Telecom Cabling Cable installation

Telecom Cabling Horizontal cable pulls refer to those cables from the work area outlet (WAO) to the telecom closet which are installed above a drop ceiling in a commercial space. These horizontal cables are typically CAT 5e or 6, 4 pair and will probably be plenum type cable (CMP) because in most buildings the space above the suspended ceiling is used for return air.

Telecom Cabling As a cable installer you will obviously be installing miles and miles and miles….. of cable, and though it may seem to be a simple task, if done wrong it can result in hours of lost time and lots of aggravation. Communications cabling has to be handled much more carefully than any other cable in any other industry and most new installations will require hundreds of cables which further complicates the process.

Telecom Cabling One of the most important things you can do is check the cable for correct type to be used on site. Don’t assume someone gave you the right cable type, below is a cable with the marking CMR, this can not be used in a plenum ceiling.

Telecom Cabling If you are providing a category 6 solution all cables and components must be category 6, make sure you are not installing CAT 5e on a CAT 6 project. To better manage cable boxes the cables have footage markings on them that are referred to as count down footages, the last number on the cable in the box indicates how much cable is left in the box.

Telecom Cabling In new construction the ceiling grid isn’t in place yet which makes it much easier to install cable, however you will need to check the blueprints to ensure you are not using space allocated for the HVAC, plumbing or electrical installations. Communications cabling is either above all the mechanicals in the ceiling or just below them.

Telecom Cabling Hopefully in either new construction or retro-fits the cable support system is already in place…..and has a pull line installed.

Telecom Cabling As an installer you will have to determine how many cables need to be pulled to each location, below shows a face plate with two ports (1 voice & 1 data). In this case you would set up two boxes of cable per location and try to pull at least four locations at a time for a total of 8 boxes of cable

Telecom Cabling After setting up the boxes in the hallway you will need to mark each box with a location number, these numbers may already be established on the blueprints. You should have a floor plan that you can mark up with a numbering scheme that your using and should be the same numbers marked on the boxes and cables. This blueprint will serve as your asbuilts.

Telecom Cabling Each cable should be labeled a least three times approximately 12 inches apart along the length of the cable.

Telecom Cabling When setting up boxes of cable stay close to the telecom closet and pull from there, pulling out to the farthest point first.

Telecom Cabling Notice the split triangle symbol this means a voice and data location, what do the numbers mean with this symbol? How about this symbol: How are you going to cable the location in the conference room that has a split triangle in box?

Telecom Cabling Don’t hog the hallways and pick up all trash regularly, especially tyraps.

Telecom Cabling So now you have the boxes set up and everything is labeled, you now have to bundle all of the cables together and tie them to your pull string. When bundling cable you want to stagger the cables so you create a cone shaped head, it is very important to do this, if you don’t your pulling efforts will be vain.

Telecom Cabling When securing a drag line (pull string) to your cable bundle we use a knot called a half hitch. You should put at least three half hitches along the length of the line.

Telecom Cabling When you tie the cable bundle line to the drag line you want to make sure you use a knot that won’t pull apart while you’re pulling the cables. Square knots are not the preferred knot for tying two lines together, two slip knots work much better under force.

Telecom Cabling When pulling cables over long distances or making a direction changes it will be necessary to pull loops down out of the ceiling and station a person at the loop.

Telecom Cabling By pulling a loop you can maintain the recommended pulling force established under TIA/EIA 568 of 25 foot pounds of pulling force. There is no derating factor for the 25 foot pounds, it applies to one cable or 20 cables. In CAT 6 installs it is very important to maintain this parameter so that the pairs don’t stretch, if this happens it will result in attenuation problems.

Telecom Cabling When the cable pull is done you will have to walk off the amount of cable needed to get down the wall and dress in the relay racks at the TC. At the boxes when the correct amount of cable has been walked off the cables have to be labeled again before cutting. One installer will separate the locations from the cable bundle and route them to the location and the other installer will work the boxes.

Telecom Cabling When establishing pathways for installing cable it is important to follow hallways or aisles along cubicles, this may require looking at the blueprints again to see how cubicles will be set up. Remember you will probably be back on site after it is fully occupied to provide service, if your cable pathway is above cubicles it will make it much more difficult to perform move, adds and changes (MACs).

Telecom Cabling Here is an example of a blueprint showing offices and cubicles and where you should establish the cabling pathways, always refer to the floor plans to see the placement of the cubicles.

Telecom Cabling If you have to pull cable at a site that is occupied you will have to deal with drop ceilings and ceiling pads and a lot of people walking up and down the hallways. Not only do you have to get your job done on time but you have to accommodate the employees. This means that you have to keep the hallways open to foot traffic and that the hallways remain safe to traverse.

Telecom Cabling If you have to install a pull string through an existing drop ceiling there are a couple of tools that will aid in getting a string or even a couple of cables from point “A” to point “B”. The tools of the trade are glow rods or a gopher pole.

Telecom Cabling Glow rods allow you to cover a lot of space without having to open every other tile along the route, interestingly enough on the state exam they will ask you “which tiles do open when pulling cable through a drop ceiling”. The answer is every other tile, but we know better because we us glow rods.

Telecom Cabling With the glow rods in the dark ceiling if you shine you’re flash light on the end all of the rods will glow so you can see the direction your going in. Gopher poles accomplish the same thing they’re telescoping poles which increase your reach 15 to 20 feet.

Telecom Cabling Be careful not to kink the cable during installation. This occurs when a loop of cable emerges from the box and is pulled into the ceiling, the loop catches the grid and gets smaller until it finally kinks….this will show up as an attenuation problem which is difficult to fix.

Telecom Cabling Make sure to maintain the proper bend radius of the cable during and after cable pulls. What is the bend radius of category rated cable (UTP)?

Telecom Cabling The customers opinion of your abilities is usually formed by the concrete, physical appearance they can see. Organized cabling, everything in its place and a professional appearance tells laymen and customers you know what you’re doing. So remember…install in a neat and workman like manner.

Telecom Cabling This is what happens after your done and gone and IT takes over. This is why more and more companies contract installers to do the networking (patching) of the switches to the patch panels

Telecom Cabling These are just bad installs on the technicians part.

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