Six months ago I switched to cable testing and finally saw the payoff

I used to just plug everything in and hope for the best. After a few too many callbacks, I bought a $150 Fluke cable tester and started checking every run. Yesterday I had a job where a new Cat6 run tested fine on my laptop but the tester caught a 3 foot crossover issue I would have missed. Has anyone else found a cheaper tester that works well for basic validation?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.willow1mo ago

Bought a Klein Scout Pro for about $80 and it catches shorts, opens, and miswires just fine. Good enough for residential work without breaking the bank. The Fluke is overkill if you aren't doing commercial jobs every day. Just make sure whatever you get tests both ends of the cable at the same time. That looping method some testers use can miss crossover issues like you saw.

felix_bailey451mo ago

Right there with you on the Klein Scout Pro. Picked one up a couple years ago for a similar price and it's been solid for all my basic cable checks around the house. Never had it miss a miswire or a short yet, even on some older stuff I was sorting through. The Fluke is definitely nice but way too much tool for what most of us need day to day. That looping method is exactly why I switched to the Scout Pro, it's just simpler and more reliable for the job.