Cabling Installation & Maintenance articles from August 2008

Cabling Installation & Maintenance archives from August 2008

Online resources outside the mainstream.(Editorial)
August 1, 2008... Every once in awhile, I'll be at a trade show booth or in a training class, and I'll actually try to use one of the tools that are very familiar to you. Sometimes, it's a punchdown tool; other times, it's one of those fibertermination tools...

Time to rethink cable management: high-capacity cables are transmitting more data than ever, but selecting an optimized cable-management system is key to making these cables work for your business.(design)
August 1, 2008... As the information technology (IT) age moves well into the new millennium, the amount of data that companies handle is continuously increasing, making it challenging for IT departments to keep cable networks up-to-date, running smoothly, and...

The right tools for accurate fiber-optic testing: despite its reputation as a highly accurate measurement device, the OTDR is only one part of a comprehensive strategy for testing fiber links in the premises.(installation)
August 1, 2008... It's common for the customer of a fiber-optic cable installation to require documentation of test results before accepting the job and paying for the work. This obviously leads to certain but often conflicting requirements for the contractor....

Coaxial cabling is still big business: tried-and-true coax persists in many markets and in the data center, despite new twisted-pair standards.(technology)
August 1, 2008... Coaxial cabling, commonly referred to as "coax," has been around for nearly 80 years--its first television transmission being the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Since then, the use of coax ultimately expanded to dominate today's cable TV...

IP surveillance evolving toward standardization: while analytics have not yet lived up to their promise, strides are being made to standardize communication among devices and in situation management.(security)(Report)
August 1, 2008... For the past few years in the network-video arena, the technology of analytics has held promise as the next evolutionary step. The Web site videoanaltics.net defines the technology by saying it "consists of algorithms that detect movement or...

Cabling solutions connect Colorado soccer stadium.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Gepco International )
August 1, 2008... Cabling solutions from Gepco International (www. gepco.com) have been installed throughout Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver, CO, home of the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer team. It's the largest professional soccer complex in the world...

Security, industrial connectivity company begins production.(INDUSTRY spotlight)
August 1, 2008... Communication Networks (ComNet; www.comnet.net), a company that will provide fiber-based connectivity and communications network solutions to the security, intelligent transportation, and factory automation/ industrial control markets, has...

Spartanburg, SC--AFL Network Services, a group within AFL Telecommunications (www.afltele.com), has acquired outside plant solutions provider North Star Communications Group (www.northstar.net), expanding its telecommunications services beyond network engineering and installation for access, enterprise, wireless, and electric utilities markets.(Short runs ...)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... SPARTANBURG, SC -- AFL Network Services, a group within AFL Telecommunications (www.afitele.com), has acquired outside plant solutions provider North Star Communications Group (www.northstar.net), expanding its telecommunications services...

Palo Alto, CA--Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) has unveiled a network test option for its WireScope cable certification tester that enables users to validate and pre-qualify the quality of VolP services, and stress-test Ethernet connections.(Short runs ...)
August 1, 2008... PALO ALTO, CA -- Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) has unveiled a network test option for its WireScope cable certification tester that enables users to validate and pre-qualify the quality of VoIP services, and stress-test Ethernet...

Milan, Italy--Prysmian Cables & Systems (www.prysmian.com) says it hopes to achieve growth of about 50% from its business in China by 2010, with new investments planned to increase production capacity.(Short runs ...)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... MILAN, ITALY -- Prysmian Cables & Systems (www.prysmian.com) says it hopes to achieve growth of about 50% from its business in China by 2010, with new investments planned to increase production capacity. The cable manufacturer plans to...

Minneapolis, MN--ADC (www.adc.com) has formed a strategic partnership with integrated power and cooling solutions provider APC (www.apcc.com), intended to provide solutions around fiber-optic switches and storage area network devices in the data center.(Short runs ...)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- ADC (www.adc.com) has formed a strategic partnership with integrated power and cooling solutions provider APC (www.apcc.com), intended to provide solutions around fiber-optic switches and storage area network devices in the...

Record sales for IP test/measurement company.(EXFO Electro Optical Engineering Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Telecom network solution testing provider EXFO (www.exfo.com) reports record sales for the third quarter 2008, and its highest gross margin in seven years. The Quebec City, PQ company says sales increased 23.9% to a record-high $48.6...

Gel-free OSP fiber; cable organizers.(New Products)(Panduit Corp.)
August 1, 2008... Opti-Core gel-free outside plant (OSP) cable features water-swellable tape designed to provide dry water blocking for standards compliance. This dry, loose-tube cable is also designed to simplify cable preparation, eliminate gel cleanup, and...

Ethernet extender.(New Products)(Patton Electronics Co.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Model 2172R 50-Mbffs/sec Ruggedized Ethernet Extender for Industrial Ethernet applications eliminates the need to install cable when linking Ethernet-based PLCs and other shop floor equipment to the office LAN. Achieving a maximum...

Extra bend-insensitive fiber.(New Products)(Prysmian)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... CasaLight Plus, an enhanced version of the company's bend-insensitive fiber, is designed to further reduce minimum working bend radius in extreme-bend installations, exceeding the international standard requirement for bend-insensitive fiber...

Cable bundle holder; wire/cable bushings.(New Products)(Richco Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... This edge clip tie holder (FTH-31) is placed on the edge of a panel to accept a cable tie and mount a cable bundle. The clip accepts many different tie sizes, and allows ties to be mounted in two directions, while the holder accepts panels of...

