Wasted $120 on a 'pro' cable tester, my $15 continuity checker does the same job

Last spring I bought one of those fancy Fluke-ish network cable certifiers from an auction site. Guy said it was barely used, looked legit in the photos. Got it in the mail, dead battery pack, needed a new one that cost me another $40. Then the calibration software wouldn't run on my old laptop. After 3 weeks of fighting it, I borrowed a buddy's cheap continuity tester and realized I could find the same broken pairs just by checking each wire end to end. The expensive unit would tell you the exact distance to a break, but who cares when I'm just running drops in houses and small offices? I finally sold the thing for scrap price. Now I tell every new tech I meet, start with the cheap tools until the job actually needs the fancy stuff. Anyone else got burned by buying pro gear for work that doesn't need it?

0 comments

0 Comments

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.