Probe comparison
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 Saleae Logic; currently at least the Saleae 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
Universal-Chip Clip TSOP/MSOP/SSOP/TSSOP/SOIC/SOP
These are noname probes with gripper hooks that are available from AliExpress, e.g. here, here, or here.
They're slightly better than the ultra-cheap low-end probes and can probe smaller-pitch devices. Opening the hook requires quite a bit of force and gets tedious after a while. They're larger and bulkier than e.g. the EZ-Hook X2015 and cannot probe small-pitch devices as easily as X2015 can (see also photos).
Package, top
Package, bottom
Connector
Gripper hook
Gripper hook, open
Example
Example, zoomed
Comparison to X2015
Comparison to X2015, zoomed
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
25mil / 0.65mm pitch probing
Products:
- Electro-PJP 6800: Micro pincer clip w/ 0.8 mm (0.031") (male) pin
- Electro-PJP 6800-6: Kit, 6 clips + 3 holding rods + 6 leads
- Pomona 72902 (various 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
LQFP 0.5mm pitch example
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
Needles
Hirschmann Mikro-Pruef MPS-2
The Hirschmann Mikro-Pruef MPS-2 spring-loaded needles can be used to easily probe PCB vias.
They're useful for usage with logic analyzers as well as multimeters via certain test leads.
Spring-loaded needles
Via
Vias
Test leads
LA + needles
DMM + needles
Probe comparison
Cheap #2
Cheap #2
Cheap #2
E-Z-Hook XKM
E-Z-Hook XKM
E-Z-Hook XKM
ElectroPJP 6800
ElectroPJP 6800
ElectroPJP 6800
E-Z-Hook X2015
E-Z-Hook X2015
E-Z-Hook X2015
Logic analyzer adapters
Attaching "normal" logic analyzer probes directly to the system you want to analyze is not always the easiest method. For specific use-cases there are also special "sniffer" or "breakout" boards that can be used.
Micro SD sniffer
SD sniffer
USB sniffer
PCI sniffer
Nintendo Wii Nunchuk sniffer
Oscilloscope probes
Low-end probes
There are various cheap oscilloscope probes which are shipped with many PC/USB oscilloscopes and also some standalone bench scopes.
The two major manufacturers seem to be:
- Globaltone
- Models: P6020, P6040, P6060, P6100, P6200, ...
- Globaltone AliExpress.com store
- Protek (TODO: URL?)
TODO: Photos
DIY probes
The SMD probe for multimeter project at the essentialscrap site discusses the construction of a fine pitch probe for multimeters and logic analyzers, some hand held, others kind of self supporting for longer term use of a few probes at the same time without manual attention. The article also contains the How to Build Your Own Oscilloscope Probes link.