Fluke teaches you how to quickly test counterfeit cables

Background: The Okay Cable incident actually reflects the long-standing problem of counterfeiting and shoddy products in the cable industry. In fact, as Party A (owner) and Party B (project contractor), when selecting cable products or cable warehousing, they can do a quick test on the cable products planned to be purchased or have been purchased to prove whether their quality meets the requirements of electrical parameters. The test can be completed within 15 seconds, and the project can be implemented at the project site.

Today, we're sharing with you how Fluke network testers can quickly detect counterfeit cables.

1. The wire diameter is thin and cuts corners

Thin wire diameter is the most common method of fraud, for example, the standard requires the use of 23 wire gauge (AWG23), and the mark printed on the cable is AWG23, but the actual use of 26 wire gauge (AWG26, thinner wire diameter). It doesn't matter if you don't have a vernier caliper in hand, you can help determine it by testing the resistance value. Thin copper cable loops have higher resistance values than normal diameter copper cables. With Fluke DTX or DSX Series cable testers, you can give results for loop resistance in seconds. Another consequence of a thin wire size is that there is a lot of loss, which can lead to insufficient signal transmission distances or weak signal strength. The DTX/DSX cable tester can give the loss value (attenuation value) directly. If the cable is not qualified, an alarm will be given. During the test, a 100-meter sample can be intercepted and tested according to the standard (built-in standard of the instrument), or the test can be carried out using the full box line (305 meters) to estimate the standard (DSX series). According to experience, data cables are often the hardest hit areas, and communication buses (twisted pairs) and control buses are slightly better.

2. The material is abnormal, non-copper alloy

Copper cables are made of inferior copper or other alloys, or worse, copper-clad aluminum (CCA) or copper-clad iron (CCFe) are counterfeited. The average user only uses vernier calipers to measure the wire diameter, and this kind of counterfeiting method cannot be found. DTX/DSX can detect anomalies in the copper cable material by testing the loop resistance, insertion loss, return loss and other parameters of the copper wire in 8 seconds

3. The interference between the line pairs is too large, and the processing is not in place

The data cable and part of the bus are made up of multiple pairs of twisted pairs (4 pairs, 2 pairs). If the twisted rate of the twisted pair is low (which can save materials), the electromagnetic radiation crosstalk between the pairs is relatively large, and the pairs interfere with each other when transmitting data, resulting in an increase in packet loss rate when transmitting signal data at high speed, intermittent data transmission, and occasional failures, which sometimes cause inexplicable interruption of the production line, and even complete interruption of communication in serious cases. However, low-speed data transmission may not detect this kind of problem of cutting corners. The DTX/DSX test reveals that the crosstalk parameter (NEXT) is unqualified.

4. The wire pair is unevenly manufactured, and the manufacturing accuracy is too low

Low manufacturing accuracy will cause uneven cable structure, large signal reflection (echo), and will interfere with some twisted pair and bus for bidirectional signal transmission that is used as both signal transmitting and signal reception. The DTX/DSX test result shows "Failed". In addition, uneven manufacturing will also cause the ability of the signal cable to resist external interference deteriorates, and there will be occasional and fluctuating faults. DSX can check whether its anti-interference indicators (TCL/TCTL/unbalance resistance, etc.) are met.

5. The installation is rough and the link is not available

Sometimes, although Party A uses a high budget and purchases high-quality products, the actual use effect is not ideal. Metrics such as error rate and frame loss rate are not good or unstable. This has a lot to do with the construction level of Party B. The construction team brought in from the guerrilla on the road is usually completely unguaranteed in terms of construction level. After all, communication lines, signal lines, control lines, etc., require more professional installation fineness. For example, untying a twisted pair that is too long will cause increased crosstalk between pairs; If the deformation of the connection is too large or the kinks are excessive, and the binding is too dense and too tight, it will cause the echo interference to be too strong; If the bundle is too large (e.g. more than 48 in a bundle), it will also cause too much interference between the cables. All of this can lead to problems such as increased error rates, good and bad times, and unstable communication and data transmission. In the case of the destruction or loss of the key instruction frame of the subway signal transmission, it may cause the disaster of control error and cause a major traffic accident. If the DTX/DSX detects the installed link, the parameters caused by these improper operations will be exposed. In addition, the DTX/DSX can directly locate the fault location, e.g. to report 23.7 meters of crosstalk or a failed echo parameter within 15 seconds.

