"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2010-10-28, Karl Townsend wrote:
About the time my old 'puter crashed and burned, I asked about tracing
wire from an operator panel to find each wire's function. I lost the
replies to this post, sorry. The job has changed slightly as we're
trashing the old panel and building a new one.

Anyway, I now have a comparitively easy job of wringing out two fifty
conductor cables. I could just pull in multi color cable and be done
with it, but I'm a cheap a$$.

Anyway, I remember somebody had a quick and nifty way to wring out
wires when you have both ends of a cable without markings. How, again?

Do you mean "ring" out? (The old way, before voltage sensitive
semiconductor devices, involved a battery, a long wire, and an electric
doorbell or buzzer -- thus the "ring". "Wring out" sounds like you
are trying to get rid of water from it.

You could use a phone technician's "fox and hound" (one puts an
electrical noise on the wire, and the other listens for it -- usually
just by putting the probe near the wires outside the insulation.


http://www.harborfreight.com/cable-tracker-94181.html



Only: $22.99 - on Sale: $17.99


Cable Tracker

Description of Cen-Tech 94181

* Identify and trace electrical wires or cables without damaging
insulation
* Checks for short circuits and open circuits
* Designed for use with telephone lines, alarm cables, computer
cables, intercom lines, speaker wires, and thermostat wiring
* Includes transmitter, receiver, #RJ11 telephone jack plug, two 9
volt batteries, users manual and carrying case

Ground wire length: 24-9/16", Tool dimensions: 15-5/16" L x 1-5/8" W x
15/16" T



Of course -- a *new* fox and hound would probably cost you as
much as your color-coded fifty conductor cables, depending on length.
(25-pair phone cable would work and be cheap -- except that it is solid
wire, and not good for use where there is vibration.)


The cords on the 1A2 phones were stranded, but only about six feet
long. I still have some, somewhere. I parted out over 100 of thise
phones a few years back and kept some of the bteer cables. Some have a
50 pin blue ribbon connector on one end & lugs on the other. The rest
have set of mating male & a female 50 pin blue ribbon connectors.


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