Simple and cheap cat5 cable checker
Why?
The idea behind this project was to build a cheap test circuit to find errors in networks.
How does it work?
There are two rows of low current LEDs one row of leds for each side of the cable. The first row shows the status at one side of the cable and the second one displays the other side.
A microcontroller (Atmel AVR AT90S2313) gives signals sequentially to the eight wires. By comparing input and output you can check if the cable is ok.
You can control the LEDs with 2 buttons. Pressing both at the same time switches between automatic and manual mode.
In automatic mode the buttons are used to change speed.
In manual mode they are used to toggle the LEDs towards any direction.
The Hardware:
The circuit is very simple and uses only 11 parts besides the 16 LEDs.
It costs aproximately 10 to 15 Euro + case.
Link: http://pinguin.sauerland.de/cat5.html
Why?
The idea behind this project was to build a cheap test circuit to find errors in networks.
How does it work?
There are two rows of low current LEDs one row of leds for each side of the cable. The first row shows the status at one side of the cable and the second one displays the other side.
A microcontroller (Atmel AVR AT90S2313) gives signals sequentially to the eight wires. By comparing input and output you can check if the cable is ok.
You can control the LEDs with 2 buttons. Pressing both at the same time switches between automatic and manual mode.
In automatic mode the buttons are used to change speed.
In manual mode they are used to toggle the LEDs towards any direction.
The Hardware:
The circuit is very simple and uses only 11 parts besides the 16 LEDs.
It costs aproximately 10 to 15 Euro + case.
Link: http://pinguin.sauerland.de/cat5.html