There has been a lot of wiring while constructing any house or building. A lot of wires are used for different electrical installation purpose. However, with the passage of time, these wires need to be replaced. To know what wire is coming from where, you have to trace it out. It is not possible to find out the right wire for the right device as there may be hundreds of wires being in a network.

In order to remove this obstacle the wire tracer was invented – a device used to locate the wire. Wire tracers have been very handy these days as they made the job extremely easy. With the use of the wire tracer, it is now possible to finish the job early. This device can track the wire even from deep. Wire tracers can easily locate wires through walls and even underground.

Editor’s Picks: Top 3 Wire Tracers

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ELEGIANT RJ11 RJ45

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Tacklife CT01 See on Amazon
Fluke Networks 26000900 Pro3000 See on Amazon

Best Electrical Wire Tracer Reviews

1. ELEGIANT RJ11 RJ45 Cable Tester Line Finder Multifunction Wire Tracer [easyazon_image align=”center” height=”500″ identifier=”B01HCQSHNG” locale=”US” src=”http://globalgarage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/515c2xLitL.jpg” tag=”globalgarage03-20″ width=”500″] The ELEGIANT RJ11 is a Multifunction Wire Tracer that allows the ability to trace a circuit through several ways.  It is a professional kit used to trace wire or cable find the line  and metal wire hunt. It comes with an Emitter, Receiver and Adapter Cable  that is connected to inactive networks to locate and trace cables, wires and wire pairs. 

A great tool for telecommunication engineering, computer network line engineering and  maintenance work. You can operate it in temperature between 0-40 degrees Celsius. The distance of emitting signal will be 300m. The sensitivity adjuster will help to detect even a short circuit. The adjustor knobs all are solid.

If you are in trouble deciding which tool to buy at affordable cost, then buy this for sure. It has not contain the advanced circuitry to measure your cable speed. It can detect the break or short, but it can’t tell you how many feet away it is. No need to worry. The function it have is great for home owners or personal use.  As it can detect the break, you can go with it and trouble shoot easily.

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2. Tacklife CT01 Classic Wire Tracker RJ11 RJ45 Line Finder Cable Tester for Network Cable Collation, Telephone Line Test, Continuity Checking

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Tacklife CT01 Classic Wire Tracker’s uniqueness begins with it adeptness to find out any erroneous division in wire without unwrapping the cover. Its straightforward use makes it perfect for fulfilling domestic needs as well as industrial purposes. Its multiple functionality includes detecting the necessary lines among bunches of wires, pursuing in-wall cables, tracing RJ45, RJ11, or other metal wire etc. However, unlike the Fluke Networks 26000900, accessing to all these features is impossible without an adapter.

Ideally designed for telephone line and network testing, this device can also perform some other duties. Checking the open circuit, mistakenly fixed wires, reverse or short connection are the prominent ones. In case you’re installing phone line, use the emitter to know the line level, the exact condition of the connections in TIP or PING and to discover the correct polarity.With the included headphone, it works pretty well at noisy places. You can also use the headphone in order to work silently on your customers’ house or workshop so that they don’t feel irritated due the constant tones. Fortunately, the volume of the receiver is controllable. Press the volume rotary knob to increase or decrease the volume accordingly.Lower battery voltage may affect the device’s performance. For example – if you’re hearing the sound of headphone comparatively low, chances are the battery is out of voltage. To avoid such nuisance during your reading the wires, this kit features the low voltage LED. The battery’s performance reflects through it and consequently you can alter the (power off) battery timely. ABS design is another feature worth noticing. Its responsible for the buttons’ durability and effortless rotation. Besides, for working on darker environments, whereas other models demand arranging a separate source of light, the built-in LED torch makes Tacklife CT01 complete in itself. Finally, this cable tester is perfect for transporting and it carries 24-Month Warranty. 

