In this module I'm going to show
how to certify an M12 patch cable.
Before we do that, we need to
reference our two units here
on the DTX CableAnalyzer.
So, the permanent link adapter
is connected to the main unit
and a channel adapter is connected
to the remote unit.
Then, my permanent link adapter
into the channel adapter.
You hear the chirp to tell me
they're connected.
I rotate the dial to 'special functions'.
And we set reference, highlighted,
I hit the ENTER key.
It shows a little picture of my setup
to help me. I hit the TEST key,
and off it goes.
This is something that I'm going
to want to do each day.
Okay, and it's done.
So we press f2, 'OK'.
I can now remove these vectors
and we are done with those for today.
Fluke and Fluke Networks offers
these DTX-021 adapters
which have the M12 connector in the top.
Which is going to allow us to do
the patch cord certification.
The M12 is keyed so we need to
very carefully find the key
and place it on there.
Same on the main unit as well.
I don't need to screw these in,
not for the purpose of certification.
Rotate the dial to 'auto test'
and my test limit is currently
selected for cat6 permanent link.
I need to change that.
So I rotate the dial to 'setup',
and with twisted pair highlighted
I hit the ENTER key.
And with test limit highlighted
I hit the ENTER key again.
On this screen here, it will show you
the last 9 test limits that you selected,
and we don't have the one here that we want,
so we need to press f1 'More'.
Then we go to TIA and hit ENTER.
And if we scroll down
we'll see the Industrial Ethernet standard
TIA 1005.
This actually the wrong test limit to select.
Why? Because it has the word 'channel'
in the test limit.
Whenever you see the word 'channel'
in the test limit, it means that
we're not measuring the first connection
and we're not measuring the last connection.
The TIA and international standards
are very specific in that you exclude
the first and the last connections
to the test equipment. so
So, we'll hit f1, 'More'.
And we'll go down until we find
M12 patch cords, and hit the ENTER key.
You'll notice that the length changes
as you go down the screen here,
because the shorter the patch cord
the tighter the near-end crosstalk requirement.
I have a 2 meter patch cord here,
actually it's 2.1 meters,
so I'm going to go and select
2 meters and hit the enter key.
Then I need to change my cable type.
It's currently set to cat6
unshielded twisted pair UTP.
So I'm going to hit ENTER
ENTER again and select cat5e
because this is a cat5e
unshielded twisted pair patch cord.
Then my NVP, the nominal velocity
of propagation. Don't be intimidated by this.
This value here will only affect
the length reported by the tester
and given we're measuring 2.1 meters
it's not that critical. However,
contact the cable vendor and find out
what the NVP of their cable is.
Simply put the figure in here
and then your length reading
is going to be spot on.
The final setting we need to be
concerned about is outlet configuration.
It's currently set to T568B.
That's a four-pair standard
and we've only got two-pairs in the cable.
So we need to change that.
I could select Ethernet two-pair
because it's Industrial Ethernet
and it's two-pairs.
But I'm going to go down
until I find
M12 two-pair. We put that in there
as an additional aid to help people
find the right outlet configuration.
You'll also notice that we have
M12 two-pair crossed.
So if you're connecting two
swtiches or two hubs together
you require a patch cord
where the pairs are crossed.
so the transmit goes to receive
and receive to transmit.
This is a straight-through patch cord
so I'm going to go and select M12 two-pair.
Then, rotate my dial to 'auto test'
and hit the TEST key
You're about to see
that this is a really quick test.
There's my result.
And what we see here is our Wire Map,
our resistance, our length,
propagation delay and delay skew.
Now, you'll notice that with resistance,
length, propagation delay, and delay skew,
they have the letter 'i' next to them.
What that means is information only.
That's because, when you're doing
patch cord certification, there is no limit
for resistance, length, propagation delay,
delay skew, but customers want to know
those values, so we actually make the
measurement and record them.
When you're doing patch cord certification,
you're primarily interested in two parameters:
return loss and near-end crosstalk, or NEXT.
Return loss is the amount of signal
reflected back.
The tester has all the limits in there
so it does this calculation for you
against the standards.
You don't have to get a calculator out
and do all the logs and all that stuff.
What it will provide you with
is a value here on the right.
In this case four dB.
That's how much above
the standard you are, worst case.
Now, what is a good value here?
Anything above zero.
If it's below zero you would have seen
a fail appear in the top right-hand corner here.
Do you want to be 0.1 dB?
Not really. You really want to be a
little bit more above than the standard.
The standard is the bare minimum, after all.
And then we see near-end crosstalk
showing 16.2 dB, decibels.
Is that a good figure or a bad figure?
Well, 6 dB is a factor of 2,
so this is a really nice patch cord.
If you ever did the termination
of this M12 here and here,
clearly, maintain the twist going into
the bag extremely well coupled with a
very nice performing cable
gives us excellent margin.
I could hit the SAVE key,
save this result, and print it out
with its patch cord to prove that I
certified this patch cord.
And that is how you certify
an M12 d-type coded
Industrial Ethernet patch cord.