TRENDnet Cable Tester 10/100 COAX and TP ( TC-NT2 ) by TRENDnet
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List Price: Our Price: $39.43 You Save: $16.56 (30%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of TRENDnet Cable Tester 10/100 COAX and TP ( TC-NT2 )
Digital camera Review: It's cheap, and it works great!
Summary: 4 Stars
This particular unit is a must have any IT personnel. It works great, and includes a nice case for storage. I can't justify spending more money for this type of tester, as there really isn't much to these units.
Gregg Kulback
Digital camera Review: Just What We Needed
Summary: 5 Stars
With a radio station with the cables all running under the floor and through a crawl space, we needed to test an endless tangled array... this allowed us to figure out exactly where the problems were and where they weren't... and it worked like a charm.Digital camera Review: My Favorite cable tester
Summary: 5 Stars
If my tester ever breaks, I'm probably going to buy the exact same one. I love this tester.Digital camera Review: Network cable tester
Summary: 5 Stars
Making network cables can be frustrating. If you don't complete all 8 circuits the cable usually won't work. This tool makes it easy to ensure that the cables are made correctly and that the clips at each end are attached plus the all 8 circuits are correct before trying to install the cable. The Trend Net tool does this well and is just what I needed for the position I'm in at my office.Digital camera Review: Nice but Firewire, USB, F type coax are optional extras!
Summary: 4 Stars
The good - This is quite a nice low to mid priced unit. It tests and indicates each wire separately and can be used to detect both crossed, open and shorted wires. It can test one wire at once or sequence though the set which can make faults easier to spot. It also claims to produce a "Tone" in the 600Hz to 800Hz range. This is not what you might assume - a tone that sounds when the connection is good - but a test signal send along the wire for use in conjunction with a "compatible Tone probe" which can be used to find the location of the break in a wire. Sounds like a very useful feature only the Tone Probe is a separate tool and the manual is a vague on what tool might be compatible. A good guess might be the TrendNet TC-TP1 Amplified Induc.and Tone Probe
also currently available from Amazon. Strangely neither product refers to the other even though they are from the same company. I have asked TrendNet if they work together so we shall see.
The not so good - There are a number of low priced cable testers available and this one is a bit more expensive although still quire reasonable compared to "professional" models. I decided on this tool since it seemed to offer the broadest range of cable interfaces for the price. It does this but rather less conveniently than I had hoped. Mea culpa but I was disappointed to discover on receipt that the USB and Firewire connectors are extra, around $15, and are not currently available from Amazon. Don't assume as I did, that they are included just because there is a customer photo of them. Also the Coaxial test connectors are BNC rather than the more common F type used for CATV/Cable. TrendNet does not seem to make an F-Type adapter for the unit so it is necessary to find a BNC to F-Type adapter elsewhere. It would be so much more convenient if all this was just included in the kit even if it was a few dollars more. Most households these day will have F-type coaxial, RJ11 telephone, RJ45 ethernet, and various types of USB and Firewire. If you are buying a tool like this it would be convenient if it was comprehensive out of the box.
I haven't used the tool in anger yet but some cursorary tests with various Telephone (RJ11) and Network (Cat5 RJ45) cables I had lying around seemed to indicate general goodness. The RJ11 telephone cables were a bit difficult to insert and remove from the RJ45 sockets so you need to be careful you don't strain them.