John Rumm wrote:
John Weston wrote:
In article , "John
Rumm" wrote:

What other explanations / photos do you think would make it a bit
clearer?

John

Very good addition, IMO, after having had to sort out some rat's nests.

One omission as far as I can see is the subject of cable labelling.
Even on a simple system, it is good practice to label the cables at

Good point - you can see it in the photos, but I have not really covered
it in the text.

least at each end. There should also be some labelling of the sockets,

You can probably skip this on a domestic setup since the groups of
sockets will be identifiable generally by location. i.e. the sockets on
the patch marked "kitchen" end up at the sockets there. The convention
that the left socket will always be the lowest number then takes over.

Obviously in an office with 30 sockets, numbering both ends takes on
more significance! ;-)

behind the removable window. This will make it easier to trace
problems or do the initial wiring up to the terminations. Remember it
may not be the installer who is doing the maintenance.

Perhaps also include a section showing the various types of cable
marker available and some alternative DIY ones, with a warning not to
use ordinary tape that will unwrap itself, or Sellotape that goes
brown :-) The cheapest I've used for casual installations is a
permanent marker pen that can be used to write on the actual cable,
but this can be missed, if you forget to put a mark all round the
cable...

The little dispensers that give a white sticky tab with clear section
are quite good. You write on it in the dispenser, adn then pull the
label out. As you wrap it round the cable the later clear section acts
to protect the written on white section.

I wouldn't like to sort out your bundle of cables in a restricted
space after you've taped them up, as in the garden picture :-) Not
everyone has a cable tracer... (Link required to a suitable model?)

Yup will add a link.

On my bundles I wrote the pair number on every other taping (plus each
end), before I grouped the pairs into larger bundles. I figured just in
case I ever needed to identify which was which mid span.

I might add an example numbering table etc, to re-enforce the message!

How about a note to include a pull-through if the cables go through an
inaccessible void? If this is included, make a note that it should be
double length with the pull loop in the middle, so it isn't single use
should someone forget to pull through a replacement along with the
cable...

Yup, although that might be covered in the electrical installation
article that deals more specifically with cable installation techniques.

How about noting the use of cable trays or similar support for large
cable looms? Can be DIY types.

Could do...

Also add a note about not running structured cabling alongside Mains
or similar interference-source cables.

I thought I had mentioned that somewhere... yup - last para of "Design"
section.


Good article.

There are a couple of things I'd be inclined to add:

1) 568B is the most common standard in use for fixed wiring, and I'd
suggest using that. The colour-coding on the back of your patch panel
there is marked up for both, that is pretty much standard.

2) The way analog telephony is carried over structured cabling could be
expanded a bit, it's not always the case that the ring signal is
re-generated at the LAU. There are 3 different types of LAU: PABX
master, PSTN master, and Secondary. This may be worth a bit of
explanation. It may be also be worth linking to this page:

http://www.evonet.com/evonet/index.asp?Page=102



Oh, and I can't let this pass...

Lady Bracknell
An *Analog* pabx?
/Lady Bracknell

Get yerself an asterisk box, man!

--
Ron