Patrick Barrett

A Bench-Built XLR Cable Tester

Few discoveries are more frustrating than discovering that the long cable you just finished snaking through cramped, duty quarters does not work. Many technicians learn this lesson the hard way; the smart ones make sure it doesn’t happen twice. Though testing each conductor in a cable is tedious and time-consuming, checking and maintaining a cable inventory saves time in the long run.

Commercially available XLR cable testers aren’t expensive: Markertek sells one for about $40. On the other hand, building a tester isn’t all that difficult or time-consuming. The parts used in the unit described here are readily available and can be assembled in a few hours.

The tester, shown in Figure 1, checks ...

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