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Just learned the hard way that using a $30 toner probe is a bad idea
My buddy Dave told me to skip the cheap toner and get a Fluke Pro3000 instead, but I figured I'd save some cash and grabbed a no-name one off Amazon for $30. Took me three hours to trace a line at a house in Oak Park because the probe kept picking up noise from the neighbors' cables. Finally gave up and borrowed Dave's Fluke and had it done in 10 minutes. Anyone else waste time on bargain equipment like this?
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noahwood2d ago
Did you try the continuity test before you started tracing? That cheap toner might not have even been putting out a strong enough signal to begin with, which would explain why it picked up all that neighbor noise. I made the same mistake with a $25 kit from Micro Center once and it turned out the tone generator itself was the problem, not just the probe. The Fluke sends a much cleaner signal that filters out the crap from other cables automatically. You probably could have saved yourself a couple hours if you tested the toner on a known good pair first to see if it actually worked right.
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laura_wilson2d ago
Yeah, the $20 toner from Micro Center is exactly what did me in on a site survey last fall, I still have the broken probe sitting in a drawer somewhere lol. It turned out the alligator clip was barely making contact, so the tone was dropping out every time I moved the wire. I finally borrowed a coworker's Fluke 2000 and yeah, night and day difference, that thing actually worked right out of the box. Honestly I wish I'd just paid the extra $80 upfront instead of wasting a whole Saturday chasing ghost signals. So I feel your pain, man, cheap gear is sometimes more trouble than it's worth.
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Start calling it the "cheap tool tax" because every time I skimp on something it ends up costing way more in wasted time and frustration. It's like buying the bargain bin frying pan that warps after one use versus spending a bit more for something that lasts years (and doesn't give you unevenly cooked eggs). I think there's this weird mental block where we see the upfront price tag and ignore the hours we'll burn fighting with garbage gear. The worst part is you can't even sell that broken probe for $5 on Craigslist, so it just sits there mocking you every time you open that drawer. Honestly wish I'd learned this lesson the first time instead of repeating it for every single hobby I pick up.
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