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Structured Wiring – Any tips?

rasher | Posted in General Discussion on April 14, 2008 06:36am

I guess it’s time to clear up the rats nest of CATV, Phone, and CAT5e wiring in my (unfinished) basement. I think I want to install a structured wiring panel where everything currently comes together.

Anyone want to tell me what brand of equipment to use for “future-proofedness” and what I should get? Home Despot only has a small SWB box with a bit of phone, cable, and network distribution. I currently do not have home security, whole house sound, or fire alarms, but maybe I would in the future? Should I get a box big enough to accomodate all of that?

Maybe someone could point me toward a source for a good primer on structured wiring?

Thanks, all.

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  1. User avater
    IMERC | Apr 14, 2008 06:42pm | #1

    if you have a Rexall Electric supply in yur town they have an entier division devoted to just yur needs...

    Hubble...

    Fluke...

    Eagle....

    got stuff that will just warm the heart...

     

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

    WOW!!! What a Ride!
    Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

  2. BryanSayer | Apr 14, 2008 07:30pm | #2

    The box is probably less important than the size of what you want to use the cables with. The boxes often only accomodate the companies routers and modems, and you will almost never want to use those. They change too fast.

    Consider what your current computer equipment is, particularly modem, router, switch. How big are they? Where will they go? This stuff changes rapidly, and you may be locked into a particular piece, say the cable modem, by your cable company.

    Consider a shelf just below the box to set stuff on, and make sure your cables will reach onto the shelf. Also remember what direction connections are made, particularly into your switch. I find mine problematic, as the cable plug into the front, which means I have it facing back out.

    One other issue is punch down blocks and computer cables. I have seen mixed things about them, and currently I do not use them. That makes the computer cables end-to-end connections. If I was doing it again, I would look for a way to bring the computer cables through the wall below the box.

    BTW, I used Pass&Seymor. They are ok. And I used Cat 6 cabling for both computer and phone lines. Lots of them.

    1. fatboy2 | Apr 14, 2008 09:06pm | #3

      I did our entire house with Structured Wiring.The best howto material can be found googling.
      Things to consider:
      Do use Cat 6. The new sattelites coming, with 100-160megs ldown will require it. Regular phone wire is fine for phones-no new technologie on the future there except bionic implants.
      For a while HD had cables with fiber optics. I recommend running it along with the other stuff for your stereo and probably computers also, but it's expensive.
      You will have your modem near where your cable/dsl/sattelite come in, but router and switch need to be in the box, and that is problematic, as they change sizes all the time. None of mine will fit in my box.
      If this is a retrofit project, its just not going to be very neat because all those wires will be exposed. I don't have any good ideas about that.
      Stef

  3. ceb | Apr 14, 2008 09:08pm | #4

    Most of the rat's nest comes in the way you terminate your cabling, not in how it runs through the wall/ceiling cavities. I found it condiderably less expensive to run separate TV, Cat6, and phone cables. You need a patch panel where you can terminate the cat6 and run jumpers to the switch Use a punch down block for the phone wires - I use CAT3 for that rather than waste the capabilty & price of CAT6 on phone use. Buy the CAT6 panels off ebay, lots of vendors. You can buy good 10/100 switches there too.

    Coax for TV is so bulky it just doesn't lend itself to that neat an installation, but it can be done. If you split the signal a number of times, buy a good bi-directional amplifier. I use a Channel Vision unit that costs about $100.

    For terminating at the devices I like the Quickports from Leviton. Nice neat termination.

    1. BryanSayer | Apr 15, 2008 06:10pm | #5

      At this point in time I see no reason to go with a 10/100 switch. Gigabyte switches are cheap enough so just go for them. In fact I've got two 8 port Linksys gigabyte switches I'll sell for $50 each if you want one.One other issue is fan noise from switches, routers and the like. Don't know what to do, but just be aware that it will be there.On co-ax, it's other use is for monitors, like baby monitors and the like. However, this often requires two cables. Don't put in a bunch of splitters and amplifiers, just bring them all back to a single home panel.

      1. JohnD1 | Apr 15, 2008 08:45pm | #6

        I don't think this is a hijack--but what about the visible portion of the runs?  Specifically I have a basement and all those wires running around look like an explosion in a brown/black spaghetti factory.

        I would like some sort of way of neatly running all those small wires, preferably in a row like you see inside large electrical equipment.  Has anybody seen those sort of mounts/clamps available to the general public?

  4. peteshlagor | Apr 15, 2008 08:51pm | #7

    Start here and then keep flitting about the site until you find what you want.

    http://www.smarthome.com/SLChowto16.html

     

  5. mackzully | Apr 15, 2008 11:31pm | #8

    Look for a wall mount telco rack or cabinet on ebay or even on your local craigslist. I would recommend a 1/4 - 1/2 height unit similar to these: http://www.rackmountmart.com/html/wallCab.htm Make sure to get one with a standard 19" spacing (the depth will be up for you to decide), as then you can buy all sorts of rackable panels for your connections. Check with your local colleges/universities to see if they sell off their old equipment. Plenty of excellent old skool network gear to be had for cheap.

