I've been doing a lot of remodels lately and I always get stuck with moving the phone lines and putting them back together after the demo crew cuts thru them. Right now I am using a cheap plug in tester plugged into an old jack with two wires sticking out to locate the signal!

Can any of you guys recommend a tester I can get for locating which pair carries the signal, and can also tone out pairs from downstream jacks?

Also, for indoor use, what can I use for good splices? The Scotch locks are a real pain.

I really like the scotch locks

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...LECIE20O4M7_nid=NZW3RHPDRDbeDP16W8FB2Ngl

there is a special tool for them

I dont like these as much but there widly used for splices

http://www.elkproducts.com/products/elk-902-2.htm

and for the hand set

http://www.flukenetworks.com/fnet/en-us/products/TS19/Overview.htm

and for the toner

http://www.flukenetworks.com/fnet/en-us/products/IntelliTone+Toner+and+Probe/


I think Fluke took over Harris but the harris toner model i have can also work with the hand set.

the best tool I have found for dealing with this problem is my change order book. Demo crews get so brave with phone and tv lines, they sometimes think its nothing for you to repair all the random cuts in the phone lines they make for no real good reason. If only those lines would ark shower, then that might slow down the mahem a bit. Otherwise I hit the general contractor in the pocketbook and sooner or later he has a talk with his crew of monkeys.

Whatver one you decide on, I would recommend a Butt set with an amplified speaker, so you don’t have to carry it on your shoulder or hold the butt set up to your ear all the time. It also helps protect your ear from acoustic shock, like when you’re checking for tone on a line with your butt set and you suddenly find it. I like my older Harris TS22-DA with the angled bed-of-nails clips, but I don’t know if it is still available since Fluke took them over.
I think as far as butt sets go, there really is such a thing as too small and the Testo Ranger fits into that category, at least in my opinion. Extremely frustrating to work with. The caller ID diplay was kind of handy though.

One accessory I would really recommend it the MODAPT modular adapter. It has a specially designed connector that will allow it connect to any four to eight position jack for use as breakout to connect your butt set. Much more versatile than a standard Harris/Fluke Banjo.

The toner kit I use for telecom as well as everyday wire tracing is the Progressive Electronics HP77/6A and the FP200 Filter Probe. The FP200 has a switchable feature that can filter out almost all 60HZ hum. It also helps filter out the buzz of fluorescent lights and power tools. Tempo/Greenlee now makes this kit.

I’m not sure why you don’t like the 3M Scotchlock U/R connectors. They are probably best that are out there and I dare say an industry standard. These are the red-capped ones that hold three conductors. If you’re using the U/G or U/Y’s, then I could probably understand.