Klein Tools VDV526-200 LAN Scout Jr. 2 Cable Tester

This tool does exactly what I need it to do. It is a nice, compact size. My business has recently expanded into a specialty of my trade that involves building ethernet cables frequently. This tool helps me keep my QA high at a reasonable cost.

Did not catch a faulty punch down

I bought this a few days ago to test an install of a Cat 6A wire run. I terminated the ends of my wire, tested it and it came back PASS with all pairs mating up. I buttoned up the wall and connected to the modem and my speed was consistently slow no matter the patch cords used or devices connected. I finally traced the issue to one of my 8 wires at just one jack being not punched down enough. Once punched down to the proper depth the cable ran up to my full 200+ Mbps (which is what I pay for.)I'm not sure what to think about this tester. Why did it not detect this faulty connection? I guess if I crossed some wires it would catch it (I hope.)

Easy for a novice

Used this for to test ethernet drops via keystones and RJ45 terminations. At first it seemed the tester was inconsistent but proved otherwise when checking against a known good cable and being firm with all the connections. I’m not sure the low volume home user would need this over a less expensive product but it was very easy to read and diagnosis open connections.

Extremely helpful and precise tester

I've been using for a while the Klein Tools VDV526-200 Cable Tester, LAN Scout Jr. 2 Ethernet Cable Tester for CAT 5e, CAT 6/6A Cables with RJ45 Connections and I was impressed by the precision and that not only it shows you the fault, but also give you information that you need in order to fix that. This tool can be used standalone or as part of a larger system for diagnosing and mapping different branches of your network, or pair it with VDV500-123 Cable Tracer Probe-Pro Tracing Probe to find faults.You can tone high and low, and both high and low, each leg individually, or by pair.I think this is indispensable tool when working on LAN systems.In terms of pricing it is absolutely affordable and pays for itself with the time savings from troubleshooting a few ... MoreI've been using for a while the Klein Tools VDV526-200 Cable Tester, LAN Scout Jr. 2 Ethernet Cable Tester for CAT 5e, CAT 6/6A Cables with RJ45 Connections and I was impressed by the precision and that not only it shows you the fault, but also give you information that you need in order to fix that. This tool can be used standalone or as part of a larger system for diagnosing and mapping different branches of your network, or pair it with VDV500-123 Cable Tracer Probe-Pro Tracing Probe to find faults.You can tone high and low, and both high and low, each leg individually, or by pair.I think this is indispensable tool when working on LAN systems.In terms of pricing it is absolutely affordable and pays for itself with the time savings from troubleshooting a few faults. Display is large enough so I don't have to wear my glasses and backlit by pressing a button when working in darker areas.

Nice compact basic tester

The LAN Scout Jr 2 from Klein tools is a lightweight and compact basic continuity tester that can also function as a toner, if you have the VDV-500-705P probe. The tool automatically shows you the pinout of the ethernet cable in question, whether straight through or crossover, as well as if the cable passes a basic connectivity test. If not, it shows exactly which wires are shorted. If you need to have more impactful testing for things like PoE, or want the option of testing phone cables then this isn't the device for you. But if you're looking for a basic continuity tester to make sure you built your ethernet cables correctly, or to troubleshoot that pesky wireless AP that keeps flaking out this is a wonderful tool for the job.

One little tester that does it all

I've always used other testers that were cheaper, but where they couldn't test something I had to swap them with others and practically I paid twice over the price of this tester.The display is large enough so even I can see without my glasses and there is a backlit function at a press of a button for when working in darker places.The testing functions are sequentially selectable and not only display the fault, but also provides the information needed to correct it.The tester is to be used on Cat7, Cat6/6A, Cat5/5e, Cat3 shielded or unshielded 8-wire 8P8C cables with RJ-45 terminations.Usage is very intuitive with a very simple interface of only 3 buttons, extremely fast response time with absolutely no error in fault diagnosing. You can test high or low ... MoreI've always used other testers that were cheaper, but where they couldn't test something I had to swap them with others and practically I paid twice over the price of this tester.The display is large enough so even I can see without my glasses and there is a backlit function at a press of a button for when working in darker places.The testing functions are sequentially selectable and not only display the fault, but also provides the information needed to correct it.The tester is to be used on Cat7, Cat6/6A, Cat5/5e, Cat3 shielded or unshielded 8-wire 8P8C cables with RJ-45 terminations.Usage is very intuitive with a very simple interface of only 3 buttons, extremely fast response time with absolutely no error in fault diagnosing. You can test high or low tone, or both high and low for leg to leg or by pair. It can identify and troubleshoot test responses for Pass on TIA-568A/B UTP and crossover/uplink, Open Fault, Short Fault, Miswire or Split-Pair faults, Cross-over and Shield faults.Tone for testing can be set on a single wire, wire pair or all 8 conductor wires. By default setting, the tool is in continuous loop mode of testing where test occurs every 2 seconds without the need to press the test button. This is the best feature to troubleshoot intermittent problems. Loop mode can be turned off by long press of the test button if you need to use a single test signal.The self-storing remote is replaceable and is sold as VDV999-200 Replacement Remote for LAN Scout Jr. 2 Continuity Tester. It is a signle-tone remote. Multiple tone generator, solid or warble, requires a different probe Cat. No. VDV500-123, which is very inexpensive and is sold separately. Technically, you can use two remotes, switching between them, but it takes a few seconds to initialize the tool so it switches from one to the other remote.The tool uses 2xAAA batteries (included) with low-battery indicator on the display. Its Auto Power-off feature can't be turned off and is set to 10-minutes in test mode and 60 minutes in tone mode. The battery life on the tester is 80 hours cumulative when active, and up to 3 years on Standby.The tool is made with ABS + what seems like 20-25% fiber reinforcement and polybutadiene rubber overmold on all corners, which seems like a little overkill, but it certainly gives off the feel of a sturdy and well protected, durable tool. The tool is rated for drop protection of 6 feet.This tool can be integrated into a more advanced diagnostic and wiremapping system, by adding VDV501-21# up to 9 separate test location ID probes, and/or VDV500-123 Probe-PRO Tracing Probe for a more precise tracing of wires and faults along them together with VDV500-063.The tool is a good size (5" x 1'' x 2.5'') and weight 4.3 oz, comes in a clamshell packaging and in a well insulated box safe for online ordering.

