids who use clip leads to connect electrical components. Most of the clip leads offered on Ebay and Amazon are awful: thin wires crimped poorly to the alligator clips. High failure rates. I bet most of this junk comes from the same Chinese factory.
Many clips use a vinyl sleeve that quickly slips by 90 degrees so fingers press against the sides of the alligator clip rather than the jaws. I have tried to make my own clip leads. The alligator clips are OK, but again I'm stuck with the slippery vinyl boots. Kids, teacher, and volunteer are all frustrated. Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you. --Jon
Comments
Jon,
Yes, a lot of the alligator & micro-hook clips out there are cheap junk.
I've had great success with using the alligator clips that Adafruit sells. https://www.adafruit.com/?q=alligator&sort=BestMatch
EZ Hook's products are also very good as well https://e-z-hook.com/
Pomona Electronics https://www.pomonaelectronics.com/products also has a great selection of quality test leads and cables.
The above products cost a a bit more than the bulk of stuff on Ebay, but they are definitely worth the price.
Ha! As a result of this thread I just found *quality* color-coded microclips that match the leads my Saleae uses. They were on the E-Z Hook website. The use of those black clips by the factory always drove me nuts. I’m a fossil and I wear trifocals. I cant count the number of times I’ve had the wrong lead on the wrong pin because of that oversight. FIXED!!!
Thank you @Francis Bauer !
Thanks for your comments, ideas, and links. I appreciate them. --Jon
Jameco sells short multi-color clip leads that do not slip when fingers press them to open the jaws. The wires are crimped, though, rather than soldered.