Tempo Fitness Sidekick 7B Installation guide

Tempo
Sidekick® 7B and T&N
Training Course
Revision 1.03
This manual is for training purposes only.
7B Model T&N Model

Rev. 11/10/00
ii
PREAMBLE
“Never could a highly trained and
experienced technician place more
emphasis on how paramount a
thorough understanding of the following
principles and analytical procedures
are to “Finding a better way” to trouble
shoot outside plant and equipment…”

Rev. 11/10/00
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Table of Contents
A BRIEF HISTORY OF TEMPO RESEARCH CORPORATION ........................................................V
THE EVOLUTION OF THE SIDEKICK ............................................................................................................ V
ORIGIN OF THE NAME ................................................................................................................................V
MASTERING THE FUNDAMENTALS.................................................................................................... 1
BASIC ELECTRONICS........................................................................................................................... 1
Copper Wire......................................................................................................................................... 1
Voltage ................................................................................................................................................. 1
Current................................................................................................................................................. 2
Resistance............................................................................................................................................. 2
Ohms Law ............................................................................................................................................ 2
Capacitance ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Capacitive Reactance........................................................................................................................... 3
Inductance............................................................................................................................................ 3
Inductive Reactance ............................................................................................................................. 3
Power Formulas................................................................................................................................... 4
CONNECTING TO OUTSIDE PLANT................................................................................................... 4
FAULT TYPES ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Opens ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Shorts ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Grounds................................................................................................................................................ 5
Resistance Faults ................................................................................................................................. 5
Noise .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Line Imbalance..................................................................................................................................... 5
Crosses................................................................................................................................................. 6
Splits..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Power Influence ................................................................................................................................... 6
Induction .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Circuit Loss .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Loop Current........................................................................................................................................ 6
SIDEKICK 7B .............................................................................................................................................. 7
General Description............................................................................................................................. 7
Features ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Benefits................................................................................................................................................. 8
Front Panel Controls ................................................................................................................................................... 8
AC Volts Test ............................................................................................................................................................. 9
DC Volts Test ............................................................................................................................................................. 9
QUIZ 1......................................................................................................................................................... 10
Stress Test .......................................................................................................................................... 12
Fault Types Identified ........................................................................................................................ 12
Proper Ground................................................................................................................................... 12
Procedure........................................................................................................................................... 13
Identifying a Pair or Cross Conductor............................................................................................... 13
Bridged Stressed Noise Readings....................................................................................................... 15
Trouble Isolation................................................................................................................................ 15
Stress Test Effectiveness..................................................................................................................... 16
Questionable Cables .......................................................................................................................... 16
Equipment Balance ............................................................................................................................ 16
Testing DSSC, DAML, OR UDC Pair Gain Line............................................................................... 17
Troubleshooting Tips ......................................................................................................................... 17

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QUIZ 2......................................................................................................................................................... 19
Leakage Test ........................................................................................................................................... 21
Resistance Test ......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Resistance/Conductor Length (Approximate) .................................................................................... 22
Capacitive Kick......................................................................................................................................................... 23
Kickmeter ........................................................................................................................................... 23
To Kick a Pair.................................................................................................................................... 23
Capacitance/Conductor Length (Approximate) ................................................................................. 23
QUIZ 3......................................................................................................................................................... 25
EXAM 1....................................................................................................................................................... 27
SIDEKICK T&N ........................................................................................................................................ 30
Features ............................................................................................................................................. 30
Benefits............................................................................................................................................... 30
Front Panel Controls ................................................................................................................................................. 30
Coil Detect Test ........................................................................................................................................................ 32
Loop Current Test..................................................................................................................................................... 33
Power Influence Test ................................................................................................................................................ 34
Circuit Noise Test ..................................................................................................................................................... 34
Circuit Loss Test....................................................................................................................................................... 35
QUIZ 4......................................................................................................................................................... 37
EXAM 2....................................................................................................................................................... 39
QUIZ & EXAM ANSWERS...................................................................................................................... 41
TROUBLE SHOOTING INSIDE WIRING ............................................................................................ 42
Testing for Good Ground................................................................................................................... 42
Stressing the pair ............................................................................................................................... 42
Resistance Testing – Fault Isolation .................................................................................................. 42
Resistance Testing – Toning the Fault ............................................................................................... 43
Capacitance Testing – Kicking the Pair............................................................................................. 43
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE ....................................................................................................... 44
Ground Clip Replacement.................................................................................................................. 44
Test Lead Replacement ...................................................................................................................... 45
Battery Replacement .......................................................................................................................... 45
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ................................................................................................... 46
GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................................ 49

Rev. 11/10/00
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A Brief History of Tempo Research Corporation
In August 1984, a small San Diego based company, Tempo Research Corporation,
began designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing copper cable fault locators
for the telecommunications industry. As time progressed, it became evident that fiber
optics would replace copper wire. Despite the growing talk about fiber optics, Tempo
believed that copper was not going to go away as quickly as some people thought and
decided to stay focused on the copper market where Tempo had the most expertise.
Dedicated to “Finding a better way”, research lead to the development of a reliable hand
held test instrument that is used by every major telephone company in the United States
today to troubleshoot twisted pair applications. It has also become the technicians’ test
set of choice worldwide – the Sidekick®.
The Evolution of the Sidekick
Origin of the Name
The Sidekick’s name originated from its characteristics and features. The word Side
came from the ability to carry or hook the test instrument on the side of a technician’s
tool belt. The word Kick was inherited from a common telephony practice whereby the
length of a wire in a pair, or a pair of wires, could be determined from their capacitive
discharge. The practice of “Kicking the pair” was greatly enhanced by two of the
Sidekick’s most powerful troubleshooting features, the “Leakage Test” and the patented
“Stress Test”.
The Original Sidekick 7A
In January 1991, Tempo Research Corporation released the first Sidekick 7A. It was a
compact Volt Ohm Meter designed specifically for telephone companies, but it had one
additional feature called a “Noise Test” that would catapult this unknown instrument into
a valuable telecommunications industry product. The
Noise Test utilized an entirely new patented method of
testing the voice grade of a circuit. It induced a 90 dBrnC
signal on top of 135 Volts DC into a copper wire pair
instead of using methods that depended on the presence of
ambient noise. The sum affect was to stress a telephone
cable pair to the limit and see if voice grade quality could
be sustained without the presence of “Noise” on the line.
Other test equipment at this time performed passive
testing for noise and balance which didn’t always reveal
faults. This new test allowed technicians to measure a
telephone pair’s ability to carry a voice signal without
noise interference under worst-case noise conditions.
Even minor fault readings were detectable on pairs,
otherwise, thought to be good. One hundred Sidekicks were produced and sold before
the revised Sidekick 7A was manufactured later that year.