Decoding the Complexities of Copper Cable Testing and Installation

Copper cable testing Tonight's show it's going to be a compilation of a bunch of test questions that I get all the time , because otherwise you're going to answer the same things over and over and over and over again . Seems like I'm always doing that . Hey , if you are watching this somewhere , make sure you share it so other people TikTok peeps share this .

Linkedin , YouTube , all this . Share it so more people can get on . More people can get on . Now , if you follow the show , you know we always start off with what are you drinking , so put us in the chat box what are you drinking ? Now you know it's an half hour show so you can have an adult beverage that's allowed .

Tonight Chuck is drinking root beer Again , root beer . But I'm not drinking my normal Zevia root beer because , look , it's brown . Remember , zevia is white . So this is actually Virgil's Zero . Virgil's Zero sugar root beer . Virgil's Zero sugar root beer . Let's see if it tastes like real root beer . Not bad .

Not bad it's not the same as tap root beer , but it's pretty stinking close , pretty stinking close . Now , I know that you followed the show because you see the same people . Quite often it costs money to put this show on . So if you don't mind , if you don't mind , would you scan that QR code right there with your phone ?

You can buy me a cup of root beer . You can buy me a cup of coffee . You can even schedule a 15-minute one-on-one call with me after hours , of course , right . Or you can just make a donation to the show . They just help the show staying moving on , right , because it costs money to do the show . It just absolutely does .

So now we always go to the acronym challenge . The acronym challenge Today's acronym is going to tie in with today's subject . Today's acronym is OTDR , otdr . What does OTDR stand for ? Put the answer in the chat box , right . Put the answer in the chat box . I'll turn it on the chat overlay . Okay , there we go . So there we go .

We're still waiting for some people to answer . What does OTDR mean ? Otdr , I got to tell you what . I got a podcast sticker for the first person who can tell me what does OTDR stand for ? Boom , there it is . Thinkfiber got it . Yes , thinkfiber . Direct message ThinkFiber , you know what ? Ken , you came in right behind them .

So , ken and ThinkFiber , direct message me your mail address and I will send you a podcast sticker . Okay , so send me your email address I mean not your email address , your mailing address and I will send you a podcast sticker . Okay , oscillating Time Deviation Report . No , no , there we go . So I turn on the chat box so that way we can see it .

So tonight , oh , I always also do I also do the motivational minute on my live streams . I forgot that . Now , this one came from a kind of a weird place . You know , if you know me , chuck likes watching YouTube . I love watching YouTube videos on RVs , full-time RVing , sailboating , homesteading those are my favorites .

And there's this channel that I follow called Dan and Jen Nevada . Now they have been full-time in a while and they're not even putting out regular content , so I got this one from their video today .

So this morning , before eight o'clock , I'm sitting down , I have my cup of coffee , they're doing their thing , and they had this sign behind them , and their sign said do something today to make your tomorrow better . Do something today to make your tomorrow better . You know , that could be anything .

It could be from something from like reading a book , having a conversation with a subject matter expert in a field that you want to learn from like , for example , knife sharpening or low voltage cabling . Watch a webinar , because the more things you learn today , the tomorrow will be easier . Hey , did you happen to catch a last week show ?

I did a really cool show about a office locator kit . I talked to Tom Jallow from Softing and we did a about a 40 minute show . He's going to be on again . We got more stuff to talk about , so make sure that you go back and watch that show , tom Jallow from Softing . Now let me see Brian . You know what ?

Brian , email me your mail address and I'll send you a sticker as well . There we go . So three people get three stickers . Three people get three stickers . So today's question , like today's content , I filled my cooler with ice , so tomorrow drinks are cold while I install cable . That's pretty smart . So tonight's episode is going to be about copper cable testing .

Copper cable testing . We're going to talk about what is it ? What are the things that you should find ? What is a test plan . What are the things in a test plan ? By the way , I'm working on a test plan that I'm going to release that you can download and use for your company to make your company better .

A lot of times when you're doing proposals , they're going to ask you what is your testing plan ? Right , anthony's in the house , louisville Warby .

