[Tfug] CAT5 Cables, The Sequel

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Rob,

--- Robert Hunter <hunter at tfug.org> wrote:

> Don, haha!  Your story is so funny, as I have

Yeah, Rob... as I was doing it, I thought to
myself:  "How can I make this experience MOST
ENTERTAINING for folks to whom I recount it
later..."   ;-)

(sigh)  Moral of the story is just don't do these
things when you are tired.  I *know* this moral,
well!  I.e. I don't try to fix obscure software
bugs or find shorts in PCB layout when I am tired
(because I know I am likely to make mistakes that
will only make things worse!).  However, my
failure was in underestimating the effort required
to do this "right".  It *seemed* like it should
be a no-brainer activity -- perfect for late night!

Oh, well... at least there was no magic blue smoke
involved!  :-/

> experienced many of the
> same things.  I'll second Tim's suggestions about
> getting a cable

I'll pass on the tester.  I don't plan on doing this
very often (witness the number of *years* it took
for me to "need" to do it this first time!).  And,
now that I am aware of the issues with probing the
contacts on the connectors, I will use the DVM
next time (or, at least borrow the probes off of
it -- finer tips)

> tester, and the technique for smoothing the wires. 
> I don't personally
> own a cable tester, but the Fluke ones run about
> $100.  If all you
> care about is continuity, then the testers are
> significantly cheaper,
> as George pointed out.

--don


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