Sorry, but if I've followed your proposal properly, it wouldn't work.

Let's see if I've understood you correctly.....

On the roof:
mark one wire #1. Pair up two wires and label them 2,3. Pair up another two wires and label them 4,5. Mark the last wire #6.
O.K., so you've positively decided upon the identification of #1 and #6 on the roof, and you have the remaining wires looped as a 2/3 pair and a 4/5 pair, and so identified. Right?

down in the basement:
identify the two loops and label them 2,3 and 4,5.

But how would you determine which is the 2/3 loop and which is the 4/5 loop? Or do you just mean at this stage to say "one of these pairs is 2/3 and the other is 4/5" ?

identify each of the single wires as 1,6.
Fine, you know that one of those open wires must be #1 and the other must be #6.


Now mark all your wires individually. So 1# of 1,6 and #2 of 2,3 and #3 of 2,3 and #4 of 4,5 and #5 of 4,5 and #6 of 1,6.

Problem: You've already decided upon the identity of #1 and #6 up on the roof. How would you know which is which in the basement in order to label them?

I can see your reasoning in the remainder of the procedure, but it's based upon a 50% chance of getting the pairs right and another 50% chance of guessing the ID of the open wires correctly.

You're kind of trying to identify the single wires using the pairs and identify the pairs using the single wires at the same time.

Starting with two looped pairs and two open wires on the roof means that you have no way to accurately identify one wire to use as a reference point while in the basement.

Back to the drawing board???7 [Linked Image]



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 06-20-2002).]