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Sheldon · Guest

I do a lot of tracing and probing trying to follow wires in private homes
for Ethernet access. I recently got a bed of nails for my signal generator,
hoping it would make it easy for me to simply clamp onto a wire instead of
having to strip the wire and use alligator clips. It appears that the
distance between the "nails" and the clamping side is so large it will not
pierce a standard telephone wire during testing of the product I received.

Is this defective, or should I simply build up the flat under the bed of
nails to increase the pressure. This is my first experience with a bed of
nails set, so I don't know what the distance is supposed to be inside the
clamp. I have a piercing clamp, and that single point actually goes beyond
the flat through a hole, but it's only good for heavier wires. If I use
that clamp, and can get it centered on the wire, it will snap the wire for
sure. I actually modified that one to fit my VOM.

Any advice welcome.

Sheldon
sheldon@sopris.net

Dr. Anton T. Squeegee · Guest

There's only one company I know of that makes top-quality ABN
(Angled Bed of Nails) test clips: J.S. Popper. You'll find their stuff
on most butt sets, and pretty much all of the Greenlee-branded toners
(except for their lowest-end stuff).

You can buy just a pair of the clips, complete with red & black
boots, from Graybar Electric, as they're a full-line distributor for
Popper.

I can't speak to whatever you found, but I do know from direct
experience that Popper's clips will go straight through most insulation
with practically nothing other than clip pressure, and they won't
clobber the wire doing it.

Happy hunting.

--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"

Sheldon · Guest

The problem with these clips is that there is too much space between the
"bed of nails" and the other side of the clip, and as you know phone wires
and Ethernet wires are pretty thin.

Dr. Anton T. Squeegee · Guest

Ah. You needn't worry about that with Popper. The nail tips aren't
even a millimeter away from the flat surface on their clips. I've used
them with great success on 24-26 gauge solid wire, and stranded CAT-5 as
well.

Keep the peace(es).

--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"

Sheldon · Guest

Thanks again. Yeah, I took a look at the Popper clips on the Net and they
do look a lot better than the ones I got.

Sheldon
sheldon@sopris.net

Sheldon · Guest

I called the company and it turns out the bed of nails was defective. They
forgot to mount the "anvil" in the clip, so the nails had nothing to press
against. They are sending me another set at no charge, and I don't have to
return the defective one.

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