Clever Scope Probe Drawers Keep Your Workbench Tidy

An oscilloscope with its probes stored in drawers below it

Probes are an essential component of a good oscilloscope system, but they have the nasty habit of cluttering up your workbench. If you have a four-channel scope, it’s not just several meters of cable that get in the way everywhere, but also four sets of all those little clips, springs, cable markers, and adjustment screwdrivers that need to be stored safely.

[Matt Mets] came up with a clever solution to this problem: a 3D printed cable organizer that neatly fits below your scope. It has four drawers, each of which has enough space to store a complete probe and a little compartment for all its accessories. A cable cutout at the front allows you to keep the probes plugged in even when they’re not in use.

It’s a beautifully simple solution to a common problem, and with the STL files available on Printables anyone with a cluttered workbench can build one for themselves. If, however, you’d like to keep those probes even closer at hand, have a look at these probe caddies.

 

20 thoughts on “Clever Scope Probe Drawers Keep Your Workbench Tidy

    1. I created my own version of this today. I don’t have a 3D printer so I used 1/4″ ply and MDF. One change, I didn’t bother with the small drawers for three of the compartments, just a space to slip the rolled-up cable and probe into. The 4th compartment did get a drawer for little parts and widgets. A couple of quick coats of polyurethane and it’s done and I’m very pleased. Thanks for the idea.

  1. Very nice.

    Alas, it’s wider than my Rigol 1054Z. And it looks like the files are made by CATIA, which costs kilobucks. So I can’t shrink the models down to size.

  2. Seems to me the draws should be angled upward – so as you pull them open they clear whatever is on your desk – don’t want to have to move whatever it is you wish to test around just to get the probes out.

    That would also have the added benefit of the draw being self closing, which isn’t really of great importance, but still a nice touch.

  3. A drawer at “component level” or desktop level will never ever work out for me. There will always be stuff in the way of the drawers. I have tried a lot of ways over the years. I end up with the scope on its own platform to elevate a little and probes hanging over the side of the bench.

    I tried cup hooks overhead and counterweights. None have been satisfactory. Really big work area like a lab table has really been the best. Anybody have other favorites?

    1. Thanks for the link Nikolai! I wanted to modify this design, but was dreading using fusion360… then I realised there *must* be an off-the-shelf option, after all, it’s just a little set of drawers! Then I went down a deep rabbit hole looking for the _right_ drawers… I think you have found the right keywords for me to use. Thank you!

    1. This is another excellent idea, thanks. It’ll be much better than the ziploc bag I am using right now for my serial debugging bundle, and now I can repurpose something destined for landfill instead of going out to buy yet another “knockoff mini pelican case.” And thanks for sharing your templates. I think your solution is worthy of a hackaday article of its own :-)

  4. I like this idea! I’ve got an 80’s Tek that sits propped up on it’s handle; I may try attaching these directly under the ‘scope. There’s plenty of room for these drawers underneath, and they’d have clearance so desk litter won’t block them…

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