Hello again. Today we are going to have a look at a cool new network testing product from Ideal Industries – the Ideal R156002 SignalTEK CT Data Cable Transmission Ethernet Tester. This is basically a pared down cable certifier to meet the demand for a high tech cable wiremapping and performance tester but cut the cost of a full fledged certifier.

First off, as I would argue is the most important feature in a cable tester, the R156002 quickly and very accurately determines the amount of data that is being transmitted through the cable. Using the included remote unit, you can use the easy and convenient one-button AutoTest feature to determine your data loss down to the bit, doing so according to the high level IEEE 802.3ab Gigabit Ethernet Standard. This can help to eliminate problems that can cause server re-transmissions resulting in network drop-out or slower connection speeds. While checking the tester can also determine cable length and common faults including crossed pairs, opens, shorts and split pairs. The Ideal R156002 SignalTEK CT is suited for use on a wide variety of setups including Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6A and Cat 7 (TIA 568A and 568B wiring schemes). The tester also automatically generates repots in PDF format that can be exported via the onboard USB port to flash memory. This makes reporting basically hands-off, and the very professional looking and accurate reports make a great impression on customers. As indicated above, the R156002 also givers you visual wiremapping results that are also displayed on the generated reports. In addition to the export function, the R156002 has onboard memory for storing up to 5000 test results, so you can run whole large operations without worrying about running out of space.

Any thoughts on network testing and the usefulness of this type of “certifier” versus the full-on models?

See you next time.