What's something that gets on your nerves about tools? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 02:08:37 pm
content: Figured I'd ask to see if there is anything about specific tools that bug/annoy you guys, for me, it's hacksaws, or more specifically the little bits that actually hold the blade.As I found out this morning, they can fall out, I have no clue when, can't find it anywhere, and they are not sold separately, so I have to either find a way to rig something up myself which is pretty much guaranteed not to work, or to buy a new hacksaw.Is there anything similar to things like this that annoy you guys?edit: well, picture hanging wire seems to be able to get nice tension on it, I made sure to use a lot, not sure how well it would work on cutting metal, but I guess I will see, it's just a bit of electrical conduit, if that goes well it might work well on bolts, but definitely not a lasting solution. I bet lock wire would be better. (I need to get some of that stuff someday.

author: deth502
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 02:10:43 pm
content: price, availability, and the fact that the right one is never around when you need it.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 02:18:12 pm
content: The fact that all too often all that is in stock when you want one is a piece of crap aimed at the diy one time user.

author: Skimask
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 02:23:13 pm
content: The Panavise.As good as it is, you think you got the thing tight enough not to move, then you hit it a bit, it slips, and acts like you never tightened it at all!

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 02:27:42 pm
content: The price of actually decent quality tools. Due to the influx of ultra cheap crap from China that almost everybody buys in preference, "quality" is now a niche, low-volume category with pricing to match.Hexagonal ("Allen") keysPhillips head versus posi-drive.The mix of metric, UNC and farking BSW threaded bolts on my Landrover.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 02:39:24 pm
content: The thing with a hacksaw is that you really always need to keep a blade in it, then it never gets lost.My one is that you can never find the right screwdriver for a screw first grab in the bag. I bought some nice reversible screwdrivers already, but it always is that you need the **OTHER** end each time.To think at work the most common threads I cut are actually BSW, as I get the tools cheap and very good quality as used ones on auction. Metric is generally odd sizes, from M3 to M20. I made a nozzle last week and cut the threads as 5/16BSW to match the tap that fitted the hole. Then the rest was metric size and after making the test model from a scrap of Nylon I went out and bought PTFE rod 12mm dia ( actually closer to 14mm but that was nice) and machined 10cm down. Actually gave some to anther customer as I really only needed 10cm but bought a meter of the rod along with nylon 10mm rod. Nylon $1 but PTFE $10, and I bought the last meter they had in that size.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 02:40:52 pm
content: Quote from: GK on April 21, 2014, 02:27:42 pmLet me guess, metric on the bodywork, UNC on the engine and BSW on the wheels and brakes.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 04:51:58 pm
content: Quote from: deth502 on April 21, 2014, 02:10:43 pm+1 Add to that you can't find the right one when you need it so you go buy another. Naturally, that is when you find the one you couldn't find.

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 04:55:17 pm
content: $10 soldering irons that plug into the mains and have a stand that weighs less than the iron, so that one tug on the cord can knock it onto the floor and set the rug on fire.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 07:22:38 pm
content: Quote from: deth502 on April 21, 2014, 02:10:43 pm+1I'd add in poor QC, particularly for top brands as I expect FAR better than that of the cheapest products made (i.e. near perfection), and things that don't work as advertised (i.e. features that influenced my purchase decision, yet don't actually work properly or at all).Edited for clarity.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 07:43:39 pm
content: Poor QC not just for top brands, but for absolutely any tool at all.Our tools are what we use to build, debug and fix other things, and it's those things which are expected to require our time and attention, not the tools. I never, ever have time to waste on tools that don't work correctly.I generally work on the principle that any piece of test equipment needs to be at least 10 times as reliable as the thing it's being used to debug, and preferably more so. I need to be absolutely certain that if I'm shown a voltage, or a waveform, or any other measurement, then it is a true reflection of the state that really exists - subject to the known limitations of the tool in use, of course.If a correctly used meter reads an incorrect resistance, or a scope fails to properly decode an I2C transaction, or a crimp tool fails to securely attach a connector to a wire, then it is junk, and belongs in my 'special' toolbox. The one that gets emptied once a week.

author: staxquad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:03:22 pm
content: Breaking drill bits. I hate seeing empty slots in my number, metric and letter sets. The imperial set is easier to keep complete.

