In Need of tone genertor/cable tracer...

T

three_jeeps

Guest
I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.
An inexpensive tone generator would work but I don\'t have one. Any recommendations for an inexpensive one? or alternatives? I rigged a 1.5V battery holder with alligator clips to be used in conjunction with a modified LED \'probe\' flashlight which will work. Looking for alternative ideas.
I did make a \'break out box\' for the rj45 and rj11 sockets where needed.
Thanks
j
 
On 2021/08/26 11:30 a.m., three_jeeps wrote:
I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.
An inexpensive tone generator would work but I don\'t have one. Any recommendations for an inexpensive one? or alternatives? I rigged a 1.5V battery holder with alligator clips to be used in conjunction with a modified LED \'probe\' flashlight which will work. Looking for alternative ideas.
I did make a \'break out box\' for the rj45 and rj11 sockets where needed.
Thanks
j
Click to expand...

If you have an old portable AM radio you can whip up an electrical
noise/spark generator that you hook to one end of the wire then track it
through the house using the radio.

Not so many hand held radios lying around these days though...

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John\'s Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
\"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out.\"
 
On 2021/08/26 11:30 a.m., three_jeeps wrote:
I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.
An inexpensive tone generator would work but I don\'t have one. Any recommendations for an inexpensive one? or alternatives? I rigged a 1.5V battery holder with alligator clips to be used in conjunction with a modified LED \'probe\' flashlight which will work. Looking for alternative ideas.
I did make a \'break out box\' for the rj45 and rj11 sockets where needed.
Thanks
j
Click to expand...

If you have an old portable AM radio you can whip up an electrical
noise/spark generator that you hook to one end of the wire then track it
through the house using the radio.

Not so many hand held radios lying around these days though...

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John\'s Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
\"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out.\"
 
John Robertson <spam@flippers.com> wrote:
On 2021/08/26 11:30 a.m., three_jeeps wrote:
I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.
An inexpensive tone generator would work but I don\'t have one. Any recommendations for an inexpensive one? or alternatives? I rigged a 1.5V battery holder with alligator clips to be used in conjunction with a modified LED \'probe\' flashlight which will work. Looking for alternative ideas.
I did make a \'break out box\' for the rj45 and rj11 sockets where needed.
Thanks
j


If you have an old portable AM radio you can whip up an electrical
noise/spark generator that you hook to one end of the wire then track it
through the house using the radio.

Not so many hand held radios lying around these days though...
Click to expand...

At work, we have a device that works like that. It contains a kind
of AM radio at one end and a simple \"transmitter\" (AM modulated generator)
for the other end. You clip the transmit side to a cable and it is
able to detect the other end of the cable within like a 10cm (4\") range.

It is intended to find connection points on MDF/LDF, network patch panels,
etc etc.

Indeed it should be possible to build something like this yourself,
or simply use a radio and a \"short range AM transmitter\" module.
 
three_jeeps wrote:
===============

> I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.

** Did you mean * identify* cables or find the actual path ?

> An inexpensive tone generator would work but I don\'t have one.

** What would you do if you did?

Why not use a AA cell and an LED ?


....... Phil
 
On Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 2:30:11 PM UTC-4, three_jeeps wrote:
> I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Tone-and-Probe-Tester-and-Tracer-Kit-VDV500-705/311456018

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tone+and+probe+tester&crid=3972PA7CBL6GT&sprefix=tone+and+prombe%2Caps%2C152&ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_1_15

No further than your local big-box and/or Amazon.

Why go with a kluge when the real thing (and all the associated reliability thereto) is readily available?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
 
On Friday, August 27, 2021 at 10:04:07 AM UTC-4, Peter W. wrote:
On Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 2:30:11 PM UTC-4, three_jeeps wrote:
I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Tone-and-Probe-Tester-and-Tracer-Kit-VDV500-705/311456018

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tone+and+probe+tester&crid=3972PA7CBL6GT&sprefix=tone+and+prombe%2Caps%2C152&ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_1_15

No further than your local big-box and/or Amazon.

Why go with a kluge when the real thing (and all the associated reliability thereto) is readily available?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
How far would that read?
Click to expand...

Power to my shed is underground, and I need to do some digging to fix some drainage. it would really help to know exactly where the 220 is routed. I suspect it\'s in the 6 to 8 inch deep range, given the slope, hopefully a little deeper some places. .
 
On Friday, August 27, 2021 at 10:04:07 AM UTC-4, Peter W. wrote:
On Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 2:30:11 PM UTC-4, three_jeeps wrote:
I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet) throughout a house.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Tone-and-Probe-Tester-and-Tracer-Kit-VDV500-705/311456018

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tone+and+probe+tester&crid=3972PA7CBL6GT&sprefix=tone+and+prombe%2Caps%2C152&ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_1_15

No further than your local big-box and/or Amazon.

Why go with a kluge when the real thing (and all the associated reliability thereto) is readily available?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
How far would that read?
Click to expand...

Power to my shed is underground, and I need to do some digging to fix some drainage. it would really help to know exactly where the 220 is routed. I suspect it\'s in the 6 to 8 inch deep range, given the slope, hopefully a little deeper some places. .
 