So I'm working on a test plan which we'll talk about all these things and then I'm going to , like I said , I've lumped all of my copper cable questions , all of my copper cable questions , into a couple categories and we're going to talk about those tonight . So first let's talk about what is a test plan . So a test plan is just a formal document .

Technically , web 3 is in the house . It's a formalized written plan that's going to talk about how you are going to manage your testers , how you're going to maintain those testers , maintain them , how are you going to keep them up to date , how are you going to make sure that , if something goes bad , what's the process for fixing that ?

It's going to talk about training your employees . There's a novel concept for you Train your people on how to use the testers , how to read and interpret the testers . So that's another section .

Another section is going to be signing out your testers , how to set your inspection process , how to set your testers up in the field and then also , then finally , how to handle all those test results . Because if you're a contractor in the field , you're probably testing I don't know 5,000 cables a year . 50,000 cables a year .

Technically , web 3 , I've never gotten trained , lol . There are a lot of people who are really good at testing have never gotten any formal training . But training's never a bad thing , never a bad thing . So you should have some type of a formal testing plan . Now , like I said , so these questions are gonna be grouped into general areas .

So , for example , we're gonna talk about common wire map questions , common length questions , common crosstalk questions , common return loss questions . Right , again , I'm gonna be talking about the answers in generality because , fluke in my hand , you might go one way to test it , am might go a different way , softening might go a third , different way .

So I'm not gonna talk specifically how to fix them with your tester , but I'll explain what they are and what are the common causes that do them . You ready , buckle up buttercup , here we go . So the first question is what type of equipment do I need for testing category six cables .

So that kind of really all depends , right , Really all depends , because you can certify a cable , you can qualify a cable , you can verify a cable . So it kind of depends on what it is that you're really looking for . If you're looking for a manufacturer warranty , generally , that's gonna be certifying a cable .

When you certify a cable , you're measuring the cables , electrical properties , comparing those to the standards and then , if it meets the standards , win a winner chicken dinner , rock on , you got it .

Then you got qualifiers and Tom and I talked about qualifiers it did make it in the show because it was a part of the show subject but that's also known as bit error rate testers , where you put actual data down the cable and you look to see if it drops any packets . And then there's verifiers .

Verifiers are just simple continuity testers , looking for opens , looking for shorts , stuff like that . So it kind of depends on what is it you're trying to test . What is it you're trying to test ? Now , let's talk about this , one of the when you have a test .

If one of the first tests that the test is gonna do is called a wire map test , on the screen , it'll have one through eight on one side , one through eight on the other side , and have those lines going across right . What do you do if you have an open , an open ? When you look at an open , what that means is the line has a broken spot in .

So it's not one continuous line from one side to the other . So when it has an open in it , the most likely cause most likely cause is going to be you didn't terminate it with your , with your punch down tool , correctly . There's a . You got a conductor that's partially seeded .

You can actually go into the TDR function on your tester and find out where that short is in feet . So you can kind of find where that is . Another reason you're gonna get an open in a wire map is because one of your cable got damaged during pulling . So you got a broken pair . It might've gotten pulled too hard . It broke the conductor .

It might've gotten run across a sharp piece of metal that cut it Again . If you use the TDR function to the tester , it'll tell you how many in how many feet it is from the tester's end , so you can kind of go almost right straight to it . Okay , reverse pairs .

Those are simple reverse pairs because you literally took , you have remember , each pair has a tip and a ring . Tip and a ring once transmit , once received , and if you terminate them backwards it's gonna be a reversal . So all you gotta do is just find out which side has a reversal , lift it out , flip it , put it back in again .

Let's talk about a test that fails because of excessive length . Oh , good point , matt Magany says or a staple through the jacket ? Absolutely , that's an absolute good reason that it'll cut a conductor . That's one of the reasons why we're not supposed to use staplers for high performance data cabling , high performance data cabling .

We're not supposed to use staples because if it goes into the jacket it can cut the conductor . If it doesn't go into the jacket , it's going to crush the cable and it might cause some crosstalk problems . We'll talk about crosstalk here in a minute . So , getting back to the length , let's say that your test fails because it exceeds the length limit .

