KLEIN TOOLS VDV501-851 Scout Pro 3 Cable Teste

This tool has so many features to test cable runs which is mostly what I use it for. For the money it’s well worth it. You can save time and money by verifying whether that run is good or no

If you are serious about your work, this is a very good tool. I’d recommend getting a pouch or a bag to keep it safe and expand its longevity but it is pretty device rugged already. The tracing feature is so useful to fix lazy installers messes. The coax testing is very useful too. You might want to get the appropriate adapters if you are going to test BNC cables or connections and not just Ftype connections.
Very reliable product from Klein tools as always.

For the first time in 25 years, I had to bring up an already wired network in an existing building. Wire pulling would be too expensive, we had to use the existing 16 year old Cat5, which had never been connected at the network closet.

This tool made it simple — almost trivial.

Put the remote plugs in candidate sockets; wire keystones on candidate cable runs at the network closet; plug a cable into each keystone and find out which remote socket I’m talking to; repeat 17 times.

What I’d spec’d as 2-3 full days took less than an afternoon.

It’s been years since I’d pulled wire or pushed down connections. I was ready for a long frustrating job, and this tool made it almost fun.

The UI isn’t particularly intuitive, but overall it’s simple enough that you can memorise its quirks. It seems to work quite reliably and was instrumental in pinning down a faulty crimper as the source of my woes.

Note that the length estimation is not all that accurate, since it relies on measuring capacitance rather than e.g. travel time of a test signal. So 10% at least – you’ll often see it give very different numbers for different pairs in the same cable. The manual does note that it’s inaccurate.

Also, the display never shows decimals so if you switch it to metric (metres instead of feet) you loose a lot of precision. I ultimately just left it on feet and do the conversion manually.

My cheap no name tester finally died, I wanted to get something that was a little better. I always like Klein tools, so I saw a bunch and finally decided on this. The tester works great and feels solid. The battery that came with mine was dead, not Klein’s fault.

Was easily able to identify a issue I had with a connector. Well worth the money. Even shows length of cable

i got this for testing ethernet cables, I especially liked the functions to shield, pairs, open or closed, grounded pairs or to shield, the distance measurement is close enough for most cases. i found it to be within 5 feet in most cases.

This kit does exactly what I needed, it tells me what the network map actually is. I am helping out some public libraries with little to no budgets for this type of work, so I volunteered to pick up the tools and put in some time. The large number of remote ID plugs makes the process much simpler than using some simpler tools like a “toner” that you have to go one wall LAN port at a time. In a multi-floor building with about 50 LAN ports, that takes quite a bit of effort. Using the 18 plugs, plus the included map+test “dongle” gives me 19 points to map before I need to move them to another set of LAN ports. The mapping plugs simply tell you what numbered plug you are looking at from the LAN cable at the network switch end, while the map+test can tell you if the conductors are good or have a problem (cross wired or broken/open). I like it and recommend this along with the available toner and perhaps an additional set of map+test dongles so more than one “iffy” lines can be checked in one setting. Note that if you buy the map+test kit that starts at #7 and goes to #12 (VDV770-851) it is somehow about $30 less than the kit VDV770-850 that contains one less dongle and are numbers 2 through 6. A single dongle sells for about $24 and you are able to order any ID code you like. That makes my mapping plug and dongle count up to 25, which is approximately half of the entire building.

If you have all good connections, then the single included map+test dongle should be adequate as those have extra features used for suspect wiring. I also bought the Klein VDV500-123 tracing probe tone tool (about $40) as the wire bundles are quite confusing in the LAN room and it helps find the correct line quickly.

Do you need something like this for your home? Nope. But if you are looking at a building network that contains many LAN outlets, your time has value… Simple math can tell you if you feel this is worth it. In my case, I am older, have creaky knees, and get impatient when I am forced to do things the hard way; so for me as I help the libraries in my area, I find this equipment to be incredibly valuable!!! Basically it pays for itself in the first library with approximately 50 LAN ports spread out over 4 levels (remember the creaky knees?).
🙂

Everything works great. Remote cable finders are great if you’re looking for multiple cables at once. My main issue is that while it’s also a tone generator, it doesn’t include a probe. Not even the biggest kit includes one (even though the case has a slot for one), which means you have to buy it separately for $40!

It took a little bit of practice to figure out how to use since the display is a little unintuitive, but was able to eventually figure it out.

The Scout Pro 3 is great, But please bundle it with a probe!

The toner function didn’t seem to work with the companion Klein Tools VDV500-123 toner probe, and I followed the instructions. With a cable from my Ethernet switch plugged into the top RJ45 port, pressing the toner button on the Scout 3 starts the toner function on wire#1, and the probe immediately starts sounding anywhere in the vicinity of the Scout 3, no matter where it is pointing. placing the probe tip next to the correct wire on the switch just results in some 60hz hum. Cycling through each wire on the Scout 3 is the same, then going through the wire pairs starting with 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, all pairs, the probe alarm cuts off and pressing the probe tip against the cable results in the same 60hz hum, that’s all, no tone. If I can’t get this to work on the bench, it’s not going to work on the field. This is one of the reasons I spent a premium on this tool, there are cheaper toners out there but I wanted a quality tool that would work. Either I am doing something completely wrong, or if the Scout 3 and/or the Toner Probe is at fault, and I hate to return a tool that is working.
The other RJ-45 test functions seems to work OK.
Responding to another reviewer complaining about the battery not fitting, you have to rotate the battery 180 degrees so that the battery wire is not preventing the battery from seating properly in the battery compartment.

It’s a good tool to have if you regularly work with networking equipment. I do IP camera installs and I like to use this tool because it gives me an accurate reading on my cable runs. The only dislike is that you have to manually start each cable test by pressing the appropriate button. Other more expensive models will run the test as soon as the cable is connected. This is super minor in my opinion. Once you realize it, you’ll just get in the habit of starting the test manually. Like I said in the headline, it’s a whole lot cheaper than the Fluke Microscanner model which is around $600.

This is a great cable tester for phone/ethernet/coax, comes with numbered remotes it can detect, has a bunch of test modes, can sense cable length, etc; it’s great value for the money.

As others have noted, the battery door doesn’t close with a battery in there (even the battery that comes with the unit). You can tape it over or something but it’s just a gross design flaw.

The interface is not… obvious. Definitely read the manual, a lot of the ways you switch modes are far from clear. But, the manual spells it all out pretty well.

I really like this cable tester. I use it for Category 5e/6

Didn’t use tool because job was completed before we could us it. So we sent it back unopened. Looks nice pretty sure it would have done a better job then what we did use

Extremely happy with the accuracy, ruggedness, versatility and ease of use. A great value.

It is simply easy to use and reliable. With this and other Klein tools, I was able to locate all the incomplete coax connections in my newly constructed home. Some coax lines were not connected at the wall plate, and all connections in the smart box were without RJ6 terminators.