cheap + easy way to test cat5 for damage?

[miamicanes]

Is there any cheap ("cheap" = < $50 or so) and easy ("easy" = "takes less than 4 hours to check 8 cables") to test the cables in a bundle of pulled cat5 for damage? I'm rapidly nearing the point where repairing or replacing a damaged cat5 cable I've buried in the wall or ceiling is going to be more or less impractical, so if any damage has been done, it's pretty much "now or never" to discover it.

I guess an ideal solution would be if there's some company that will let you rent a cat5 cable tester by mail for something like $50-100 (including postage), with 3-5 days of use time before it has to be returned to avoid further charges. Does anything like that exist?

I considered a multimeter, but quickly decided that it was impractical. Physical distance between endpoints aside, it would take an ETERNITY to run up and down the stairs to test every single wire in every single cable for continuity... and even longer to test all the OTHER wires for shorts with that wire. :huh:

 

[aehusted]

You may want to check whatever router you have. Sometimes this function is built in.
In my old Dlink 624, there was a cable check function in the web based admin tool. (under MISC tab I think)
I thought it was a pretty stupid feature until I rewired the ethernet in my new house and screwed something up. :huh: Not only did it tell me which cable was bad, but it tells you about how far down the wire the fault is. In my case the distance was a real help.

Is there any cheap ("cheap" = < $50 or so) and easy ("easy" = "takes less than 4 hours to check 8 cables") to test the cables in a bundle of pulled cat5 for damage? I'm rapidly nearing the point where repairing or replacing a damaged cat5 cable I've buried in the wall or ceiling is going to be more or less impractical, so if any damage has been done, it's pretty much "now or never" to discover it.

I guess an ideal solution would be if there's some company that will let you rent a cat5 cable tester by mail for something like $50-100 (including postage), with 3-5 days of use time before it has to be returned to avoid further charges. Does anything like that exist?

I considered a multimeter, but quickly decided that it was impractical. Physical distance between endpoints aside, it would take an ETERNITY to run up and down the stairs to test every single wire in every single cable for continuity... and even longer to test all the OTHER wires for shorts with that wire.

 

[mustangcoupe]

Is there any cheap ("cheap" = < $50 or so) and easy ("easy" = "takes less than 4 hours to check 8 cables") to test the cables in a bundle of pulled cat5 for damage? I'm rapidly nearing the point where repairing or replacing a damaged cat5 cable I've buried in the wall or ceiling is going to be more or less impractical, so if any damage has been done, it's pretty much "now or never" to discover it.

I guess an ideal solution would be if there's some company that will let you rent a cat5 cable tester by mail for something like $50-100 (including postage), with 3-5 days of use time before it has to be returned to avoid further charges. Does anything like that exist?

I considered a multimeter, but quickly decided that it was impractical. Physical distance between endpoints aside, it would take an ETERNITY to run up and down the stairs to test every single wire in every single cable for continuity... and even longer to test all the OTHER wires for shorts with that wire. :huh:

You'd have to terminate the cables but what about one of these cheaper cable testers? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16899997006

 

[tmbrown97]

you might even be able to pick one of these up locally... Home Depot or Fry's...
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...uctId=100605453

They basically check to make sure the wires aren't broken or crossed... they do nothing to test for interference on the lines. It's better than nothing... However, I don't think I've come across a problem with a cable yet unless you shoot a nail or screw through it... the problem 99.9% of the time is with the end terminations.

One time I had a problem where the lines repeatedly tested good on one of these cheaper ones (similar, yet $100?) - and there were like 8 of them that tested good but didn't work... so we ripped 'em out, re-ran Plenum - same result... finally found that while the wires had good continuity, they were picking up noise from an electrical panel. It's rare, but it can happen - and it's a b-otch to troubleshoot.

Now, I always use one of These :huh:

 

[drozwood90]

I got a tester for free with my CAT5E wire I bought from www.compgeeks.com

It was inside the box (I couldn't figure out why the wire wouldn't pull out...I looked inside and WHOO HOO! That's what I get for not using cable for over 3 years!!).

It doesn't tell you anything but continuity. BUT, it was free!

 

[Lagerhead]

However, I don't think I've come across a problem with a cable yet unless you shoot a nail or screw through it... the problem 99.9% of the time is with the end terminations.

Don't forget kinks.

 

[tmbrown97]

I haven't had a kink stop me yet... always ends up being a problem with the termination...

 

[felixrosbergen]

Related but slightly off topic....

How do you actually test the speed of the connection?

The other day just for haha's i connect my gigabit laptop to a gigabit switch connected to a gigabit NAS (raid 5) using a cat5 (not 'e') cable i found laying around. My laptop said connect at 1000mbit, but i couldnt get the 'Task Manager > Networking > Usage' to go anywhere over 10% or so.

How do i know if my terminations and cable connection will actually do 1000mbit, or close to that. I'd like to be able to test it and be sure so that i dont start questioning the wiring several years from now when somehow is slower than i expect.

 

[tmbrown97]

Related but slightly off topic....

How do you actually test the speed of the connection?

The other day just for haha's i connect my gigabit laptop to a gigabit switch connected to a gigabit NAS (raid 5) using a cat5 (not 'e') cable i found laying around. My laptop said connect at 1000mbit, but i couldnt get the 'Task Manager > Networking > Usage' to go anywhere over 10% or so.

How do i know if my terminations and cable connection will actually do 1000mbit, or close to that. I'd like to be able to test it and be sure so that i dont start questioning the wiring several years from now when somehow is slower than i expect.

Well, if the connection says 1000bt, then thats what speed was negotiated... but actually getting usage in that range is a different story. That depends on a lot of factors, such as processing power of both machines (most non-server NIC's use the PC's CPU to do a lot of the work), the overhead of the protocol (windows file transfer is pretty inefficient), the ability of both machines' drives to keep up with the send and receive data, etc...

The only difference between Cat5, Cat5E and Cat6 is gauge, separation, and twist... there's no simple test for this... you have to be able to test for noise, attenuation, reflection, etc. The tester I use for this I believe to be on the less expensive side for being able to actually test the capabilities of the wire, but even it is about $1,500 (http://www.datacomtools.com/catalog/cableiq.htm).

For what it's worth, in one of my buildings, we have a makeshift office area in a part of an old military building that hasn't been updated yet... There's a staff of 7 all working off a gigabit switch that's using a 15yr old Cat 5 (non-e) 175ft cable run up to the main switch and it's getting gigabit speeds. However, once in a while the connection goes sporadic and connectivity ceases for a little while. Forcing it to 100bt tends to make it stable again. You just never know...