I've recently purchased a house with several cat5 cables running through the attic. I'm trying to hook one of them up to an access point on the ceiling that is positioned in a place that is about mid-cable. How do I identify which cable is which without cutting them in the middle? Is there a tool that can detect a signal in a cable non-destructively?
Wiring – How to identify cat5 mid-cable
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Related Solutions
There are various types of cable clips that use adhesive to hold them in place, such as these
If you are concerned about damaging the finish when they are taken off, some brands have pull strips that claim to avoid paint damage.
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I'd try a AA battery first to reduce the current going through the speaker, but it should still be audible.
You'll need a helper to stand by one of the speakers and listen for static or a clicking noise.
Just take one cable coming out of the wall, and short each combination of wires across the battery in turn until you hear a click or static at the speaker:
- Black + Red
- Black + White
- Black + Green
- White + Red
- White + Green
- Red + Green
The first one will be tricky until you know the color combinations to use -- you'll have to try all combinations on each wire from the wall until your helper hears it at the speaker. More than one helper makes it easier by listening to more than one speaker at a time.
Since one of your cables has white/black + red/green twisted, it's likely that these are the pairs.
It sounds like more than one speaker runs per cable so one speaker in the room might use white/black, the other speaker uses red/green.
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Best Answer
You can purchase a cheap tone and probe at harbor freight for less then $25. I have one and it works great. Harbor freight calls it a cable tracker, fyi