TRENDnet Network Cable Tester, Tests Ethernet, USB and BNC Cables, Accurately Test Pin Configurations up to 300m (984 ft), Local and Remote Testing, Includes BNC to Ethernet Converters, White, TC-NT2

So far, I haven't found anything to dislike about this particular tester. I will fuss on one nit picky issue, but it is an almost universal nit to pick so oh well...This review by the way, should be taken in context with my review on the TrendNet TC-TP1 tone probe as these two tools are tightly related, and make up a large chunk of my testing / verification equipment for network installs.Out of the box, the tester is well packaged, basic documentation is included. The simple battery compartment is like most other cable testers I have ever used, far too flexible when the compartment is empty, giving you the feeling you are going to shove your finger through it when you open the compartment for the first time. Once a battery is installed however, there is plenty of support, and the cover operates smoothly.The ports, switches, and lights are all well labelled, and easy to understand. Plug your cable in, and either plug back in to the loopback, or to the remote, and slide on, push test, or push the silver button for testing one wire at a time...Tone generated from one perspective is a little weak (not loud in the probe) but by the same token, the tone generated doesn't "leak across" to other cables in a bundle. There is no mistaking which cable the signal is being sent down, making cable identification fast and easy, speeding the work up.The ethernet to BNC adapters for testing BNC terminated coaxial cable are great, if you are troubleshooting token ring networks. But let's face it. Hardly anyone still uses Token ring, and a huge number of younger techs and admins have never heard of, much less actually seen token ring. I have been in this business a long time and my only involvement in Token ring was migrating a token ring over to ethernet. So the use there is VERY limited, However with the addition of BNC male to F coax female adapters, then the tester works well for testing continuity in RG-6 coaxial cable for cable internet, TV, and satelite applications.The included carry case / storage bag is far and away the best quality case / bag of any network tester I have ever laid eyes, or hands on. I am amazed at the quality of this thing. All the others I have had, or been around included some flimsy super thin vinyl piece of garbage bag that the manufacturer should be embarassed to have their product associated with... The TrendNet bag has good quality materials, good stitching... Nothing cheap about it...Cost is considerably higher than many other low / mid range cable testers, but when you consider this is also half of a tone and probe set, the cost becomes MUCH more reasonable. When you consider the accuracy of this particular unit, and the flexibility of available tests, it comes a true bargain.

I just finished wiring up my whole house for gigabit ethernet. I ran 18 drops to a patch panel and made 18 patch cables to go from the panel to a gigabit switch (I know, "don't make patch cables" they say. Whatever, I'm cheap, and I had extra stranded Cat5e). I ran into some issues with a few ports, so I overnighted this baby and was able to isolate the problems in seconds and fix them quickly. It doesn't have some of the fancy features that a Fluke has, like telling you how far down the line the issue is occurring, so you have to figure that part out yourself, but when, say, pin 5 is not lighting up, and you look at pin 5 on your keystone jack and realize it was accidentally sliced, you know what to do.Using this tester by yourself can be a little irritating if your rack is in the basement like mine, and all your drops are upstairs, since you have to run up and down the stairs quite a few times, but it's better than being left in the dark about why your port isn't working.It seems to be of pretty good quality, and I love at it has auto and manual test modes. For the price, this thing is fantastic.

Good tester for the money. Built fairly well and has a good feel to it. Uses a standard 9V battery. Comes with a nice nylon zippered pouch. Strangely, it comes with the BNC adapters but not the USB adapters.I had read about the unit's sensitivity to live circuits, but I accidentally connected it to a cable I thought was disconnected and it fried immediately. No burnt smell like another reviewer reported. However, only channels 1 - 3 (and Shield) work now. I opened up the unit to investigate the damage. Nothing visual - apparently it partially fried the controller chip.The remote terminator unit originally looked as if it had fried too... it only lit up channels 1 - 3 when connected to a standard ethernet cable, but VERY dimly (I had to cup my hand over the unit to see the LEDs light up). However, I connected my remote terminator to another transmitter (a co-worker had one) and it works fine.I'll be buying another one to replace it (and try to be more careful this time).All I can say is, it would be nice if there was some kind of protection against damage when connected to live circuits (it seems like a replaceable fast-acting semiconductor fuse could have been incorporated into the circuit). I may do some testing to see if I can retrofit one.

This network cable tester is very nice. The physical quality and construction is impressive. Even better is how it tests the wires. Each wire lights up individually and consecutively to tell you if the wiring is good. Love it.Update: From day one, the red lights 4&5 were dim and flickering. Not sure if this is the transmitter or receiver‘s fault, but this happens on any cable I use, so I know its the unit itself. I’ll try to contact the manufacturer and see what happens.Newer Update: TrendNet customer service was able to send me a replacement for no extra cost other than me paying one way shipping ($8 priority mail). The customer service lady was in India. She was very nice and helpful, but her accent was thick and had to understand. The replacement unit if working well. I like this product quite a bit.