Now there's two types of length errors . You can get One where all four of the pair say it's too long , or you might get maybe one or more pairs that's going to be significantly shorter than the other . Let's talk about each of those . So the first one is if all four pairs are exceeding the length .

Well , the most common problem is going to be your cable's too long or somebody left too much slack . You're only supposed to leave in the telecom room . You're only supposed to leave down to the floor , to the furthest corner plus 10 feet . But if you leave too much slack , if you got long runs , you might actually have an issue there .

Now , when we start getting the beginning to whole game changer cabling remember , because they can go past the standards there's a whole specific . I should do a show on that , specifically on how to test game changer cabling . That's a oh , I'm going to write that down . That's a good one . Game changer cabling , game changer .

I'll bring on one of the test manufacturers to talk about that one .

Now , if another reason that can fail because excessive limit is because you set the MVP up incorrectly , mvp is set up incorrectly . So what is the MVP ? If you look up the Bixie ICT terminology handbook which is free , by the way , go on Google type in Bixie ICT field . No , no , no , no .

Ict terminology handbook I got the field gods in my head tonight for some reason . It's going to define MVP as the coefficient used to determine the speed of the transmission along a cable relative to the speed of light in a vacuum , and it's typically going to be expressed as a percentage .

So let's say , for example , I've been able to piece of cable right here . Let's say the MVP for this cable is 0.71 . Put it over here so the tic-tac beeps can see it 0.71 . That means the signal travels down this cable at 71% of the speed of light in a vacuum . The speed of light in a vacuum is a known number . It's 186,282 miles a second .

So it's a constant number . That's why we use it . So what that means is , if you're getting that excessive length and you know that your cable is not too long , go in and see what is the MVP set up in your tester . What is the MVP set up Now ? It's generally going to be between 0.65 and 0.75 .

You should be able to go in and you should be able to tell it . Then , look at the type of cable that you're using . Go on their web , the manufacturer's website , and look up the MVP value for this . Okay , and whatever the MVP value the manufacturer says it is , update your tester to say that .

That way you know that it's using the right MVP , because you have the wrong MVP . It's pretty simple . So what it does is the way it measures the length is . It sends the signal down the cable . When that signal gets to the other end , because of a mismatch of characteristic impedance , some of the energy gets reflected back .

So it times , it See how long it takes to go all the way to the end , and then all the way back , it takes that time and divides it in half . Okay , so now we know how long it took the signal would get from one end to the other end . We already know what the speed is Right . The speed is 0.71 .

So if you know the time and the speed , you can calculate the distance Right . So it's a simple math calculation . So make sure that MVP setup is set up correctly , because if it's set up incorrectly it could report back that your cable is longer than it actually is Right . So make sure that MVP is set up correctly .

Now , a lot of times , what we used to do , ed , the old tech guy's in the house Well , we used to do a lot of times . We had a project that we're talking about copper cable testing . Today , ed , if you have a project , a large project that's got a couple hundred cables , you can actually field test the MVP in your tester .

Now with the Fluke , I think you go to special functions . I think you go to special functions . In that menu You'll find it says determine MVP or find MVP . I don't remember how to do it . On the other test I'll show you how to do it on my AEM , but right now my AEM hasn't gotten back to me yet . It's still out for calibration .

So when you're testing it right , when you set it in the MVP and they're correctly , it's going to set back that correct length . Now if you have a length issue and it's one or more of the pairs , like one of the pairs is really short and the other pairs are really long , then you probably have damaged cable or bad connection .

So let's talk about insertion loss , insertion loss we used to call it attenuation . Insertion loss is where's my piece of cable ? Here it is . Insertion loss is literally how long it takes a signal to get from this end of the cable to that end of the cable . Sorry , that's propagation delay , sorry .

Insertion loss is the signal travels from this end of the cable and goes to the other end . It uses energy to get to the other side . It gets weaker when it goes to the other side . So when the tester is going to send that signal down , the remote end measures the power of that signal . It knows what it started off with and it's going to report that back .

