HPS141 product fault

Instruments Handheld Oscilloscopes
1

Hi, I’m posting this as I’ve had no response to an email sent earlier this week.

I recently purchased a Velleman HPS141 Component Tester to use with a recently purchased HPS140mk2 from CPC in the UK.

I’ve only used the HPS141 for a few hours over a number of days and in this time the very fine cables linking two of the probe test clips have snapped off. I have been very careful in handling the unit as these looked fragile, but these have sheared off with very little force (just the twisting/movement in using the unit). It appears that the wires are soldered in place but not mechanicallty secured in any way and so the cable just rubs against a sharp metal edge inside the clip.

I was considering returning the product to the supplier for a refund but it doesn’t really help me as I really like the product otherwise and would like to continue using it. Apart from the above mentioned issue, I wanted to say that it is a very good and high quality product and works well with the HPS140mk2.

I could try and replace the clips myself but I fear the same problem will just re-occur and I don’t feel that I should need to do this. It seems a real shame that the product is let down by these issues and I wondered if anything could be done (i.e. is this available with alternative more robust test leads/probe tips)?

I would be very grateful for any help you can provide.

Kind regards

2

Hi!
Yes those leads are flimsy. It is quite typical for these kind of test clips however that when they break you just solder the wire back, making the lead a bit shorter every time. Mine are still intact but I have not used it much yet. One could play with hot glue and shrink tube to make them robust but eventually they break anyway and repairing will be much more difficult and wire will shorten significantly each time. One could try replacing those with kevlar reinforced wires.

I don’t agree with quality. I needed to modify the product before it was usable in the first place. The button got stuck when pressed. I had to file off some plastic to make it work. Now I try to measure a transistor. It thinks it is a pair of diodes. I tried to run self test (calibration) but that gets stuck after “isolate probes”. A lot more trouble than I was hoping for.

Tom