Paladin Tools 1573 Tone & Probe Plus Cable-Check

Pros: Paladin Warranty is nice. Useful having the tone & probe built-into the testers. Comes with a nice pouch.

Cons: My first pair died after less than a month. Paladin replaced it, so that was good.

I'm not crazy about the testing (lights 1 to 8, goes relatively slowly) for RJ-45/CatX, but it works fine. The tone & probe are convenient, but the toner doesn't output a particularly strong signal. It's strong-enough for my needs most of the time, but not as strong as other sets I've used.

Other Thoughts: This is a so-so network tester and tone/probe. I don't know that it's worth $80.

Thumbs-up for the warranty and support from Paladin. I own a lot of Paladin products, and I've always been happy with their quality.

Pros: it does what it says it can...but barely

Cons: started working in the telecom field, i went a little crazy buying tools, i can tell you if you are thinking of using this tool professionally DONT!

lets break down the problems with each function

1. tone and probe.

the tone generated is extremely weak not very strong when tracing wire over one 66 block let alone 50 which is what i sometimes have to do..in order to get a decent result i have to actually stop and touch each pin which is a waste of time and extremely frustrating.

2. cable tester

again if you are thinking about buying this for work DONT...if you run/terminate telephone/data cable this tester is extremely time consuming....sitting there staring and lights blink on one end of the cable making sure they all light up is not very productive.

Other Thoughts: if you plan on using this professionally do not buy it..instead buy a tone and probe, a continuity tester like an ideal linkmaster(has been rebranded a few times) which allows you to push a button and instantly see layer 1 issues.

do not cheap out and buy this like i did. if you have to use this tool multiple times a day you will find it hard not to throw it against a wall

Pros: CHEAP

Cons: CHEAP

Other Thoughts: Bottom line here is that the tone generator sucks... The probe has to be touching the wire to get reasonable tone and and you can barely hear it due to the volume being so low. No off button ("auto shutdown") on one section of tool of the tool means too much battery use. The line tester worked but the tone generator is useless... pass this one by Like I should have (I leaned a long time ago to not scimp on tools but I seem to have forgot this time)

Pros: Do exactly what they said they do. The tone feature works nice and the receiver is rather sensitive. It is nice knowing that I can see all the wires tested not just the pairs. With the bright orange color it is hard to miss them when I set them somewhere where I should have not set them.

Cons: Back on the one unit seemes a little loose.

Other Thoughts: After starting my job I found that I had no tools for networking. My network was a mess with no documentation. So I get to spend plenty of time with these tools.

Pros: It works out of the box

Cons: After a decent amout of use the switches broke off inside the unit. You need a screw driver to replace the battery. The units turn themselves on everytime you place them in the storage bag because the switches stick out too far. This isn't a major issue if you always keep a spare battery. Everytime I went to use this the battery was always dead.

Other Thoughts: pay a little extra and get something that will last.

Pros: Everything needed to test network cables and even phone cables.. can tone out which wire is connected where. helps when things are not labeled, or just bundled wire mess.

Cons: Does not work on energized (powered on) networks, but I knew that before I got it. So its not a major con, however I write this for those who might not research the product.

Other Thoughts: I got this to help test and tone out cable for a networking job I was paid to do. Normally I don't need to make cable or run wire. so I needed something to test the cable with. Tho cheaper products do exist, I wanted something that would be useful and last awhile longer. besides its got its own nice case.

Pros: i bought this set mostly for just testing RJ45 patch cables onsite. i got this home and started testing some cables that i had and it works great for finding which pin is bad and what type of cable you have without trying to stair at the connector and go over the wires. its lets you see at a glance if the cable is a crossover etc.

Cons: i dont have any yet.

Pros: best of both worlds, LAN cable testing plus cable tracing. Comes with Lan and Phone cable jumpers plus alligator clips. I made up my own Phone to Lan cable to trace network cables and i will do the same for cable lines (RG6)

Cons: the Lan testing could be a little better, it takes a little understanding but i'd rather use this than have two devices.

Pros: Works like a charm and as always newegg was fast with delivery.

Cons: None