DataShark Network Cable Tester - Cable Mapper, Check Continuity - Test Patch Cords or Installed Cable Runs

Horrible product do not buy

The case could be better. It does not hold the test unit and small test link jumpers. The unit runs through a test light sequence, each corresponding to a wire checked. Once you know the sequence you can see if a light is not energized, equating to an issue in the cable. For a basic and inexpensive tool it does well.

Does exactly what I needed, simple to use and the price is right. My house is wired with cat5e to most rooms and but the switch in the bell atlantic box was acting up. I needed something to be able to check connections and locate connections. This worked great!

Invaluable tool and at a great price. An absolute necessity if you make your own cables and for testing same elsewhere.

I would like to have a test channel for the shield but it does the critical test on the 8 active wires just fine.

Product is accurate. I used it to run my whole house Cat 6 cable.

My home network has grown into two wireless routers, two switches, three DVRs, an Xbox, four computers... Geez, it didnt seem complex until I thought about it. Ive been having occasional issues with the network, causing me to reset routers and switches, maybe try unplugging and replugging and rebooting devices... Just enough to be annoying, as it worked most of the time. I spent an hour with this simple device and loved it. It doesnt get easier; the source lights up lights 1-8 in order, and if all is well, 1-8 on the box (if a patch cable is plugged into both holes) or dongle (if checking an installed cable) will light up in sequence as well. I discovered 4 of 11 wires and jacks had issues, including a commercial cable I never would have suspected. Lets just say I now have tremendous respect for the magic boxes ability to work even with messed up cabling; having had this network for years, I now dont know how it ever worked. Now, all is well with my network world, thanks to this device. If youre going to buy a crimper and RJ-45 blanks, your next step should be to buy this. Now, I wont even use a commercial cable without testing it with this device. It gives both great results, a tested network, and peace of mind for a reasonable price.

This device is well made and has worked reliably for me. Before buying it I read reviews of some other devices available and saw a lot of complaints about cheap construction and unreliable operation. I havent run into any such problems with this Paladin unit. It appears to be pretty robust and not likely to break or fall apart. I particularly like the fact that you can use this on a long run with the remote receiver unit. Its a very simple test -- just watch the lights and make sure they are going in forward order (1 through 8) and not jumping around. Its much better than having to plug the Ethernet cable into a live data circuit and see whether it works.

Very helpful in the job and have a great value

This is a relatively simple tool, but can save you a lot of time and frustration, particularly if you put on your own cable ends. I did some cabling a while back. It is really easy to screw up on a couple wires, get wires crossed, etc. This helps you figured out beforehand if you need to redo the connections. Quite honestly, without this, you should probably just use premade cables.