Used to rag on cable testers until a client called me out

I always thought cable testers were a waste of money for a solo tech, figured my eyes were good enough. Last month a client handed me a bad run of Cat6 and said "looks fine to me" when I pointed out a kink. That line hit different when I realized I was doing the same thing with my own work. Picked up a Klein tester for $80, turns out I had three bad crimps I swore were perfect. Anyone else get humbled by a cheap tool they wrote off?

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.mila2d ago

Tbh I read somewhere that even seasoned network guys mess up crimps more than they think. The article said something like 60% of cable failures come from bad terminations, not the cable itself. That stuck with me because I always blamed the materials when my runs would drop out. Picked up a cheap tester last month after that and found out my "perfect" ends were actually garbage. It's wild how a $50 tool can save you hours of rework. Ngl I used to think testers were just for newbies who couldn't crimp right.

mitchell.wade2d ago

That 60% number gets thrown around a lot but nobody ever backs it up with real testing. Most of those cable failures are just people using junk connectors or not seating them right in the first place.