System and method of determining cable characteristics

A system for determine whether a communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said system includes:

• means for transmitting a pulse over said communications cable;
• means for detecting responsive to said transmitted pulse at least one pulse reflected from said communication cable;
• means for deriving derivative characteristics of said at least one reflected pulse;
• means for calculating impedance characteristics of said communication cable;
• means for analyzing said at least one reflected pulse and its derivative characteristics to determine whether said communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said analysis being performed from one end of said communication cable;
• and
• means for determining whether said detected at least one reflected pulse is significant;
• wherein said analyzing means includes means for determining the number of significant pulses detected;
• and
• wherein only one positive significant pulse was detected and further includes:
• means for determining a length of said communication cable;
• means for calculating attenuation characteristics of said communication cable;
• and
• means, responsive to the length, the impedance and the attenuation of said cable, for calculating a signal-to-noise ratio for said communication cable.

A method of determining whether a communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said method includes the steps of:

• transmitting a pulse over said communications cable;
• detecting responsive to said transmitted pulse at least one pulse reflected from said communication cable;
• deriving derivative characteristics of said at least one reflected pulse, the derivative characteristics including a first derivative, a second derivative, and a third derivative;
• and
• analyzing said at least one reflected pulse and its derivative characteristics to determine whether said communications thereon, said analysis being performed from one end of said communication cable.

A method of determining whether a communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said method includes the steps of:

• transmitting a pulse over said communications cable;
• detecting responsive to said transmitted pulse at least one pulse reflected from said communication cable;
• deriving derivative characteristics of said at least one reflected pulse;
• analyzing said at least one reflected pulse and its derivative characteristics to determine whether said communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said analysis being performed from one end of said communication cable;
• determining whether said detected at least one reflected pulse is significant;
• wherein said step of analyzing includes the step of determining the number of significant pulses detected;
• and
• calculating impedance characteristics of said communication cable;
• and
• wherein only one positive significant pulse was detected and further includes the steps of:
• determining a length of said communication cable;
• calculating attenuation characteristics of said communication cable;
• and
• using said length, impedance characteristics, and attenuation characteristics of said communication cable to determine whether said cable will support digital communications by calculating a signal-to-noise ratio for said communication cable.

A system for determining whether a communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said system includes:

• means for transmitting a pulse over said communication cable;
• means for detecting responsive to said transmitted pulse at least one pulse reflected from said communication cable;
• means for determining whether said detected at least one reflected pulse is significant;
• means for analyzing said at least one reflected pulse to determine the number of significant pulses detected;
• means for calculating impedance characteristics of said communication cable;
• means for determining a length of said communication cable;
• means for calculating attenuation characteristics of said communication cable;
• means, responsive to a length, the impedance and the attenuation of said cable, for calculating a signal-to-noise ratio for said communication cable;
• and
• means for analyzing said at least one reflected pulse to determine whether said communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said analyzing being performed from one end of said communication cable.

A method of determining whether a communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said method includes the steps of:

• transmitting a pulse over said communication cable;
• detecting responsive to said transmitted pulse at least one pulse reflected from said communication cable;
• determining whether said detected at least one reflected pulse is significant;
• analyzing said at least one reflected pulse to determine the number of significant pulses detected;
• calculating impedance characteristics of said communication cable;
• determining a length of said communication cable;
• calculating attenuation characteristics of said communication cable;
• using said length, impedance characteristics, and attenuation characteristics of said communication cable to calculate a signal-to-noise ratio for said communication cable;
• and
• analyzing said at least one reflected pulse to determine whether said communication cable will support digital communications thereon, said analysis being performed from one end of said communication cable.