Help ! LV installation.

[mjc]

Got A Question thats applicabe to the LV and LE forum, didnt relize that this forum existed at the Mike Holt site.

I'm an Electrical Contractor with very little experience in the limited energy field , and could use some help here.
I'm wiring a resi-ranch and the LV contractor just wont show or return the GC phone calls so he asked if I could help him.

of Course I said ok (cause it cant be that difficult), I will need to install in 3 places, Cable TV, telephone, and fax in one place. These areas each are about 35 feet fom the service mast where the cable and phone get into the building but I'm unsure what kind of Low voltage cable or phone wire to use and should this be done in idividual runs of wire or spliced ???

Any info would help , Thanks in advance.

 

[chris kennedy]

IMO the best install is 2 cat 5's and 2 RG 6's home runned to each opening if budget allows for that.

 

[JohnE]

I agree with Chris. I'd add that the RG-6 be quadshield.

 

[mjc]

So Chris,

1) RG6 is for CABLE TV one Run to each room spliced using splitters to each wall. and

2) CAT 5 is for FAX or TELEPHONE ?

How many wires are in Cat5 ? or will I need?

 

[stickboy1375]

So Chris,

1) RG6 is for CABLE TV one Run to each room spliced using splitters to each wall. and

2) CAT 5 is for FAX or TELEPHONE ?

How many wires are in Cat5 ? or will I need?

Please dont be mad but I have to ask, what planet you been hiding out at? You never hooked a tv up before? I'm only asking, not trying to be rude.

 

[mdshunk]

Check at your supply house and see what BICSI classes are being offered, and take a few.

 

[chris kennedy]

Check at your supply house and see what BICSI classes are being offered, and take a few.

I believe what Marc is getting at here is

1 cat 5 for voice(phone)

1 cat 5 for data(computer router)

1 RG6 for HD TV

1 RG6 for DVR

 

[mjc]

Ok Stickboy I get it. I know these Q's are kinda dumb and my TV works just fine, but had to ask , been hide-in out at the same planet your from. Cant stand the LV stuff.

Do almost all Higher voltage electrical contracting , going to copy for future referance . Guess a little Schooling wouldnt hurt at all.
thanks for the input guy's

 

[stickboy1375]

Ok Stickboy I get it. I know these Q's are kinda dumb and my TV works just fine, but had to ask , been hide-in out at the same planet your from. Cant stand the LV stuff.

Do almost all Higher voltage electrical contracting , going to copy for future referance . Guess a little Schooling wouldnt hurt at all.
thanks for the input guy's

Its not a dumb question, I know I know very little, Chris gave you some good advice on what to pull. I was just wondering what type of work you've be doing.

 

[hbiss]

of Course I said ok (cause it cant be that difficult)... Cant stand the LV stuff... How many wires are in Cat5 ?

Oh yeah, this is the customer that is going to get the job done right.

Where is that thread that I started awhile back about how ECs shouldn't be doing this kind of work? I rest my case.

-Hal

 

[mdshunk]

Where is that thread that I started awhile back about how ECs shouldn't be doing this kind of work? I rest my case.

I would only agree with you if this person what representative of every EC, which he clearly is not. Please, knock it off Hal. It's getting old.

 

[stickboy1375]

Oh yeah, this is the customer that is going to get the job done right.

Where is that thread that I started awhile back about how ECs shouldn't be doing this kind of work? I rest my case.

-Hal

Hal, he wanted to know what to pull, dont be such a ****!

 

[hbiss]

Sorry, I don't mean to be a **** but I call it as I see it. He really needs to at least take some courses on this before he attemps to do any of this work. His biggest mistake is thinking it's easy.

-Hal

 

[LV grider]

Lots of good advice has been given on what to run to each outlet location.

Remember now, those cables have another end on them, don't be foolish and leave them all hanging outside the house for the neighbors dog to hike his leg on!

 

[TwinCitySparky]

Got A Question thats applicabe to the LV and LE forum, didnt relize that this forum existed at the Mike Holt site.

I'm an Electrical Contractor with very little experience in the limited energy field , and could use some help here.
I'm wiring a resi-ranch and the LV contractor just wont show or return the GC phone calls so he asked if I could help him.

of Course I said ok (cause it cant be that difficult), I will need to install in 3 places, Cable TV, telephone, and fax in one place. These areas each are about 35 feet fom the service mast where the cable and phone get into the building but I'm unsure what kind of Low voltage cable or phone wire to use and should this be done in idividual runs of wire or spliced ???

Any info would help , Thanks in advance.

Since you agreed to this - Make sure your prepared for the other last minute "easy stuff" that they are probably forgetting like, thermostats/zone control wiring, CCTV ... doorbell. :grin:

 

[rexowner]

I agree with the replies wrt education. There are many details that aren't going to get covered. There are many
crappy lv installs, and it is hard to go into everything
without writing a book.

Another obvious point is, if possible, leave 2 feet of coax and
Cat-5 out the front of the low voltage box. This stuff
is much easier to terminate if you have the room.

Leviton's "wiring strategies installation guide" is a little
dated, but something to read if you have the time. It
is a little product-centric, but it's free:
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=13755&minisite=10028

Some other decent free documents can be found at:
http://www.hometech.com/learn/index.html

As a previous poster said, think about how these are going
to be terminated at both ends. If it's really just 3, you
can probably just get away with a coax splitter, and by
tieing all phone/fax lines to the Phone Company NID.
If you want to go nuts, you would have a "structured
media center" -- the second link above carries many,
but I usually go with Leviton because it's carried by
the Orange store, and unless you do a lot of LV, it's
a little more work to find parts for some of the less
widely distributed ones. The SMC is probably overkill,
but please don't do what one guy did at one house
I worked at -- he wirenutted qty 24, 24-gauge wires
together under two wirenuts for the phone/alarm (at
least he pre-twisted, the phones had a little
static, but I guess the wirenuts were readily available.

Have fun.

 

[rrr_usty]

LV Stuff

LV Stuff

Pull home runs from 1 main distribution area to each location..."Daisy Chaining" is out.
Put in a splitter unit in for the CATV and a punch down block for the phone and a punch down for a router system, Leviton makes a block for routers that is the same size as a 50 pair punch down block.
The termination "F" connector is a "snap-n-seal" and not a squeeze crimp. Good luck

 

[Buck Parrish]

Their is 4 pair of wires in cat-5. It's called cat-5 because each pair is individually twisted 5 times per inch.
The Blue is plentum rated .

 

[LV grider]

The most common color of Cat5 is blue but that has nothing to do with it being plenum or riser cable.

In most cases there are 4 pairs inside the jacket of Cat5 cable but it also is available in 12pr, 50pr, 100pr and several others.

The twist rates are different per pair within the cable. The blue pair twist rate is different than the green pair twist rate and it is that way for a reason.

Avoid the temptations the "Structured Panel" links will be offering, they cause more problems than they solve.

 

[tom baker]

Their is 4 pair of wires in cat-5. It's called cat-5 because each pair is individually twisted 5 times per inch.
The Blue is plentum rated .

The twist rate is not how the cable came to be called Cat 5. The orginal IBM wiring was called Cat 1. Then the industry set up standards (BICSI) and the next version was Cat 3. And the twist rate of each pair is different.