wingless Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 Well it FINALLY happened. My decades old Fluke 89 IV broke again, this time in a way that I cannot repair. There were prior failures to the AA battery terminals that I was able to locate / modify "generic" battery terminals to restore functionality. Lately the plastic has been breaking, even w/ my gentle handling / storage. The piece of resistance was the plastic central shaft connected to the main rotary knob sheared off flush w/ the case. A Fluke 87V MAX was ordered and received as a replacement. This is an amazing / equivalent replacement, with slight differences to my prior meter. It is GREAT to have a new / fully intact instrument, w/ plastic that isn't dying from age. The prior meter included a paper Owner's Manual and paper Quick Start Guide. The new meter has a paper Quick Start Guide and a fat paper Safety Information manual w/ supplement, printed w/ useless information in every language known to man. The new meter requires usage of PDF Owner's Manual document files to fully understand the instrument. The meter includes undocumented parts. One is a set of rubber push on / off caps that block the end of leads when the safety banana plugs are not pushed into the instrument. The other is a set of replacement safety banana plug contacts. The meter includes a nice set of silicone insulation safety leads w/ removable insulated alligator clip ends. There is also an included thermocouple probe. This is a high accuracy / high end full featured multimeter. Fluke does a great job and sets the standard. Hopefully this one will outlast me. This new Fluke 87V MAX fits nicely into my Fluke C100 molded storage case, also already holding my related accessories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric - TIA Posted October 4, 2023 Report Share Posted October 4, 2023 I don't use those meters much but Fluke is one of the best. I see so many people use them. As with yours, it's amazing how old some of them are. Nowadays, everything is disposable so it's nice to see some things last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingless Posted December 12, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2023 The test leads included w/ this Fluke 87V MAX multimeter are the Fluke TL175 TwistGuard dual mode test leads. These test leads may be quickly and easily changed from CAT II to CAT III, w/ CAT II having the large exposed metal tip and the CAT III having the small metal exposed tip. The molded plastic lead body has embossed text w/ a window showing the category rating selected by the rotated exposed tip body. The included Fluke AC175 Detached Insulated Alligator Clips only work when the leads are set w/ the long exposed CAT II tips. (Note the Fluke LeadWrap shown in the images was not included and instead added by me.) Note it was very disappointing that Fluke not only doesn't include a printed manual w/ the Fluke 87V MAX multimeter, requiring but not advising the consumer to locate and download the PDF manual from their website, but also to not include any information on these TL175 TwistGuard test leads. It was not immediately obvious to me that these included test leads change from CAT II to CAT II by twisting the barrel. I didn't realize that function until I located and read the documentation for this reply. Now I like these test leads much more than before. TL175 Twist Guard Test Leads Instruction Sheet TL175 Twist Guard Test Leads Technical Data Fluke TL175 TwistGuard Dual Mode Test Leads The Fluke LeadWrap is an excellent accessory for usage w/ their test leads. It has a small Velcro section to wrap around the meter end of a test lead pair. The leads are then folded several times and the remainder of the Velcro wraps around the lead bundle. They are sold as a three pack. Fluke LeadWrap Most of my multimeter measurements are made using a Fluke TL224 SureGrip Insulated Test Lead Set. These have the standard shrouded 4mm banana safety plugs at each end, one end at right angle for insertion into the multimeter, the other end straight for usage w/ the appropriate / selected test probe. I now have all flavors of detachable test probes, now added this Maxigrabber 73103 huge hook, to the other available options of: straight metal probes; detachable alligator clips; alligator probes; long / flexible pincer probes and slender hook probes. I envision this to be SUPER handy, especially in automotive applications, to grab onto chassis ground, such as a body bolt. Fluke Maxigrabber 73103 Hook Probe The Fluke TP82 Insulation Piercing Probe Set has a large finger adjustment screw that moves the internal stainless sharp needle probe. That needle probe is used to pierce the wire insulation, to permit electrical measurements by contacting the internal conductor w/o stripping the insulation. These each attach to the test leads w/ the standard 4mm safety shrouded banana jack. This looked like an interesting and potentially useful probe, except the Fluke version was pricy. A super inexpensive Chinese version w/ IDENTICAL appearance was purchased instead. Many electrical operations require usage of temporary jumper leads. My go-to since the dinosaur days has been the Pomona Electronics Minigrabber Test Clip Patch Cord. Those work great when grabbing onto something like a through hole axial resistor lead, but not terrific in many other applications. This inexpensive shrouded alligator patch cord set was purchased for