Background: The Okay Cable incident actually reflects the long-standing problem of counterfeiting and shoddy products in the cable industry. In fact, as Party A (owner) and Party B (project contractor), when selecting cable products or cable warehousing, they can do a quick test on the cable products planned to be purchased or have been purchased to prove whether their quality meets the requirements of electrical parameters. The test can be completed within 15 seconds, and the project can be implemented at the project site. How Fluke Network Testers Can Quickly Detect Counterfeit Cables

Today, we're sharing with you how Fluke network testers can quickly detect counterfeit cables.

1. The wire diameter is thin and cuts corners

Thin wire diameter is the most common method of fraud, for example, the standard requires the use of 23 wire gauge (AWG23), and the mark printed on the cable is AWG23, but the actual use of 26 wire gauge (AWG26, thinner wire diameter). It doesn't matter if you don't have a vernier caliper in hand, you can help determine it by testing the resistance value. Thin copper cable loops have higher resistance values than normal diameter copper cables. With Fluke DTX or DSX Series cable testers, you can give results for loop resistance in seconds. Another consequence of a thin wire size is that there is a lot of loss, which can lead to insufficient signal transmission distances or weak signal strength. The DTX/DSX cable tester can give the loss value (attenuation value) directly. If the cable is not qualified, an alarm will be given. During the test, a 100-meter sample can be intercepted and tested according to the standard (built-in standard of the instrument), or the test can be carried out using the full box line (305 meters) to estimate the standard (DSX series). According to experience, data cables are often the hardest hit areas, and communication buses (twisted pairs) and control buses are slightly better.

The wire diameter is thin and cuts corners

2. The material is abnormal, non-copper alloy

Copper cables are made of inferior copper or other alloys, or worse, copper-clad aluminum (CCA) or copper-clad iron (CCFe) are counterfeited. The average user only uses vernier calipers to measure the wire diameter, and this kind of counterfeiting method cannot be found. DTX/DSX can detect anomalies in the copper cable material by testing the loop resistance, insertion loss, return loss and other parameters of the copper wire in 8 seconds

3. The interference between the line pairs is too large, and the processing is not in place

The data cable and part of the bus are made up of multiple pairs of twisted pairs (4 pairs, 2 pairs). If the twisted rate of the twisted pair is low (which can save materials), the electromagnetic radiation crosstalk between the pairs is relatively large, and the pairs interfere with each other when transmitting data, resulting in an increase in packet loss rate when transmitting signal data at high speed, intermittent data transmission, and occasional failures, which sometimes cause inexplicable interruption of the production line, and even complete interruption of communication in serious cases. However, low-speed data transmission may not detect this kind of problem of cutting corners. The DTX/DSX test reveals that the crosstalk parameter (NEXT) is unqualified.

4. The wire pair is unevenly manufactured, and the manufacturing accuracy is too low

Low manufacturing accuracy will cause uneven cable structure, large signal reflection (echo), and will interfere with some twisted pair and bus for bidirectional signal transmission that is used as both signal transmitting and signal reception. The DTX/DSX test result shows "Failed". In addition, uneven manufacturing will also cause the ability of the signal cable to resist external interference deteriorates, and there will be occasional and fluctuating faults. DSX can check whether its anti-interference indicators (TCL/TCTL/unbalance resistance, etc.) are met.