How far would that read?

Power to my shed is underground, and I need to do some digging to fix some drainage. it would really help to know exactly where the 220 is routed. I suspect it\'s in the 6 to 8 inch deep range, given the slope, hopefully a little deeper some places. .
Click to expand...

That is a low-voltage device, not for power lines. Underground cable tracers are very different animals, and substantially more costly. if all you need to do is 6-8\" or so, borrow a decent metal detector and trace that way. You will be within inches - dig out that area by hand. In any case, do call your local One-Call service, it is free and often you have no idea of what may be down there. And they DO have the costly devices.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
 
How far would that read?

Power to my shed is underground, and I need to do some digging to fix some drainage. it would really help to know exactly where the 220 is routed. I suspect it\'s in the 6 to 8 inch deep range, given the slope, hopefully a little deeper some places. .
Click to expand...

That is a low-voltage device, not for power lines. Underground cable tracers are very different animals, and substantially more costly. if all you need to do is 6-8\" or so, borrow a decent metal detector and trace that way. You will be within inches - dig out that area by hand. In any case, do call your local One-Call service, it is free and often you have no idea of what may be down there. And they DO have the costly devices.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
 
https://www.harborfreight.com/cable-tracker-94181.html?_br_psugg_q=wire+tracer

$25 US

Works well tracing house wiring.
Just remember to turn off ALL circuit breakers in the mains panel.
 
https://www.harborfreight.com/cable-tracker-94181.html?_br_psugg_q=wire+tracer

$25 US

Works well tracing house wiring.
Just remember to turn off ALL circuit breakers in the mains panel.
 
On Sat, 28 Aug 2021 05:32:12 -0700 (PDT), Tim R
<timothy42bach@gmail.com> wrote:

>Power to my shed is underground, and I need to do some digging to fix some drainage. it would really help to know exactly where the 220 is routed. I suspect it\'s in the 6 to 8 inch deep range, given the slope, hopefully a little deeper some places. .

The minimum depth of buried power cable varies from 6 inches to
perhaps 24 inches. This might help:
<https://www.hunker.com/12271976/depth-requirements-for-buried-electrical-cable>
If the power cables are inside a steel pipe, none of the RF or
induction methods of wire location will work. However, a common metal
detector will work quite nicely at detecting the pipe.

Maybe call 811 (in the USA)?
<https://call811.com>

Maybe hire an underground utility location service?
<https://www.google.com/search?q=underground+utility+location+services>

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
 
In article <s9kkig1ss05gtppneh44ckg3jqo6leni93@4ax.com>,
jeffl@cruzio.com says...
Maybe call 811 (in the USA)?
https://call811.com
Click to expand...

Around here you can go to miss utility on the web or call 811. They
only do the commercial power, phone, cable and gas. If you have your
own wire from the house to an outbuilding or well they will not do it.

It is a free service. I have used them twice. Once when I had some
stumps ground up that had roots that extended out about 10 feet from the
tree. Good thing I did as the underground power cable was under a small
tree stump so I told the grinder man to only go low enough the lawn
mower would not hit the stump. A year later when I had a garage bulit
and the foundation needed to be dug. The man only did the power line
the 2nd time. They were not going to come out when I filled out the web
page, but I called them and told them I knew the power line was probably
in the way. They marked the power line but not the cable line. Sure
enough the cable line was cut as it was about 2 feet inside the garage
foundation. Cable people replaced it at no charge as I had called the
utility people.
 
Works well tracing house wiring.
Just remember to turn off ALL circuit breakers in the mains panel.
Click to expand...

No. \"Designed for use with telephone lines, alarm cables, computer cables, intercom lines, speaker wires, and thermostat wiring.\"

Not line voltage. And not for underground tracing either.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
 
Peter W. <peterwieck33@gmail.com> wrote:
Works well tracing house wiring.
Just remember to turn off ALL circuit breakers in the mains panel.

No. \"Designed for use with telephone lines, alarm cables, computer cables, intercom lines, speaker wires, and thermostat wiring.\"

Not line voltage. And not for underground tracing either.
Click to expand...

But the question was \"I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet)
throughout a house.\".
So what is your problem?
 
Peter W. <peterwieck33@gmail.com> wrote:
Works well tracing house wiring.
Just remember to turn off ALL circuit breakers in the mains panel.

No. \"Designed for use with telephone lines, alarm cables, computer cables, intercom lines, speaker wires, and thermostat wiring.\"

Not line voltage. And not for underground tracing either.
Click to expand...

But the question was \"I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet)
throughout a house.\".
So what is your problem?
 
Rob wrote:
========
Not line voltage. And not for underground tracing either.
But the question was \"I need to trace some cables (phone catv, ethernet)
throughout a house.\".
So what is your problem?
Click to expand...

** There are TWO different questions here from TWO posters.
Pay attention.

...... Phil
 
> So what is your problem?

Do you not read for content?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
 
> So what is your problem?

Do you not read for content?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
 
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