Question about those cheap fiber optic testers on Amazon

Been using the same Fluke meter for 7 years and figured those $40 testers were garbage but grabbed one for a backup. Three jobs in and the thing gave me a false reading on a 200 foot run that had me chasing a ghost for two hours. Anyone else had one of these cheap testers burn them on a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_wright7720d ago

That's the real problem with these cheap testers, they'll pass a link that's marginal or even failed on a real meter which just wastes your time. The false positives are way more dangerous than a false fail since you think everything is good and leave the job. You end up spending more money on labor chasing issues than you would have just buying a quality tool from the start.

barbaragarcia19d ago

Waste more time than you save is the real kicker. Had a $30 tester pass a splice that was barely twisted together, just enough to light up the continuity light but not enough to actually pass traffic. Spent a whole afternoon swapping patch cables and re-terminating ends before I grabbed the Fluke and found it in 30 seconds. Cheap tools just shift the headache from your wallet to your schedule.