From: theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk   
      
   Don Y  wrote:   
   > Make sense?   
   >   
   > The two questions are:   
   > - is there a "reusable" IDC fixture that could provide this   
   > connection as part of the tester (without having to incur the   
   > cost of consumables)?   
   > - any potential risks in this approach (besides ensuring that   
   > the testing is done after the possibility of any cable damage   
   > has passed)?   
   >   
   > Bonus question:  any way to check the cable without piercing the   
   > insulation on each end?   
      
   I wonder if there's an IDC fixture for standard cat5e/etc type cables,   
   without having to untwist the twisted pairs?   
      
   ie the installer feeds through the brown pair through the brown slot, blue   
   through blue slot, etc.  Then squeeze the two parts together and the IDC   
   grabs the conductors, making contact and connects to an RJ45 socket.   
      
   You end up with something where you potentially have swaps within pairs.   
   Maybe you don't actually care about that if both ends are swapped (the   
   signal doesn't care the colour of the insulation), or maybe that's fixable   
   later with jumpers on the PCB.   
      
   Then this is both your test fixture and final termination.   
      
   I don't think a typical ribbon cable IDC would do it, but perhaps there is   
   another sort of IDC socket which is set up so a twisted pair would get   
   clamped and pierced correctly?   
      
   Theo   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)