Cat 5 Cable testing equipment

[thefly]

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with a cat 5 ethernet cable tester?

I need to buy a good one for office use.

Anyone have a suggestion of a good model they have used?

Thanks.

[Diggrr]

A Pentascanner 350 is what I've used. It's a breeze to hookup and has a very shallow learning curve to use. Also it doesn't eat batteries like crazy.
I believe It has an optional printer to print results which are a must for certification. (many customer specs require printouts)
Here's the link to the manufacturer's web site Microtest: www.microtest.com/pentascanner/

Bring your checkbook though, the best is not cheap...$2700 for a refurb unit.

[thefly]

2700$ wow, well, i can certainly ask my boss for one. haha. I can hear them laughing already.

Thanks for the link. I'll print it up and see what what management says.

[Kingslayer]

A cheaper alternative is the Siemon STM-8 tester. A drunken monkey can use it with total sucsess.

Here's some linkage to get a price range. http://www.e-sci.com/jensen/1/16/135/3946.html I have seen them as low as $250 though.

I've got one, love it.

[Cooler666]

you might as well buy a whole new network (Cat 6) for $2700 ;)

[Diggrr]

Yeah, I know the price is steap. When I was working as a networking contractor though, you can't beat it. When a customer spec says certified, they mean it. Level II is common, and the cheaper ones just can't do it well. They also survive like no other when you drop it out of the ceiling on a 16' ladder. (long day at K-Mart)

You think that's bad try a T-Berd (not misspelled, not a joke). It's for full certification on digital transmission lines (copper and fiber) like the Telco uses and can easily hit $15,000! You can bet I don't own one :D

[Kingslayer]

Testing fiber....you know how I test fiber.....$2.50 laser pointer. Works like a champ.

[Diggrr]

Yeah, I'd probably have done that too if the customer would let me get away with that. Unisys and WinStar could be real nutcrackers if you didn't provide the machine printed certs.
They'd just have loved me terminating an OC-3 with laser pointer testing. Call-backs for data problems came out of my pocket, not theirs.;)

[DarkArctic]

I was wondering how those CAT5 cable testers work. What are they doing exactly? We're supposed to get fibre optics at my work soon too. 3Mbits/s guaranteed. Mmmmmmm, can't wait.

-DarkArctic

[Diggrr]

There's two pieces to the system. One goes on each end of the cable. The smaller box on the far end basically sends back the signal it receives down the appropriate wire (some will add info the signal). The tester (depending on what type) will send signals at different frequencies and time/anylize it when it's returned.
It can tell when there's crossed pairs, loose connections, damaged wire, inductance, capacitance, attenuation, even the length of the wire (great for billing) and the speed it's capable of. About the only thing it can't tell you is the color of the wire.:D
Some of the better ones can even tell you how far away the troubled section of wire is (within a foot).
That's why I like the Penta's, they can do all this.