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Sniffter Quick Start Guide

Page 1

Triangles Indicate Actions

Example of Scrolling Text

Main Menu

The display uses solid triangles to indicate what will happen if the user
presses any of the buttons.  When there is more information than can fit on
the screen, the Sniffter places up and/or down triangles on the right side of
the screen indicating that scrolling in that direction will display more text.

Menus are similar to scrolling text, but have an additional right triangle in
the left column pointing to the selected menu option.  Use the up and
down buttons to move the triangle through the menu options and scroll.
Use the right button to accept the selected menu option.  Use the left
button to exit to the previous screen.

Quickly Testing An Ethernet Jack

Turn the Sniffter on.  Press the right arrow twice to go to the Main Menu and then Auto-Test Internet.
Disconnect an Ethernet cable from the back of a PC and connect it to the Sniffter’s Ethernet port, or use
the blue Ethernet cable to connect the Sniffter to any Ethernet jack.

Once connected you’ll soon learn whether you have a working network connection and what the up and
download speeds are.  Press the right arrow to continue, and then select any of the other network tests
for additional information on the connection.

Have questions or need help?  Call Tom Collins at 707-265-6622 or email him at [email protected].

Ethernet

Shielded RJ45 connector
for 10-BaseT TCP/IP
networks.  Yellow link
and green activity LEDs.

Serial

Serial port for interfacing to
serial devices and installing
software updates.

Test A 

and

 Test B

Dual RJ45 connectors for
testing cables and tone
generation.

Power

A 5.5mm power
connector, 5-9VDC.

The Sniffter displays information
on a 20-character wide, 4-line,
backlit LCD display.  Press and
release the power button to turn
the Sniffter on.  To turn the
backlight on or off, hold the
power button down for 3 seconds
(until the backlight changes) and
then release.

 

Full Documentation online at http://sniffter.com/support.html

Page 2

Cable Testing

Note that the Sniffter is only testing cable 

continuity

 (whether a signal reaches the other end of the

cable).  It cannot detect split pairs or cross-talk on a cable.

To begin a test, insert a cable into the Sniffter’s Test A and Test B jacks.
You can test in-wall wiring by plugging long cables (that have already
been tested) into each wall jack and connecting them to the Sniffter.

The following screen shots show examples for various cable types.  The pin map provides a detailed pin-
out of the cable.  The paired numbers (A above B) represent a connection.  For example, in the Ethernet
Crossover shot, the first pair of numbers tell you that “pin 1 on Test A goes to pin 2 on Test B”.

Special Cable Type

“Straight Through” cable

“Flipped” Cable

Nothing connected to tester

Open Pins

Shorted Pins (pins 1 and 4 on A

go to multiple pins on B)

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