Tried a $30 pin probe kit on a 737 nav fault, got a surprise

Last month in Phoenix I was chasing an intermittent GPS signal on a 737. I usually just swap the antenna and call it done, but I grabbed one of those cheap pin probe kits from the tool truck to check the coax. The probe showed a clean signal at the connector, but when I wiggled the cable near the bulkhead, the reading dropped to nothing. Turns out the shielding was broken inside the jacket, not visible from outside. I never wouldve caught it with my standard tester. Anyone else had luck with those probe kits on intermittent faults, or is it usually a waste of time?

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1 Comment

maxp6815d ago

That shielding being broken inside the jacket with zero visible damage is the kind of thing that makes you want to throw your old tester in the trash. I've seen that exact scenario cost guys a whole shift before. Sounds like that $30 kit just paid for itself.