TL280 Cable Fault Tester TDR Cable Fault Locator Coaxial Cable Communication Cable Wire Fault Locater Tester 1km

We farm and use linear sprinklers to irrigate. Don't worry if this sounds like gobbledegook, I'll explain. These sprinklers, which travel a half mile in each direction, use an underground guidance wire, buried about 30 inches below the ground, to determine which direction they need to steer to stay on track. Last summer, the guidance wire under one linear quit working and all the symptoms pointed to the underground cable being damaged. Somewhere. Along a mile of underground cable. The local pivot dealer could only suggest installing a new underground cable, or a new GPS guidance system, at a cost of $15K and $30, respectively. Now, with that backstory setting the stage, I figured there had to be a way to locate a break, or at least a damaged area. My daughter brought this tester to my attention and I acquired one. Hooked one lead of the tester to one end of the cable and the second lead to the other end of the cable, turned on the tester, used it's automatic fault finding function, and in less than 30 seconds, had the damage located. It showed, on its screen, how many meters away the damage was and the type of damage we were looking for (a break). It was right on the money. This device is amazing, to put it simply. Came with leads, charger, carrying case and straightforward instructions. Screen is easy to read in full daylight. This deserves at least 10 stars for the amount of money and time we saved by using this.

I used a much higher end riser bond at a previous employer, and it had much more function than this. It's very limited. No settings I can find to change it from metric, which isn't a big deal. But I measure in blade eagle units. It doesn't measure impedance, and if it does, it isn't displayed. Haven't tried using it on a powered line, but I highly doubt it could as there are no filters. There are no instructions that come with it, so if you have never used one it may be a small challenge to figure out. But thanks to it having very limited capabilities... It's not that hard. And not for nothing, it's smaller than you'd thin vs the pictures. It is as described, but you'd think it larger than what it really is. All in all. I'd say it works, just don't expect much function out of it. But it does work, I'll at least say that.

A really good piece of equipment. It does a snapshot analysis which is helpful. If you need to live monitor an issue it becomes awkward to constantly refresh the scan. I would have given it 5 stars if it did that. Over all it’s pretty easy to use and works well for common troubles

A cable fault tester is a must have tool for those working in the field of networking of coaxial cable. This fault tester has a pretty long distance measurement range of 2.4 miles on auto. The screen is very clear and bright. You can tell someone designed this to be seen easily outdoors during the daytime. Once you understand the functions of the machine, it is easy to navigate. I would have liked to have seen a little longer battery time so that you have a little extra buffer between days, but for the type of device it is, 10 hours is quite a bit. I like the fact that it’s a multi-function cable fault tester as well, making it a more versatile device. Overall, it gives a lot of data, in order to diagnosis the fault problems and is worth the investment.

The cable tester came in quickly and with no issues. The TL280 cable fault tester helps you locate coaxial cable communication wire faults. The tester features digital gain automatic control system and the gain can be modified digitally. Eliminate the waveform distortion caused by the potentiometer knob. It can also do pure linear adjustment, which is convenient for manual testing. Using ARM CPU with FPGA technology, can quickly perform various complex operations and determine fault waveform accurately. Digital waveform automatic recognition technology that automatically recognize the waveform that are difficult to determine. Waveform comparison function, it is convenient to compare the test waveform of the fault cable and the normal cable, and clearly find the fault point location. It comes with a high-power lithium battery, which can be used for up to ten hours (with specialized power charger). It has a large-screen LCD color display, interface menu, and is easy for users to operate once you familiarize yourself with the manual. I found this to be a very helpful tool that I use frequently on the job.

This fault locator may be smarter than I am, because I haven't quite figured out how to use it properly. I hook it up, plug the alligator clamps on, and it reads a bunch of things at me, but I can't make sense of them because I am not an electrician as a profession. I am a DIY hobbyist who likes to tinker and fix things by myself when at home, but this is a bit too advanced for me at the moment. I know it is functional, but I am the one who is faulty since I am not skilled enough to use it to its potential. A professional electrician would definitely find this useful. That's not to say that this is without flaws, as the lack of proper instructions and tutorials makes this a sub-par offering since it is not beginner friendly.

If you have an issue within coaxial cables, with a cut signal or a bad one, it's very hard to find the problem. You might have to cut segments to check and narrow down where the problem is, or replace the whole thing. Even professionals replace the whole line when they suspect something is wrong. But that's a waste of course. This little device helps you see the location of the fault, so it's a huge help in productively finding the issue and letting you check and replace just the problem spot. This has impressive distance and accuracy, both important for this type of work. With its solid design and clear screen, there's nothing to complain about with this tool, and its function is beyond helpful if you're trying to locate a fault.