atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring combing the cables

I have alsways tried to keep bundles of cables nicely combed (I believe that is the correct term). However I've seen some opinions that this is not such a good idea. Something like having all the cables parallel to each other will increase crosstalk. Does this ring true? I've seen pictures of installs where the cables are laid out in a cable tray in a very casual fashion, kinda of swerving, crossing over each other. Not tangled, but not neatly side by side. Not sure how one would do that without a tray or ladder.

Richard

Here is an example of what I am called combed.

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What you don't want are the snug bundles of cables with nylon ties every two feet for the entire length of the run. You can still lay things out nice and neat at the rack or back board since this is only a small section of the overall cable run.

From a data transmission perspective, messy is good, while perfect parallel installation is bad as it is more susceptible to crosstalk - especially at higher frequencies. We've tried to find middle-ground - less bundles and less 'perfect' dressing.
Mike

That is true crosstalk is and issue. But on a good note you now have an excuse to sell more hardware and not be as "neat" as it should be. The best part is you can get the job done much faster LOL

I agree with the consensus... tight "cigarette packing" is "so 90s."

With the advent of higher frequency transmission, ala 10GbE, a more natural bundling is preferred. It doesn't have to look sloppy, but neither should it look too manicured.

The biggest challenge I find on this is convincing the end-user. They are so accustomed to seeing these ultra-combed bundles that they decide "I want that." It takes a little convincing to get them to understand the performance ramifications they can encounter down the line.

Bundle size is also something that is changing...

looks are not as important as cable performance.
i hope that isn't cat6. no ty wraps. velcro.

I hate Velcro and it looks unprofessional. Looks like a CG did it and if they like it naturally I don't.

Ty-raps are fine as long as you don't snug them up. Matter of fact in a plenum ceiling I use tie wire loosely wrapped around the bundle then tied off to a support.

If you understand the simple concept that whatever you support or hold the cable with cannot distort any of it you will be fine.

-Hal

I only use Ty-raps when they are needed. Hook and loop is so much easier to add cables too. I find installers are too lazy to cut and add a new ty-wrap instead they add another ty-wrap, next thing you know you have 50 ty-wraps in a 2 foot span.
J-hooks or similar should be used instead of "tie wire", tie wire does not provide enough area of support for the cable causing it to have too much of a "kink"

The tie-wire is to keep the bundle in the J-hooks as well as to keep the bundle together, same purpose as ty-wraps. The "support" mentioned is the J-hook.

I know they make Velcro that is plenum rated but I would not feel comfortable using it. If the next guy is too lazy to cut off the ty-raps well, that's his and the customer's problem, not mine. Nothing says he'll undo all the Velcro either. The nice thing about tie-wire (the way I do it) is that it can be removed and reused like Velcro.

Now that I'm thinking about it I don't know if the inspectors would give Velcro a thumbs up in a plenum ceiling even if plenum rated. They like to see either red ty-raps ($$$) or tie-wire, nothing plastic.

-Hal