How Many Ethernet Couplers Does it Take to Fail Testing? You'd Be Surprised!

Рет қаралды 8,269

Күн бұрын

Need to extend your cable run using Ethernet couplers, but find yourself unsure of just how many you could use before hurting your network’s performance? We’re here to help!
In this week’s video our Technical Manager, Don Schultz, uses a Fluke DSX-8000 to test a variety of connections using an increasing number of Ethernet couplers to see just how many you can use!
If you found this video interesting let us know in the comments and subscribe for more!
Video Time Codes:
[0:00-0:37] - Intro & Overview
[0:38-2:01] - Test 1: Permanent Link Test
[2:02-2:44] - Test 2: Permanent Link Test with 1 Coupler
[2:45-3:31] - Test 3: Channel Test with 1 Coupler
[3:32-4:14] - Test 4: Channel Test with 2 Couplers
[4:15-4:56] - Test 5: Channel Test with 3 Couplers
[4:57-6:37] - Best Practices & Closing Thoughts
trueCABLE Products Featured in This Video:
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Cat6A Inline Coupler Unshielded:
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Cat6A Waterproof Coupler Shielded:
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Cat6A Keystone Jack Coupler Unshielded:
www.truecable.com/products/ca...
Cat6A Keystone Jack Coupler Shielded:
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Пікірлер: 24

@James_Knott 5 ай бұрын

I have never used a coupler to extend a connection. However, many years ago, I rewired one to make a crossover. This was back in the 10 Mb days.

@trueCABLE 5 ай бұрын

Hello James! Yeah, generally if you plan well, you will rarely need to use a coupler.

@James_Knott 5 ай бұрын

@@trueCABLE Planning is one thing I do well. I have half a century of experience in telecom and a bit over 5 years of that was spent in planning. Most of that was in the central office, but also at customer sites. I used to order a LOT of cable and connectors. I'd typically order several 300M (1000') spools of 25 pair CAT3 cable, though some 6 or 12 pair. On one job, I bought 100 Km of Comscope 0222 coax cable, which had a smaller diameter than regular RG-59. The smaller cable was required to fit 1024 cables through the bottom of a cabinet. This was all just for one job in my office. As I mentioned, I have a lot of experience with cables and connectors. 🙂

@trueCABLE 5 ай бұрын

@@James_Knott Thanks James. We appreciate you sharing your experiences with us.

@laurentslab Жыл бұрын

Great information! Does that mean that a coupler-based patch panel is likely to degrade the signal more than a traditional punch panel or jack?

@krausshusha2694 Жыл бұрын

I wanna see a permanent link made of nothing but a chain of field terminations. Mwahaha.

@devilxelloss Жыл бұрын

So my understanding is - doesn't matter coupler or jack, as long as there are more than 4 RJ45 plugs in a direct chain of cables, signal will go bad quickly? For example, the following connection with no couplers: [Switch] [RJ45 Keystone Jack]=== In-wall permanent cable ===[RJ45 Keystone Jack][RJ45 Keystone Jack]=== In-wall permanent cable ===[RJ45 Keystone Jack][Device]

@trueCABLE Жыл бұрын

Hello and good question! The issue is, essentially, the number of overall terminations. RJ45 style terminations are the most problematic. IDC terminations like really good quality keystone jacks or field termination plugs are much less problematic. The standard accounts for exactly two IDC style terminations in a permanent link when conducting a permanent link test. A channel test accounts for up to 6 terminations, two being IDC and the remaining 4 being RJ45. It should be noted that those remaining 4 x RJ45 terminations are assumed to be very good ones (not hand terminated) with the patch cords passing on patch cord tests. All the patch cords I used for this demonstration pass patch cord testing (using PCA adapters on the Fluke) and are the best possible representation of "perfect terminations". It just gets worse from there. Couplers add additional RJ45 terminations by design and even a single coupler in a permanent link can cause a failure. Not always, though. Channel testing is more permissive, but typically will only tolerate 2 couplers introducing 4 more RJ45 terminations before failure. Again, this is with patch cords that are factory terminated and pass PCA testing.

@letsroll404 11 ай бұрын

Consumer here.... I'm in the process of running 5 170ft runs of CAT6 from my NVR to a 30ft tower in the rear of my property... I purchase 1000ft of good quality CAT6 and will be running them through buried 1 1/2 schedule 40 to the tower. The runs will terminate at a Wx proof jct box at the base of the tower. From the junction box I want to run exterior Wx proof CAT 6 to the cameras. My question is will I be okay with using couplers in the jct box to go from the non-exterior CAT6 to the exterior rated CAT6 which will be exposed to the elements? ...or would there be a better way of transitioning from interior CAT6 to the CAT6 exterior? PS each run would have a total of 4 RJ45's (gold plated terminals) and on coupler (w/gold plated terminals)...