You know all of our test results are in decibels . A decibel is a ratio of input power to output power . It's a logarithmic unit which doesn't go . The scale is not one , two , three , four , it's 10 , 20 , 30 , 40 , so on , and sometimes it's used to measure the amplification of a signal , like if it's going through an amplifier , or the attenuation of a signal .

Alright , so insertion loss is how much that signal loses as it goes down through the connection points and the cable and the connectors . Now what happens if your cable fails because of insertion loss ? The first thing I would look at is how long is that cable ? How long is that cable ? And hopefully it didn't fail from the previous test .

Another issue that you might run into that's going to give you a fail because of insertion loss is if you're using poor quality patch cords . Poor quality patch cords , so always use the best patch cords .

That's why I tell people all the time you really shouldn't make patch cords in the field , because I don't care how good you are , you're never going to make them as good as the person on a factory floor , never so poor quality patch cords . Or you have an inappropriate category rating of something in the channel .

For example , you might have cat 6 cable but a 5E connector on it . Cat 6A cable , cat 6A connector , cat 6 patch cord . That can also give you a problem with insertion loss . Another issue you can run into is the incorrect test . Incorrect test was selected and also another one too much pulling lubricant .

Yes , we like to use pulling lubricant to make our job easier . But if you put in too much pulling lubricant it's going to cause that cable to fail . Cable pulling or lubricant is 97% water , 3% solids , tight coils Anthony Livar-Warvey says tight coils can cause it as well .

Here's something else If your cable gets wet it can cause high insertion loss to the point of failure . But if your cable is in a conduit in a wet location which is slab on grade construction , after it rains , after it snow melts , the concrete absorbs that moisture . Now your cable is laying in the water . That could cause high insertion loss .

Now let's talk about . Somebody says cable lubricant smells so good . Yeah . Now let's talk about near and cross talk . Far end cross talk Power , some near and cross talk Power , some far end cross talk . Those are just all EMI , and I've explained EMI many times .

It's an interfering source , a sub-table unit and a coupling between those two With near and cross talk , far end cross talk and the power some cross talk . You want a high DB value , a high DB value . So near and cross talk is literally just how much . Let me grab my four pair of cable out .

Here is how much one pair interferes with another pair at the near end of the cable . Again , show my TikTok peeps how much one pair interferes with another pair at the near end of the cable . Far end cross talk is the exact same thing but at the far end power .

Some near end cross talk is how much those three pair interferes that last remaining pair at the near end , right ? So how much those three pair interferes with those last remaining pair at the far end . So what can cause those ? Now , number one you untwisted too much during the termination process .

That's why we're supposed to try to keep the pair untwisting to a minimum quarter of an inch or less for cat 6a , half of an inch for less for five years , six . But the shorter the better . Now that doesn't mean you can only , you know strip back a quarter of an inch .

You can strip off two , three inches , but when you put it in the jack from where it exits the jack , you should not untwist those pairs more than a quarter of an inch . So poor untwisting is your common one . Now , near cross talk is going to happen within the first 60 feet of the cable typically .

Another thing that caused near cross talk failures is , again , poor quality patch cords . There's that poor quality patch cords . Again , always use good quality patch cords . Another problem could happen is damaged cable . So who was it ? Somebody on the , somebody on the tic-tac feed , I can't remember who . It was Said stapling the cable .

Yes , if you staple the cable , you are crushing the jacket , you're bringing those pairs closer together . They can start interfering with it again . So that's why we really shouldn't be stapling high performance data cable . But that's only one . That's why we really should think about our bundle sizes , our bundle sizes .

So with our bundle sizes , you know , I think in the big C field , guys , it tells us 24 cables or less , 24 cables or less . Yes , I'm going to talk about that in just a second ma'am . And one of the reasons for that is for PoE power over ethernet .

But another reason for that is if you get bigger than 24 cables in a bundle and you're laying it on cable tray , the cables on the bottom are going to get crushed . Now if the cable is getting crushed and the pairs are going to be put closer together , that's going to give you a near and cross talk . And who was it said that SBAM 250 said zip ties ?