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3. Fluke Networks 26000900 Pro3000 Tone Generator and Probe Kit

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Fluke Networks 26000900 is an exceptional tone generator and probe kit, suitable for use in a variety of cables. Not only for de-energized AC wire, we also love this kit while working on telephone (twisted) pair wire, security wire, coaxial cable, speaker wires, voice and data cable. It achieved high scores across our board of metrics, especially in versality and functionality. Attach its ABN (angled bed-of-nails) clips with non-active networks when you’re aiming to detect individual pairs. But if your target is telephone jacks, an RJ11 plug will do the job fine. Ranges of tone that is heard during your detecting the right cable is also impressive. More precisely, it sends a loud tone up to 16 km/10 miles in 24 AWG twisted pair and 3.3km / 2 miles for SmartTone signals.

 Want to distinguish each cable pair individually within a multi-pair cable? Five different cadences will help you understand the wire pairs separately, thanks to the SmartToneTM technology. Appreciably, its adaptable speaker is loud enough to make the tone reach your ear, even if the wires are trapped in a wood, plasterboard, or other enclosures.The users, who questions the efficiency of this speaker feature amidst clamorous background, would be glad to know that by pausing the speaker’s SmartToneTM technology, they still can hear the sound using an earphone (sold separately) by attaching it on its 3.5 mm jack.You can check continuity as well as polarity of a DC-powered wire pair by examining the dual-color LEDs—red indicates continuity, whereas red and green stand for polarity. Its non-metallic tip helps eliminate the chance of unsettling other services during the testing in distribution blocks. Plus, a spare tip is preserved safely inside the probe’s battery compartment in case you misplace the attached one. Additionally, keeping the outdoor uses of this kit in mind, the manufacturers have included a nylon pouch with the product so that the professional technicians who visit far off places for troubleshooting in wires, find it easy to carry.

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Wire Tracer: Types and Functions

There are varieties of a wire tracer, and each one possesses some special qualities. This kind of a tracer can locate both energized as well as non-energized wires. Some models of a wire tracer work with open and unenergized conductors too. These devices can locate fuses and breakers devoid of powering down. Sometimes they are called as cable tracer as well. Another category of wire tracer is circuit tracer; it detects the circuit and its voltage. It is a refined and improved form of wire tracer. There are other wire tracers as well. Some of them are called underground wire tracers. These are more refined and are of high technology tracers. They detect the deeply rooted wires and trace them.

Factors Need to Consider

The purchase and use of a wire tracer depend upon a lot of factors. The actual task of the operator needs to be clear. Do not be impressed by the price of wire tracers. Many inexpensive tracers can be better than the big brands in the right situation. When buying a wire tracer, make it a point to purchase only from a recognized brand. This will ensure that the tracer you selected consists of all the necessary accessories and components, which you might need. A branded and good quality wire tracer will also supply you with detailed instructions regarding its functioning.

Frequency

They are mainly of two categories; low frequency and high-frequency wire tracer.

Element of Wire Tracer

The main elements of a wire tracer include a probe, an adapter, and a transmitter. These things work together for tracing the wires and for displaying the necessary result to the operator. Function of a Wire Tracer The main function of a wire tracer is identifying cables and wires, especially at the time when the cables are set in some sort of group, or when some cables are used in one connection. Sometimes, this kind of arrangement makes things very difficult, at such times a tracer can be very handy for seeking specific kind of wires as well as their location. That sort of device also ensures a close connectivity.

Using Wire Tracer

After you are done with choosing a wire tracer, you should also be cautious while using one. Make certain that you verify the voltage power before utilizing the wire tracer. This part is significant because some of the tracers might only endure a specific maximum voltage. If the voltage of the source is more than the specified voltage, then the result will not be accurate. This can also result in a short circuit, which can spoil your work further. You should also carry out all the tests that have to be conducted before you make use of a tracer.

Perform the Tests

Performing all the tests beforehand is pretty necessary because this will ascertain that the parts of the transmitter and the probe is in good condition. Following this, you should modify the sensitivity of the tracers probe to the utmost level. After doing this, you can switch on the wire tracer and then you should begin to move the probe in the direction of the transmitter to examine the connectivity as well as the resulting outcome. Doing this will also indicate whether you need any battery replacement or not. If you take heed of all these points, then you will be able to get exact results.