Cable test kit.(New Products)(RF Industries Ltd.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The RFA-4028-WiFi kit (pictured) for testing wireless, Wi-Fi and broadband infrastructure, contains a Unidapt RF cable tester with 30 universal adapaters, including male and female MMCX, N, reverse polarity TNC and SMA, and TNC, BNC, and SMA...

Non-metallic trough.(New Products)(Stahlin Non-Metallic Enclosures)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Wireway and Trough Series is designed as an auxiliary wire management system used in conjunction with the company's non-metallic composite enclosures. The pultruded composite material is design to protect wires and cables from harsh indoor...

Patch cords with balun.(New Products)(Siemon Co.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... These hybrid patch cords are designed to provide a high-density solution for transmitting video signals over twisted-pair network cabling. They combine a 1-pair TERA plug with an integrated F-type or PAL balun, allowing direct support of video...

Wall-mount solution.(Product Focus: patch panels)(AFL Telecommunications Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Twelve- and 24-fiber wall-mount patch panels feature a clean and secure optical path exiting the enclosure. This LGX-compatible panel fits into new and existing interconnect, crossconnect, and colocation environments, without compromising...

High-density fiber panel.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Belden)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The FiberExpress Ultra patch panel system is designed to provide flexibility and ease of maintenance in many patching applications. It features what the company says is ultra-high density to maximize floor and rack space and provide scalability...

Fiber, copper data center patch devices.(Product Focus: patch panels)(CommScope Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Uniprise ReadyPATCH fiber and Cu copper pre-terminated patch panels for data centers are designed for simplified installation compared to traditional implementations. The fiber version combines factory-tested hardware and backbone trunk cables...

Category 6A panels.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Allen Tel Products)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Part of a 10-Gbit Category 6A product line, these 12- and 24-port loaded patch panels are designed and tested to exceed TIA/EIA-568-B.2-10 specifications. In addition, an unloaded 24-port multimedia patch panel accepts the company's Versatap...

Pre-loaded LC solution.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Black Box Network Services)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Economy LC fiber-optic patch panel is pre-loaded with 16 LC jacks; instead of buying panels and jacks separately, technicians simply snap in their fiber cable connections. The panel features a cold-rolled-steel construction and ceramic fer...

Infrastructure management system.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Panduit Corp.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The PanView iQ patch panel offers physical infrastructure management system hardware designed to help accelerate deployment of network devices, enable asset tracking, and provide intelligent patch-field management without the need for...

Angled patch panel for screened/shielded systems.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Siemon Co.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... This angled version of the TERA-MAX modular patch panel is designed to support the company's Category 6A 10G 6A F/UTP screened and Category 7 fully-shielded solutions. It meets or exceeds all 10GBase-T standard requirements as part of an...

Fusion splice patch module.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Fiberdyne Labs)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This fusion splice module allows for splicing six or 12 fibers inside the company's LGX-compatible modules. It is designed to eliminate the need for separate splice housing and trays. According to the company, this...

19-inch shielded Category 6.(Product Focus: patch panels)
August 1, 2008... Category 6 shielded patch panels are available in 16- and 24-port versions, and are designed to exceed industry specifications. The panels match all standard 19-inch racks, cabinets, and wall brackets. According to the company, the patch panels...

High-density fiber, Zero-U panels.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Leviton Network Solutions)
August 1, 2008... The High Density Port Replicated Patch Panel is built to support high-density SAN switches from Cisco, IBM, ECM and other suppliers. The key feature, Logical Port Management (LPM), is designed to deliver an exact, one-to-one replication (blade...

High-density multimedia, fiber breakout panels.(Product Focus: patch panels)(Tri-Net Technology)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The company's high-density multimedia feed-thru patch panel is designed for audio, video, voice, network, data, and fiber applications. The 1U panel fits a 24-port connector module, which snaps in flush to the front of the unit. Multi-color...

Keystone shielded patch panel.(Product Focus: patch panels)(L-com Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The PR175UT568S low-profile patch panel features pre-installed keystone couplers in a 19-inch unit, simplifying coupling of up to 16 shielded Category 5e patch cables in a rack. Shielding prevents data-corrupting EMI and RFI. This 16-gauge...

GbE media converter.(New Products)(Transition Networks Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The SIST G10xx-111-LR unmanaged Gigabit Ethernet media converter is designed to allow low-speed or legacy copper-based devices to be bridged onto a Gigabit Ethernet fiber backbone. It has 1 x 10/100/1000Base-Tand I x 1000Base-X ports, offered...

Home/office media connectivity solutions.(New Products)(Tri-Net Technology)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... This HDMI UTP 110 IDC-type Extender is designed to extend the HDTV signal in home or business installations up to 150 feet away from the source, using two 4-pair Category 5/5e/6 cables. It is designed to provide greater flexibility when...

Open top tool bag.(New Products)(Veto Pro Pac, LLC)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The OT (open-top) tool bag features two large-capacity, top-loading compartments designed to carry hand tools as well as larger items (such as cordless drills, hand saws, and clamps). Built with a PVC-impregnated fabric riveted to a 3-mm...

Corded input, 3-phase UPS.(New Products)(Tripp Lite)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... New models in the 8kVA SmartOnline hot-swappable modular UPS systems (SU8000RT3UNS0, pictured; and SU8000RT3UNSOTF) feature a corded input that eliminates the need for an electrician to install the unit via hardware connection. The UN50 model...

OSP cabling trailer.(New Products)(Venrooy Cable Equipment)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... ZW-R cable distribution trailers for OSP installation are especially designed for work in slow traffic. The trailers feature an upside opening rear bridge for simplified insertion of the cabling drum, quick axle lock, broad tires for better...