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Smart Tweezer

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Noggin

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Does anyone have any experience with these things? Smart Tweezers | Digital MultiMeter

My first impression is that for $315 US it doesn't seem worth it as I already have a nice multimeter. I don't usually have any problems getting my meter's probes into tight spaces. My boss sent me this link this morning asking if I thought we should purchase one. While I think it is a neat idea, it just doesn't seem that practical to me.

Everyone here has either a Fluke or an Agilent meter, and we also have a 6.5 digit benchtop meter at our disposal as well. However, I'd like to know if anyone here has used one and finds it to be indispensable. I hate disregarding products that I've never used without some thought and/or discussion.
 
For the price you could buy a logic analyzer and inexpensive multimeter, just wire it up to a pair of tweezers yourself =)
I imagine it's a handy tool for a tech on the go with cash to spend to have, but not so much for a hobbyist.
 
Smart tweezers are great! :)

I just ordered an empty enclosure to make a logic probe. :D

Boncuk
 
One advantage of the device is that it easily measures the value of surface mount chip inductors, capacitors, and resistors and it has a minimum of parasitic capacitance and inductance. It measures down to 10pF and 1µH which well below the parasitic values of a meter with normal leads. It would appear to be handy if you work a lot with surface mount parts.
 
I have one. Not indispensable, wish I had saved the $$$. The auto feature doesn't work well, sometimes you will be reading a diode and it will decide it is a resistor.

Switching to voltage measurement mode with the crappy "trace" mode thing (a pretend oscilloscope) is done with a flush-mount slide switch on the side that is impossible to work with your fingers. It's too slow to work as an oscilloscope.

And get this - if you accidentally select that mode, the damn thing points an arrow at the aforementioned impossible slide switch and BEEPS at you to slide the switch - and there's no way to exit from that mode without finding a damn tool to slide the switch!

On rare occasions it's slightly more convenient than a multimeter, but not often.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. I don't think we'll be getting one.
 
I modified a pair of tweezers to work as a probe for a DMM or digital capacitance meter. I epoxied a 1/8" square of 1/32" thick PCB material to one face of the tweezers, and to the exposed face, soldered a small length of very flexible stranded wire. A set of somewhat short (maybe 18" long) set of banana leads were connected such that the black lead was soldered to the tweezers and the red lead to the short flexible wire. Works great and is very low cost. You pick up the little chip cap, check out the value on the meter and deposit the chip where you want it when sorting or storing.

It's possible to make a Kelvin version for a 4-terminal resistance measurement for low resistances as well.

Dean
 
I saw on some unknown webpage that someone suggested gold plated contacts. They used a part old pci/isa card that had gold plated contacts.
 
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