Lab 4.5.5 Testing UTP Cables

Step 1: Set up the Fluke 620 LAN CableMeter 
a. On the Fluke 620 meter, turn the rotary switch selector on the tester to the WIRE MAP position.
b. Press the SETUP button to enter the setup mode and observe the LCD screen on the tester.  Press the UP or DOWN arrow buttons until the desired cable type of UTP is selected. Press ENTER to accept that setting and go to the next one. Continue pressing the UP/DOWN arrows and pressing ENTER until the tester is set to the following cabling characteristics.
Tester Option Desired Setting - UTP
CABLE : UTP
WIRING : 10BASE-T OR EIA/TIA 4PR
CATEGORY: CATEGORY 5
WIRE SIZE: AWG 24
CAL TO CABLE? NO
BEEPING: ON or OFF
LCD CONTRAST: From 1 through 10 (brightest) 
c. Once the meter is set up, press the SETUP button to exit setup mode.

Step 2: Test Cabling Procedure 
a. For each cable to be tested use the following procedure. Place one end of the cable into the RJ-45 jack labeled UTP/FTP on the tester. Place the other end of the cable into the RJ-45 female coupler, and then insert the cable identifier into the other side of the coupler. The coupler and the cable identifier are accessories that come with the Fluke 620 LAN CableMeter.
 

Step 3: Use the Wire Map meter function 
a. The Wire Map function and a Cable ID Unit can be used to determine the wiring of both the near and far end of the cable. The top set of numbers displayed on the LCD screen is the near end, and the bottom set is the far end. Perform a Wire Map test on each of the cables provided. Fill in the following table based on the testing results for
each Category 5 cable. For each cable, write down the identifying number of the cable and the cable color. Also write down whether the cable is straightthrough or crossover, the tester screen test results, and a description of the problem.

Step 4: Use the Length meter function 
a. Using the tester LENGTH function, perform a basic cable test on the same cables used previously. Fill in the additional information for each cable.

Step 5: Test data jack and patch panel terminations for wire map, length and mis-wire (optional) 
a. Using the data jack and patch panel cable from the previous lab, connect one end of one of the straight-through Ethernet patch cables to the data jack outlet and one end of the other straight- through cable to the jack at the patch panel.
b. Insert the opposite end of one of the cables into the Fluke 620 and the other into the coupler and cable identifier. Check for wire map, length and mis-wire from end to end through the patch cables, the data jack, and the patch panel. Did the cable run test good from end to end?  What were the results?

Step 6: Reflection 
a. If you were on a job and did not have a cable meter to test, what other methods can be used?