Cabling Installation & Maintenance articles from December 2004

Cabling Installation & Maintenance archives from December 2004

The swinging pendulum.(Editorial)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... It's December. Time for us know-it-all magazine editors to pretend like we're qualified to predict what's going to happen over the next year. This year, I'll take a variation on that theme. Because I'm much better at reminiscing than I am at...

Wiring residences for work and play.(Ask Donna)
December 1, 2004... Q: I am building our home in Florida and want the builder to do all the prewiring in a way that will get both the cable company and the dish TV signals. I'll have a cable TV connection right away and am not setting up a dish immediately (just...

Inline-power capabilities hold much PoE-tential: what the IEEE 802.3af standard can do for your network.(design)
December 1, 2004... A year or two ago, if you asked a network installer whether a power cable and a data cable could be run in the same conduit, the answer most assuredly would be no. Today, the answer is quite different. With the emergence of Power over...

Disparate college campuses connect via fiber: the Los Rios Community College District is ever-expanding, and so are its bandwidth requirements.(installation)
December 1, 2004... Each year, nearly 80,000 students pass through the halls of the four colleges that make up California's Los Rios Community College District. The Los Rios District includes 152 buildings located throughout a 2,400-square-mile service area. To...

A new focus on end-to-end solutions: small contractors could feel the pinch as manufacturers forge new partnerships.
December 1, 2004... The trend toward end-to-end structured cabling solutions is jostling relationships between manufacturers and contractors, and some believe only the larger contractors may survive as manufacturers realign. Partnerships in distributor...

Securing a future in security requires diverse qualifications: after a year in the security field, this distributor has advice for contractors: think integration.(security)
December 1, 2004... In January 2004, the electrical and voice/data communications distributor Graybar (www.graybar.com) entered the security arena when it unveiled a cadre of surveillance, access-control, and alarm-system products to its customers. Toward the end...

Work progresses on a heftier PoE standard.(Industry spotlight)(Power over Ethernet)(Industry Overview)
December 1, 2004... The push for a more inclusive higher power Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard is on, with the possibility of a final draft coming in two years. The existing 802.3af PoE standard, which was ratified by the IEEE last June, provides up to...

Berk-Tek says demand for Category 6 cable strained manufacturing capacity.(Industry spotlight)(Industry Overview)
December 1, 2004... Berk-Tek (www.berktek.com) says its ability to manufacture Category 6 cable was "capacity-constrained" for several months this year as the demand surpassed that of Category 5e. That was part of the news company representatives shared with...

Systimax, Ortronics go beyond connectivity, reach for the wireless LAN brass ring.
December 1, 2004... There's a lot of wire in wireless. That's the argument that two structured cabling manufacturers are putting forth as they announce their venture into the wireless (WLAN) market. Systimax Solutions (Richardson, TX; www.systimax.com), a...

Shielded twisted-pair cable boasts EMI fighting qualities: as industrial environments move to Ethernet, shielded cable is gaining consideration for its ability to overcome machinery noise.(electromagnetic interference)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... Throughout much of Europe, shielded copper cable is considered the better performing media, whereas in the United States and much of the world, UTP is the preferred choice. But with industrial environments moving to Ethernet, and a 10GBase-T...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2004... The information about Roxtec's firestopping products that appeared in our October issue (page 46) was incorrect. Roxtec provides round and rectangular mechanical firestop transits for walls, floors, and cabinets. The systems have 1-, 2-, 3-,...

Racking up residential wiring systems.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... These 14-, 21-, and 28-inch enclosures are intended specifically for residential wiring systems. The distribution centers let you mount internal modules vertically or horizontally, providing easier layout, wiring, and cable management. The...

Software eases cabinet configuration.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... Designing, configuring, and ordering cabinets for data and telecom equipment storage can be made easier with the Cabinet Configurator software package. The program covers both the manufacturer's Access and E2 Next Generation cabinet product...

Getting in the zone.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... This full line of enclosures is designed to house telecommunications equipment for zone-cabling applications, as well as wireless access points. They are available in ceiling-mountable versions for active and passive devices. The product line...

Meeting global specs, serving servers, and setting up quickly.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... TE7000 is a lightweight product that meets global requirements for network cabinets. Designed without a standard enclosure frame, it handles load capacities up to 882 pounds. It has two mounting levels in a 19-inch multifunctional profile, and...

48 ports in 1U of rack space.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... High-density Category 6 and Category 5e patch panels support 48 ports in one rack unit (1U). Designed for applications in which space is at a premium, the panels provide high performance in half the space of a typical 48-port panel. They...

Firestop board for re-penetration applications.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... The CP 675T Firestop Board, a solution for the temporary or permanent sealing of blank openings or through-penetrations in fire-rated walls, was developed with input from electrical and communications professionals. It can be used alone for low...

Do-it-yourself labeling.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... The K-Sun LabelShop 2010-PC and Maxi Label V2 Windows Software are intended for designing and printing professional labels in-house and on-demand for applications ranging from safety identification to industrial parts, equipment, wire, and...

Certifying coax connector crimps.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... The MidTel MPT- 100 Crimp Pull Tester is a portable device used for certifying the quality of crimping coaxial connectors and center pins to short and long lengths of coaxial cable. It makes ratchet-action destructive pull-type force...

Portable printer packs punch.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... Brady says its IDXpert is the company's most versatile handheld labeler. The on-demand printer is designed to meet the identification needs of maintenance, safety, electrical, and voice/data professionals. It comes in two keyboard layouts--ABC...

Conduit has the blues.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... Blue EMT Conduit provides instant recognition of low-voltage cables, such as telephone, optical-fiber, coaxial, and Category 5/Category 6. The bright blue coating eliminates the need to spray paint, powder coat, or tape in the field, while...

Copper and fiber structured cabling systems.(New Products/BICSI Winter Conference 2005)
December 1, 2004... Belden CDT's Networking Division offers three end-to-end copper-based structured cabling systems: the IBDN System 1200, IBDN System 2400, and IBDN System 4800. The company says the System 1200 exceeds TIA/EIA Category 5e standards and...