Question from the Customer:
I am working on a new product that will be supplying a custom USB 3.1 Standard-A Male to USB Micro-B Male cable. I am looking to test DC resistance of the power lines, continuity, and signal integrity and data transmission quality. I’m looking at your products and I have some questions.
- Is it possible to instrument the signal integrity measurements and eye diagrams with the Advanced Cable Tester v2?
- What do the output results of the test system look like?
- Can the cable tester be used to qualify a cable as USB 3.1 compliant?
Thanks for your questions! The following sections provide information about our cable tester and cable compliance.
Overview of Advanced Cable Tester v2
The Advanced Cable Tester v2 is designed to test and verify that cables have been manufactured correctly without any faults. You could also use a cable tester as a part of a pre-check before submitting the new designs for compliance testing and approval. More information about cable compliance is provided in this article.
Using the Advanced Cable Tester v2
For information about using the Advanced Cable Tester v2, we have some articles to help get you started:
- This article describes the tests you can run with Advanced Cable Tester v2, including continuity testing and E-Marker verification. It also explains what an eye diagram represents: How Cable Testing Ensures Safety and Quality of Manufacturing.
- For more information about the eye diagrams, please refer to Eye Diagram Basics and Embedded Systems.
Supported Cable Types
Below is a list of cable types supported by the Advanced Cable Tester v2.
Advanced Cable Tester v2:
- USB Type-C to USB Type-C
- USB Type-C to USB 3.1 Standard-A
- USB Type-C to USB 3.1 Micro-B
- USB Type-C to USB 3.1 Standard-B
- USB 3.1 Standard-A to USB 3.1 Micro-B
- USB 3.1 Standard-A to USB 3.1 Standard-B
- USB 3.1 Standard-A to Lightning USB2
- USB Type-C to Lightning USB2
- HDMI-A to HDMI-A
- DisplayPort to DisplayPort
Test Coverage of the Advanced Cable Tester v2
In addition to a wider range of supported cable types, the Advanced Cable Tester v2 provides more thorough measurement of Ra/Rp/Rd resistors. It also features more enhanced testing for Apple MFi Lightning cables. While, the applications can test for DCR on ground and power wires and pins, the Advanced Cable Tester v2 adds DCR measurements for shield and SBU with a dynamic graphical representation of wire designation and any failures.
From a signal integrity test perspective, the Advanced Cable Tester v2 provides an enhanced test process. The user can provide the insertion loss of a cable that can be converted to a mask that is overlaid on the eye diagram to indicate pass/fail.
Compliance Testing
Compliance testing is handled by the USB-IF organization. They undertake testing against specifications for design approval, including cables. For information about their compliance process, take a look the USB-IF Compliance Program.
The Advanced Cable Tester v2 was not designed as a compliance tool. It was designed to ensure that every cable produced according a compliant and certified design, actually met the standards. Variation happens in manufacturing and the Advanced Cable Tester v2 is a line of defense against damaging variation.
For engineers working in a lab, the Advanced Cable Tester v2 represents a great option to qualify cables in under 20 seconds, avoiding the need for costly and time-consuming testing.
Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:
- Advanced Cable Tester User Manual
- Advanced Cable Tester Quick Start Guide
- Advanced Cable Tester v2 Data Sheet
If you have more questions or want additional information about Total Phase tools, you can email us your questions. You can also request a demo that is specific to your application.