Sound Tools XLR Sniffer/Sender

let me say to start, if you are sound engineer and you don't have one - you should. every time i have purchased one, it's paid for itself the first time i needed it and it makes fast work of testing. I used it only last month to test a theatre fixed install and diagnosed several problems within 5 minutes. that was a time and show saver in the long run.
there are a few problems however:
the first one i bought was an early manufacture model and ended up being replaced under warranty when it fell apart.
the second one lost a screw which came loose and then got left behind on the job.
by the time i bought my third set the price had almost doubled. and it STILL has a problem being a little tight on some xlr connections. it really would need a new casting design to overcome this.
now the positives -
it's faster than any other way of diagnosing multicore problems
it's light and easy to carry in your pocket on a show day - i can't think of another tester that does that
it's so easy to use, it's the tester mrs sound asks for every time she is in the workshop testing cables with me - less stress on the wrists than a dial turn tester.
on my own in the workshop i can test a 40 channel multicore in under 5 minutes with reliable repeatable results.
i wouldn't be without it but these things are more prone to damage than a big box tester and need looking after.