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Cable Tester
A cable tester is a vital part of any cable installation company’s arsenal. Most customers today require you to send certified test results after the job is complete. There are many reasons to invest in a cable tester for your company. We will visit those later in the article. All of your men should be trained in testing and troubleshooting using which ever tester you decide to purchase. A good quality cable tester will improve your productivity and lead to very satisfied, happy customers. Isn’t that one of your most important goals as a business?
Customers today are keen to saving a buck here and there and will be more involved in projects that they are spending money on. The biggest reason the customer wants cable test results is because this is a requirement for the warranty from the cable manufacturer. The test results can be neatly gathered into a PDF file and emailed directly to the customer. This also gives them proof that the cable was tested in case they have an issue down the road on cables that have not been patched in during initial cable installation.
Why A Cable Tester is Worth It’s Weight In Gold
Investing in a cable tester will be one of the best decisions you make as an owner of a cabling installation business. The top tier cable testers are not cheap. They can run up to $15,000 for basic models but will be well worth the investment in the long run. Troubleshooting cable problems is very time consuming. The source of the problem can be many things. You first need to determine if it is the horizontal cable run. A cable tester can perform this task in seconds. This will eliminate many, many hours of chasing what you think are cabling issues when it is really an equipment problem. If it is a cabling problem you will save even more time. There are literally hundreds of scenarios you can encounter when dealing with cabling problems. Here are a few common issues:
- Swapped pairs, reversals, shorts,
- Broken pins in either the jack or patch panel
- Return Loss
- Crosstalk
- Insertion Loss
- EMI Interference
- Cut Cables
- Poor termination
Troubleshooting Can Be Frustrating
Troubleshooting without a cable tester or at the very least a multimeter, can be an infuriating task. You will find yourself running from workstation to telecommunications room, trying a fix and reconnect a cable. That doesn’t work. Now you need to try another fix and reconnect and then run around like a headless chicken again. Not only is this very frustrating but if the customer is around (which they usually are at the end of the project), this will make you look like you don’t know what you are doing and very unprofessional.
The cable tester is actually more important for your company than it is for the customer. You can prove all your work was installed properly and prevent the customer from picking up the phone immediately when something is not working to bring you in. Most times it is something the network team has not patched or not patched correctly. It’s easy to just pick up the phone and call you in. This is usually a wasted trip and costs you money time and again. The bottom line here is you must own a decent cable tester if you are in the cable installation business. Do your homework, check reviews and customer feedback and then pull the trigger. It is an investment that will pay you back many times over the years to come.
