A master cable is a working sample of your cable. You are using it as a reference to produce or test more cables. Holding onto a master cable is strongly recommended as a more productive and efficient means of production.
Some customers however prefer storing the Master Cable connection digitally rather than keeping a physical cable which takes up space. They prefer to keep a digital file (or database) rather than a real physical cable.
This page is specifically written for customers who do not like the idea of holding onto a Master Cable sample to do their cable production testing using the product CCT-01 Cable Connection Tester.
Our recommended is to keep a copy of a master cable. For training the cable tester tool. For troubleshooting during the production or deployment of the cable.
These are 4 methods in which you can still use the tool CCT-01 without having to hold onto a master cable for reference purposes.
- Use one CCT-01 tester tool for each cable connection configuration.
- Mock-up master cable connection using the Pluggable Screw Terminal.
- Use a spreadsheet to record, and analyze the test report.
- Customise your own software to interact with the CCT-01 cable connection tester
Before we go further into each of the methods, I will explain briefly the background of CCT-01 design intent.
Why a master cable is strongly recommended?
Design Intent for CCT-01
CCT-01 Cable Connection Tester is designed to be simple to use. So simple that even after 10 years of not picking up this tool you will still remember how to get your cable tested without looking at the user manual.
Many customers wanted this feature of using CCT-01 without any master cable (reference cable) needed for the learning. While it may sounds convenient, and save space, we noticed that such a design would actually make the tool more complicated to use. We had had done such designs for our customers in the past. The tool (hardware and software) was complicated to use, and required more operating steps. As the cable variety grows, retrieval of the saved cable connection becomes harder to retrieve. Some form of training is required to use the tester. Even with the training, people may still forget if they do not use the tool often. It is simply too complex to handle. We realised customers kept coming back to us for support, just because they had forgotten how to use the equipment.
Having a working sample of the physical cable (master cable or reference cable), is easier for a human operator to manage. It is easier for a human to use the tool even if they are not technically trained. Having a working cable sample support work flow improves productivity.
This is why we came out with the design for CCT-01 Cable Tester to make the whole cable testing process more productive and efficient.
We realised that people tend to forget how to use it because it is more complicated to use. Our focus is to make the tool easy to use. So easy that users will never need to refer to a user menu or need long training to use this tool. Any non-technically trained operators can operate.
Many of the customers brought our tools because of the simplicity of the design.
Using a master cable.
You just need to keep a copy of your master cable. Each time you want to test, take out the master cable, within a second to learn the connection.
One CCT-01 cable tester tool for each cable connection.
Train each CCT-01 cable tester for use with each cable model that you have. When you need to test certain cable configurations, you simply just need to bring out this trained cable tester tool. This is expensive but more convenient.
Mock-up master cable connection using the Pluggable Screw Terminal.
You can mock up a master cable connection to allow the CCT-01 Cable Tester to learn the connection.
You can do it easily with the 8pcs of 8way pluggable screw terminal. Wired them for the same wiring configuration as your master cable. You can have various sets of mock-ups for any cable configuration as your master cable.
Mock-up the connection of your master cable using the Pluggable Screw Terminal (the green colour 8 ports connectors) and allow the CCT-01 cable tester to use it for learning the connection of the real cable.
This method is cheaper and likely uses less physical space for the mock-up plugs.
Using Spreadsheet to record and analyse.
Using a spreadsheet to log down the profile of the master cable’s connections.
This method requires a display to be connected to the CCT-01 cable tester. The test results are then cut and pasted onto a spreadsheet. Using the spreadsheet to analyse and compare the connections.
Customize your own software.
This is perhaps the most expensive solution of all. It allows you to create a more flexible workflow for your production. Simply connect the cable tester via the USB port. Send in command to retrieve the connection states. Capture the connection and process the data for your test report and documentation.