Testing your HA wiring

[jlokanis]

Several posts about DIY HA wiring have made reference to testing the installation or having a pro installer test their work as part of the install contract.
My question is: for DIY, how do you test CAT5 and COAX (RG6, RG59, etc)?
Are there some simple tools for this or do I need to rig up some home brew gadget? Is basic continuity ok or do I need something more sophisticated?

Thanks for any tips!

-John

 

[tech-home]

Check out this article.
http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.aspx

I use a very basic tester for cat5
http://www.lanshack.com/Economy-LAN-Tester-P2245C67.aspx

But you should be able to pick these up at Home Depot or Lowes
http://www.lanshack.com/Tools-Testers-C8.aspx

 

[eufreka]

Although more expensive, I would also suggest you look at the Ideal LinkMaster Pro XL

Overkill for a single DIY, but great if you might go deeper into the business.

A couple of key features: It does both voice/data cable and COAX testing. It can measure cable length (useful in situations when you didn't pull what's there, or when you wonder how much cable you have left in a spool. And it has two jacks on the tester, so you can test patch cables easily.

They also used to advertise a "security accessory kit" for additional testing of security/CCTV/security wiring.

http://www.idealindustries.com/Innovations/datacomm.htm