sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring cable tester review

I figure this may be an old topic to bring up. While testing some cables that has picking up ac
hum, causing phone problems, the tester quit working. Not being able to test cables was a pain.

The tester was a byte brothers rwc 1000. I have had it for 3 years and has worked pretty good. The tester to not be protected from whatever, got me thinking, what tester is protected and still gives distance and network speed.

I am curious what other people use and think. I have looked at the low end fluke cable tester and other idiot led tester. I need a smarted tester that tell me what end is bad on a run or jack.

Thanks,

Mike

Test-um Lancaster Pro...best tester out there. For the occasional certification...I use Byte Brothers real world certifier. Mine is the first model, the latest one prints reports.

I just want to point out the difference between Qualification testers and Certification meters.

While the RWC uses the word "certifier" in the name, it is NOT an actual Certification meter. Personally I think they chose that name to confuse the customer. While the results from this tester would give a good indication of the performance of an installed cable, those results should never be passed off as certification results for a client who has asked you to certify the cables you have installed.

A qualification tester will test the ability of installed cables to work with a specific network technology, such as 1000Base-T. This is a useful tool for troubleshooting, and will give you a good idea as to the performance of a cable.

A certification meter tests a cable to see if it conforms to established standards for cables, independent of any specific network technology. Certification meters need to be calibrated to ensure the results they provide are accurate. This tool gives you a very accurate and detailed description of the performance of you cable.

The difference? Future network technologies may work with cabling that conforms to current standards. Certifying to those standards tells you a lot more than you get by qualifying your cables to a current network technology. If a qualification tester indicates a problem with your cable beyond simple wire map issues, it's time to break out the certification meter to do some real testing.

I have used the ultra expensive cirtifiers before when I worked for a telecommunication company. But when are they generally used? I was only asked to use them at client sites but never explained why? Was it because there is a greater chance of data error up to 328 feet? or was it specifically customer request?

Here is what I used.

https://www.aaatesters.com/Agilent_Wirescope_PRO_N2640A_100_Cat5e_Cat6_Cat6a.html

Many installers are comfortable doing a wiremap test and knowing they followed best practices while installing the cable. I certainly don't feel like I need to certify every cable that I run.

It is very useful for troubleshooting, and it can cover your butt if a customer blames your cabling work for network issues. Certification provides some peace of mind for both the installer and the customer. If the customer knows anything about certification, then they will usually ask for it.

I have only certified jobs where an electrical engineer was involved in overseeing the building construction and a 25 year manufacturer backed warranty was required in the specifications. Maybe once every year or two in my small city.