Bought a 'universal' cable toner that was anything but

So I picked up this cheap toner online for about $35, thinking it would be a good backup. The ad said it worked on all coax, cat5, cat6, you name it. First job I tried it on was a simple coax trace in an old apartment building. The thing lit up like a Christmas tree on every single line in the bundle, even the dead ones. Spent a whole hour, maybe more, trying to figure out if I was doing it wrong or if the building was haunted. Turns out the toner was just sending signal through the shielding and crosstalking into everything. Had to drive back to the shop to grab my good one, which of course worked fine in two minutes. Lost the better part of a morning and looked like a total rookie in front of the customer. Anyone have a toner they actually trust that won't break the bank?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_paul27d ago

My old $20 toner from Harbor Freight has never let me down in five years.

paulperry18d ago

My buddy's cheap toner lit up a whole rack like a disco ball once.

henry_webb6827d ago

Used to think any toner would do the job in a pinch. That exact same thing happened with a cheap unit, and it wasted a whole afternoon. Now I just use my Fluke Pro3000, it's worth every penny.