Time domain reflectometers are designed to discover faults in electric cabling including opens, taps, shorts, joints, high resistance, blockages, overall cable length, and more. Technicians use TDR equipment to send low-voltage pulses into the cable. Any change in the impedance will cause a reflection and the TDR cable tester will measure the time it takes for the pulse to return, thus revealing the location of the fault or anomaly in the cabling system. Cables without faults, given that they possess uniform impedance and are correctly terminated, will return no reflections, the incident signal simply being absorbed at the end of the cable. A graphical visualization of time and waveform amplitude is generally displayed so users can analyze the data.
TDR test equipment is primarily used to test transmission lines and twisted pair or coaxial cables employed in industrial electrical applications. Testing cabling systems with time domain reflectometry is essential in these applications, as a TDR can reveal potential voltage breakdowns. Common fault types include screening faults, which constitute conductor and screen contact, phase faults, contact between multiple conductors, sheath faults, in which the cable screen is exposed to outside contact, and faults due to moisture or a cut cable. All the preceding cause some form of resistance which disrupts the electrical current.
ATEC offers affordable time domain reflectometer rental rates for products from leading manufacturers such as
MOHR,
Megger, and
Hipotronics.