Tester did not find faults with bad cables

After crimping several sets of Cat6a patch cables over and over, they each tested fine with the Lan Scout Jr cable tester. However, when I went to use the cables in an install, the 1&2 pair was consistently faulty. Upon inspection of the crimper it appears that the pins to crimp 1&2 are not the same length as the rest of the pins. This is a MAJOR issue. Furthermore, I was completely misled by your Lan Scout Jr tester that said all of the cables passed every time! Curiously, I sourced another ethernet cable tester which showed the fault in pins 1&2. After I found that out I tested a different brand crimper and it worked! I wasted over $100 on the tool and tester and at least $50 on cat6a shielded ethernet plugs I need to throw out. This is truly disgraceful. From the ... MoreAfter crimping several sets of Cat6a patch cables over and over, they each tested fine with the Lan Scout Jr cable tester. However, when I went to use the cables in an install, the 1&2 pair was consistently faulty. Upon inspection of the crimper it appears that the pins to crimp 1&2 are not the same length as the rest of the pins. This is a MAJOR issue. Furthermore, I was completely misled by your Lan Scout Jr tester that said all of the cables passed every time! Curiously, I sourced another ethernet cable tester which showed the fault in pins 1&2. After I found that out I tested a different brand crimper and it worked! I wasted over $100 on the tool and tester and at least $50 on cat6a shielded ethernet plugs I need to throw out. This is truly disgraceful. From the review here, its clear other people have had this EXACT experience.

Very happy with this tester

I found this Lan cable tester to be both accurate and with wide usage options for multiple applications.My observations:• The most basic usage is to test your CAT 5e, CAT6/6A cables to ensure they are wired correctly at the connectors.• Getting deeper, this unit will also test for opens, faults, shorts, splits, fails, and shielding. Finding hardware issues in a network can be tricky but this unit will simplify the task.• The unit is easy to use, especially for a pro and the instructions are clear if you’ve never used a tester like this.• Batteries are included.• The unit has a soft grip to use with or without gloves.• The backlight is extremely helpful when needed.• The font is large and clear.• I like how the remote fits into the unit for safe ... MoreI found this Lan cable tester to be both accurate and with wide usage options for multiple applications.My observations:• The most basic usage is to test your CAT 5e, CAT6/6A cables to ensure they are wired correctly at the connectors.• Getting deeper, this unit will also test for opens, faults, shorts, splits, fails, and shielding. Finding hardware issues in a network can be tricky but this unit will simplify the task.• The unit is easy to use, especially for a pro and the instructions are clear if you’ve never used a tester like this.• Batteries are included.• The unit has a soft grip to use with or without gloves.• The backlight is extremely helpful when needed.• The font is large and clear.• I like how the remote fits into the unit for safe storage.Overall, I’m pleased with the unit and based on Klein quality I expect many years of accurate usage. I recommend.

Works perfectly!

This LAN analyzer is just what i needed and worked perfectly for not just verifying good connections on the new terminations, but even identifying if any of the 8 wires were bad or accidentally mixed up, by showing the numbered readout for both ends, which is something the cheaper model does not do.Well worth the extra $20 to have the best tool!

Works with other Scouts, don't take a lot of space

I use this with Scout 2 Pro. It comes with only 1 female remote and multiple IDed male remotes that are supposed to be plug into wall ethernet receptacles. But in most cases I deal with ethernet cables which have male RJ45 connectors on both ends. To trace/test them it's great to have several female remotes. Out of Klein Tools variety this one will be the greatest bang for your buck as it only tests ethernet. I have 3 remotes with my tool. One was included. Another one I got from Scout 3 when I thought I lost the original one and recently I got this one. They all report id #1 and work with any Scout lan tester model. In most cases I don't need to map cables as all of them go into the same switch and they can be easily mapped later if necessary when the correspondign ... MoreI use this with Scout 2 Pro. It comes with only 1 female remote and multiple IDed male remotes that are supposed to be plug into wall ethernet receptacles. But in most cases I deal with ethernet cables which have male RJ45 connectors on both ends. To trace/test them it's great to have several female remotes. Out of Klein Tools variety this one will be the greatest bang for your buck as it only tests ethernet. I have 3 remotes with my tool. One was included. Another one I got from Scout 3 when I thought I lost the original one and recently I got this one. They all report id #1 and work with any Scout lan tester model. In most cases I don't need to map cables as all of them go into the same switch and they can be easily mapped later if necessary when the correspondign hardware connected and powered up. However I can test up to 3 cables at the same time without walking back and forth and re-plugging single remote which was included with my Scout. Plus if I happen to loose one there always be spare ones in my bag. Scouts tests continuity so each wire internally connected to all other wires via diodes. There is also unique value resistor in series to identify the unit #. Yes, there are also more expensive unique id (2-6) female remotes but they usually sold as one very expensive kit. But again in most cases I don't need to map, just test. Plus I would feel really devastated if I happen to loose one female remote id from that kit. Build quality of this unit is very good. Remote is light and made from premium quality hard plastic. You can drop it, you can step on it. It will take all kinds of abuse.