[HamWAN PSDR] CAT5 cable tester

Fri May 29 13:52:28 PDT 2020

yes, a Qualification tester is the right product class to be looking at,
the CableIQ as referenced is a decent qualification tool, and can be found
in the 1500.00 price range when shopped around for.

On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 1:44 PM Chris Icide <chris at netgeeks.net> wrote:

> I bought one of these many years ago when I was building many custom
> length cables.  I will swear by it, and I've never had a bad cable that
> tested good.
>
>
> https://www.flukenetworks.com/enterprise-network/network-testing/CableIQ-Qualification-Tester
>
>
> It's pricey, but it meets all your requirements and to boot, it's quite
> rugged, mine has fallen from a 12 foot ceiling joist to the concrete below,
> bounced once, and shows nothing but a couple scratches on one corner.
>
>  -Chris
>
> On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 1:37 PM Aaron Spangler <aaron777 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> BTW I learned a long time ago the reason why tdrs are so expensive is
>> because of the cost of certification of each device. (think human hours)
>>
>> On Fri, May 29, 2020, 1:34 PM Aaron Spangler <aaron777 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I made a simple one the other day. It can do LF/MF(not UHF+)  style TDF
>>> if you push it in code. That's how I found the wires were continuous but
>>> paired wrong in one cable. See
>>> http://www.kg7bhp.org/2020/05/simple-tdr.html
>>>
>>> One could expand on that. I just threw it together after a bit. There
>>> are some mods we could do to test the shielding for common mode currents.
>>> But it the package would need to be cleaned up rather than in breadboard
>>> form.
>>>
>>> On Fri, May 29, 2020, 1:21 PM Steve <stevewa206 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Also, when I had to use shielded cable....buying tested pre terminated
>>>> is also a good way to go if you know the distance  and have the weather
>>>> proof shells that can accommodate it.....   sometimes can’t be done.
>>>>
>>>> Steve
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 1:18 PM Darcy Buskermolen <darcyb at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Correct, STP = Shielded Twisted Pair, vs UTP un-shielded twisted pair,
>>>>> which is what you normally see in everyday ethernet cable.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 1:15 PM Kenny Richards <richark at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Darcy - For those of us not in the know, what does "STP" stand for?
>>>>>> I'm guessing it has todo with testing the shield termination?  (Google
>>>>>> failed me trying to look it up)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>> Kenny
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 1:07 PM Darcy Buskermolen <darcyb at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yes such a device does exist,  they are going to be $$, a fluke or
>>>>>>> lantech unit will be well north of $1000.00 per test setup. STP make the
>>>>>>> options less readily available.  You certainly want something more involved
>>>>>>> than a simple cable map function.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If STP can be removed from the must-have list, then
>>>>>>> https://pockethernet.com/ is a decent value proposition
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 12:51 PM Steve <stevewa206 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Maybe get Fluke to donate?  Anybody have connections or work for
>>>>>>>> them?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Just a thought.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Steve N0FPF
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 12:37 PM Bart Kus <me at bartk.us> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> HamWAN is in the business of deploying lots of long CAT5 cables,
>>>>>>>>> terminated by amateurs, in remote locations.  We often have a hard
>>>>>>>>> time
>>>>>>>>> getting the terminations right.  In the worst cases, the problems
>>>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>>>> only discovered once the cables are installed on a tower, and need
>>>>>>>>> to be
>>>>>>>>> re-terminated up there.  A method of testing the cables before
>>>>>>>>> installing them would save us headaches and speed up deploys.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Can someone volunteer to lead an effort to research the market and
>>>>>>>>> select an appropriate cable tester?  HamWAN would then purchase at
>>>>>>>>> least
>>>>>>>>> 2 of these, and keep them with folks who are doing site deploys.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Here are some requirements I'd like the tester to meet:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> 0) The tester is a reliable quality device.
>>>>>>>>> 1) Ability to detect proper shield termination, since we use
>>>>>>>>> shielded
>>>>>>>>> CAT5 to keep RFI down.
>>>>>>>>> 2) Ability to report performance characteristics of the cable,
>>>>>>>>> beyond a
>>>>>>>>> simple pass/fail LED.
>>>>>>>>> 3) Ability to operate in rainy conditions.
>>>>>>>>> 4) Battery powered, preferably rechargeable.
>>>>>>>>> 5) UI friendly to color-blind people.  :)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Additional requirement suggestions welcome.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --Bart
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> PSDR mailing list
>>>>>>>>> PSDR at hamwan.org
>>>>>>>>> http://mail.hamwan.net/mailman/listinfo/psdr
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>> Pardon the brevity, sent from a mobile device. So there.
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>>>>>>>
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>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Pardon the brevity, sent from a mobile device. So there.
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