Just realized my old way of checking continuity on those tiny coax connectors was a total waste of time.

For years, I'd use a standard multimeter probe and try to hold it steady on the center pin, usually while swearing. Last week, a guy at the hangar showed me his trick: a simple pin adapter he made from an old BNC connector and a short piece of wire. Hooked it up in about 30 seconds and got a rock-solid reading first try. I spent maybe 15 minutes making my own. The difference was night and day, no more shaky hands or false readings. What's your go-to method for those finicky little connections?

4 comments

4 Comments

juliaa6514h ago

Totally stealing that SMA connector idea for the super tiny stuff. Could even heat shrink a little handle onto the wire so it's easier to grip when your hands are cold. Makes me wonder what other old connectors are sitting in a junk box that could be turned into test probes.

fionat5514h ago

Yeah I did basically the same thing with a scrap SMA connector lol. Just soldered a short piece of solid core wire to the center pin so it sticks out like a little probe. Makes checking those tiny U.FL things on wifi cards a breeze now.

samreed22h ago

Oh man, my buddy did the same thing with an SMA connector! Total game changer for him.

andrew_baker922h ago

That pin adapter trick is brilliant. When you say you made it from an old BNC connector, what did you use for the actual wire part? Was it just a short, stiff piece you soldered in to act like a probe, or did you do something else to make it grab the center pin better?