CAT6 cable tester

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Sjoerdoh

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Mar 5, 2016
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Hello, my question is basically: I want to buy a cheap wire tester cause I will be wiring my house, I am getting CAT6 cables for future proofing and all that stuff. But do I need to buy a higher end tester because maybe CAT5 testers are not compatible? Or is it all the same and just get the cheapest one with decend reviews?

Thank you in advance
 
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faalin
Not sure what your budget is but if you can afford it i would pick up the Fluke MS2-100 tester. I picked up the MS2-kit and love it, use the tester at least twice a week if not more at work.
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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Cat6 is not really future proofing. Cat6 will run at 10g but only at short distances and it technically is not certified to do it. You want cat6a cable if you really want to allow for 10g. You would be better off running conduit that way you can replace the wire with whatever is popular at the time.

I suspect you are talking those cheap led wire pair testers. Those are pretty worthless even for cat5 cable, they do not actually test that the cable will carry data at the supported rates.

Now if you are talking a actual certification device of course there is a difference. The ones that can test at 10g speed cost a lot more. It likely doesn't matter since few people can afford the ones that test even at the 1g speeds if they are only going to be used at home. The cheaper ones are still almost $1000 and the ones that test high end cable cost as much as a very nice car.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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Pretty much as long as you are careful as you put the jacks a pc will be a good enough test. Your only real option in any case to fix a problem it to cut off a bit of wire and re terminate. Generally you only need a tester when someone else put the cables in and you do not know anything about it. When you do it yourself you just need to be very careful to not make mistakes.

Now the fluke device in the above post is a example of a better tester but it still does not actually certify cable and does not run 10g.....and it still costs almost $500. Only pros that time is important need this type of stuff you can take your time and be extra careful.
 
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DeauteratedDog

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Dec 11, 2013
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The MS2-100 is really nice and around $500, but the Fluke Microscanner is around $100-$150 and will detect split-pairs (the most common wiring error non-pros make).

 
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nigelivey

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Dec 6, 2011
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A cheap tester will very quickly tell you if you have any pairs crossed or any shorts. Given that its for a domestic install with no requirement for reporting I would say get the cheap tester. If you want a Fluke DSX5000QOi/GLD it will cost you Approx £30,000.00!!
 
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