PSA: Don't waste $150 on a cheap toner and probe kit like I did

I bought a no-name toner and probe set off Amazon for $150 thinking I was saving money over the Fluke models. Turns out the thing couldn't pick up a signal through drywall more than 10 feet away. I spent a whole day tracing a line at a new build near Austin, Texas and kept getting false readings. Finally borrowed my buddy's Fluke 2000 and found the cable in 5 minutes. The cheap one is sitting in my truck collecting dust now. Anyone else get burned by cheap test gear or do you swear by the high end stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

zara_hill467d ago

My buddy Mike dropped $120 on a no-name cable tester off Amazon last year and it straight up lied to him about a short in his attic. He spent like two hours crawling around in 110 degree heat chasing a ghost before he gave up and bought a Klein Scout. Found the actual break in under ten minutes and said the cheap one was basically a paperweight with blinking lights. Ngl it's wild how much time you waste trying to save a buck on tools like that.

charlie_allen7d ago

Man, 110 degrees in an attic chasing a ghost wire? That's brutal. I'd probably have thrown that cheap tester through a wall after the first hour. Klein Scouts aren't cheap but your buddy's story proves you really do get what you pay for with testers.

terryallen7d ago

Ha! Yeah man, I had a buddy try the same thing. He bought a cheap toner from a flea market, spent a whole Saturday tracing a line that didn't even exist. His wife finally came out and asked if he was making friends with the spiders up there.