How to Use a Tone and Probe Set

[@howardpower]

KZbin. The best place to learn. Forget going to a vocational tech school. This is free and to the point.

[@TTechnodrome]

btw ty, i learned what a toner and probe is in 3 minutes, faster than any teacher in my class trying to explain it.

[@nbarrager]

I just got a job with a datacom company and this tool was on the list. THIS IS A TOOL IVE NEEDED MY WHOLE LIFE! Why am I only just now finding out they exist?

[@jumpropemf]

Simple and easy to understand. I needed to see it in action to really know how it's used. Thank you.

[@wolowizardyt]

Really useful. Today in 2022 I still use this tool for test VoIP and some Optic Fiber wires

[@jessihawkins9116]

how u usin this for fibers optic bruh 🤨

[@Keepingthefaith72]

You should have disconnected the cable and tested it with a meter to make sure it was the right one , You shouldnt just assume its the right one , Because you sometimes can hear it on other cables nearby ....

[@kaitoshirogane5563]

What a creative and helpful tool and tutorial, thank you for the wisdom!

[@TTechnodrome]

you know that it HAD to be the last one you check right? haha

[@Sockcatgoldpuppet]

....it always is.

[@lowvoltagedude7837]

I use fluke toner and probe.its the best and they actually carry it at home Depot in the low voltage section. The only toner and probe I ever buy.

[@VictorGarcia-si8wy]

What an awesome tool. I stumbled upon this by accident.

[@Clutchezz]

I have this toner and probe as well. Curious as to how it’s able to trace cables that are terminated at a switch as only digital toners/probes are meant to be able to do this (and I believe fluke has a patent on digital toning). Any idea if this is using a digital signal or somehow just works even though the signal is analog?

[@heyitsterrihere3005]

i would have liked to see the whole process to show my class ( which cables to attach to the + and - ), but this was still informative and... suspenseful! haha

[@truedox]

Does this only work with wire pairs? Can it pinpoint a break in a single wire?

[@tarigomar7982]

I have been using a cable tracer made by bequick here in the UK. It is simple and a game changer for cable tracing. It is not like the traditional audible tracers. This one utilises LED RJ45 connectors. Here a short demonstration if anyone is interested; /watch?v=GtpAmbmm4dA

[@ltygress]

I have two outlets in my house that aren't working - both on the kitchen counter. One was a GFCI and I found out it had a loose connection and was creating an arc and burning the wire. The damage was very minor, but I replaced the whole thing anyway. However, the actual power lines before AND after replacing it, were dead (with the circuit breaker on, of course). The entire house is daisy-chained and several of the GFCI outlets are connected. One goes out, and you have to find out which one popped so you can reset it. But I didn't find any of them that were popped. (I say popped, because the reset button "pops" out when the circuit triggers a break.) So now I have no idea what to think. I've tested a few other outlets in the house, and they work fine. The problem is either between two outlets, or it is another connected outlet with loose wires that are no longer providing electricity to the two dead ones. But I have NO CLUE where this line leads to next! It's not the next outlet along the kitchen counter because that outlet appears to be a "dead end" that doesn't lead to another. Same with the second outlet that doesn't work - it seems to be the end of the line for that circuit too. So will a tone generator help me find which outlet this dead one is connected to? I was thinking about clipping the alligator clip on to the "live" wire at this outlet while the circuit was actually turned off at the breaker box. Then I was going to use the probe near the various outlets of the house to find where it leads. But it seems all tone generators are meant for just RJ11 and RJ45 lines. Will they (all) still work on electrical wires too? I don't need to follow the wires all the way through the wall, I just need to find the next outlet it connects to so I can find out which one isn't connected properly!

[@semco72057]

That was helpful information, and I hope that my probe set will be able to find the wires I will be looking for. I will first try it out in my vehicle, then try it out in my house.

[@pm6425]

How are you supposed to connect those alligator clips to the wires? This seems like kind of an important step to skip over

[@tinanguyen1141]

Thank you, that was a very useful tutorial.

[@arnoldbailey8803]

Thank you for the video

[@stormbytes]

I guess it never occured to you to explain the connections on the tone generator end.... jeeez

[@zumytubes]

Ha! thats what I was thinking, where does the black aligator clip go to ? Ground?

[@gc9575]

@@zumytubes He just explained in the video. blue and white+blue: To do this, you have to put a patchcord to unidentified jack, cut it, strip those two wires and clip the alligators in. That way, it will be more precise to identify. Otherwise, if you connect the provided rj45 or rj11 (in some models) to unidentified jack, things could get confusing on a crowded patchpanel.

[@donyutejamaica631]

Daniel, Agree..waste of video time!

[@TheKarout12]

HOW DO YOU MAKE THE CONNECTION YOU MADE THE VIDEO EXPLAIN

[@pedrojaviermunozgarcia3721]

thanks ! amazing test!

[@moinonplus3254]

He left out the most preliminary part of the video. He needed to zppm in on how he made the connection at the jack to begin with...

