Abstract: An apparatus (100) and method (300) for determining the status of a electric cable (20) is provided. The apparatus (100) rigidly includes a probe (104) having coaxial contacts (150, 152) and including a melt unit (102) configured to melt an insulating jacket (32) of the cable (20), an instrumentation unit (106) coupled to the probe (104) and housing a cable analysis circuit (186), a status display unit (188) coupled to the instrumentation unit (106), an insulated shank (108) coupled to the instrumentation unit (106), and a hotstick adapter (110) coupled to the insulated shank (108). The cable analysis circuit (186) includes a connection determination circuit (200) configured to determine if an electrical connection between the probe (104) and the cable (20) is a valid connection, and a status determination circuit (222) configured to determine the status of the cable (20) while the electrical connection is a valid connection.