Like any high-quality test equipment, a good cable tester will be a serious investment that pays its cost back many times over by:
1 - finding defective cables before they damage your equipment,
2 - isolating the problem in a cable before suspect equipment is disassembled,
3 - minimizing field service at your customer's site, and
4 - supporting your company's reputation for quality.
Test equipment designed to check cables range in price from a $25 battery-operated unit to verify ethernet cables to a $500,000 tester intended for certifying aircraft and space vehicle wiring. The measurement capabilities of cable testers vary over a similarly broad range, with the more expensive testers able to find increasingly more subtle faults. Supporting features that provide report printing, database storage, scripting, and graphic wiring display also add to the cost of a unit, but also increase the equipment's productivity. Complicating matters, you will find dozens of companies offering cable testing equipment with varying designs, features, and software.
In this section, we hope to provide the information you need to reach the right purchasing decision. We want our customers to feel pleased with their purchases from us and confident in knowing that they've chosen the right model tester.
Deciding which Cable Properties You Need to Measure
Cost Justification for Professional Cable Testing Equipment
The Differences between a Cable Tester and a Wire Harness Tester
PC-Based vs. Standalone Cable Testers
Because PC-Based testers are substantially different in their features and characteristics from standalone units, this section provides a brief contrast between the two approaches..
Interfacing your Cables to the Cable Tester
Determining the Right Number of Test Points for your Application
Resistance Thresholds, Conductivity, and Isolation
Protecting your Cable Tester from Static Discharge
"PC-Based Cable Test", an article reprinted from EDN Products' Technology Focus
