subject: The Cable Tester: A Helpful Device [print this page] Coax cables are one of the leading materials employed for networking a home or office. Whether it is for satellite, cable or internet, coax cable has a potential application in most rooms of a home or business. Like with many other networking cables, a coax mapper is a product frequently used to debug a network of cables in a home or office. The cable tester is a handheld instrument designed to put a tone signal on a coax cable to find and identify a number of cables that may be located in a structured media panel or enclosure. Coax mappers typically come with four to eight uniquely colored F-terminators. Some models like the Test-Um CX200 also include BNC connectors because these are common in CCTV applications.
In this section, we'll tell you how the coax mapper operates. For most models, press and hold the TEST button and release when ready to test the cable. Results are displayed for several seconds before shutting off automatically. An LED will light for the color of the terminator found. If there are splitters connected in the path, an LED will light for each terminator. Before going through these steps, perform a quick assessment to determine if any voltage is on the coax cable. A positive DC or AC voltage on the cable would trigger the voltage' LED of the coax mapper to light. If this happens, disconnect the cable tester from the line and remove the voltage generating source from the coax cable arrangement. Cable testers will not typically test cable with powered amplifiers, isolation splitters, attenuators, directional taps, power dividers or transformers.
As mentioned earlier, cable testers are battery operated. Most models like the Advantage Meters ADV1018 and ADV1008 are sold with 3V batteries included. Consider rechargeable batteries if you are a professional installer that uses the coax tester frequently and your model offers that option. If the batteries aren't rechargeable, you will just need to keep a watchful eye on their charge.
