Probe comparison

Probe collection.

Logic analyzer probes

There are many logic analyzer probes of varying quality and price on the market (see photo for a small subset).

Low-end probes

There are various simple and cheap logic analyzer probes available from various sources. Some logic analyzers are also shipped with this kind of probes out of the box.

They're generally not recommended, if you can avoid them. They're usually of low quality, break/bend/fail relatively quickly, and cannot be easily used to probe finer-pitch devices/pins. Probes 1 and 2 (see photos) also have the additional disadvantage that they're hardwired/soldered directly to a custom logic analyzer cable, which means they cannot be easily replaced, swapped, or removed and used for other purposes (which is possible with the other probes). See below for better alternatives.

Sometimes you can also replace the probes shipped with your device by a better-quality cable/probe set, e.g. in the case of the RockyLogic Ant8 probe cable (see photos).

Cheap probe 1.
Cheap probe 2.
Cheap probe 3.
Original Ant8 probe cable.
DIY Ant8 cable w/ EZ-Hooks.

Quality probes

The better-quality (and minimum recommended, in our opinion) probe type is the EZ-Hook. This type of probe is of sufficient quality, doesn't break too easily, and the grabber is small enough to probe most fine-pitch devices one usually encounters in day-to-day probing.

The Agilent probes (shipped with some Agilent oscilloscopes with integrated logic analyzer) seem to be exactly the same as the EZ-Hooks. They're probably merely rebranded for Agilent (just a guess).

The Tektronix probes are different, but of similarly good quality as the EZ-Hooks.

The ZEROPLUS probes seem to be custom-made by/for ZEROPLUS and are of similarly good quality, too (only one pin where you can attach, though; most other probe types usually have two).

Saleae used to deliver EZ-Hooks with the Logic; currently at least the Logic16 comes with a cheaper copy. The Link Instruments MSO-19 comes with the same probes (in different colors).

Original EZ-Hook probe.
Agilent probe.
Tektronix probe.
ZEROPLUS probe.
Saleae Logic16 probe.
Link Instruments MSO19 probe.
TPI MC1 probe.
Rigol probe (front)
Rigol probe (back)

Pomona Grabber

The Pomona Grabber probes seem of similarly good quality (and also have only one pin where you can attach).

Pomona Grabber probe.
Pomona Grabber, side 1
Pomona Grabber, side 2

High-end probes

There are of course also various higher-end, special-purpose probes which are much more expensive. They allow for probing much smaller pitch devices, for example.

TPI NC1 series

The Test Products International (TPI) NC1 is a series of micro test clips.

2x NC1B
NC1B, left
NC1B, right

Where to buy:

Vendor	Device	Comments	Price
Digikey	TPI NC1B	Black	€7.30
Digikey	TPI NC1BLUE	Blue	€8.59
Digikey	TPI NC1Y	Yellow	€8.59
Digikey	TPI NC1GY	Gray	€8.59
Digikey	TPI NC1R	Red	€8.59
Digikey	TPI NC1G	Green	€8.59

ElectroPJP 6800 / Pomona 72902

Electro-PJP MS 6800-6, box
Box, open
Box, contents
Cable 1
Cable 2
Cable 3
Holding rod 1
Holding rod 2
Holding rod 3
Electro-PJP MS 6800, green
Probe w/ cable
Gripper
Electro-PJP MS 6800, red

Products:

Where to buy:

Vendor	Device	Comments	Price
Reichelt	Electro-PJP CLIP 6800 RT "Challenger-clip"	One probe, red	€6.55
Reichelt	Electro-PJP MS 6800-6	Set of 6 probes, 3 holding rods, 6 cables	€48.95
Reichelt	Electro-PJP MS 6800-8	Set of 8 probes, 4 holding rods, 8 cables	€63.85
Reichelt	Electro-PJP MS 6800-12	Set of 12 probes, 6 holding rods, 12 cables	€86.45
Digikey	Pomona 72902-0	One probe, black	€11.69
Digikey	Pomona 72902-2	One probe, red	€11.69
Digikey	Pomona 72902	Kit	€179.97

E-Z-Hook X2015

The E-Z-Hook X2015 micro double-hook.

X2015, probes 1
X2015, probes 2
X2015, black 1
X2015, black 2
X2015, red 1
X2015, red 2
Gripper

Mechano Japan FP-2S

The Mechano Japan FP-2S micro test clips (microgrippers) are suitable for ICs with a pitch of 0.50mm—0.20mm. They're available from various vendors under different names.

Package
Probes + cables
Probes + attached cables
Cable
ChipQuik SMDFP-2S-2
ChipQuik SMDFP-2S-2
ChipQuik SMDFP-2S-2
ChipQuik SMDFP-2S-2
ChipQuik SMDFP-2S-2
ChipQuik SMDFP-2S-2
Attached 1
Attached 2
Attached 3
Attached 4

Vendor	Device	Comments	Price
ChipQuik	ChipQuik Microgripper FP-2S-2	2 micro-grippers, 2 wires.	$79.00
Digikey	ChipQuik SMDFP-2S-2	2 micro-grippers, 2 wires. Datasheet.	€80.56
Distrelec	PMK FP-2S-2	2 micro-grippers, 2 wires. Datasheet.	€90.28
Emulation Technology	Emulation Technology MicroGripper FP-2S-2	2 micro-grippers, 2 wires. Datasheet.	$74.72
PEWA	PMK FP-2S-2 QFP IC-Clip	2 micro-grippers, 2 wires. Datasheet.	€73.00
PMK	PMK SMDFP-2S-2	2 micro-grippers, 2 wires	€80.56

Mechano Japan FP-5 (FP-2B)

The Mechano Japan FP-5 (a.k.a FP-2B) micro test clips (microgrippers) are suitable for ICs with a pitch of 1.00mm—0.30mm. They're available from various vendors under different names.

FP-5
FP-2S and FP-5, front
FP-2S and FP-5, back
FP-2S and FP-5, grabbers