[@jackadamsdaniels6719]

Thank you for this

[@dr.anthonrijkardcortes565]

Question, I have a renovation that has a ton of network cables, a ton of power cables and telephone lines and a door bell system. I have to figure out where all the cables go, or where do they come from. Most of the network cables are labeled, but the power cables and the door bell system are not. Worse off, I have to rewire some rooms for power from one breaker switch panel to another. So, can this unit help me? Mainly I need to ID cables in the rooms throughout the building (several even in different floors) to where they are connected in the electric breakers panel in the basement. I know that I need to have a cable disconnected from the electric power grid and the switches off to properly ID each line, but, could I connect the tone generator to power cables in the rooms, then go to the panel downstairs and ID each cable in the basement? What about the 8 remote unit sets, could I use one of these to plug the remote units in the rooms upstairs and ID each cable in the basement?

[@guyfamily11]

Lol yeah, tone and probe devices are extremely helpful in remodeling. But when checking continuity on high voltage (120v) make sure you don't have power supply. Will short toning device. So best not to use on live electrical wires.

[@CORVAIRWILD]

If you're selling the tool, you can put a link right underneath the video. Everybody does it nowadays, watch the video so I can buy welcome to the 21st century, goodbye Toys R Us

[@giovanivalentino559]

Does this method have to disconnect the phone line or is there no harm in that?

[@SquirrelTheorist]

Awesome, thank you very much! Excellent tutorial

[@FelinoAnticomunista]

But... Why do you need to connect both aligators if you need to detect only one posible broken line ?

[@kaitlinbonds7846]

best explanation video I've seen, thank you!

[@SharpBlockSoft]

So you connected tone generator to potentially live wire?

[@NetVicious]

That's the main question, but I see no answer here :-(

[@Ok-sr5vj]

@@NetVicious You send the probe from the other side of the cable which means the other side of the CAT 5/6

[@NetVicious]

@@Ok-sr5vj I know the probe it's send from one of the sides of the wire. But we're asking if the wire it's live or not. A wire it's live when the switch/router/... or the computer it's connected to the other side where you're connecting the tone generator. This can be a potential problem due to we can be sending voltage within one of the wires of the RJ45 connector and this can damage the device on the other side.

[@kentgrande3720]

How about AC signal ? Can the probe sense it ?

[@FactsMattersUSA]

Terrible signal strength but hey it worked

[@gfriedman99]

Yeah either the tool is junk or that was a signal that leaked from another cable.

[@johngoss9410]

thank you

[@muhammadkhalifa7783]

Thank you very much, this is very helpful, very clear.

[@dizzolve]

can a tone and probe be used on an electric circuit if it's switched off........ for ID 120-240volts

[@tryingtoimprove2517]

But what do you connect the toner to though

[@JohnDoe-101]

Cool

[@jesusmanupr]

Which cables do you connect to the negative and positive?

[@itstorok]

I don't think it matters, he has them connected to the blue/blue white wires,

[@mikeeleren9816]

will this work on live ethernet cable?

[@johnthegreen]

So you have to remove the rj45 ends in order to tone out a wire?

[@zachmcmasters9555]

You probably figured this out by now but most timers have it set up where you can plug in the jack on one end

[@marcoblanco3432]

NIIIICE cable management here

[@shadouxg7150]

Wow that's very useful

[@MajorTendonitis]

You should go from the last cable first next time 😅

[@stephenjohnson802]

Are there any toners that work on energized wires?

[@gfriedman99]

Yes

[@FULCEER]

Totally WRONG!! ALWAYS connect the black probe to a ground source, like a cable tray or earthing connection, for better and accurate tone sound 👌👍🏻

[@frankeldios1542]

perfect

[@nats_desu]

..thanks too..

[@ThreeeeDog]

Nice video. Thank you.

[@Stephen-lt1tp]

If you short the wires it won't tone?

[@lowvoltagedude7837]

Creating a short does kill the tone sound and releasing the short brings back the sound. that's a good test for making sure you have a good pair. My favorite toner is the fluke

[@Stephen-lt1tp]

@@lowvoltagedude7837 Yes I love fluke for all products a bit pricey but great for decades

[@lowvoltagedude7837]

@@Stephen-lt1tp $64.95 home Depot in stock on self not a bad option. Fluke pro 3000

[@joez7740]

The instruction is useless unless you show how to connect generater to cable

[@donyutejamaica631]

Joe Z, agree with you 100%!! Instructor did not show how to connect cables to the toner. WTF

[@amorquiambao53]

Can it be use without turning the power off?

[@DanaWeick]

Do NOT use on live 120VAC circuits. Low voltage won't be a problem but you hook this thing up to a live 120V circuit and you will destroy it and potentially risk electrocution when you connect it.

[@3vdad]

no

[@brianperry3513]

can I use this tool to trace a romex cable?

[@timhaisch5275]

yes you can but not with the power on.

[@ashifii148]

ফাটাফাটি !!!

[@phisitja01]

Thank

[@Ashroyer86]

does it matter which color wires to tone?

[@memovilmx6239]

It doesn't but it is recommended that always them belong to the same pair

[@gfriedman99]

Signal was pretty weak

[@willm8077]

sweet

[@anuradhadulrajravi8180]

Thanks

[@frankpinto885]

nice

[@abubakarmukhtar2024]

helpful....... gentleman

[@kenbigjohhnson3578]

You can't put tone down a wire!!!

[@turkalpkucur]

thank you