author: FrankenPC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:06:58 pm
content: Cheap needle nose pliers. Low grade metal results in warped/mis-aligned tips that no longer close correctly. Might as well thrown them away.And I also hate tape measures. I hate them because hey have tiny hidden feet that cause them to walk away.

author: Mr Smiley
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:14:23 pm
content: Those pesky meter test leads that insist on wrapping themselves round and roundand round each other leading to a tangled mess to the point you can't separate the probes as far apart as you want

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:16:29 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on April 21, 2014, 07:43:39 pmI get your point, and generally agree.Where I digress a bit I guess, would be that I don't expect much from the cheapest common denominator (Wun Hung Lo mentality manufacturing outfits). Probably should expect better (at least proper function), but practical experience has severely tempered my expectations from such a product segment. For example, I would expect a WHL cutter to cut in the most basic sense of the definition, but with expectations of joint failure during use, snap a jaw or handle off while cutting within the rated wire size, ... sorts of things.My expectations are truly that low these days.Where I do expect as close to perfection as possible though, is when buying top tier products. Simply put, I expect to get a tool in this particular segment that actually does it's job properly every single time I use it, assuming it's not just worn out or I haven't broken it due to stupidity/misuse. That's my entire reason for buying the damn thing in the first place, so QC failures in this segment really do piss me off, and it's a valid response in such cases IMHO.Hope this clears things up.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:24:49 pm
content: I had a GM mini van that I was driving back from camping. Right outside the park a plastic part of the belt system on the engine melted. I got a tow to the nearest auto parts store and I pulled up right as the guy was getting ready to close. I got him to stay a little late and they had the part I needed in stock. I bought that part, but I also needed a socket set to replace the part in the parking lot. Those socket sets were really overpriced. Now comes the decision. I only have one shot since the guy wanted to go home, so do I buy the metric set or the English set. I figured since it's an American car, that I'll go with the English set... errrrrrr... wrong choice. Metric bolts. After a lot of slipping and cursing I got the part tight enough and drove home.So ya. metric vs English sockets. That's my vote.

author: karlmag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:34:19 pm
content: Quote from: GreyWoolfe on April 21, 2014, 04:51:58 pm+1I've even tried to preempt the need to go out getting another one by buying an extra beforehand - but for some reason both the primary and the backup are nowhere to be found when needed... Then you go get a third one... :-PAlso wrong size tools, flat batteries, tools with various grades of crappiness and also other people's mishandling of various types of tools...

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:44:55 pm
content: You search for the perfect tool (sometimes for month), you buy it, and two days after the return period has ended, you find an even better one for the same price. And to top things off: your buddy had the audacity to buy the better one or you told him about and he bought it, or he knew all along and didn't tell you.And also this:Quote from: GK on April 21, 2014, 02:27:42 pmA thousand times this!

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 08:52:40 pm
content: The top selector on a 2 direction socket driver, without fail half way through i will knock the selector and not realize the sudden reverse in direction, which gets to a point where i think, "why is this so hard to undo" when i have tightened it back on more than i begun withThe other is power tools, the manuals very rarely cover what percussive maintenance is needed on them, e.g. a low end jigsaw i was given from work had nearly killed its stroke arm because the little guidance wheel for the blade was way too far back, meaning all the cutting force was only on the stroke arm, decided to read over the manual included, and it only covered how to change the cutting bit, not even repositioning the base plate or the guiding wheel,And finally slop in shifters, while i will admit to only owning cheap units, its amazing that they can slop one way or another by half a mill, so every single time you have to use one you have to reset it to the right width, then make sure its actually tight enough, you lift it off to make the next quarter turn of your nut and now its too tight to fit back on, (this was for some customers DIY square nuts that met no standard size)

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 10:29:07 pm
content: helping hands .... they should all be treated by applying the business end of a steamroller to them...

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2014, 11:13:18 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on April 21, 2014, 10:29:07 pmOh man, amen to that. Pain in the ass to get into position, then the joints get loose, or the clips, and they eventually just pull off...Hate those things, at least the pre made ones. I want to make one using some of that flexible tubing that has sort of ball joints in it, unsure of the actual name but it's getting more popular to do.