Start Tracing

When you make sure that a wire tracer is working in the right manner, you can carry on with the procedure of wire tracing. Some of the models come with alligator clips, which are used for connecting a transmitter to the wire. This sort of layout mainly depends on the kind of cabling connection. On finishing your work with the wire tracer, you can turn on the transmitter and then you can regulate the sensitivity of the probe for achieving the finest results. The probe tip of a wire tracer would be insulated. This is done for safety. When the tracer locates a wire, either a bulb will light, or a sound will emanate, indicate the wire that has been identified.

Cable Tracer

The cable tracer is also another form of wire tracer. As wire tracers detect the wires, they can detect wires anywhere. A wire tracer is a safe easy and quick way to locate the wires. It can even trace the wire in ceilings, walls, underground, etc. In order to use the wire tracer, you do not need to be an expert. This device can easily be found from different electrical shops. Wire tracers are of different varieties. A number of different technologies are used for cable tracing. Every technology has their positive points and their negative sides too. A little explanation of each technology will now follow, outlining when each cable tracer technology should be applied.

Tone Tracing technology Tone tracing is as old as copper cabling and is an important technology used for cable tracing. Tone tracing is the father of all cable tracer technologies. The basic idea is at one end of the cable is placed as an electrical signal onto the cable. By using a tone generator it then traces the signal by using a tone tracer, in order to locate the cable. It is simple in theory as well as in practice, but there are some things in networking cable especially that manages to make things a little more complex for the cable tracer. There are differing cables in a network that makes the work of the cable tracer a bit difficult. The design of Unshielded Twisted Pair cable reduces the interference between the pairs of copper wire which makes the cable as a whole.

All UTP cable types have four pairs of copper wires twisted together to reduce the interference. This shows a number of problems to anyone attempting to trace the cables, using a cable tracer, because you want to maximize the signal on the cable in order to increase the strength of the signal to be detected. The best way to reduce this is to place the signal on a single wire within the cable while the other pair is being earthed to make the work easier for cable tracing. Tone cable tracer has been analog in nature. Recently, digital tone cable tracers were introduced in the market. A digital tone cable tracer is much more efficient than the traditional analog tracers.

Continuity Tester

A continuity cable tracer provides the best way to locate and label the network cabling. A continuity cable tracer can locate up to twenty cables at a time. Each tester is supplied with one remote. The remote fixes to one end of the cable the tester on the other end. When both the tester and the remote are connected to the cable, the continuity tester will tell the number of the connected remote. A continuity tester is also capable of simple cable testing making sure that all of the pairs of wires are connected correctly.

Underground Wire Tracer

It has been an extremely difficult task to locate the fault in the underground wires, however, through technology and by learning, if you have current maps and some good equipment; the job becomes a lot simpler than that of the early pioneers of cable fault location. Need for accurate underground wire tracer was recognized when the first telephone cables were placed underground in 1883. The complexity of the task was soon recognized, however, and better heads were assigned which later lead to the invention of underground wire tracers. The underground wire tracer is used to detect any wire and the problems occurring in underground cables. This tracer has added the supreme feasibility for the technical workers as it provides them the right information. It also saves the time and cuts the extra cost. Today’s underground wire tracers are two basic categories:

  • Low frequency
  • High frequency

The low frequency locators do the best job on simple ground cables, such as direct buried cables, and primary power cables with concentric neutrals. Where tone distance is a necessity low frequency is natural to be detected by underground wire tracer. The high frequency underground wire tracer functions best in congested areas. Cables and buried service wires can be identified and parted while using this tracer. Careful for buried cable TV because the conductors are buried quite shallow, they will pull a lot of tones and cause a miss-locate. When such a condition is expected, use a low-frequency underground wire tracer.

Verdict

Accurate cable location requires not only a well-trained, well-informed, dedicated technician, provided with the proper equipment and training, who can carefully investigate a damaged cable before any work. In cable defense, choose your wire tracer well. With the right tracer, a good knowledge of other underground utilities, the number of damages can be reduced. You can find the wire tracer in electronic hardware stores as well as there are lots of online stores which deal with these devices. You just have to make sure for what purpose you have to use the wire tracer. Do not forget about the warranty card. It can be vital for the longer run.