Yes , absolutely , zip ties can cause a problem . You don't want a zip tie looking like . Grab my demonstration example out of here . I'll show you . Notice that tie wrap is so tight it is crushing the jacket . It is so tight it is crushing the jacket . I guarantee if I were to test them cables , they would fail because of cross talk , guarantee it .

Guarantee it Bad connectors . So when you get a fail because of near cross talk or far and cross talk , the best thing to do is just cut both ends off and re-terminate it . Now you might get a star pass , a star fail . The star indicates that it's within the accuracy limits of the test . It doesn't really know . It's barely a pass or barely a fail .

It doesn't really know . The debate always is how many star passes or how many star fails Can you accept ? I would never accept a star fail . So that really lives with question how many star passes can you accept ? I've seen projects with 10,000 cables test without a single star pass . I have seen other cable projects with 50 , 100 star passes .

Near end means it's near the controller end . Yes , on some testers , some testers , now they're both . They're both master testers . So whichever one is conducting the test , it's on that side , within the first , within 60 feet of that . Very good , spam . Now you have your attenuation cross-talk ratio far and power sum attenuation cross-talk ratio far end .

Those literally are not tests . They're not tests . Their calculation is based on the near end , the far end and the power sum cross-talks . If you have an issue with one of those two tests , go back up and look in your near end and your far end cross-talks .

Fix that issue , because if you do , then the issues with attenuation cross-talk ratio far end and the power sum attenuation cross-talk ratio far end will go away for you . Some things are going to cause those kinds of errors Service loops your service loop is too big . Service loop is too big Return loss .

So return loss is just the character risk impedance for four pair balance and spare cabling is 100 ohms plus or minus five percent , so this cable might be 99 ohms . The connector is also rated to 100 ohms plus or minus five percent , so it might be 101 ohms . There's a difference between those two .

So when that signal gets that connector , because of that difference some of the engine gets reflected back . So the measurement is how much of that signal comes back to the originating points . Again , you want a big db number . So what are some of the things that can cause return loss fails , bad installation practices .

You bought a patch cord that wasn't rated for 100 ohms , patch cords were damaged . And then service loops . We always tell don't do those small little service loops to the extended loops or figure eights . If you do a small service loop it will show up quite often as return loss , return loss failure . Question from tiktok coming in .

Let me see , chuck , where is it ? Thoughts on RJ45 connectors . I got lots of thought on RJ45 connectors , lots of thoughts . I don't like the pass-throughs . It's kind of funny you say that because I just did a show with Blake from simply RJ45 . I did have the box of the connectors sitting here .

These people , I just had them on the show , just had them on the show and we talked about pass-through connectors . I'm not a big fan of pass-through connectors . I'm not . I know a lot of people out there love pass-through connectors . I get it , I get it .

But if you say that you don't like pass-through connectors , or some people out there that will just say , oh , that's because you're old school , you're old . No , I've just seen a lot of pictures of pass-through connectors that have been plugged into a PoE power sourcing equipment and shorted out and burnt up , and that's a safety thing for me .

Another question in Chuck Can you talk about MPTL testing ?

Mptl testing , modular plug , terminated link . Now , if you have a building automation device like a security camera , an access control point , you are allowed to crimp the end on the cable using a RJ45 . I plug it right into the device . Now how do you test that ?

You test that by using a permanent link adapter on one side and a patch cord adapter on the other side . I'll say that again a permanent link adapter on one side and a patch cord adapter on the other side . You notice I didn't say channel adapter , it's a patch cord adapter . They're different . A patch cord adapter . The measurement starts in front of that RJ45 .

The channel adapter . The measurement doesn't start until it gets to the other side of that adapter . So with a patch cord adapter you're measuring the connector , with a channel adapter you're not . And that patch cord adapter has to match the category rating of the cable . So if it's a cap 5E cable , it has to be a cap 5E patch cord adapter .

If it's category 6 , it's got to be category 6 patch cord adapter . So I said something about Dutch Root Beer . Yes , pennsylvania Dutch Root Beer is the best . Okay , any final questions before I sign off , because we're at our 30 minutes already . Gosh , that 30 minutes went so fast . 30 minutes went so fast .

