Hosa Technology Introduces CBT-500 Cable Tester

Hosa Technology, supplier of analog and digital connectivity solutions for the musician and audio/video professional, announces the introduction of the CBT-500 cable tester. Designed to quickly and easily check a variety of cable types, the new CBT-500 cable tester enables one to verify the integrity of a cable before interconnecting equipment. The CBT-500 is ideal for use when preparing for a concert, studio recording session, or installation as well as checking cables afterwards in order to ensure working operation the next time.

The new CBT-500 cable tester tests a wide range of cables commonly encountered in the music / pro audio environment. The compact, handheld unit is capable of testing the following cable terminations:
• XLR (three-pin and five-pin)
• Balanced and unbalanced phone (standard guitar-type cable)
• Phono (RCA)
• speakON (with support for two-pole, four-pole, and eight-pole connectors)
• DIN (multi-pin, including five-pin DIN commonly used for MIDI equipment)
• Ethernet (RJ-45)
• USB Type A to Type B (standard USB to the square USB connector found on most audio interfaces)

In addition to providing the necessary connectors to test the various cable types, the Hosa CBT-500 cable tester consists of a front panel rotary knob and two rows of eight LEDs-one row amber colored, the other row green. These LED's facilitate easy checking of the individual pins found in any of the supported cable types, the company says. The rotary knob enables one to switch from one pin to the next. As an example, by connecting both ends of an XLR cable to the unit, one can systematically check pin one to pin one, pin two to pin two, and pin three to pin three. If both LEDs illuminate, the connection is passing signal. If not, the connection is broken.

The new CBT-500 is also equipped with removable leads-commonly referred to as test probes-to verify the continuity of additional connectors and jacks. This capability is convenient when making cable repairs, as it enables one to check the actual replacement connector.

Jose Gonzalez, Hosa Technology's product manager, commented on the new CBT-500 cable tester, "The CBT-500 is an incredibly versatile and capable tool that no electronic musician or audio professional should be without. With support for most connector types that one is likely to encounter, this rugged, handheld tester makes it easy to know whether a particular cable or connector will pass signal -- before it becomes a problem in the field. With the included test probes, continuity testing of additional connectors, jacks, or bare wire is equally quick and easy. I'm confident our new cable tester will help people avoid signal transmission failures in their work."