atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Handmade Vs. Commercially Produced Ethernet Cables

A 20 Mbit line could be anything since the poster doesnt specify what kind of circuit it is and only that they had a T1. There are lots of options that offer 20 mbit and more including Cable and Fiber.

Are you being funny Grider or do you really not know what that is?

I've heard of numerous tests for Cat5 & Cat6 cable but a Time Reflectometer Test really is new to me as far as testing cable for the described use.

TDR...here is a link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-domain_reflectometer

We use TDRs in the cable industry as well as telephone- to look for defects in wiring or fiber (ODTR). A TDR will show splices, kinks and even tight staples in a pair or a run of coax. It will not certify or provide the tests normally used for category data cable.

-Hal

2 Things -

20MBS - My Fios connection is 20MBS. Legitimately. Very sweet.

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OTDRs (Optical) are commonly used in fiber work - especially in OSP on long runs. When I ran a crew in the WAN we had to deliver OTDR traces with every run we turned over.

(C)TDRs - (Copper) TDRs aren't used as much these days as the functionality has been replaced by Network Analyzers (CatX certification). Like Hal said though, they're still used for long coax and CAT 3 cable runs - but to be honest, the only times I've used them in the last 5 years have been either A) when the customer requested them or B) when we had a problem with a run.


Sam

I got a TDR some years ago to find a fault in an underground cable. Now it lives in my toolbox and comes out maybe once a year to save my butt. When you need a TDR you need a TDR.

I used to teach cabling for a communications school and after having the students make Patch Cords over and over until they got them right. I would tell them never do this again, buy them!

Ive done ends on TP and RG58 and 59. It all comes down to the quality of the ends, the crimper and the person using them. That said, Patches are bought, more because it is something the customer keeps and it is easier to charge them for it. The only short plug ended cables I make myself anymore are the 6" ones I make and loose for continuity testing jacks.

Everyone should know how to crimp them right, and then carry enough spare patches so they don't have to waste time doing it. Knowing how to crimp and carrying 8c plugs has saved my bacon on one or two occasions when removing a wire from a nest has popped the locking tab off a silver satin serial interface cable. Pin Pads anyone?

First rule, don't break anything.
Second rule, if you do break something...fix it.
Third rule, if you can't fix it, report it...support will blame you anyway, be part of the solution.

25' or less and I use premade cables any thing else I install solid cable and jacks on the ends then use patch cable to connect.

There semms to be a little misinformation here. A TDR is not only a tool but a function. Most cable certifiers use TDR to determine wire length and to ty to locate faults. If you've ever certified a cable and it says "open at 35" for example, that is the certifier using TDR to locate the fault. There were some scopes that were called TDRs but mostly its just a function built into the cable tester. Its not old technology or uncommon nowadays. Its actually quite common and used by scopes by Fluke, Agilent, and Ideal to name a few. You don't really hear these scopes called TDRs because thats a function or method used by the scope to test cables. If any of you have a high quality wirescope then you have a TDR.

Silversam, Ive heard many people rave about FIOS. Whats been your experience with it?

I have to agree with tito1411, both my Fluke and Ideal testers include TDR functions. Actually I haven't seen a stand-alone TDR in years.

Also, call me a stickler, but imo there's a misunderstanding with the terminology somewhere. The poster mentions "upgrading" from a "T1 line" to a "20 mbit line". It would be incorrect, imo, for this to apply to FIOS. First, that would not be an upgrade within the same connection setup but a change in the connection setup. Second, from the subscriber perspective, FIOS connections are basically taps on loops, not point-to-point connections on lines (assuming this is "traditional" T1). So where does a "20 Mbit line" come into this? Third, as far as I know, the residential and business flavors of FIOS use basically the same hardware, the differences being in provisioning and the software running in Verizon's equipment. So the "upgrade" in FIOS's case happens at the node/carrier stage, not the subscriber premises. One exception being that business (static IP) FIOS uses different boxes for video & data unlike the residential type.
Anyway, that's why I was a bit confused trying to think which DS/HS variant the poster was refering to.