Bought a cheap cable toner online and it cost me half a day's work

I grabbed a no-name toner from a website for about 30 bucks, thinking it was a good deal. Tried to use it on a job in a small apartment building to trace a line, and the thing just gave a weak signal that bled into everything. I spent over four hours opening walls and checking wrong cables before I gave up and went to get my old reliable one from the truck. Has anyone found a decent budget toner that actually works right?

3 comments

3 Comments

victorb513mo ago

Tell me about it, those cheap toners are basically expensive prank gifts. You pay thirty bucks to get a sad little beep that points at every wire in the building. My rule now is if the price seems too good to be true, it probably makes your job ten times harder. That four hour wall opening party is a brutal way to learn that lesson.

the_riley1mo ago

Just grab a known brand toner and a cheap probe that can adjust sensitivity, that combo saves you from tracing ghosts all day. Learned that one the hard way after a blown outlet and two busted drywall patches.

cole_lee93mo ago

Oh man, @victorb51, that's just paying for extra steps.