Testing Cable Length
All the KX6 cables that you lay within a network cabling system should already be limited to the maximum lengths that are laid out in the standards specifications. However you should still user a tester to check the electrical length of the twisted pair wires within the KX6 cables, as these are twisted together they will be physically longer than the actual length of the KX6 cable. Another reason why you check the KX6 cable length is to test for any shorts, opens or breaks in connections.
You can test the KX6 cable length by using a specially calibrated capacitive tester, but a better option is to do it with a Time Domain Reflector tester as this can also measure the distance to any faults that may show up.
Performance Testing
The above testing procedures test the physical properties of the network cabling system to make sure that everything is connected and works properly and it is also vital that you check the transmission performance of your newly installed network. This will make sure that the signal is both strong and fast enough to meet the networks performance requirements. These tests require a more sophisticated bit of kit than the testers used for basic wire mapping as they include checking the following aspects:
Attenuation – Measuring any reduction in the strength of the signal.
Cross-talk – Evaluating the KX6 cables ability to reject any electromagnetic interference.
Propagation Delay – Gauging the amount of time a signal is delayed when travelling through a wire.
Delay Skew – See the difference in propagation delay between any 2 twisted pairs in the same KX6 cable.