Wire Map testers and Tone Generators

Summary

Wiremap testers and multimeters provide ways for identifying signaling issues and configuration issues betweens nodes/terminals or is a cable has a short/break.

Multimeter

• Multimeter is used to test for whether there is a break or a short in a physical connected copper cable system. If the mutlimeter reads the correct resistence numbers then the cable is healthy and the issue is elsewhere. If the multimeter reads inifnity, then there is a short or break in the cable.

Map Testers

Map testers are used to validate between two terminals. A map tester is connected to one end of a network, and a signaling device is connected to the other. If the end device does not display any lights then there is an issue with signaling over the network.

Finding issues

• Continuity (open) - conductor does not form a circuit because of cable damage or because the connector is not properly wired.
• Short - Two conductors are joined at some point, usually because the insulating wire is damaged, or a connector is poorly wired
• Incorrect pin-out/incorrect termination/mismatched standards - the conductors are incorrectly wired into the terminals at one or both ends of the able.
  • reversed pair - the conductors in a pair have been wired to different terminals
  • crossed pair - the conductors from one pair have been connected to pins belonging to a different pair

Tone Generator

Tone generators are used to trace cable from one end to another. Tone generators are best used to follow cables that have been bundled and have not been labeled properly. Sometimes this is also called a fox and hound proble.