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Pro tip: I started using a $15 thermal camera attachment for my phone on every board check
It shows cold solder joints and shorted components in seconds, which used to take me half an hour with a multimeter. Anyone have a better budget thermal tool they like?
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gavin69218h ago
Honestly thought those phone thermal cams were just a gimmick for a long time. Grabbed one on a whim last year and it completely changed how I do quick checks. The speed of finding a hot component or a bad joint is just unreal compared to poking around with probes. Makes me wish I hadn't been so stubborn about trying new tools.
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joseph_ellis8517h ago
My buddy's a mechanic and he laughed at me when I got one. Then his truck had a weird electrical drain and he spent two days checking wires. I told him to just borrow the camera, he found the bad connection in like ten minutes (he bought his own the next day).
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emery19913h agoOG Member
But how often do you really need one? Most people just fix a blown fuse or a bad bulb. Spending all that money for a tool that sits in a drawer 99% of the time seems wild. I'd rather just take my time with a multimeter.
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