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 12:32:10 am
content: Quote from: XOIIO on April 21, 2014, 11:13:18 pmCoolant hose (brad names: Loc-Line, SnapFlow and Snap Loc). Cedarberg, Enco and Jeton carry them.You're welcome

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 01:13:35 am
content: Quote from: XOIIO on April 21, 2014, 11:13:18 pmHere's some various links to give you ideas using segmented flexible coolant lines for a DIY helping hands (pulled this from another post I made today).Gorilla PodDesk SquidThird Hand++Helpful Helping HandsDIY 4-arm Helping Hands Soldering ToolSoldering "helping hands" made with Loc-Line coolant hoseLoc-Line, I Love This Stuff(camera mount)Examples of Solutions Made with Loc-Line from Modularhose.com(.pdf)Quote from: con-f-use on April 22, 2014, 12:32:10 amI was aware of Loc-Line, Jeton, and Wiha (not sure who actually makes theirs, but it's COO = Switzerland), so thanks for the additional brands/trade names.

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 01:16:33 am
content: Quote from: nanofrog on April 22, 2014, 01:13:35 amloc line, that's the one I've heard!Thanks for the links, I'll be sure to check them out.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 04:07:19 am
content: Quote from: GreyWoolfe on April 21, 2014, 04:51:58 pmI should start a pool for how many 5/32" hex drivers and #2 Phillips drivers we'll find during our upcoming shop reorganization. Every couple months I have to buy a couple more because there are none to be found in the tool cabinet. Then somebody cleans up a messy work area and all the sudden we have more than will fit into the drawer. Then we get busy again and they wind up scattered around the building and there are none in the drawer, so. . .

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 04:57:50 am
content: 15 drivers and 27 screwdrivers more than the drawer can hold.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 05:08:34 am
content: More things than places

author: TheBorg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 05:32:18 am
content: 1. Cheap screwdriver bits2. Me being too cheap to buy nice screwdriver bits. (Learned my lesson, time to get some Wihas!)3. A drawer full of unorganized screwdriver bits because you can't find the one you need and you're in a hurry, so you throw em in there.4. Cheap Chinese tools that sellers "bundle" with items when you buy them. I fix a few iphone/macbook screens and stuff like that, and they just put in a kit for anything. Some things are nice, cheap pry tools I can break, but most of it is utter crap.

author: rexxar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 06:08:17 am
content: Cheap screwdriver bits that break when you put some torque on them, or better yet, the blades(?) on the phillips driver bending, making the whole thing round.I've got a pair of channel locks that the center bolt has come loose, and if I tighten it enough so it stays, you can't open the jaws, but any looser and the tongue slips out of the grooves when you apply pressure. Of course my good ones got "borrowed" and left in the basement where they rusted solidAlso cheap wire cutters that get nicks in the blade from looking at them the wrong way.My biggest problem is that all of my tools have grown legs, or can otherwise teleport to completely improbable places as soon as I put them down. (I put my cutters right HERE why are they on the other side of the room?!)Oh, a fun one I just experienced: The lug wrench that came with my car is made of folded 1/8" (I think) metal. Someone at the mechanic's got a little enthusiastic when they tightened the nuts, so when I went to take the tire off, the whole wrench just bent. Piece of s*$t.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 06:12:45 am
content: Quote from: SeanB on April 21, 2014, 02:40:52 pmMy brother's old Singer SM1500 had all that (except for the metric).BSF,BSW,UNF,plus our special guest artist:- A "Lucas" thread on the starter connection.The latter must have been the last year Lucas did this,as all the later cars I've seen used UNF on this connection.

author: SArepairman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 07:33:04 am
content: man the tool that came with my hot air station is a joke and a half. I thought it was some kind of pitchfork that was meant to be used in sexual play? (perhaps to poke your partners butt?)Some poorly molded piece of plastic with a poorly threaded screw that holds a wire bent into a U type shape..I asked my friend, he had no idea.. eventually I found a similar ebay listing describing it as a "ic holder"your supposed to bend the wires so the opening is smaller then your chip, allowing spring force to hold it..This is the type of tool that should only ever exist if it was ghetto rigged on the ISS to avert a catastrophe.I wonder if some 14 year old chinese kid was tasked with bending the wires into their U shape all day. It might work.. if you intend to hold a very specific quad pack at the very edge of a circuit board, and you don't mind the 64% chance that the chip will shoot out from the pitchfork into your eye or nose.the doctor will think, damn, what will they think to cut the cocaine with next, as he extracts a chip lodged in your nosebut as for what i hate:i hate tools that are dangerous to use, like an Angle grinder without a safety shield. or pliers with bad grips that hurt your hand. or tools that snap with a jagged edge if you try to put some force in them (or cause fragmentation). You get a few stabs and then you stop buying cheap shit. and stuff that destroys screw heads.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 07:42:19 am
content: Quote from: Smokey on April 21, 2014, 08:24:49 pmThis terminology never ceases to amuse me. We (the English) have been using metric for years.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 08:25:06 am
content: Not so much the tools but what you use the tools on. Screws, nuts, other fasteners and stuff that F****** round out/off then you have to grind a slot into it or grind some flat edges on it.

