Vent: Wasted $120 on a cheap brake tester for controller boards

I bought this no-name brake tester off eBay for $120 thinking I was being smart with money. Used it on a MCE controller board in an office building downtown and it gave me false readings for two hours. Tore apart the whole system looking for a short that wasn't there. Finally borrowed a buddy's Fluke and found the issue in five minutes. Anyone else get burned by cheap test gear that just costs you more time in the end?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakota_nelson4329d ago

Got burned almost exactly the same way with a knockoff clamp meter last spring. Spent an entire Saturday chasing a phantom ground fault on a rooftop unit before my foreman handed me his Klein and I found it in ten minutes flat. Cheap tools are just expensive lessons in disguise man.

bennett.noah29d ago

Dude, got absolutely wrecked by a no-name multimeter last year. Thought I was saving cash but it just made me chase ghosts for three hours on a control panel. Ngl, that $120 "bargain" cost me way more in lost time and frustration.