additional flexibility. The Pomona 6041B Extra Large Alligator Clip Set and the Pomona 5914 Industrial Alligator Clip Set are now part of my lead set. These are large and larger red or black insulated alligator clips each attaching to the test leads w/ the standard 4mm safety shrouded banana jack. The 6041B clips are rated for 20A and the 5914 are rated for 10A, on the linked specification sheet, even though the molded embossed text on the parts is 20A. Pomona 6041B Extra Large Alligator Clip Set Pomona 5914 Industrial Alligator Clip Set The Lisle 65150 Flexible Back Probes have long skinny exposed metal probe points, w/ small diameter and bendable plastic body, each attaching to the test leads w/ the standard 4mm safety shrouded banana jack. Note these are similar but significantly less expensive than the Fluke TAS90 Test Probe Accessory Set. Lisle 65150 Flexible Back Probes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingless Posted December 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2023 On 12/12/2023 at 9:11 AM, wingless said: The Fluke TP82 Insulation Piercing Probe Set has a large finger adjustment screw that moves the internal stainless sharp needle probe. That needle probe is used to pierce the wire insulation, to permit electrical measurements by contacting the internal conductor w/o stripping the insulation. These each attach to the test leads w/ the standard 4mm safety shrouded banana jack. This looked like an interesting and potentially useful probe, except the Fluke version was pricy. A super inexpensive Chinese version w/ IDENTICAL appearance was purchased instead. An installed (by me) wireless four camera w/ display system was my Christmas present to my daughter for her six horse trailer, w/ three cameras mounted on the trailer and one attached to the upper bed lip, below the window, looking at the hitch ball in the middle of the bed on her 2021 Ford F250 pickup truck. These insulation piercing probes were SUPER HANDY to locate the 12VDC power on the trailer. The trailer was factory wired to have switched internal lights that work when the truck engine is running. The cameras needed to receive power from the power side, not switch side of that internal lighting circuit. The probe grabs onto the wire, then the large thumb screw is used to advance the internal needle probe through the insulation to touch the conductor. This permitted EASY determination of which white insulation wire should be used for tapping off camera power. The trailer manufacturer did a really nice job concealing all the internal wiring from damage by the horses. Everything was hidden by riveted aluminum trim panels, so all those rivets were drilled out, panels removed, wiring exposed, new wiring added, concealed, panels replaced and new rivets securing panels. Truck w/ Prior (Smaller) Trailer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric - TIA Posted December 29, 2023 Report Share Posted December 29, 2023 That camera looks like ikt has a nice clear picture. Usually, it's graining but that is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingless Posted December 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2023 2 hours ago, Eric - TIA said: That camera looks like ikt has a nice clear picture. Usually, it's graining but that is nice. Yes, the cameras have great daytime images and acceptable B&W dark nighttime images, automatically illuminated by the integrated IR LEDs. The kit includes two each of two camera styles. The two right images are from the spherical body cameras, the left image is from the trunnion mount camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric - TIA Posted January 3 Report Share Posted January 3 I know you have it inside your trailer but is it IP{ rated for outside if we want to put it on an open trailer or would it be too easy to steal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingless Posted January 3 Author Report Share Posted January 3 34 minutes ago, Eric - TIA said: I know you have it inside your trailer but is it IP{ rated for outside if we want to put it on an open trailer or would it be too easy to steal? The camera system is listed as IP69. Both camera types appear to be reasonably weather sealed. All cameras have a molded water resistant round DC power connector on the end of a ~1 foot cable. In a high theft location, usage of the trunnion mount instead of the spherical mount, would permit "easy" removal, by removing the two pivot screws, leaving the u-shaped trunnion bracket in place, and unplugging the camera to relocate to a secure place. The spherical mount style would require removing everything for theft protection, because the camera is the sphere and the permanently attached cabled antenna connector is on the cast aluminum base. My application has one exterior spherical camera on the top, rear of the roof, at the far end of a ~30 foot six horse trailer and one exterior trunnion mount camera on the top edge of the bed, under the crew cab rear window. There is also one of each type inside the trailer, at the front and the rear. My concern was signal strength, but all cameras show full signal strength bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric - TIA Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 Sweet, thanks for the information. Will have to look into this if we keep our trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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