Stub Mandrel Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 (edited) I bought one of these as I am sorting out a PA and many of my existing leads are elderly. It has a great, simple display that shows a cross for a good XLR lead/balance jack lead and a line for a good unbalanced Jack lead. It also has three LEDs taht light if you cause an intermittent fault by 'jiggling' the connector or wires. It also has a sturdy, if rather retro, plain steel case. You can see some other functions such as various level test tones etc. Unfotunately it doesn't contain a 'test cap' for installed cables, but these can be made simply by commoning all the pins in a suitable socket/plug. I think it's paid for itself already! I tested several existing leads, made up some new ones and modified others. Not only did it help me find a few intermittent faults caused by solder blobs shorting to earth or over-long shield connections and helped me thin the herd of old jack-jack leads by spotting the dodgy ones, it's revealed my own incapacity for soldering XLR leads by instinct rather than checking the pin numbers... So i say if you make your own cables or have lots and sometimes have issue, get one of these for the price of a couple of high quality leads. Edited July 31, 2023 by Stub Mandrel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 I carry one of those in my bag at all times. It is a great thing, even if it has a tendancy to switch itself on in a bag, but at least the batteries last well. It does also have a signal generator too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 For installed cables a 'network cable tester' is very handy and just make up RJ45 to whatever, I used to pin 3x XLRs to wires 1-8 + ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 That's a CT100. It has that nice handy display that shows you what's connected to what. The CT200 is a different kettle of fish. Microprocessor controlled, it scans the connections and tells you what's what. More connection types than the CT100. CT100 does XLR, mono & stereo jacks, RCA phono, and MIDI. CT200 does the above, plus USB (type B only though), Speakon, 3.5mm mono/stereo jacks, and RJ45 ethernet cables. If you're testing jack-jack mono cables, it shows a ring to ground short, which is logical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 I have both - I carry the CT100 with me everywhere, the other one I keep at home as although it does other things, it is a lot slower going through a number of leads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 Had a CT100 for quite a few years. A little gem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 2 hours ago, tauzero said: That's a CT100. It has that nice handy display that shows you what's connected to what. The CT200 is a different kettle of fish. Microprocessor controlled, it scans the connections and tells you what's what. More connection types than the CT100. CT100 does XLR, mono & stereo jacks, RCA phono, and MIDI. CT200 does the above, plus USB (type B only though), Speakon, 3.5mm mono/stereo jacks, and RJ45 ethernet cables. If you're testing jack-jack mono cables, it shows a ring to ground short, which is logical. OOps! It does do 3.5 jacks, but Speakon would be handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigguy2017 Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 (edited) On 31/07/2023 at 19:38, Stub Mandrel said: OOps! It does do 3.5 jacks, but Speakon would be handy. The Palmer AHMCT8 one does Speakons - and it has probes + buzzer - very handy £46 inc P+P at Thomann https://www.thomann.de/gb/adam_hall_ahmct8.htm Edited August 3, 2023 by Bigguy2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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