Cat5 Testing ? Easy way?

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baz_

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Hey folks,
Looking for a little more advice, Helping a charity out and they have moved into new premises, The previous owner had cat5 cables installed etc. But they have stripped out all the patch ports etc. Non of the cables are labeled. I want to know whats the easiest way to test each cable without having to crimp all cables? would using a test plugged in and using a volt tester on the other side be enough?
 
You don't need to punch them all down to trace the cables. If I loose track I just punch down blue and use a basic cable tester to work out what matches what.
 
In the comms end, get the short patch cables from the say 24 patch panel plug in to the 24 port network switch

then go round the RJ45 sockets and plug a network cable between the socket and one of these network testers (just get one that checks each pin out, will have an LED light for each pin, 8 LEDs) - I paid about £10 for mine

Usually these testers come with two parts, one to plug in downstairs one to plug in at the comms cabnet end one to plug in at the socket end, but its a pain if its only you doing the testing as you need to run back and forth, a better way would be to plug the patch panel ends in to a switch as this will send the signal through to the one half of the tester you can carry around near the sockets

Once thats done and your happy your seeing LEDs showing for all 8 pins, just go round with a laptop and check network connectivity to ensure the network on the adapter comes up, and ping to a local device on the network (say a router or a server) and another test out to the internet (say bbc.co.uk and 8.8.8.8)
 
the issue i have is the comms side isnt patched up, the patch panels have been removed, but there terminated on the other end at the wall faceplates. so need some thing that can help me test so i can patch them up, Usually i would always started at one end and follow the cables but this time i cant due to the amount of tunnels etc
 
As per my original reply punching down one pair from each cable is a quick option. Punch down the blue pair of each cable to a patch panel and use a basic tester to find out which end matches which. The tests will obviously fail, but it'll tell you enough. You can then reconnect them to the correct ports.

Another option is to use a tone generator, but it'll be an additional expense. You're going to need at least a basic cable tester to complete the job once you've identified the cables.

You could also decide to use keystone sockets at the patch panel end. Connect them up and then arrange them in the correct order as you test them.
 
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If one end is already terminated.

Use this on the terminated end.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Network-L...116927?hash=item2ee908163f:g:DAcAAOSwHQ9WYB-q

Then use the toner to find the corresponding cable and punch it down.


Before doing it, label all the network ports 1-whatever. Then mark up each cable with an ultra-fine Sharpie marker as you identify each cable.

If it's not cat5e at a minimum, I'd rip it all out and start again.
 
The last time I had to do something like this was way before testers became nice and affordable.

The easiest solution I found back then was to crimp up an RJ45 with a short loop of wire linking pins 1 and 2. I plugged that into each socket then used a multimeter to look for a short on the orange pair at the other end.
 
bledd. said:
Also, it's a two person job. Don't do it on your own, it would take AGES.
Click to expand...



Depends how many you need to do, it is achievable with one person if say you had 15 sockets, especially if the comms cabinet and ports are in a close proximity, however I wouldn't do it alone if you cant patch one end in to the switch as soon as, so all you have to do is use the tester on the other end

IE you dont want to be doing 25+ ports on your own when the comms cabinet is downstairs and the sockets on an upper floor, and you havnt patched them in to a switch, meaning you would have to attach a tester on the one end, run up, test the other end, run down, move the tester, run upstairs test

It would wear you out and highly irritating
 
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Thanks, good thing is the main comms will be in the next room, i am only doing 15 ports first, then over time the other hundred accross 12 buildings lol
 
I had to remove a patch panels once to allow the comms cabinet to be removed from site. The hole in the back was too small to allow the populated patch panel through.

I was nice enough to label the cables with a sharpie before I started cutting.
 
Lol y thoughts as well bledd, You should see the mess. I have 12 buildings that are in the same state, Working 1 at a time possibly only doing 3 over the next few years. But thats not the worse thing. All buildings have Fibre connecting to each of them on average 8 core to 24 core cables, All Above head, Which also have been cut lol thats a different job for another time.
 
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