[COLUG] Testing Cat5e

[eliddle at wowway.com]

There is a simple way to do this if you have a digital multimeter that can
check for continuity and an old data cable with a rj45 end on it.
unplug the data lines from the switch/router etc. in the basement
Take the old data cable cut it up from the rj45 end 6 inches or so
strip all the insulation off of all the wires at the cut end
twist all the bare wires together creating a dead short.
Plug this in to a data jack
go in the basement and check for continuity accorss the pins on the rj45 crimp
on ends. when you find the one that "beeps" then that is the "shorted" one, I
find that a sharpie works good for writing on cat5 and cat6 for labeling it.
If you have the data lines punched down to a patch panel use another old piece
of data cable with a rj45 end on it. Cut it and strip the ends off but do not
short them all together. You can then test the stripped wires for continunity. 

If you are sure about the way the lines are wired (straight thourgh) you could
use 4 differnt pieces of cat5 with rj45 ends crimped on one end. You could
then strip one pair and short it. Then in the basement by testing which
colored pair were shorted you would know what room it went to. for example
short the green pair for the living room, orange pair for a bed room, etc.. be
sure on all the rj45 ends that the colored wires are in the same order. If the
basement wire have crimped on rj45 ends then an extra rj45 jack would be
helpful for testing which wire pair is shorted.  

Another way if you have another person to help would be to plug and unplug the
data line from the computer a few times. while that is being done, look for
the port that has the contectivity light flashing on the switch or router. 

I hope this helps.

-Ed Liddle 

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:37:17 -0500, Mike Harrold wrote
> Hi,
> 
> I have cat5e all over my house all coming down to the basement where
> the switches and router sit.  At some point in time, some of the labelling
> has detached from the cables in the basement so I am unsure of what
> came from where.  I am now, of course, trying to hook up a connection
> from an area whose label is on the floor.  I thought I had narrowed 
> it down to 2 possibilities, but it appears as I was wrong as neither 
> work.
> 
> What is the simplest/cheapest way of testing the basement end if I 
> have, for example, a constant "ping" running on the computer that I 
> am trying to hook up?  At this point I just need to figure out which 
> cable it is (and for that matter, all the others so I can relabel 
> them).
> 
> TIA!
> 
> /Mike
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-Ed Liddle