Friday, February 10, 2012

Oscilloscope Cable Fix

I picked up a $90 USB microscope for my school IEEE lab! It came in handy last week when I needed an extra oscilloscope probe, and found this one, ripped in half. What could I do? Buy an expensive new oscilloscope probe for one of our really really outdated oscilloscopes? Nonsense! Of course I can fix it, I'm an engineering student with all the gadgets of an IEEE student branch!

Here's my broken cable. Can I fix it? Of course! 
This shows that:

  1. Playing with microscopes is fun!
  2. The  cable is made of a cloth(?) string covered in woven metal wire, coated in rubber.

So how do I mend a cotton string? I don't have a noodle and thread, so I will think about that later.

Using a needle and thread, but for some weird reason the IEEE lab doesn't have those. We'll see what I find. Maybe the branch should have one. As the treasurer, I bet I can swing that. Remember: with great power comes great responsibility AND shiny toys!

I've tried repairing it, and it didn't go well. More details to be posted... shortly?
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1 comment:

  1. MurrayMarch 29, 2012 at 12:23 PM

    Update: As any of you familiar with oscilliscope cables already know, this repair didn't work at all well. These cables are very sensitive to changes in their resistance, which any repair attempt will (and did) drastically increase. In the end I had a nice pretty cable which was of no use as an oscilliscope cable. I'm still glad I tried, and now appreciate the careful precision that goes into making these.

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