Hardware Tools

Question 1

Cable crimper

Answer 1

• ”Pinch” the connector onto the wire
• The final step of a cable installation
• Metal prongs push through insulation

Question 2

Cable tester

Answer 2

• Continuity testing
• Identify missing pins, crossed wires
• Not used for advanced testing

Question 3

Punch-down Tool

Answer 3

• Forces wire into a wiring block

* Trims the wires and breaks the insulation

Question 4

TDR / OTDR

Answer 4

• (Optical) Time Domain Reflectometer
• Estimate fiber lengths, measure signal
   loss, determine light reflection, create 
   wire maps
• May require additional training

Question 5

Light meter

Answer 5

• Send a light from one side

* Measure the light power on the other

Question 6

Toner Probe

Answer 6

• Puts an analog sound on the wire
• Inductive probe doesn’t need
to touch the copper

Question 7

Loopback plug

Answer 7

• Useful for testing physical ports
• Serial, Ethernet, T1, fiber
• These are not crossover cables

Question 8

Multimeter

Answer 8

• AC/DC voltages

* Continuity, wire mapping

Question 9

Spectrum analyzer

Answer 9

• View the frequency spectrum

* Identify frequency conflicts