    Next, do everything with a minimum of Cat-5e. Yes, even phones. People think they're saving money by only running Cat-3 or telephone cable, but if you're a heavy user of technology, you can never have enough jacks, and wireless, even though it works for your lappy, sucks for any high-bandwidth streaming. Plus, if everything is the same, then if you make the switch to IP-phones and a pbx in your house (look at asterisk) it is a painless switch. Cat-5e is cheap these days (especially if you don't need to buy plenum cable), I got a 1000' roll for $40. The keystones can get expensive, but shop around, you can usually find good lot deals on them. The angled jack plates aren't common but are certainly nice for low-profile applications.

    All your cables should terminate to a patch panel in your rack or cabinet. This allows for easy labeling of jacks and easy switching of the jacks function (i.e. you've got a phone plugged into 1, and computer into 2). Next below your patch panel, you should get a 12-24 port switch (not a hub!). A 10/100 switch will be fine for 99.999% of the stuff you'll ever do in your home. They're cheap, though I'd stay away from nameless brands, and get an enterprise switch for cheap on ebay. You'll not find cisco cheap, but any enterprise grade 3com, nortel, alcatel, bay networks, dlink, netgear, or hp will work far better than some chinese junk.

    Depending on your landline phone use (I've not had one for 8+ years), I'd install another patch panel for your phone lines. If you've multiple phone lines, then they should each get their own patch panel, or you should split up the panel for each line (i.e. for a two line house, use a 12 port patch panel and put line 1 on ports 1-6, line 2 on ports 7-12).

    Next, your dsl/cable modem/router, should if at all possible be located in the cabinet/rack. Either wallmounted, or in the rack itself, should also be a UPS. This has the benefit of both protecting your equipment from crappy power (most these days do an okay job of conditioning line voltage), and protecting it from rapid power cycles, either when your wife is trying to find the breaker for the kitchen, or you mistakenly unplug the rack to plug in your shopvac.

    I would definitely stay away from the integrated "consumer" #### that everyone sells, it might look nice, but it's costly and usually proprietary. The enterprise stuff is cheaper, better and standardized. If you get a cabinet, make sure you get one with exhaust fans if it's going to be in an unconditioned space. A cabinet is nice regardless as it'll keep everything behind a door and also away from prying and curious fingers.

    Z

    1. bobguindon | Apr 16, 2008 03:50am | #9

      Cat-5e is cheap these days (especially if you don't need to buy plenum cable), I got a 1000' roll for $40.

      $40.00??  Were you wearing a mask and carrying a gun?  These days, $85.00 is a good price. 

      The keystones can get expensive, but shop around, you can usually find good lot deals on them. The angled jack plates aren't common but are certainly nice for low-profile applications.

      HD carries Leviton in white (or crappy almond) in 10-packs that are quite reasonable (about $20.00 for Cat3 or $30.00 for Cat5e).  I can usually buy the faceplates cheaper at the electrical supply house.

      If there's any potential for a conventional telephone system, I prefer Cat3 (4 or 6-conductor) jacks on the voice side of the faceplate.  This prevents patching a PC network card into in active phone port.  I've seen telephone extension ports fried this way.  Using different insert colors for different purposes helps, but not if you're reaching up behind a desk and can't see it...

      Bob

       

      1. mackzully | Apr 16, 2008 05:40pm | #11

        I get a lot of my wiring at a building salvage store (Community Forklift), so the pricing isn't 100% realistic, but then again, the electricians donate a ton of stuff, so there is always something good there. If I had to run conduit in my house, I'd make out like a bandit, they've got 1000' spools of 12ga wire on distribution racks for pennies on the dollar. Also, ask a friend who does telco wiring, they usually have partially used spools that they'll give you for free/cheap (since the customer will usually pay for the box). It's rare (a least in the enterprise wiring world) to do anything but Cat5e for phones. It gives you far more flexibility as well as future proofing your install. I've had plenty of folks plug in their computers to the phone jack and never had any problems, but perhaps your pbx was more touchy, I've only worked with Nortel and Comdial equipment.Z

  6. darrel | Apr 16, 2008 04:11am | #10

    FYI, if you're going with Cat-6, I had a hell of a time finding materials locally. A FEW of the big-boxes carried the Cat-6 but none of them carried the plugs or ports for them.

    The Electronic stores were of no help either.

    I finally found a ma-and-pa outfit online that carried really affordable cat-6 stuff:

    http://www.digiconcepts.com

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