toning cat5e cables 4

[jeffmoss26]

Hi Guys
I am working on terminating 30 or so cables in my school. I did not install the cable, I am just putting the jacks on and terminating to a patch panel. Naturally, the guy who installed the cables did not label them. This is in a computer lab, using large metal Wiremold. Anyway, I am having trouble toning out the cables. I plugged my toner into the first jack, and could hear tone on almost all the cables. (a pretty faint sound). However, I didn't hear the tone any louder on any specific cable, making it almost impossible for me to know which cable is which. Short of ripping everything out and labeling and running new cables (really not an option), how can I get better tone through the cables so I can identify them? I made myself an adapter with an RJ45 plug and some cable, twisted the white wires and colored wires into 2 groups and then clipped the toner on.

Any help is appreciated,
Thanks
Jeff

jeff moss

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Split one pair and you will be able to hear the tone. I've found the best way is to tone pin 1 and pin 8. This makes it easy to "dip" your probe into the ports on the patch panel and bump up against a pin with tone on it.

 

[h5n1]

or try to put the tone on the brown pair, that'll eliminate much of the twist compare to the blue pair...and yes cat5e cables do have a thicker jacket is really difficult to hear and for the probe to pick up the signal....put the toner at the station end and stick the proble into the patch panel should make it a little bit easier....

SET CRTL ALT DEL = #728
-----------------------
greg

 

[jeffmoss26]

I think that maybe I should terminate all the cables first and then tone everything out. I wanted to label first and then terminate everything, so all the ports were in order. I will try some things today and see what happens.

jeff moss

 

[3rc]

Like TTOMMY said if you split the pairs,for example white/blue,brown white the tone will come in loud and clear.

 

[mikeydidit]

One other thing that may help you do this. When you are using your probe, stick it in the end of the cable that you hear the tone on. When you hit the naked ends, you can get your tone a lot better. The plastic tipped probes are not as good for this.

Mike Jones
LSUHSC

 

[hawks]

Another thing I do if not I'm not positive. You can short a pair together at one end then go to the other side and put an Ohm meter on it.

 

[chiefred]

I had a problem with two similar situations---here is a tool that will be a big help, now and in the future--

http://stores.yahoo.com/tmt/datmodtes.html

I had a customer that had data cables terminated on patch panels and when I went to test the cables-from the wall jacks that were not labeled-I used my probe and toner-----I figured I would get tone on pairs 4&5 to locate the wire---the person that did not label, also only terminated 1-2 and 3-6, on the walljack--so I had to open up every jack.

The 2nd incident was a cable, that when toned, bled over onto all pairs--I later ended up removing the cable and re-running it and I found that the jacket had been cut and the pairs had been stripped--sort of like when being pulled it got caught on a sharp edge and with a hard pull--it cut through and removed all the protection. This was a real brain-teaser but it was less because I used the modular tester.

Thats my 2 cents
good luck

 

[dhnl]

Connect one lead of the tone to your cable and the other lead to ground. Your signal will be a lot stronger.

 

[wires]

One reason I REALLY like the Microscanner Pro is it's wonderful toner:

"Main Mod8 port for tone generation on all 4 pairs. Ground jack provided for grounding MicroScanner Pro during trace operations."

http://www.flukenetworks.com/us/Cab...c+Testing/MicroScanner+Pro/Specifications.htm

Well worth the money if you work with UTP or coax wiring!!!

 

[rpearson]

Terminate the user end, and label them 1-30 or your designated numbering scheme.Then plug your toner in jack 1.At the panel\server end, probe out 1 by sticking the end of the probed onto the conductor tips of flushly cut cables so you can actually make contact with the conductors. Crank up your probe volume, even with bleed through youll know when you got the right cable. Continue the same method with the rest of the cabling, making sure you are labeling them at the panel\server end as you tone.

Terminate patch panel, label, test.

Good Luck.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I used the method Tommy suggested, and all is working fine. I have toned out most of the cables and labeled them. I will work on the rest next week.

