Exercise 7

UTP Wiring Considerations

And Electrical Concepts

1
 Objectives for Exercise 7
At the end of this Exercise, you will be able to:

■ Explain the need for identifying wires.

■ Describe the difference between T568A and

T568B twisted-pair pin assignments.

■ Define voltage, current and resistance.

2
 Objectives (Continued)
■ Describe the relationship of cable resistance
to signal attenuation.

■ Describe the purpose of an ohmmeter.

■ Discuss the principle of an ohmmeter’s

operation.

3
 Identifying Wires
■ Whenever wires are bundled into a cable it
is important that they are identifiable.
– In cables with a relatively small number of
wires, a color-coding scheme is preferred.
– In cables with a large number of wires, this is
impractical due to the limited number of colors
available. Here, an alphanumeric code may be
stamped at intervals on each wire.
■ In either case it is necessary to determine a
wire’s source and destination.
4
 UTP Wires
■ 4-pair UTP cables in this course use a
standardized wire color code:
– White/Blue - Blue/White (Pair 1)
– White/Orange- Orange/White (Pair 2)
– White/Green- Green/White (Pair 3)
– White/Brown - Brown/White (Pair 4)

■ White with colored stripe or band indicates a

positive (+) connection while the reverse
indicates a negative (-) connection.
5
 T568A vs T568B Conventions
■ Since this course was developed, the T568B
wiring sequence has superseded the earlier T568A
as the preferred configuration by some groups.

■ This change involves swapping pair 2 (orange)

and pair 3 (green). Electrically, this makes no
difference other than the twist ratio. It can,
however, cause confusion.

6
 T568A vs T568B
Twisted-Pair Assignment
1T + 1T +
Pair 3 Pair 2
2R - 2R -
Pair 2 Pair 3
3T + 3T +

4R - 4R -
Pair 1
Pair 1
5T + 5T +

6R - 6R -

7T + 7T +
T568A Pair 4 Pair 4
8R - T568B 8R -

7
 T568A vs T568B Patch Cables

■ A T568A patch cable will work fine in

T568B-wired installations and vice versa.

■ However, to avoid confusion when

troubleshooting installed systems, it is best
to maintain the same wiring convention
throughout the system.

8
 Electrical Properties Of
Copper Cable
■ As you know, data is sent to various parts
of a network by means of digital pulses.

■ While copper cable provides an excellent

medium for transporting these pulses, it also
has properties which must be considered.

9
 Properties Affecting Copper
Wiring
■ The electrical properties you should be aware
of include voltage, current, resistance,
capacitance and inductance.

■ You have been exposed to some of these

terms in previous exercises but we will now
examine them and their interrelationship in
more depth.

10
 Definition of Terms
■ Voltage
– The electrical potential between two points.
– Unit of measurement is the volt.
■ Current
– The movement of electrons from a more
negative point to a more positive point.
– Unit of measurement is the ampere or amp.
■ Resistance
– The opposition to current flow.
– Unit of measurement is the ohm.
11
Relationship Of These Properties
■ Ohm’s Law, the fundamental rule that defines
the relationship between voltage, current and
resistance, is expressed by the equation:
E=IxR

E = Voltage or Electromotive Force

I = Current
R = Resistance

12
 Derivations of Ohm’s Law
■ Ohm’s Law, or E = I x R, explains the
relationship of voltage to current and
resistance. This can be transposed to show
that:
I = E/R,
and that
R = E/I
These three equations will help you
understand later discussions.
13
 Resistance
■ First, let’s take a closer look at electrical
resistance.
– Resistance is the opposition to current flow.
– Current is the flow of free electrons.
– Therefore, resistance is the result of a material’s
reduction in the number of free electrons.

- - - -
- - - --
- - - -
High Resistance Low Resistance
14
 Cross Sectional Area

■ This is the thickness or diameter of a

conductor.
■ The larger the diameter, the more free
electrons available per unit of length.

Good Conductor Better Conductor 15

 How Resistance Effects Signal
Strength
■ Now let’s look at how cable resistance
effects the strength of signals.

■ First we will examine an “ideal” pulse train

and then see what happens to it after being
transmitted via a copper cable.

16
 Data Pulses

+3.3v

0v
Ideal Waveform

17
Effects of Resistance On Signal

■ Now, let’s examine the effects of cable

resistance on this “ideal” waveform.

■ The next slide will compare the original

waveform to the waveform after traveling
through a long cable run.
– Note the difference in pulse amplitude.

18
Effects Of Cable Resistance On
Signal Strength

Input to Cable Output From Cable

19
 Signal Attenuation

■ Why did the output waveform have less

amplitude than the input waveform?
– The largest reason for this is cable resistance.
– This is one factor that limits the allowable
length of a cable run.

■ Why does resistance attenuate the signal?

– The next few slides will shed some light on the
reason.
20
 Simple Circuit Voltage
Distribution
(3 Volts)

3 Ohms

12 Volt Battery 6 Ohms (6 Volts)

3 Ohms

(3 Volts)

21
 Cable Signal Attenuation

+ 5 Volts (0.2 Volts)

Cable Resistance = 2 Ohms

50 Ohm
(4.6 Volts)
Load
0 Volts (0.2 Volts)

Cable Resistance = 2 Ohms

22
 Measuring Resistance

■ Resistance is measured by an ohmmeter.

■ This can be an instrument designed solely for that

purpose or a multifunctional instrument.

23
 Ohmmeters

■ Ohmmeters apply a precise amount of voltage

to a conductive path and measure the resultant
current flow.

■ This current value is then displayed on an

analog or digital readout device, calibrated to
display that value in ohms of resistance.

24
 Using An Ohmmeter

Ohmmeter Test Leads Item Under Test

Resistance
10.03

Current Flow
+
-

25
Now It’s Your Turn

26