Fluke Networks has introduced its TS54 TDR telephone test set. Technologically, the company says the TS54 tester brings a full suite of new capabilities into an integrated telephone test set, all of which are essential to the ability to properly test today’s voice, video and data telecommunications systems. In addition to the integrated TDR, the TS54 features open/short circuit detection to 3,000 ft., a built-in toner with five tones, patented SmartTone functionality for exact pair identification, and glow in the dark keys and backlit LCD screen.
Fluke claims the TS54 tester is 62 percent lighter and 20 percent more cost-effective than other similar solutions on the market. The highly durable TS54 tester also passes a 20-foot concrete drop test and includes a three-year warranty. The TS54 is part of the company's new line of voice, data and video test sets, the TS Professional (PRO) Series, which also includes the TS53 and TS23 testers. These two products deliver a combination of seven or four multifunctional tests respectively, without TDR or toner features.
“Telecom service technicians and the test sets they use to assure performance are the unsung heroes of the telecommunications industry,” comments Paul Alexander, marketing manager for field test equipment at Fluke Networks. “And with exponential growth in the use of telecommunications networks driving the need to transmit voice, data, and video seamlessly and reliably, the stakes are high. That is where the TS54 delivers. It’s lighter, easy to use, and combines the most critical testing needs into a single, durable, reliable test set that’s completely redesigned to help meet that demand.”
Fluke reckons that, with more than 150 million fixed telephone lines in service in the U.S. alone, service provider technicians spend the majority of their day in the field with heavy tool belts that carry the equipment necessary to test today’s voice, data and video services. The company says its TS54 tester combines the functionality of what were formerly three separate tools into one, which not only reduces tool belt weight significantly, but also helps reduce testing equipment costs per technician.
“Whatever you want to call them: test sets or butt sets, the integration of three test sets into one, plus the added protection of a three year-warranty, allows us to offer our service provider partners with a significant reduction in the total cost of ownership,” says Ed Sztuka, vice president at Fluke Networks.
Just as important is the wear and tear on technicians, Sztuka adds. “OSHA health and safety guidelines stress that ‘loaded tool belts may weigh over 50 pounds and cause an increase load and contact stress on the lower back and hips.' The TS54 tester’s lighter weight and more ergonomic design are aimed directly at helping meet that weight reduction guideline.”
Fluke's TS PRO Series is available immediately.
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