Dmills Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 The MCT20 is nice for what it does, but what it will not do is checks on power related wiring (at least not safely), and while I agree that it is a profoundly useful time saving bit of kit, it is NOT a substitute for something designed to survive having the mains across it (Or at least designed to fail without killing you, google "Arc Flash" for why safety rated instruments matter). Both it and a class IV instrument should pay for themselves in a toolbox, but if you can only get one, the tester rated for getting across three phase supplies it the one to get. Regards, Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I'm going to support Dan there - get a multimeter with perferably Cat IV or at least Cat III if you are going to do mains measurement of any type with it. I had a cheap Maplins multimeter on the 1000V range go bang on me whilst measuring three phase, and I really didn't enjoy the experience. However, knowing what I know now, that was not a multimeter designed to be safe doing the job. I could rant (again!) about how dissatisfied I was with Maplin's customer service on this issue, but not today. On a lighter note, a cable tester box like the Millenium MCT-20 will definitely bail your ass most days of the week. I believ the Behringer one is good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revbobuk Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 The Behringer one has fewer connectors, so is less useful from that point of view, but it's quite a bit smaller, and has a very neat feature - it detects intermittent connections, and has a latching display so that you can just wiggle the plugs a bit and it will show if they are noisy. And the battery cover on the MCT family is prone to coming undone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulDF Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 If it is the one I am thinking of, the behringer one has the 3 pole XLR connections on it and also has tone outputs for audio. I quite like these but would be nice if a 5 pole version was available.The MCT-20 has both 3 and 5 pole XLR connections. These are both cable testers, not sure if the OP is wanting a DMX protocol analyser?? I agree with others on using a higher end tester such as a Fluke for measuring mains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombhead Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Just out of interest what course/where will you be studying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 In Fluke we trust for a reason BUT in a college environment the top end Fluke stuff with full calibration is too expensive to leave about. A Fluke mains tester will be a good buy, and a Big Clive DMX indicator will be a useful DIY job. These will probably satisfy the initial needs of the course, -identify missing power or missing or reversed DMX. LATER as the course proceeds further equipment may be needed, and by then the OP should be wise enough to determine whether an economy solution is safe and viable or whether a robust professional piece of kit is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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