Cable testing hardware - what you got - what did it cost.

[Jaan]

We have a basic rj45 cable tester with blinking leds......it looks pretty....... but we have some old cabling here and before ripping it out, would like to not only be able to test the pairs, but speed and length.... Do you guys do that yourself or does it make more sense a 3rd party to do it?

 

cheers

[DalekSec]

Last gaffe we had one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C86J2RZK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_ETPQR3AYPPJAAJFFTZB0

 

Did the job, obviously a pretty penny over the bog standard ones but will save your money in time!

[k-strider]

I keep looking at the Trend tester line... but given that now we basically have to wire anything in CAT6A i would want one that can verify any runs we do, to that standard  - something like this 

https://www.trend-networks.com/product/signaltek-10g/

 but it really isn't cheap and i think i would have to rewire a whole IT room myself to justify buying it... 

 

We want to rewire a lot of old cat5e cable that runs AP's that currently are 2.5Gbe and now our switches are 2.5 capable we have odd aps that will not PoE power on unless plugged into a 1Gbe PoE port instead of the 2.5 (until you bring the AP to the switch with a patch cable and it works of course) ... so i would love to test these... at the moment the plan is just to try and rewire them ourselves in 6A and see if it fixes it... we only have a basic tester like you  that tells you you got the order right.

[fiza]

Have you looked  at Pocket Ethernet 2?

https://pockethernet.com/

[Rob_D]

We got a Fluke tester kit about 8 years back which has been really useful, especially the wand detector for chasing cables/identifying unmarked ports.

[timbo343]

We have one of these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/NF-8508-Ethernet-Flashing-Telephone-Continuity/dp/B0DG8N24QQ/ does what we need it to do. Bought of of these for myself https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOYAFA-NF-8209S-Network-Ethernet-Anti-Interference/dp/B0BW8QJZLC but bought it from AliExpress rather than Amazon.

[TechMonkey]

I got one of these approved - Navitek NT Pro Can't remember what we paid for it, think it was under this, but it has been well worth it.  To check what switch a port is going to, what VLAN, IP assigned as well as test the run, is a massive time saver. Does POE checking as well and logs the jobs and can email them to you.

[jthompson]

2 hours ago, fiza said:

Have you looked  at Pocket Ethernet 2?

https://pockethernet.com/

+1 for Pockethernet. Bought one a few years ago based on a recommendation here and it's absolutely boss. I use it for the usual wiremapping tests as well checking PoE, link (is there a device on the other end), LLDP and DHCP. It can also give you cable length, but I've never found much practical use for that.

[RedwayNetworks_Michael]

Fluke Networks is what im usually asked for

[Jobos]

On 15/12/2025 at 08:39, timbo343 said:

We have one of these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/NF-8508-Ethernet-Flashing-Telephone-Continuity/dp/B0DG8N24QQ/ does what we need it to do.

 

Ditto. Seem to work ok and already paid for itself.

 

 

[Ditto]

I see the idea that the right equipment is pricey and have seen SMT flat-out say no. But it really is a necessary part of the job and should be regarded as investment, not expenditure. Could you imagine the cost of the school minibus for the driver to ferry kids around, the cost of filling a DT department, the cost of the HT's Apple Mac pro, the cost of the AV departments equipment, the catering teams kitchen equipment, cleaners floor polishing machine - you get the drift! All to enable them to do their jobs.