Cabling Installation & Maintenance articles from December 2005

Cabling Installation & Maintenance archives from December 2005

Accusations, actuaries, and Augmented Category 6.(Editorial)
December 1, 2005... Among the many timeless quotes attributed to Mark Twain is one of my favorites: "There are three types of lies--lies, damn lies, and statistics." I embrace that quote often, because frequently, I see statistics given with the sole purpose of...

Coaxial cable consortium aims to promote robust medium.
December 1, 2005... "Anything you can do, I can do better." "I can do anything better than you." "No you can't." "Yes I can." "No you can't!" "Yes I can!"... An Irving Berlin tune from the musical Annie Get Your Gun?. Actually, no....

Laser-optimized fiber is built for speed: also called OM3 fiber, laser-optimized fiber is the highest-capacity medium for short-wave 10-Gbit optical transmission.
December 1, 2005... As transmission speeds over optical-fiber networks in the enterprise increase to 1 and even 10 Gbits/sec and beyond, a relatively new term, "laser-optimized fiber," has crept into the industry's vocabulary. What is laser-optimized fiber?...

Forecasters and surveys give reason for optimism: specific applications likely to drive modest growth of the cabling market.(installation)
December 1, 2005... By an informal consensus, 2005 has been one of mild business growth in the cabling marketplace. Most cabling-system vendors openly state that their business has grown by some single-digit percentage, and nearly all those who speak on the matter...

Surface raceways line up tomorrow's technology needs: new designs focus on aesthetics, security, easy installation, and 10-Gigabit applications.
December 1, 2005... Many customers and interior designers dislike the appear ance of surface raceway for delivering network cabling and power to various locations in a facility. But for many buildings and applications, it is often the only, or the best, choice....

NFPA 731 sets standard on security installation 'musts': chapters 4 through 9 cover the essentials of power supplies, intrusion detection systems, electronic access control systems, closed circuit TV systems, and more.
December 1, 2005... The National Fire Protection Association's (www.nfpa.org) membership has passed NFPA 731, the Standard for the Installation of Electronic Premises Security Systems. The document provides details on how to install electronic premises security...

Fiber certification: goes beyond characterization: it means testing dispersion, reflectance, and loss to limits. Decide the accuracy you want on measurements, and measure all the fibers you can.
December 1, 2005... Testing fiber during network upgrades is nothing new; an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) and loss test have been the normal tools for testing fiber during installation and network provisioning. But with 10- and 40- Gigabit Synchronous...

BICSI to track attendees at winter conference.(INDUSTRY spotlight)
December 1, 2005... BICSI (www.bicsi.org) plans to test a tracking system that will monitor attendance at conference classroom sessions at next month's 2006 Winter Conference in Orlando, FL. Through the system, attendees who come to the conference to seek...

TIA committee elects chairs, vice-chairs for five subcommittees.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... At a meeting in October, the TIA's TR-42 User Premises Telecommunications Cabling Infrastructure Committee elected chairs and vice-chairs for five of its subcommittees. The group will elect chairs and vice-chairs of its four other subcommittees...

Telco installs fiber infrastructure in rural Minnesota to attract businesses with high-bandwidth needs.(INDUSTRY spotlight)
December 1, 2005... West Central Telephone Association (www.wcta.com) of Sebeka, MN has embarked on a network-upgrade project designed to push fiber deep into its system to attract businesses with high-bandwidth needs to this rural area. West Central Telephone...

Leviton Voice & Data has new general manager.(INDUSTRY spotlight)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Leviton recently appointed Ross Goldman to the position of vice president and general manager of its Voice & Data Division (www.levitonvoicedata.com). In this role, Goldman supports Leviton's continuing focus on service, innovation, quality,...

Pirelli recasts itself as Prysmian.(INDUSTRY spotlight)
December 1, 2005... The cable manufacturing company the industry has always known as Pirelli has shed that name and is recasting itself as Prysmian Cables & Systems (www.prysmian.com). The move comes after the company's acquisition by Goldman Sachs Capital...

UPS systems face challenges in high-density data centers: emerging devices may be smaller, and better at beating the heat.(product update)
December 1, 2005... Changes are coming to uninterruptible power supplies. But with the proliferation of high-density data centers, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) users say the changes-smaller, capable of constant reliable power, and somehow able to avoid...

Tray-to-strut connector.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... The FS 41 Fastrut connector is designed to attach any size wire cable tray to channel framing without bolts, nuts or tools. Place the connector into position and snap in place with your thumb. Specially suited for tight spots and hard-to-reach...

