mark49•4d ago

Old school Journeyman showed me what a $50 wiggy can do that a $500 meter can't

I was out on a service call in a 1970s house in Austin and couldn't get a stable reading on my fancy Fluke for a hot neutral. The old guy I was working with pulled out his old solenoid voltage tester, the kind with the wand and the leads. He touched it to the line and it buzzed right up and showed the voltage instantly, no guesswork. That $50 wiggy saved me from spending an hour chasing a glitchy digital readout. Has anyone else switched back to the old school tools for certain jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.mary4d ago

Did he also tell you that wiggy works great as a makeshift hammer when you drop your Klein?

maxpalmer3d ago

Can't believe you used a wiggy as a hammer, man. Those old solenoid testers feel solid but they're not exactly built for that kind of abuse. @sanchez.mary your dad must have been from the old school where if it's metal you can hit it. I'd bet the plastic cracked a little on mine if I tried that, but maybe the older ones were tougher.