5. The installation is rough and the link is not available

Sometimes, although Party A uses a high budget and purchases high-quality products, the actual use effect is not ideal. Metrics such as error rate and frame loss rate are not good or unstable. This has a lot to do with the construction level of Party B. The construction team brought in from the guerrilla on the road is usually completely unguaranteed in terms of construction level. After all, communication lines, signal lines, control lines, etc., require more professional installation fineness. For example, untying a twisted pair that is too long will cause increased crosstalk between pairs; If the deformation of the connection is too large or the kinks are excessive, and the binding is too dense and too tight, it will cause the echo interference to be too strong; If the bundle is too large (e.g. more than 48 in a bundle), it will also cause too much interference between the cables. All of this can lead to problems such as increased error rates, good and bad times, and unstable communication and data transmission. In the case of the destruction or loss of the key instruction frame of the subway signal transmission, it may cause the disaster of control error and cause a major traffic accident. If the DTX/DSX detects the installed link, the parameters caused by these improper operations will be exposed. In addition, the DTX/DSX can directly locate the fault location, e.g. to report 23.7 meters of crosstalk or a failed echo parameter within 15 seconds.

The installation is rough and the link is unavailable

6. Frequent failures and poor warranty

Although all kinds of applications could operate normally at that time, due to the low margin left by the unqualified link to the system, when encountering cable aging, vibration and wear, high temperature and humidity, air pollution (sulfur dioxide and other copper contacts will oxidize/blacken), electromagnetic environment deterioration, etc., there will gradually be flash breaks or various inexplicable problems, which makes maintenance personnel brainless. DTX/DSX can provide the non-conforming link inspection report to the acceptance maintenance personnel, and indicate the approximate cause and physical location of the nonconformance. With the implementation of the regular inspection and situation-based inspection system, the communication reliability of the cable link can always be maintained at a sustainable high reliability level.

7. Upgrade is difficult or has a high percentage of errors

Because the copper cable installed in the early stage can support low-speed applications, but the parameters are unqualified, the problem of large quantities and high proportion will only be found when the network is upgraded or expanded in the later stage. But it's often too late. Work must be stopped or normal business must be stopped, and qualified cables must be replaced in batches to be "reassuring". In the inspection test, approach test, engineering acceptance test, etc., the DTX/DSX cable analyzer can tell you the reason for the failure of the link and its location within 15 seconds. The Fluke Detector is handheld, and it is easy to use with direct pass/fail results and a red symbol.

8. Poor consideration of environmental design and unstable work

Sometimes, the selected products and installation construction are qualified, but the copper cable link is still sometimes intermittent, high packet loss rate, unstable work and other phenomena, in addition to the long-term lack of regular testing (such as natural aging), the main reason is that there is no pre-assessment of the working electromagnetic interference environment. It is sometimes difficult to make a comprehensive and accurate assessment of interference environments such as subways, high-speed railways, and industrial sites, and it is difficult to track and evaluate interference in advance due to new interference sources brought about by people gathering and subsequent upgrades and expansions. The solution is to use cable products with a high anti-interference level (the anti-interference index is the balance parameter mentioned above). Copper cable products with good anti-interference parameters and stable quality suppliers can be selected in the selection stage. DSX can test the balance parameters (TCL, TCTL, unbalance resistance, etc.) in advance to help you evaluate the anti-interference capability (E1, E2, E3, with E3 being the highest). For customers who require high reliability, E3 cable products can be considered.

9. There is a difference between the selection and the actual supply of products

During the design and bidding stage, Party A may require Party B and the supplier to conduct a selection test. However, it was later discovered that there was a significant quality difference between the samples provided during the selection and the actual products supplied. Therefore, it is better to insist on doing incoming tests (generally random tests). DTX/DSX makes it easy to check the quality of cables, patch cords, connection modules, etc. The typical test time is less than 15 seconds.
Fluke teaches you how to quickly test counterfeit cables

Fluke teaches you how to quickly test counterfeit cables

Fluke teaches you how to quickly test counterfeit cables

Sections viewed

Contact

working hours