My cable tester setup changed after a $60 lesson in Seattle

Used to just trust my Fluke and move on, but last spring I got 12 bad drops in a new office build out. Turned out the punchdowns were fine, the issue was a cheap patch panel I didn't verify pin by pin. Now I run a full wiremap plus a TDR test on every single run, takes maybe 3 extra minutes per drop. Also started labeling both ends with a Brother labeler instead of just memory, saved me twice already. Has anyone else switched to doing pinouts on every run or am I being paranoid now?

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mason_jackson28d ago

Found out the hard way that the $60 lesson was actually two lessons when I grabbed a "certified" cable that had been on the truck floor for a year, and the TDR just laughed at me. Now I keep a roll of painters tape in the van just to mark the spool date, which feels ridiculous until you're staring at a 300 foot run that tests clean on the ends but drops signal halfway through. You're not paranoid, you're just ahead of the curve, and that labeler will pay for itself the first time someone yanks a cable out and you don't have to hunt for the other end.