It’s no secret that Klein tools have been around since the days of the caveman. Well maybe not that old, but they have years of experience in the trades, especially the electrical trade. Now they are making more than just hand tools. They have entered the tech age with the Scout LT pro and the VDV distance meter. Both these tools will allow technicians to quickly troubleshoot faulty cable, identify cable, identify runs to outlets, measure cable length and much more.
The Scout LT works with data and video cable. For the individual tech, this is the Swiss army knife of network tools and offers features commonly found on devices that are 4x the price. This unit allowed me to troubleshoot a split pair in a cable, quickly measure and repair it. With the included remotes you are able to ID up to 19 wall outlets. The tone generator feature will allow you to find exact wires. For those of you that only want to measure distance, they have the VDV distance meter. It will also tell you if you have a broken or damaged cable run. Both these tools will save the low voltage tech hours in troubleshooting times which saves money and gives you a better uptime.
Great Writeup Dan!, It amazes me how many different testers there are out there. Looks like another good quality tool from Klein. Im sure this will help you and your company perform tasks quicker. I could not imagine where to start with those cables! Keep up the great work!
Great review Dan! Like Chase said, another good quality tool from Klein. Can’t go wrong with Klein.
gday guys, awesome review, im telling all my sparkie mates and net boys because that would be a great tool for them to have on site and make all our jobs go ten times faster.
from your mate in Oz Anthony
I’m glad to see you’re following up on your promise to review some IT tools. I have a Fluke CableIQ, but it’s an extra case to carry and I normally don’t bring it in on small troubleshooting jobs, so I have to go back to the truck for it if/when I need it. I’ve been looking for something basic like this to keep in my tool bag for service work, and this might be the ticket. It kind of makes be wish I kept my Ideal Linkmaster XL (no longer made), which I sold after getting the CableIQ.
Properly installed cables shouldn’t just stop working, but it *can* happen. What I see more often with failed cables is poor workmanship or installation practices, and I wonder how the cables ever worked in the first place. Split pairs are a common cause of problems when installers don’t know what they’re doing. Does this tester identify split pairs?
Hi Michael, Yes it does identify split pairs. I wanted to do a more in depth review, but it just takes so long to write and time is a premium right now.
Laser distance measuring tools are awesome.I remember when they were very expensive. Luckily the prices have come down
can you guys review the Montana brand countersink and counterbore 10pc set, they have it at menards for $20, I have one and would like to get you guys opinion on how you think it will stand up
Good idea. I stopped by my Menards today and they didn’t have any. I will keep looking and see if we can find them in stock.
Thanks Eric, by the way, the model number for the Montana brand 10 pc counter sink and counter bore set is MB63123
Thanks for the info. I will see what I can find