Network tester recommendations

Admiral Huddy · 17 Aug 2007 at 09:51

Can anyone recommend a decent network tester for under £100.

referably with some kind of loop back test .. (time domain refelectors?)

Thanks

Slinwagh · 17 Aug 2007 at 09:56

Do you mean in terms of test a physical cable, if so look at a Fluke meter.

sidethink · 17 Aug 2007 at 10:32

You won't get anything useful from Fluke for that sort of money (maybe ten times that amount).

To be honest I can't think of any tester that will do TDR for anywhere near that amount.

Admiral Huddy · 17 Aug 2007 at 11:46

sidethink said:
You won't get anything useful from Fluke for that sort of money (maybe ten times that amount).

To be honest I can't think of any tester that will do TDR for anywhere near that amount.

Really

I would likew to be able to test the cable once it's installed. How much are we talking for a TDR?

sidethink · 17 Aug 2007 at 11:58

TDR is mostly used to measure the distance to breaks in the cable - and therefore only really comes in to play when something has gone wrong.

If the cable we are referring to is being installed by a professional then they should be able to provide you with a full test report and (more importantly) warranty.

If you're installing yourself in a basic office environment - you can get by with just a pinout tester to make sure you have punched down each end correctly.

We have one Fluke Linkrunner Pro Kit at work but its used only rarely, most of the guys carry a £15 tester from the local electronics store (or strangely B&Q). This fits in their laptop case and tells you in basic terms if the cable being tested will work ok.

Its no use for detecting the more subtle problems like marginal overlength and EMI issues but those are tackled with common sense and a laser range finder.

What scenario do you need to test cables in? Size and scale and the complexity of the cable runs is the main issue. You only really need something serious if you are commissioning a system for someone commercial and someone like Molex needs a full report to give a guarantee or you have weird behaviour on a complex existing system that precludes just running a new wire.

Fluke devices and the like are fantastic (but priced accordingly) however they are not required to detect the most common faults (bad punchdown).

Admiral Huddy · 20 Aug 2007 at 17:21

^ I guess the basic tester will be fine then.

What Standard shall I use?

T568A - colour coding used for Cross-over cabling or T568B - colour coding used for normal network cabling?

Thanks

Snapshot · 20 Aug 2007 at 18:02

Do you have a good reason not to use 'normal'?
There you go, you've answered your own question.

I'm old fashioned when it comes to standards and tend to stick to what I'm used to......