author: flolic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 08:43:16 am
content: Inbus (hex, Allen) keys. Sh*t waiting to happen

author: bookaboo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 09:05:30 am
content: Having a good quality bit set, losing one bit and the whole thing is ruined.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 01:13:38 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on April 22, 2014, 07:42:19 amstill plenty of luddites around though, especially those who interchange between metric and imperialthe number of times someone asks for a price for a electric blind, they tell me the width in millimetres and the drop in inches!

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 01:39:01 pm
content: Quote from: bookaboo on April 22, 2014, 09:05:30 amNo kidding, if you are lucky the company might sell you an individual one. I have the ifixit 54 bit driver set, one of the flat heat bits fhattered a bit on a though screw, I asked if they sold them separately, and they just shipped one off the next day.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 05:20:06 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on April 21, 2014, 07:43:39 pmYou're doing it wrong, that's the stuff you should be bringing to hamfests.Mark the stuff at 3/4 new price and let the hams chew you down. Don't forget to look like you're thinking real hard about their offer. Instead of everything going into the circular waste receptacle or recycle center, you make some money back to buy good stuff.By the way, I AM a ham. I don't fall for that but I see many that do.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 09:34:34 pm
content: Also while on multimeters, Errors introduced by current flow, and the fact that 99% of people you meet dont understand the effect, which leads to funny looks when a massive wire linking a cars negative the the chassis reads 4 ohms one way and 0 ohms the other when running just the clock and a few small always on systems,I have wondered on multiple occasions if there is some form of impulse resistance multimeter that samples the pre-existing voltage drop, injects the current, measures the voltage again and gives you the difference, for in circuit resistance measurement

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 10:13:14 pm
content: Quote from: Rerouter on April 22, 2014, 09:34:34 pmthat would be pretty neat, I'm sure some super high end one has that feature.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 11:00:06 pm
content: My blowtorch annoys me, its CG is terrible and it will fall over with any bump. I can't just put it down on its side because the tip is hot and might melt things on the bench.The annoying thing is that it doesn't matter which way you bump it.If you bump it the way that itdoesn'twant to fall over it will fall over on the rebound the other way

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 22, 2014, 11:18:29 pm
content: My Agielnt MSOX2024 doesn't decode SPI (or any other protocol) on the logic channels.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 01:20:19 am
content: CNC machines that do exactly what you told them to do, instead of what you MEANT to tell them to do.

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 01:23:45 am
content: I just spent 2 minutes trying to unscrew some screws that are in a deep hole using a long flathead screwdriver, I was wondering why the damn things weren't loosening at all, turns out the damn plastic handle has let go enough I was just spinning that around the metal

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 01:46:07 am
content: Not a tool, aluminium screws used for storm windows.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 03:26:47 am
content: Quote from: XOIIO on April 23, 2014, 01:23:45 amI had a custom long shaft ( actually 2 standard shafts stuck into a metal "tube" in the center) 3/32 hex driver used for servicing the printers we had deployed that was supplied by the printer company. It did the same thing at the joining tube in the middle. Nothing I tried worked-crimping, soldering and even trying JB Weld. It is an Xcellite that is not available because it is a custom build. Now it's a standard hex driver. Last year my 9/32" driver suffered the same fate but the engineer from the company suggested using threadlocker to stop the rotation. Surprisingly enough, it did. It hasn't loosened up since despite almost daily use. Too bad I didn't keep the parts from the other one.

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 10:49:49 am
content: Proprietary charging connectors. Ball head Allen screws with a broken headTool thieves.

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 04:22:28 pm
content: Quote from: Gribo on April 23, 2014, 10:49:49 amTool thieves who use my nice side cutters to cut plastic blister packaging.**We need a GIF for loading and cocking a rifle. Punching isn't enough for such a crime.

