Which cheap cable tester tracker to use ?  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: JacquesBBB
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2016, 07:59:44 am
content: I need to untangle all the wires in my house from variousstratifications of lousy electrical building, or alarms and various automatism network.I believe that a cable tester tracker would be the proper tool and found a few on ebayhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/MS6812-Telephone-Phone-Network-Cable-Wire-Line-RJ-Tracker-Detector-Tester-HS-/111769127889?hash=item1a05f58bd1:g:1NMAAOSwgNRV8trNhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/MASTECH-MS6812-Network-Telephone-Wire-Line-Cable-Tracker-Tester-Finder-Detector-/331740003648?hash=item4d3d3ebd40:g:LxwAAOSwYaFWfKKZhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Cable-Tester-Tracker-Phone-Line-Network-Finder-RJ11-RJ45-Wire-Tracer-TA-/321956337806?hash=item4af617d88e:g:BxAAAOSwZ1lWehVqhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/FY868-Telephone-Phone-Network-Cable-Line-RJ45-RJ11-BNC-Wire-Tracker-Tester-4X6L-/281790836051?hash=item419c0aed53:g:a2IAAOSwu4BV6RlAWhich one (or other solutions ) would you recommend ?

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 29, 2016, 10:58:36 am
content: I'm not familiar with any of the units that you have listed, the first two are toners also known as tracers and the last two appear to be combined toners with an incorporated single end to end cable map feature, probably suitable for smaller applications in regards to mapping, should be fine for tracing as they are all pretty much the same for that task, we use dedicated testers for tracing/ toning and completely separate testers for mapping, cable and signal integrity.For Lan, security and other multi pair cables our basic mapping tester sets have multiple numbered termination adaptors so we can run around and connect them to the ends of the cables and then go back to the comms room and place many identification labels in one go, for most of these types of testers it's a good idea to make up some short RJ-45 to quick connect cables so as to perform multi pair testing on unterminated cabling such as security and the like.Generally for mapping you would already have the cable plugs and sockets fitted and finished so you can readily patch in to the onboard RJ-45 testers socket, you would trace and label your cables first then terminate plugs and sockets, then map the pairs checking for shorts, opens and crossed pairs. Some of the better cable testers on a budget that I have seen have multiple termination adaptors available and even incorporate a very basic cable length feature, these are handy.For more indepth testing and diagnostics we use other equipment but for your average joe in a residential situation any of the ones listed above should get you out of trouble.If I had to choose from the four that you listed it would be the first one (MS6812) as a toner/ tracer only because it has adjustable receive sensitivity and as a toner/ tracer/ mapper it would be the forth one (FY868) for the same reason and it has a BNC on the transmitter for coax.Muttley

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2016, 04:00:19 pm
content: I think you'll have basically two things you'll need to accomplish:1. Identifying both ends of a single cable. For this you need a tone/signal transmitter and receiver pair.2. Insuring that the cable is wired correctly. For this you need the kind of tester that lets you sequentially put a signal on each pin at one end, then see in what order the pins are connected at the other.To accomplish both these things this one looks on the surface to be a good candidate:http://www.ebay.com/itm/FY868-Telephone-Phone-Network-Cable-Line-RJ45-RJ11-BNC-Wire-Tracker-Tester-4X6L-/281790836051?hash=item419c0aed53:g:a2IAAOSwu4BV6RlA

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2016, 07:09:28 pm
content: If you have a function generator (or just an oscillator) and an oscilloscope, you don't need to buy a dedicated toner/tracer.

author: kleblanc
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 04:32:32 pm
content: Any of the ones you found would work, I would pick maybe the last one since it has some additional features. I just want to make sure you are aware these are for nonlive/ no voltage tracing. If you're trying to trace down breakers/fuses with out shutting down the whole panel, maybe this would workhttp://m.ebay.com/itm/Circuit-Breaker-Finder-110V-220V-Ideal-Electrical-Receiver-Transmitter-Tester-/231173721034?nav=SEARCHI have a Triplett model that works, not perfectly everytime. Close enough for me to narrow it down to one or two breakers.

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 05:02:56 pm
content: Quote from: edavid on January 29, 2016, 07:09:28 pmthis is ok if you are in the lab, but when outdoor by a customer, with may be no mains supply it will be more difficultthan a little device the OP is presenting !and consideering the price it's not a big deal.I would also go for the last one presented, by the way I just bought one today !

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 06:37:44 pm
content: Quote from: kripton2035 on January 30, 2016, 05:02:56 pmOP said he was doing the work in his house

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 07:42:24 pm
content: Quote from: edavid on January 30, 2016, 06:37:44 pmeven in your own house, you dont have a mains plug every meterfollowing a cable to trace it around the house if really annoying, if you have also to find a mains plug everytime it's more annoyingyou need a portable device, and for the $20 of the tool you really dont have to hesitate !