Copper Cable Termination Flashcards

Which of the following is a characteristic unique to shielded twisted pair (STP) termination compared to UTP?

Answer: The shield must be bonded to the connector's grounding point

STP terminations require the foil or braid shield to be properly bonded to the connector's grounding element to maintain EMI protection.

A Cat 6 horizontal link passes all wire-map tests but fails the NEXT (near-end crosstalk) limit. The MOST likely cause is:

Answer: Excessive pair untwisting at the termination point

Untwisting pairs beyond the 13 mm limit significantly degrades NEXT performance at the termination.

When does a 'crossed pair' fault appear on a cable tester?

Answer: When conductors from two different pairs are terminated on pins belonging to a third pair

A crossed pair occurs when wires from two pairs swap their pin positions, mixing pair identities across the termination.

What is the recommended minimum distance between copper data cable and a 120V electrical conduit running parallel?

Answer: 50 mm (2 in)

TIA-569 specifies a minimum 50 mm (2-inch) separation from unshielded power conductors carrying 120V.

A technician terminates both ends of a cable using T568A at one end and T568B at the other. The result is:

Answer: A crossover cable

Mixing T568A at one end and T568B at the other reverses pairs 2 and 3, creating a crossover cable.

Which conductor color, per T568B, is terminated on pin 4 of an RJ-45?

Answer: Blue

Under T568B, pin 4 is assigned to the solid blue conductor of pair 1.

When terminating a 25-pair backbone cable, which standard governs the color code used?

Answer: ANSI/TIA-598-C

ANSI/TIA-598-C defines the color-coding scheme for multi-pair copper and fiber cables including 25-pair backbone cable.