Loose-Tube optical-fiber cable.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... Advanced Fiber Optic Indoor/Outdoor Loose Tube family of cables is made to order in a variety of performance levels, including OM1 62.5-[micro]m 200 MHz/500 MHz, OM2 50-[micro]m 500 MHz/500 MHz, OM3 2000 MHz/500 MHz, and OSI singlemode. Cables...

Angled patch panels.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... Uniprise angled panels (UNP500 and UNP600) are designed for Category 5e and 6 installation in telecom rooms, equipment rooms, and data centers. Panel backs consist of gas-light insulation displacement connections designed for secure...

Keystone LLC connector.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... This LC optical-fiber keystone-style connector module is designed for small-form-factor (SFF) applications. The white or ivory modules are high-density (HD)-compatible and designed to mesh with all existing faceplates and multimedia panels....

Ethernet-managed media converter.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... The EL 150 media converter is a two-port Ethernet switch with one 10/100T/TX port and one 100FX port converting copper to optical fiber. The unit includes management functions that let you configure via software and then monitor performance. It...

Category 5 VGA extenders.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... Comprising a transmitter and receiver, the OneTask 1T-VTA-CAT system is designed to encode and decode VGA signals with resolutions of up to 1280 x 1024 into a bit stream for remote viewing, using a single Category 5 cable. OneTask doubles the...

Optical inspection tools.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... The FBE probe microscope and HD2 handheld display are designed to provide high-quality, cost-effective, optical-fiber connector inspection. Available in either 200x or 400x versions, the FBE probe microscope uses a selection of lower-cost tips...

Fire-resistant sealing solutions.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... CSD sealing plugs provide fire-resistant as well as smoke, gas, and water-tight penetrations to carry one or more steel, copper and GRP pipes as well as flexible PVC and PE/aluminum pipes. Products range from single-sealing plugs to...

Mini-DC/DC switching power supply.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... The AAD-130DC 130-watt DC/DC switch power supply designed for telecommunications applications provides an input voltage range of 36 to 72 volts DC and a choice of four available outputs with current ratings from 1.5 to 16 amps. This compact...

Contractor's Web portal.(New Products)
December 1, 2005... A new Web portal for the Forefront construction management software is designed to give a contractor's employees and customers access to critical data and functions--including payroll/time card and customer service--from any computer via an...

Utility line locator.(New Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Patent-pending technology for the RIDGID SeekTech SR-20 utility line locator is designed to provide a simplified method for tracing underground utilities. The unit uses a combination of multi-directional antennas, a mapping display, and...

Fuel-cell power.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Integrating power, cooling, management and services in a rack-style design, the InfraStruXure lets you power an IT system with long-running fuel cell technology. You can stack up to three 10-kW modules of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel...

Battery integrity monitor.(Astratec Electronics Ltd)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Astratec Electronics Ltd.'s BIM1 battery integrity monitor continuously monitors battery systems for early warning of faults and failures. It checks the battery every 15 minutes, measuring voltage and impedance, and provides a signal if the...

Power control for remote site equipment.(PowerBoss One)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Bringing power control versatility to remote sites, the PowerBoss One is designed to allow power-cycling of eight independent pieces of equipment--such as routers, servers, transceivers, amplifiers and air conditioners--at the varying voltages...

Coil deployment trailer.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The self-load Coil Master CM 4000 and manual-load CM 4000ML coil deployment trailers are designed to safely transport and deploy large diameter cabling or conduit coils. Both models feature a sturdy cage design that contains coils as they are...

Transceiver hosting with EMI protection.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Dual Port SFP EMI cage is designed for use with copper and fiber small-form-factor-pluggable (SFP) transceivers for Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet, and Infiniband installations. The two-piece hybrid design incorporates a die-cast body and...

Rolling tool kit.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... For BNC connector installers, the Rollabout tool kit case features a hard shell, interior foam levels for placement of a variety of tools, smooth-rolling wheels, and retractable handle. The interior features three layers of protection: a hard...

Desktop enclosure.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Designed for desktop or benchtop applications, the Plasticase Style G enclosure series features rounded corners and edges, and are constructed of self-extinguishing ABS plastic material with a UL94-5VA flammability rating. The exterior features...

Secure work box.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Swing ears mounted to the Steel City 4-inch Square Old World Box eliminate the need for on-site assembly and allow for a faster and more secure installation in which a contractor is working with existing sheetrock or drywall. If a four-inch...

Ruggedized power meter.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... A ruggedized optical-fiber power meter features 850/1310/1490/1500-nm calibrated wavelengths with 0.01 db resolution. The impact-resistant, waterproof unit tests at +5 dBm to -65 dBm, while a CATV version tests at +23 dBm to -45 dBm. Included...