Here's an oldie but a goodie. I'm posting this review because I recently learned a few things about this tester, even though I've owned it for years.
On the front are the XLR and TRS jacks.
The signature feature of this tester is the ability to test a 3 wire cable at once. The LED matrix shows the cable wiring, and the tester has a latching intermittent connection detector. You plug your cable in, reset the tester, and wiggle. If any of the pins lose connectivity or short together, the tester reports a fault:
I know of no other tester that does this, other than the copies of this design that are out there.
In addition to XLR and 1//4" TRS and TS cables, the tester can test RCA, MIDI, TT, and 1/8" cables.
On the right side are the RCA, MIDI and TT jacks.
On the left are the 1/8" jacks.
In addition to testing cables, the tester has a tone generator and a phantom power detector. I've never used either of these features, so I won't comment further.
The big news to me was my recent discovery that the tester malfunctions with cable runs longer than a couple hundred feet long. It seems the cable capacitance fools the tester and the tester reports these cables as having shorts between various conductors and the shield.
I still think this tester is the best money can buy for XLR cabling in a portable system, but there are a couple limitations - the lack of Speakon jacks, RJ45, and 5-pin XLR means this isn't the only tester you need to own, but it's still the fastest for XLR and TRS cables within it's few hundred feet length limit.
On the front are the XLR and TRS jacks.
The signature feature of this tester is the ability to test a 3 wire cable at once. The LED matrix shows the cable wiring, and the tester has a latching intermittent connection detector. You plug your cable in, reset the tester, and wiggle. If any of the pins lose connectivity or short together, the tester reports a fault:
I know of no other tester that does this, other than the copies of this design that are out there.
In addition to XLR and 1//4" TRS and TS cables, the tester can test RCA, MIDI, TT, and 1/8" cables.
On the right side are the RCA, MIDI and TT jacks.
On the left are the 1/8" jacks.
In addition to testing cables, the tester has a tone generator and a phantom power detector. I've never used either of these features, so I won't comment further.
The big news to me was my recent discovery that the tester malfunctions with cable runs longer than a couple hundred feet long. It seems the cable capacitance fools the tester and the tester reports these cables as having shorts between various conductors and the shield.
I still think this tester is the best money can buy for XLR cabling in a portable system, but there are a couple limitations - the lack of Speakon jacks, RJ45, and 5-pin XLR means this isn't the only tester you need to own, but it's still the fastest for XLR and TRS cables within it's few hundred feet length limit.
