Just did my first cable install but I have a few questions

Breadfan

The install is in a bar with 7 total runs through old brick, conduit, lights, sound system etc. It's for a new POS system they are installing and I am doing this for a friend (and most of all for the experience)

Anyways, there is 7 total runs. I opted for cat 5e even though the POS company he is getting his stuff from saidcat 5 was plenty. I decided on this for obvious reasons.

Everything went well (thank God) except that where I think I may have goofed a little is that I had him spring for a media tester (RJ45 type). after the wall mounts and cable were run, I crimped the jacks on each end and tested each run to make sure they all "certified" ok. with all of the extra emi and "noise" in there i wanted to make sure they were ok (which is another reason I opted for cat5e).

They still havent gotten the patch panel, switch and rest of equipment from the company so I am not holding them up. I am just wondering if I shouldve even bothered testing the wires yet. I mean the switch or patch panel isnt there so i cant punch it down in the closet and test it there on the near end. or did i just waste my time (and jacks) testing the wires?

Thanks for the help. I just want to make sure I am thorough and doing it correctly without wasting time

SRTMCSE

If you punched both ends just to test them, I wouldn't call it a goof. You could've waited until you got the patch panel (you'll still need to test once you punch the panel if I read your post correctly) but a little caution never hurt anyone.

If I had done it I would've run the cable, once I punched the patch and the jacks I would've tested it to be on the safe side. But good job making sure you got a cable tester.

Breadfan

i just got word they want me to order the patch panel too since the company is only providing the POS equipment and switch.

i am opting to go for a cat5e panel to be cat5e compliant from end to end because the way i understand it, it must be ALL cat5e or it WONT be cat5e

its 8 total runs i believe but i am thinking of getting the 12 port for scalability and since there isnt a real difference in price

how can i test it on the patch panel itself? or will i wait now until everything is secured on the switch and keystone jacks and test it with the rj45's and media tester then? that part i am unsure of as well. but i will have a little help on that part

thanks again

Rearden

When you say patch panel, I assume you mean 110 style punchdowns? Here, we often use Panduit minicom where you attach the jack and the panel is just inserting jacks.

When testing, you can pretty much assume that a new patch cable will be OK, so you really just need to test the solid run end to end. If they're not patched in the patch panel, or have the final jacks on yet, I do think that you need to test them again. In my experience, by far the most common reason for a line not passing is because I switched a wire while termianting.

Breadfan

Thanks for the help.

I plan on testing each patch cable and triple check the patch panel connections and then test each run individually with data after everything is installed.

Hopefully all will go ok without many glithes. i have yet to see a migration go smoothly though (maybe this will be the first)

JDMurray

One thing to keep in mind are the possibility of communications problems from not only electrical interference, but also due to very long cable runs. I've wired buildings for POS systems using CAT5 to run communications lines between serial terminals, ECRs, and printers. Serial transmissions loose power over distance, and if you notice that a POS terminal can't seem to communicate with a printer several hundred cable-feet away (usually the printer in the back of the kitchen), you'll need to either boost the signal or shorten the run.

Breadfan

JDM. The cable runs are actually quite decent. The longest run is 120 feet and that's including the much extra slack I left in the ceiling since this one isnt going to be used yet (he's waiting for that part to be remodeled first)

most runs were 80 feet (excluding the patch cable) and includes the service coil i left on each end.

I decided on a "hinged" bracket for the patch panel (thanks to jkstech for the help on that one )

Again, thanks for the help guys. I have been nervous about this one as this is my first "real" cable install and I have been doing it alone (my coworker on this ducked out on me so far). I am hoping I wont hit too many snags but if I do they will be learning experiences

JDMurray

Yeah, you won't have any signal loss problems with runs that short for either serial or Ethernet data. Parallel signals drop off at about 30 feet, but that's why you rarely see parallel printers used in POS setups (unless it's the printer in the manager's office used for printing reports).

Breadfan

10 total drops. Had minor problems with 2 of them, checked the configurations, repunched them in the patch panel, retested them twice and they worked.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and help. I did everything by myself and since this was my first cable install, I was a little nervous. It looks like everything went ok (will find out when the POS vendor comes in and installs their equipment and connect to my cables

Hopefully they will all be ok. I tested them all after I first ran them, then tested them each after I made the wall jacks and punched them, and them tested a 3rd and 4th time and they tested ok

Again, thanks to all for the help and confidence.

Also, has anyone ever used/bought the Ideal RJ45 crimper? They bought that thinking it was top of the line, etc. but it seems to either crack the jack or simply doesnt crimp as well the "economy" one i bought at Lowes. I thought the Ideal was a ratchet type crimper but its not. it just doesnt seem to work as good as I had hoped and for $50 I shouldnt have to crimp them twice to work

JDMurray

Breadfan wrote:

Also, has anyone ever used/bought the Ideal RJ45 crimper? They bought that thinking it was top of the line, etc. but it seems to either crack the jack or simply doesnt crimp as well the "economy" one i bought at Lowes. I thought the Ideal was a ratchet type crimper but its not. it just doesnt seem to work as good as I had hoped and for $50 I shouldnt have to crimp them twice to work

This is sometimes due to the fact that what computer people call RJ45 connectors are not Telco RJ45 plugs and jacks, but instead are 8P8C modular plugs and jacks. They are nearly physically identical, but an RJ45 plug is keyed and will not properly connect to an 8P8C jack. And an 8P8C plug always has eight conductors, while an RJ45 plug may only have two or four. If you use one type of plug in the other type of crimper you may not get a good crimp. Also, RJ45 plugs vary widely in their quality, and some may just not crimp well with some crimpers. Check if you can adjust the extension of the eight crimping blades in your customer's top-of-the-line crimper to create a firmer crimp.