Thanks for all the help.
Jeff

jeff moss

 

[hbiss]

Get a better toner and probe. A lot of the stuff out there is junk. We use an Aines high output toner along with a Progressive high gain probe. ALWAYS use a metal probe tip, those plastic ones don't work. We have been using these for years and they work just fine on the outside jacket of Cat5e, tone on wh/bl pair. If you get bleed-over there is a problem somewhere.

-Hal

 

[jeffmoss26]

I was using the school's toner, which may have been the initial problem (it is an Ideal). I use the Progressive tone/probe kit and it works great. I may try the metal tip, but I do a lot of phone work and I thought the metal tips will short out 66 blocks.

Jeff

jeff moss

 

[TouchToneTommy]

The metal tip WILL short out a 66 block, and sometimes that's exactly what you want. Once you locate the tone, use the metal tip to short the pins together, and see if the tone stops. If so, you have good DC continuity on the pair. If you can't short it out, the tone can still be heard, but you have an open somewhere.

If you don't have a metal tip, use a screwdriver to do the short test.

If you have a metal tip, and are concerned about shorting pins on the 66 block, hold the probe in one hand with a finger on the metal tip. Use a finger on the other hand to "run" the block. You will hear the tone through the resistance of your body when you hit the correct pair. You will also get bit sometimes when you hit a ringing phone, or some digital extensions, but that's part of the thrill of phone work.

 

[Sphoneman]

The reason why they don't have the metal tips on the probes anymore, is because too many people were shorting out pairs, damaging equipment & blowing fuses.

I don't care how good anyone thinks they are with the metal tip. It only takes one time- and shorting on pairs going to equipment you don't know anything about-let alone where it is. You may not even realize you caused a problem with something else.

Do yourself (the school & other Vendors)a big favor & keep with the plastic tip & do as TouchToneTommy stated.



Steve
tele-dataservices.com

 

[toolman18]

Take the bunle of cables and strip the insulation off of each cables WH/BL pair down to copper. Connect toner to the jack end. Touch the probe on each WH/BL pair. the loudest signal is the cable your looking for.

 

[hbiss]

...The reason why they don't have the metal tips on the probes anymore, is because too many people were shorting out pairs, damaging equipment & blowing fuses.

If anybody makes equipment that has its wiring punched down on a 66 block and used fuses or could be damaged if the wiring were shorted deserves what they get. It doesn't belong connected that way.

I believe the real issue with insulated tips is to keep idiots from electrocuting themselves when they try to use the probe on something with line voltage on it.

I wouldn't be without the metal tips on my probes. Cat5 is bad enough as it is and wasting time trying to locate a cable costs money.

-Hal

 

[skip555]

Get a better toner and probe. A lot of the stuff out there is junk. We use an Aines high output toner along with a Progressive high gain probe

I agree that's the combination I use and I have no problems with cat5 cable due it all the time without stripping inslation or going to a metal ground or anything else special

Im always surprised when I see threads like this here

If anybody makes equipment that has its wiring punched down on a 66 block and used fuses or could be damaged if the wiring were shorted deserves what they get. It doesn't belong connected that way.

I believe the real issue with insulated tips is to keep idiots from electrocuting themselves when they try to use the probe on something with line voltage on it.

no actually on a lot of older key systems you could blow a fuse with a metal tone tip

I recall one customer with a exucutone in a common phone closet that we had several fuses blow untill I figured out it was other phone guys looking for cables so we got plastic covers and marked his blocks with his company name

(this was in the days before plastic tips )

 

[Sphoneman]

hbiss,

Obviously you have not been around enough, & have not worked on all types of telecom equipment.

This is exactly why I stated as I did.

Learn to use the plastic tip by utilizing the unused pins on split pairs.I have been able to do without the metal tips for over 10 years without wasting any time.

You will save other Vendors & Customers alot of unnessesary trouble calls, outages & additional expenses.



Steve
tele-dataservices.com