Review on 1AC-A1-II Fluke 💡 VoltAlert Non-Contact Voltage Tester by Jay Brock

I'm not an electrician but I've long lost count of how many "little" electric ones Projects I have done for many years. I always try to use a voltage tester before drilling into existing wiring, although I do have a pair of wire cutters with that familiar little notch on the blade where I cut the live wire. My existing Klein tester eventually died after about 10 years and I didn't like the look of the new ones so I gave this model a try. I've always associated Fluke with nearly indestructible test equipment. === Good stuff ===* This meter definitely goes on the false alarm reduction side. When I put my old Klein-Meter next to a 110V wire encased in a metal tube, it screams. Similarly, place it anywhere near a working outlet and it will alert you. It had an adjustable noise gate, of course, and I always had to calibrate it a bit before using it. Fluke is much quieter. Holding it next to a working Romex will alarm it, but not a working socket and certainly not a wire encased in a steel tube. As a result, it's both more and less useful depending on how you think about it*. Due to the lower sensitivity, it took me some time to learn to trust him. I do now and will continue to use it. === Not good stuff ===* Surprisingly, given its lower sensitivity, there seems to be a lot of false alarms when I'm working near the roof of my metal shed. If I knock out one leg of the Romex and the others are within 30cm of the roof, I get false positive alerts. The lack of a squelch makes it difficult to know how serious an alarm is.* This unit doesn't seem to be up to the same standards as my reliable (and much more expensive) Fluke VOM units. Time will tell how long this tester lasts. === Summary === I'm slowly learning how to use this tester, but I think a device with a sensitivity control will suit me better. Although they can be a bit trickier to use, I trusted my old little sniffer more.