Since we're on crosstalk and RJ45 passed through RJ45 agations . How exposed the tips are safe , especially with PoE applications . I just talked about that . Not a big fan of PoE . Now there are some that have a little bar , the plastic bar that goes in front of them . Beard and Osh , make sure you go back and listen to my full episode .

I think it was two weeks ago where I talked to simply RJ45 . We talked about pass-through connectors and the standard ones . So make sure that you go back and listen to that . And even they kind of said the traditional ones are probably better . I'm not a big fan of the pass-throughs . I am not a big fan of the pass-throughs .

Let me see here , chuck , I love your content . What did you do recently ? I was one of your classes . I learned an absolute ton and you motivated me to start expanding my knowledge . Well , very cool , very cool . Well , welcome to the live stream my friend , another one running cables with string and ball or glow rods . My answer is yes . Yes .

Now , my preferred method is kind of funny . The thing was I just did on this week's name . This tool was a box of number 12 wax string . I used to do a lot of times . I used to take that wax string . I would tape one end to the cable and then I would throw the wax string through the ceiling and we would pull that through the ceiling .

The key is , when you attach that pull string to the cable , you have to use a knock-out half-hitch . That half-hitch is what's called a biting knot . So when you do a half-hitch on a piece of cable , you take the string . Take the string like this you take it , you're going to flip it into a loop .

You flip it into a loop , then you put the cable through the loop here . So this loop . You put the cable through the loop and then when you pull the two ends down , it's going to bite onto that cable . The harder I do it with my fingers . You can see this . There's a loop . Pretend my finger is cable .

The harder I pull on that , the harder it pulls on my finger and if I keep it like this , eventually my finger is going to turn red and fall off . That damages the cable . That can cause a crosstalk crop . That's why , if you use string , what you really should do is you should cut the entire end off that got damaged during the pulling .

That's why you want to put your labels back good distance behind that end , so that way when you cut it off you don't run into those kinds of issues . Let me see , I caught my friend harassing some electricity . I told him it was an abuse of power . Oh , that's good , that is good . Here's one more question . Then we're going to cut for the night .

Any tips for pulling off cable , pulling off too much cable at both the station and the closet side , out of fear of being too short ? Any good guidelines to follow ? I hope that makes sense . Oh , it absolutely makes sense . Here's my problem . Here's my problem , Because I've been both an installer and an estimator .

I'm going to tell you right now you want to leave only the amount of slack that the standard calls for , or the amount of slack that the estimator has put for it in his estimate .

Let's say , for example , you don't know where the rack is going to go yet in the telecom room , so you're running the cable , so you leave enough slack to reach anywhere in this big telecom room . If the estimator didn't count for that extra slack , you will run out of cable before you run out of drops . The best thing to do is to have a kickoff meeting .

Now , when I say a kickoff meeting because some people technicians in the field . They may not necessarily have access to an estimate , but you can certainly call them up and talk to them over the phone . You can zoom with them and have the zoom , call with them and ask them how much slack was left in the job .

So some tips for you is if you get a set of prints , ask them . If the prints don't show you where the location of the rack is , ask them to show you , to put it on your drawing , where's the rack going to go , so you know how much slack to leave . If they don't want to do that , then say how much slack do you want me to leave in the telecom room ?

If you ask them that , either one of those , make sure you document that conversation . If you were in my class , you know how to document a conversation because I talked about it . Document that conversation Because I hear you . I would rather be 10 feet too long than 1 foot too short , because then you got to repool that cable .

But remember , if you leave too much slack , you won't have enough cable for the job either , and then you got to go buy more cable . That's always an issue , always , always an issue . See , he was in my class . Documentation , documentation , documentation . That's pro tip number one on my list . Go to my website . Let's talk cablingcom .

One of the tabs says pro list . There's 146 of them there . Pro tip number one is document , document and document . I appreciate everybody being here tonight , so until next time . Remember , knowledge is power , my friends .