DIY Network Cable Tester?

[ComputerWizKid]

How would I dio this? Just for straight through cables I want one LED to light up for each wire if the cable is good for a total of 8 LEDS no LED lit that pair or wire is bad Thanks

 

[JackMDS]

I can try to explain the principle.

To do it with 8 LEDs might be complicate, but to test pairs and use 4 LEDS is relatively easy.

You get an RJ-45 Jack and you connect the pins in pairs like 1 to 2, 3 to 4 etc.

You build a little box with a space for a small battery a second RJ-45 and 4 LEDs.

You connect one wire of each of the pairs to the (+) side of the battery and you connect of the second wire of each pair through a LED to the (?) side pf the battery. If a LED does not light up it means that the one or both wires of the associated pair is Not Connected.

If you want to use 8 LEDS you follow the same principle but you need to use a second Good Cable to close the circuit individually for each wire instead of the shorten pairs. Alternatively, to can use on the passive side a 4 pole double toggle switch that toggles the shorts and thus help to ID the specific disconnected wire using 4 LEDs arrangement.

Please Note that even if all the LEDs show positive contact it does not mean that the Cable is OK.

A CAT5e type of cable can be OK for DC (Battery) but might have problems moving Hi Frequency signal. A real tester use Hi Frequency signal to test the Cable rather then a battery.

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