CAT- Cable Testing Tool – Locate faulty N-connectors and faulty cables – Signal analyzer

CAT

Features:

  • Detect OPEN and SHORT circuits in the cable.
  • Measure cable loss in dBs.
  • Measure cable length.
  • Program in custom cable types.
  • Beacon Mode – analyse how signal propagates in building.
  • Test each internal antenna.
  • Battery powered.
  • Ethernet connected to upload files to Stella Cloud account.
  • 5″ Touch LCD Display

The CAT enables quick analysis of all coaxial cables in the repeater installation. It can also analyse how the signal propagates throughout the building.

The coaxial cables inside the building can have the following problems:

N-connectors

Putting N-connectors onto coaxial cable requires skill and it is easy to get it wrong.

If the centre pin of the connector is too far inside the housing, then it will not form a contact with the centre core of the cable and it will attenuate the signal badly. Even worse, it will appear as an “open” circuit, with no signal passing at all.

Another type of failure is a small braid of metal can get caught between the centre pin and the outside housing of the connector. This will result in a short, which will also block the signal.
too far inside

 

 

A kink in the cable

A faulty cable can occur if the cable gets kinked or crushed in any way. Again, this fault will manifest itself as an attenuated signal (sometimes only in certain bands).

Installations may have faulty connectors and cables nobody may know about it. The client may have a repeater system that is not performing at its best.

Avoid this situation by testing all cables.

CAT – Cable Testing Tool

test cable

The CAT is a kit comprising of 2 units, the CAT-Beacon (CATB) and CAT-Receiver(CATR).  For testing a cable, attach the CATB to one end of the cable and the CATR to the other end of the cable.

The CATB generates a 1000MHz tone and 3.3V DC and sends this down the cable. The CATR receives this 1000MHz tone, measuring its power. It also measures the 3.3V DC.

From these measurements it can:

  • Calculate the loss across the cable in dBs.
  • Estimate the length of the cable.
  • Warn you if there is a short in the cable.
  • Warn you if there is an open circuit.

Beacon Mode

 

Beacon test
To see how signal propagates through parts of the buildng, set the CATB up in beacon mode. The CATB will transmit a 1GHz tone on each frequecny band. Use the CATR to see the strength of these tones as you walk in nearby areas. This enables more efficient planning of antennas. It can also be used to showcase the system to the end customer.

Internal Antenna Tester

The CATR can be used to test every antenna after the installation. Its as simple as touching the Yagi antenna off every antenna and viewing the power spectrum. If there is an issue with the antenna, it can be easily spotted.

 

test antennas

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