@trueCABLE 11 ай бұрын

Hello! Rather than terminate a bunch of RJ45s onto solid copper and then using couplers, I would suggest Cat6 splice boxes. You can easily get them on Amazon. These splice boxes are punch down style 110 IDC terminations, which are mechanically and electrically superior to using couplers with hand terminated RJ45s. Most of the splice boxes are not outdoor rated, so you will need to mount them into a waterproof outdoor enclosure.

@letsroll404 11 ай бұрын

@@trueCABLE Thank you for the advice.... I have a waterproof exterior box and just ordered the punch down CAT6 junction boxes... Thank you for the great advice.

@trueCABLE 11 ай бұрын

@@letsroll404 You are welcome! I think you will be much more satisfied with the long term results. It is also less effort!

@ronnypoelmans3214 Жыл бұрын

Failed Permanent Link test with 1 coupler : did you test with PL2 or PL3 settings ?

@trueCABLE Жыл бұрын

Hello Ronny. TIA Permanent Link test limits were used. The ISO 11801 Permanent Link test limits were not used, which allow using PL2 or PL3. The TIA limits already assume the presence of a CP. When talking about a CP, the additional terminations will normally be IDC style and not 8P8C style and test limits account for IDC terminations which are of higher quality and performance. Ultimately the issue was the additional two 8P8C terminations that caused the fail, not precisely the inclusion of the coupler itself--although a coupler would be required to see the issue so we are splitting hairs here.

@anasriyadh6104 4 ай бұрын

If you use an odd number of couplers this will fail because the sequence of the wires will be crossed but if you use an even number this will work because the sequence will be corrected in the 2nd coupler 4th, 6th and so on. Thank you for the video

@trueCABLE 4 ай бұрын

Hello Anas. You are welcome for the video, but I think you might have some confusion about cross-overs and the number of couplers. The number of couplers you use has no bearing on whether you end up with a cable channel this is cross-over unless one of the cables or couplers specifically was wired for cross-over. If all components are wired "straight through," then the entire channel ends up "straight through." The reason for the failures you saw in the video is directly related to the number of terminations in the channel. No one channel is permitted to have more than six terminations, lest you risk performance problems. Each termination (especially 8P8C - RJ45) adds a bit more cross-talk in the channel, and it adds up cumulatively, resulting in eventual failure. The ideal way of using 8P8C couplers (if you must use one at all) is to keep use to just one coupler and to use factory pre-terminated and certified patch cords in addition to IDC style terminations, depending upon what you are doing. Any communications channel using a coupler should be correctly ASAP and the coupler removed. Couplers are meant for "oops" moments.

@paolorosettani Жыл бұрын

Are you planning to do the same with fiber optic couplers?

@trueCABLE Жыл бұрын

trueCABLE handles metallic (copper) communications cable. Our sister company, trueFIBER, handles fiber optic. trueFIBER may do a blog on coupler and splice losses, but I can tell you up front there is already a standard applied to fiber optic connectors, splices, and the cable itself expressed in pre-defined dB reductions applied to the fiber optic loss budget you are working with. That standard is found in ANSI/TIA 568.3-D and also in the BICSI ITSIMM 8th Edition available at BICSI's website. The BICSI publication will cost considerably less! That aside, it would be an interesting project to get real-world loss numbers on various types of couplers and splices and see how they affect the overall loss budget for the fiber optic channel. I will pass this on to the Technical Manager of trueFIBER.

@ImantsPirksts Жыл бұрын

Good video. Terrible sound. Watch the mic gain .,

@trueCABLE Жыл бұрын

Hello! Yeah, the sound was definitely not up to par. This has since been corrected after trying a number of different sound solutions and acoustic tiles. Quite the journey of getting it all correct. We are getting better with every new video!

@jodycwilliams Жыл бұрын

And you’re not using the cheap junk couplers fly by night guys foist on unwitting customers.

@trueCABLE Жыл бұрын

Absolutely correct Jody. That is why even with OUR couplers you have to keep your use of them sparing. I generally recommend ONE per channel, and only when you have to use one.

@jodycwilliams Жыл бұрын

@@trueCABLE My rule is to never use them except temporarily in an emergency situation. If I have to use one, that tells me that I have a cable that needs to be rerun. There are very few exceptions to this rule.

@trueCABLE Жыл бұрын

Hey Jody. That is an excellent rule. One time a person asked me what couplers were for. I said "When you screw up and cut the cable too short and need an emergency solution before you re-install the right length of cable..."