Cable Verification Tool 1

[JoeyCanolie]

My company is moving into an old building with old ethernet already ran. We are trying not to pull new wire ie Phone and Ethernet. Not sure what CAT the wire is but we just do the basics here so Cat 6 is really not needed. Anyway before we do any construction i want to test the current runs in the new space. can anyone recommend a good device to do so. I am not looking to spend 10K like i have seen some of these devices cost. Probably at the most 2K. I have done some research myself and found a Fluke MicroScanner Pro VDV. which is 569.20 at CDW. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for you thoughts....

 

[Kwick18]

I would first check for a cabling company in your area and see what they would charge you to come out and scan the lines. They should be able to tell you everything you need to know about the infrastructure.

 

[JoeyCanolie]

Thanks for the post. And we may end up doing so, but we would still like to own a device.

Thanks

 

[skip555]

the sieman stm 8 will do what youneed for less $$$
than the Fluke

http://www.siemon.com/e-catalog/products/STM-8_Cable_Testers.asp

 

[toolman18]

Progressive electronics makes an inexpensive cable tester that will check for opens, reversed pairs, shorts,if you just need to verify the condition of the cables and correct termination. I use a model 468T, will test T568A T568B and USOC.

 

[naturl]

You stated you do not know the CAT specification of these house cables. A visual inspection with a flashlight will do it for you. The catagory type is printed on the jacket of every cable every foot or so. The wall jacks usually are printed somewhere front or back, as well as will the back of the patch panel if you have one... look for screw terminals on the wall jacks-instant CAT3. The cable may be of better design with slower jacks-I see this a lot. you can upgrade the jacks if so. Of course a tester is a required tool to at least test your patch cords.

Why is there never a phone in the phone closet?