Buttsets

<font color="#FF0000">Buttsets</font> (test handsets) & Accessories
No one seems to be sure why it's called a buttset, but there are several possibilities:

  • Maybe because a buttset can be used to "butt-in" to a conversation.
  • Maybe because a buttset is usually hung from a tool belt on a phone geek's butt.
  • Maybe because phone geeks use them while sitting on their butts.
  • Another possible origin relates to connecting two things together with a "butt splice" or "butt joint" in electricity, printing, recording or carpentry.
  • And then there's the temporary and powerful contact when people "butt heads."
  • When you touch the alligator clips of a buttset to a pair of telephone terminal screws or clips, you are butting them together.


  • The blonde lady with the bountiful butt is Nicole “Coco” Austin, wife of rapper/actor Ice-T.

    The guy with the fancy uniform is Major Archibald Willingham Butt (1865 – 1912). Major Butt fought in the Spanish-American War and was a military aide to US presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. He died aboard the RMS Titanic when it sank after striking an iceberg.

    Major Butt apparently had nothing to do with the buttset, but deserves to be remembered here for having achieved success despite a dumb name. He was probably the butt of many dumb jokes (like this one). There's a fountain named for him near the White House, a Butt Memorial Bridge in Georgia, and a plaque honoring him in the Washington National Cathedral.

  • FREE "ground" shipping in the USA with many buttsets.

  • National Buttset Museum at PhoneGeeks headquarters
    Modapt test adapter<br>connects clips to jacks
    $25.00
    <b>NEW!</b> ModMaster unversal test kit<br>comes with cords and adapters<br>to mate with just about anything.
    $30.00
    Rotary dial bargain buttsets <br>(used)
    Own an important piece of geek history. Not the latest or greatest, but it does the job, and it will probably last a lot longer than your car.
    $79.00
    "BabyButt" tester is loaded with features,<br>and can fit in your pocket.<br>Has speakerphone, headset, meter, more.<br><b>FREE SHIPPING in the USA.</b>
    $192.00
    Beavis & Butthead
    Annoying and funny. Formerly on MTV.
    J-Lo's imperfect butt
    The Butt Bridge
    Bargain Basement Buttset (butt set) does all the important stuff<br>for under a hundred bucks.<br>FREE SHIPPING in the USA.
    $99.00
    Compact buttset (butt set) with headset,<br>has hanging loop plus ATT-style metal belt clip.<br>Bed-of-nails clip set.<br>Amplified monitor. Constant polarity indication.<br><b>FREE shipping in the USA.</b>
    $119.00
    Fluke/Harris TS19 Basic Buttset (butt set).<br>Angled bed-of-nails alligator clips.<br>18-Month warranty.<br>FREE SHIPPING in the USA.

    Not the toughest, or the feature-richest, but it does the basic butt work and has Fluke/Harris quality.
    Regular price: $159.00
    New Low Price: $119.00
    Mini buttset (butt set) has headset, 11-function display<br>bed-of-nails alligator clips,<br>and ATT-style belt clip plus hanging loop.<br><b>FREE SHIPPING in the USA.</b>
    $176.00
    <b>NEW</b> Buttset with multi-function test meter<br>
    $192.00
    Best Itty Bitty Buttset  (butt set) has speakerphone,<br>dialed number display, touch-tone decoder & a LOT more.<br>FREE SHIPPING in the USA.
    Regular price: $253.00
    Sale price: $228.00
    FREE SHIPPING in the USA.</b><br>NEW</b> Fluke/Harris TS25D buttset (butt set) is DSL-safe<br>& has multi-line LCD screen,<br>monitor speaker, tone generator<br>headset, pouch & more.
    $236.00
    Updated Classic: Fluke/Harris TS30 Buttset (butt set), <br>Comfortable to hold, feature-rich, rain-safe, drop-safe.<br>FREE SHIPPING in the USA.
    Looks great, works greater.
    Regular price: $249.00
    Sale price: $229.00
    Famous Butts
    The Tushy Gallery, and a Guess Whose Butt game: Jennifer, Brittney, more.
    Progressive waterproof, high-comfort buttset<br><b>FREE SHIPPING in the USA
    If you need to test a phone line during a hurricane, this is for you. Water can't hurt it, and if you drop it, it floats.
    $279.00
    HD630 super-heavy-duty speakerphone<br>with ALL THE EXTRAS
    $297.00
    Heavy-duty, feature-loaded<br>Fluke/Harris TS44 PRO Deluxe buttset (butt set)<br>with low voltage & low current indication.<br>Rain safe, drop safe, DSL-safe, 2-way speakerphone.<br><b>FREE SHIPPING in the USA</b><br>THREE-YEAR WARANTY.<br>Approved by every Bell Operating Company.
    Regular price: $499.00
    New Low Price $366.00
    Fluke/Harris TS42DLX rugged, waterproof buttset (butt set)<br>has speakerphone & advanced testing features. <br>FREE SHIPPING in the USA.<br>THREE-YEAR WARRANTY.
    Regular price: $399.00
    New Low Price: $299.00
    It's not quite a Fluke,<br>but it costs $50 less.<br>Waterproof, dustproof, drop-safe, and filled with features.<br>FREE shipping in the USA.
    $249.00
    Fluke/Harris TS22A buttset (butt set):<br>weather resistant, rugged, speakerphone <br>with DataSafe monitoring.<br><b>FREE SHIPPING in the USA </b>
    Clunky-looking, but works great.
    Regular price: $397.00
    New Low Price: $324.00
    Replacement cordsets: screw-on or plug-in
    $29.00
    Replacement belt clip
    $7.00