Need help with phone & cable prewire..

[hbiss]

Not berating anybody. This is as basic as basic gets. A receptacle has a brass and a silver screw. Because of your TRAINING you know that the white wire lands on the silver screw. The hot goes on the brass or black. You didn't have to read the instructions on the box did you? A homeowner or DIY would, why is that?

A telephone jack will either have the positions color coded or the wires going to the screws will be red/green/black/yellow. If you were trained properly you would know what the standard colors are for tip and ring and what the first pair, second pair, etc. is. Once you know that you should have no problem terminating the conductors properly even if they don't correspond to the colors on the jack.

-Hal

 

[LawnGuyLandSparky]

I have YET to see a professional job from a TECH sent out from the phone/cable or satellite company...

I might agree but by what are you judging a professional job? Keep in mind that an installation can start out being professional and go down hill depending on who gets their hands on it after that. With most anything available on the internet just about anybody can be in business with only the desire to take someones money. This is why I also strongly support licensing for low voltage and communications.

If every aspect of every trade was split off into into different "trades" using their unique features and skillset as the basis for separation, there'd be separate EC's on every job ...

Strangely enough many large ECs that are into low voltage and communications actually maintain separate divisions staffed with people trained in that trade. Doesn't local 3 even have a separate low voltage division?

Yes, local 3 has a separate classification for shops that engage only in alarms. There is no such thing as a "low voltage" division, the closest thing would be A-Telephone.

A shop that has a large enough job to designate crews based on specialties such as data will likely have crews also dedicated to pipe, wire pulling, switch & base, etc. But they're not considered separate trades. This is of course to gain efficiency, not to employ limited-skilled workers at a lower rate of pay.

Strangely enough also is the fact that the Construction Standards Master Format was change in 2004 to eliminate Division 16, electrical. New divisions remove low voltage and communications from the electrical contractor's responsibility. They now have their own divisions keeping low voltage and communications separate from electrical and putting those contractors directly under the owner or GC, the same level as the EC. The reason this was done is because the technology outpaced that of electrical contractors capabilities.

I'd offer the reason was the explosion of shops that do nothing but data work.

I completly agree with you that running data lines and terminating is repetitive and mindless. Train someone to do one and they can do a thousand. Finding someone to design and troubleshoot is another matter.

-Hal

 

[George Stolz]

Hal, I've been known to look at the instructions for devices I am familiar with, to be certain of compliance with 110.3(B). And sometimes, there's an easier way, or a feature that goes unnoticed without looking at the instructions.

Heck, I'm dying to see instructions for firecaulk, since I couldn't find any the last time that came up...

 

[Memnon]

Leviton CAT-3 QuickPorts have both parallel and UTP coloring markers on them.

Thats entirely true. In fact a lot of the new kids I work with haven't seen the "household colors" as I like to refer to them (green, red, yellow, black) so it serves as an opportunity to teach something new to them.

 

[hbiss]

so it serves as an opportunity to teach something new to them.

Heck, drill a hole through some, hand them out and tell them to attach it to their key ring for a handy cross reference.

-Hal

 

[quogueelectric]

So where do I put the Plasma Harness??

So where do I put the Plasma Harness??

Do you want DVI, DVC, COMPONENT, COMPOSITE,RGB, HDMI,SVIDEO,DIGITAL FIBER AUDIO????? Oh and by the way how many meters of cable do you want?? and where is your video rack and do you have home theatre, and what about the dvd,dvr cdand do they still make vcrs?? Do you want a tilt bracket or do you want a flat bracket and what is the best height to place all of this stuff in the room?? You can have a lot of fun calling up a best buy ,Pc Richard,Circuit City Ect....... On a friday night and try to get them to give you an all inclusive price for the COMPLETE install and the more you know about it the more fun you can have when you get a lying weasel on the phone and get him scwirming in the breeze. Oh and does that include the electrician?? Too funny. Do you mean to tell me the tv is 2000 and the install is 1000??

 

[mkoloj]

Hal, I've been known to look at the instructions for devices I am familiar with, to be certain of compliance with 110.3(B). And sometimes, there's an easier way, or a feature that goes unnoticed without looking at the instructions.

Heck, I'm dying to see instructions for firecaulk, since I couldn't find any the last time that came up...

Here are the instructions for Hilti's FS-One fire caulk that came up in a Google search:

http://www.blazemaster.com/brochures/HiltiFSOne.pdf

If it doesn't come up in a search, an e-mail to the manufacturer of the product you are dealing with, should get you what you are looking for.

 

[George Stolz]

Here are the instructions for Hilti's FS-One fire caulk that came up in a Google search:

Thanks!

(But it looks as though I need to get my hands on the UL fire resistance directory as well...

)

 

[quogueelectric]

www.suttle.com

www.suttle.com

Not berating anybody. This is as basic as basic gets. A receptacle has a brass and a silver screw. Because of your TRAINING you know that the white wire lands on the silver screw. The hot goes on the brass or black. You didn't have to read the instructions on the box did you? A homeowner or DIY would, why is that?

A telephone jack will either have the positions color coded or the wires going to the screws will be red/green/black/yellow. If you were trained properly you would know what the standard colors are for tip and ring and what the first pair, second pair, etc. is. Once you know that you should have no problem terminating the conductors properly even if they don't correspond to the colors on the jack.

-Hal

Suttle has a pocket card which is excelent which you can carry in your wallet if you have your basic skills and can use a punchdown tool properly without hurting yourself it takes a lot of the mystery out of the punchdown memorization. I have carried it for 10 yrs and have doubled my phone data installation every year since then thanks to this simple laminated 3 page card. You still have to watch out for the beginner with the punchdown tool who is placing the cut blade on the wrong side of the jack,OOOOOOOOOPS!

 

[Memnon]

You still have to watch out for the beginner with the punchdown tool who is placing the cut blade on the wrong side of the jack,OOOOOOOOOPS!

Hehe reminds me of the time when I this one kid who swore up and down that he knew 25 pair (and I did make him do the first set in front of me to prove it) did the reverse cutting on the next row of 25 pair. Fortunately I came back when he was halfway though that second set and saw what he was doing. Of course I made him do it over, and buy me lunch.

 

[mkoloj]

Found that too!

Found that too!

Thanks!

(But it looks as though I need to get my hands on the UL fire resistance directory as well...

)

Here that is:
http://www.constructionbook.com/ul-fire-resistance-directory-4-volume-set-2007-w-tabs/ul-listings/

But they might want about $210 for that one though.

25 pair code:
Why Run Backwards, You'll Vomit (White, Red, Black, Yellow, Violet)
Bell Operators Give Better Service (Blue, Orange, Green, Brown, Slate)

I have another one that holds the younger guys interest better, but it will probably be deleted by a mod in about 2 seconds.