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 04:48:46 pm
content: That's the first time I came across "cocking a rifle". I'm sure its the usual expression, but really English? Really??

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 04:50:25 pm
content: Yup. It comes from cocking the hammer on flintlock muskets and pistols. The root etymology has something to do with roosters, I'd guess.The gun industry/community is ridiculously conservative with terminology. They've only really started to embrace metric for calibre (bullet diameter) in the last 20 years or so. It's kind of ludicrous to hear about a 9mm bullet with 147 grains of mass seated in a ".38 Special" (diameter actually 0.357") cartridge in a pistol with a 4.3" barrel.They're so conservative, that many Americans use the old British "calibre" instead of the technically correct American "caliber".

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 05:58:54 pm
content: Speaking of, I don't know if guns count as tools, but there are still things about them that piss me off. British .303 is actually 0.310-0.312" in diameter, or about 7.9mm. .38 Special is actually 0.357", .327 Fed Mag is actually 0.320"..308, .30-06, and .300 Win-Mag are all 0.30" (7.62mm) diameter. 7.62x54mmR does not conform to any existing nomenclature scheme except itself..380 ACP, .380 Browning, 9mm Kurz, and 9mm Short are all different names for the same thing and all are in common use, and all are 9.0mm or 0.357" in diameter. 9mm Makarov is actually 9.22mm, while 9mm Parabellum is 9.0mm..22LR and .22 Magnum use the same diameter bullets, and while .38 Special will fit into a .357 Magnum chamber and .44 Special will fit into a .44 Magnum chamber, .22LR will not fit into a .22 Magnum chamber; or rather it will but will cause the gun to malfunction.There are reasonable historical reasons for all of these things. That doesn't make them any less infuriating.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 07:04:37 pm
content: Reminds me of my Instrumentation instructor at college. He taught instruments, but his passion was gunsmithing. He could hit a pack of cigarettes at 3km with his 303 rifles.As he was in his youth a gymnast and dancer he always would try the posers with a simple trick, and bet them that they could not do like him and hold a ballet attitude for a 10 minute period, and always won. Me, I knew way too many ballet students, so never took him up on it, I knew that he would win for sure. Longest time was 2 minutes, and he was there still walking around on the one foot, talking, writing on the board and even bending over to pick up chalk from the floor.

author: lemmegraphdat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 09:47:27 pm
content: If I don't pack the whole kit with me everywhere I go, I always... and I mean always... have to go back and get something.

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 11:36:26 pm
content: Quote from: Phaedrus on April 23, 2014, 05:58:54 pm"Kurz" is the German word for short, so actually the same thing as 9mm Short just using another language.

author: notsob
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2014, 01:10:13 am
content: The tool that I need right now was borrowed by a friend last month AND not returned

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2014, 03:00:11 am
content: Quote from: con-f-use on April 23, 2014, 11:36:26 pmSee, I'd be fine with that, except that they use both the English and German names. We have 9mm Largo (9x23mm) but we don't also call it "9mm Large" or "9mm Long".

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2014, 07:33:33 am
content: Just bought a pretty big mastercraft socket set off kijiji for $30, excellent deal, especially since I need one, but the case doesn't hold stuff on place very well, even when all closed up, if you carry it by the handle things on both sides fall out of place (there is a plastic divider on the lid side but stuff in there still moves.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 25, 2014, 01:45:14 pm
content: Quote from: lemmegraphdat on April 23, 2014, 09:47:27 pmI keep my tools in my van for work. Everything is in a decent sized Husky tool bag. I typically use only a few of the tools regularly, but I would rather carry everything all the time than have to stop what I am doing, go get the tool from the van and, depending on site security, work my back through having someone letting me in and getting back to work. Since we have SLAs and the company tracks our time to complete the service call(not that we get called out on how long it takes) I am all about getting the equipment repaired as quick as possible.If we are going to do some work on our ham radio club VHF repeater system, I pack what I plan to take the day before. First thing in the morning, I double check what I've packed. The system is on top of a hospital and we have to pass through a secure area with a security guard to get to the roof. There IS NO FORGETTING. If you don't have it, you are out of luck. Between the 4 or 5 of us that go, we always have everything we need between us because we have done it enough and forgot our share of tools in the beginning.