Klein Tools VDV501-852 Cable Tester with Remote, VDV Scout Pro 3 Test Kit Locates and Tests Voice, Data and Video Cables

Easy to function

Tools like this are pretty spendy and honestly, I probably wont use all the features it has. But man it has saved me a lot of heartache while hard wiring my home. Youll kick yourself for not having one of these for sure.

Klein Tools just plain work

Thickness???

Its 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, youll just get in the habit of starting the test manually. Like I said in the headline, its a whole lot cheaper than the Fluke Microscanner model which is around $600.

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.

I dont like that the PoE testing version and the one that doesnt test PoE have the same name - Scout Pro 3. Only the last digit is different (851 vs 852) The main description of each doesnt mention PoE either - its down in the description.

Before I even got a chance to use this device, I am noticing the battery door will not fit with battery installed. They manufactured the device with not enough room in the battery compartment. :-(

This version Amazon is selling had a defect in this firmware. It will not pass cat 6 SHIELDED cable for any reason. Other cables it’s works fine but not CAT 6 SHIELDED CABLE For what ever reason. I had to call Klein tools directly and they confirmed, that this tester had the defect. I had to pay to ship the device back to them for a replacement. Very inconvenient. We verified that cable was good with another high end tester. We ordered this one to have a backup on this project. Buyer beware.

I did not purchase this from Amazon but I have the Scout Pro 3 VDV501-851. This was a huge mistake.