DCI Copper Cable Termination 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When installing a Cat 6 cable through a conduit shared with other Cat 6 cables, which practice reduces crosstalk?
- Maintaining the cable's twist ratio and not over-bending inside the conduit (Correct answer)
- Grounding the conduit at both ends
- Untwisting all pairs before pulling to reduce friction
- Using T568A on all cables in the same conduit
Correct answer: Maintaining the cable's twist ratio and not over-bending inside the conduit
Preserving the pair twist and staying within bend radius limits maintains the cable's electrical geometry and crosstalk rejection inside conduit.
Question 2: A field technician is terminating a high-density Cat 6A panel with 48 ports. Which practice BEST prevents pair damage?
- Work in small sections and re-dress cables after each block of 12 terminations (Correct answer)
- Terminate all cables and then test all ports at once
- Use a Cat 5e punch-down tool to avoid over-compression
- Remove all jacket from the last 100 mm for easier access
Correct answer: Work in small sections and re-dress cables after each block of 12 terminations
Working in small sections controls cable dress and prevents inadvertent damage to already-terminated pairs during subsequent work.
Question 3: What is the purpose of maintaining pair twist all the way into the IDC slot on a 110-style block?
- Minimize near-end crosstalk at the termination point (Correct answer)
- Increase pulling tension capacity
- Ensure the correct color is visible for inspection
- Comply with fire-rating requirements
Correct answer: Minimize near-end crosstalk at the termination point
Keeping the twist as close as possible to the IDC contact minimizes the untwisted length that acts as an antenna for crosstalk.
Question 4: Which of the following conditions would cause a 'short' fault reading between pins 3 and 6 on a cable tester?
- Two conductors touching inside the connector or jack slot (Correct answer)
- Incorrect NVP entered on the tester
- Pair 2 terminated as a split pair
- Exceeding the 90 m horizontal cable limit
Correct answer: Two conductors touching inside the connector or jack slot
A short occurs when two conductors make unintended electrical contact, typically from insulation damage or conductive contamination in a connector.
Question 5: After completing terminations on a 24-port Cat 6 patch panel, the technician should perform which test FIRST?
- Wire map test on each port (Correct answer)
- Full channel certification test
- OTDR sweep
- Insertion loss test only
Correct answer: Wire map test on each port
The wire map test is the quickest way to confirm correct pin-out and catch wiring errors before performing more time-consuming certification tests.
Question 6: A Cat 6 keystone jack uses a 110-style IDC. A technician forces a conductor into the wrong slot and attempts to reseat it in the correct slot. What is the recommended action?
- Replace the jack, as re-seating a mis-punched conductor can damage the IDC contacts (Correct answer)
- Re-punch the conductor into the correct slot and retest
- Swap the color assignments to match where the conductor was punched
- Apply conductive paste to improve the contact after reseating
Correct answer: Replace the jack, as re-seating a mis-punched conductor can damage the IDC contacts
IDC contacts are designed for single insertion; a mis-punched and re-seated conductor may have compromised insulation and degraded contact reliability.
Question 7: Which bonding method is required when terminating screened Cat 6A (F/UTP) cable at a patch panel?
- Connect the foil drain wire to the panel's grounding bar or bonding point (Correct answer)
- Tape the foil back against the cable jacket
- Cut the drain wire flush with the jacket
- Leave the drain wire floating and rely on capacitive coupling
Correct answer: Connect the foil drain wire to the panel's grounding bar or bonding point
The drain wire of F/UTP cable must be bonded to the equipment ground at the patch panel to complete the shielding circuit and drain induced currents.
DCI Copper Cable Termination 5
When installing a Cat 6 cable through a conduit shared with other Cat 6 cables, which practice reduces crosstalk?