Recommendation for Cable Tester with Trace and Tone Generator?

Hi,

I need to get a UTP cable tester with trace and tone generator capability.

The trace/tone generator must be able to be used on a live circuit without any damage to the tester or the NIC / Switch that may be on the other end.

I say this because I accidentally blew out a Compucable CTK-MNCT-RJT. I was not aware the line was plugged into a switch at the other end. The instructions for the tester say, "NEVER CONNECT THE TESTER TO A LIVE WIRE. DOING SO MAY DAMAGE THE TESTER AND/OR THE EQUIPMENT". Well jeez, if I knew where the other end of the line was, I wouldn't have had to do the trace in the first place! Sounds like a catch-22 to me.....

Anyhow....

If anyone can recommend a UTP combination cable tester / tracer / tone generator that can handle a live circuit without any damage to itself or any networking equipment, I?d be much obliged.

Thanks in advance...

Thanks for your reply. I think that may be a little more than I need. But while I was on their web site, I did see the IntelliTone Toner and Probe,

Comments?

I've never ever seen any tech use any Fluke toners or probes. The telco industry standard is the Progressive Electronics 77 toner and 'banana',

200(?) I forget the number.

It looks like the Intellitone doesn't spot split pairs, am I right ?

What's the difference between the Intellitone 100 and 200 model ?

I thought so, too. So I bought a Fox and Hound II. The fox tone gen is okay, but I had to cut off the switches flush with the top of the case so they wouldn't get turned on by the stuff in the toolbox, and run down the battery. The Hound's screw-on speaker retainer, which must be removed to change the 9V battery, just decided to split and crack apparently because of the slight pressure of the spring inside. So I have to keep it taped up with electrical tape, and on occasion remove the tape, replace the battery and retape it again. So I 'got what I paid for', less for less. Now I buy the Progressive toner and tracer, and am satisfied that it will withstand the day-to-day use that I give it.

And as I said below, they are the ones you see out in the field. And because of that, you can often get them on Ebay for a lot less.

'banana',

I've never seen either, so I can't comment. However, last summer I played around with some RF proximity detectors, which disappointed me with their lack of sensitivity. But while I was doing this, I tried to use a portable transistor radio to trace the RF signal, which was from

460 kHz on up to the low end of the AM broadcast band. It turned out that the signal didn't go very far, maybe only a few feet or so. But the thing about it was that those few feet allow you to detect it thru walls, or in places where you couldn't get close enough with a regular tracer. So I thought it might be a good idea to make something that could be plugged into a wall jack and just use a portable radio to sense the RF along the cable's path. Or just walk down to the datacomm closet and home in on the cable or jack with the radio.

I've seen the electricians use something like this to trace conduits and wiring thru walls, ceilings and underground. But I don't believe I've ever seen a datacomm or telecomm piece of equipment that would do a similar job. There must be something out there that can do it, tho. It's not rocket science. ;-)

I have the Fluke Intellitone 200. It uses digital technology to allow you to tone on all four pairs of UTP whether or not a switch is connected. It has four modes: Wide Area, Narrow Area, Isolate and 4-pair continuity.

If you need to trace a cable through a building without having easy access, this tool will allow you to follow the tone even at 3-5 foot distance, As you hone in on the far end, you can switch to one of the other two locate modes to refine your search.

Once you have found the appropriate port, you can plug in the probe's 4-pair adapter and get the normal 4-pair test tool, once the toner end of the tool is switched to "cable map".

Some earlier models had a flaw in a chip which was outsourced by Fluke. This will be replaced by Fluke upon request.

We paid about $200 CDN, which right now would be abolut $160. US

Charlie

instructions for

The progressive system may be the most commonly used, but if you can find a product that does the same or better at a better price, why not? My Wavetek is more sensitive (actually, I don't know if the toner has a stronger output or the probe is more sensitive) and has an LED on the speaker enabling me to "see" the toner in high ambient noise locations. Speaker posts. The kit cost ~20 bux less than the Progressive 701 kit (77HP High Power Tone Generator and the 200EP Inductive Amplifier w/case).

CIAO!

Ed

Wats> I've never ever seen any tech use any Fluke toners or probes. The telco