[volt-nuts] Multimeter input terminal wear

Bob Albert bob91343 at yahoo.com
Sat Aug 16 12:21:08 EDT 2014


I don't think it makes a lot of difference.  I have some meters that are as old as I am and they still work fine.  If there is a problem, it's probably due to poor materials and being careful isn't going to save much life.

In fact, the plugs have springs that also can fatigue.  Often what seems like a jack problem is really a plug problem, and a new plug may fix it.

And finally, there are other things in these units that limit life as well, and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it.  I recently had to replace the copper oxide rectifier in my Simpson 260 in order to get the AC ranges working properly again.  And there is the question whether the switches should be exercised periodically to remove oxide, or if that causes too much wear.

Bob



On Saturday, August 16, 2014 8:33 AM, "Marv @ Home" <marvin.gozum at comcast.net> wrote:
 


I have some >30+ year old devices still in operation and over time, 
dirt and less so, oxidation of the contact surfaces, are more 
problems than the integrity of the jack's connection by 
friction.  Manufacturers and counterfeiter can make very poor jacks, 
but the good ones have been trouble free.

When specified, the spec sheet entry for jack 'wear' is called 
"mating durability cycles" or variations in those words.  The typical 
brand name banana jack is rated to > 10,000 mating cycles, i.e, 
connect-disconnect.  Thus, is would imply the less you un/mate it, 
the longer it last.




At 06:37 AM 8/16/2014, Andrea Baldoni wrote:
>Hello!
>
>When the multimeter is not in use for some time (say, a day), do you 
>think it's
>better to leave the banana plugs inserted, or to take them out?
>There is a certain wear in plugging and unplugging, but letting 
>always in could
>enlarge the input jacks as well.
>
>Best regards,
>Andrea Baldoni
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>volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts at febo.com
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