the G light on my cable tester lights up red, everything else green, the cables are in correct order. This cable runs from my router to the computer and I have replaced the computer end, computer does not recognize the cable. Any idea? Using UBIGear CH-178, did I do something wrong?
1 Answer
The "G" typically refers to the shield connection (labelled "Drain Wire" and "Aluminium Mylar Shield" below)... i.e: not any of the data pairs.
If you're not using CAT-6 or better with appropriate connectors and termination throughout the run, then this will not test out and will appear "open circuit". For CAT-5e there is no sheild, so it definately won't test out. Not having the shield connected correctly will typically be fine, unless you're looking for high speeds (2.5 Gb/s or more), large distances or are working in a noisy environment.
Given that these cheap testers come in many variants for fundamentally the same piece of equipment (varying LED colors, battery requirements, etc...), I wouldn't be at all surprised if your unit has a Red LED for the shield, and Green LEDs for the other signals.
These cheap testers can also vary in their operation - some will always light the LED on the main unit to indicate which signal is currently being tested, while others will only light the main unit's LEDs if a circuit is formed.
I have replaced the computer end, computer does not recognize the cable.
In general, when checking for the signal ordering over a run with these cheap testers, only connsider the remote unit's LED sequence - the main unit will typically always show the correct order, regardless of the actual wiring.
Additionally, make sure you follow one of the standards on both ends of the cable - if you're only reterminating one end, then check what pinout the other end is using. If you're doing both ends, then T-568B is the one to go for.
Have you tried turning the unit on without any cable connected? How it behaves will inform you about what to expect from it during operation.
