atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Installer Question: 110 hardware

Hey, PMCook, just one question....IF.... Cat 5 and 66 blocks don't go together, why are the new 66 blocks rated Cat 5?

I've known of 66 blocks to wire Ethernet for a long time. Used to be you would see them in the old 10BaseT days using Cat3. Anything was better than vampire taps, thick ethernet or the failure prone RG-58. 66 and Cat5 do go together if you really, really want them to, but I only asked the question why use them. It just makes no sense when you have such better alternatives such as 110 blocks even if you just want to do a 1 to 1 connection. Time was patch panels were pretty costly but now they are just a mere fraction of the materials cost. Cat5 means network and you'll never make, say a bus-bar/bridge, with a 66 block for a network. Nor will you cross connect or bridge clip them either. So I just asked why bother.

Just to review, this is a telephone infrastructure wired to Cat 5e specs. There's enough slack at the frame to reterminate the house cable on patch panels and all the jacks are Cat 5e rated and tested. Only the phone system is in Cat 3 land, and it's a Toshiba CIX so it doesn't have to be. In fact, the last 2 systems I did for the Nationals are CIX's and I'm almost liking them. One system, a 200 I believe, is totally 5e from the jacks to the system, the other is 5e jacks to the 66 blocks and a 66 block KSU distribution on the digital line card. It's a smaller unit built on the DK frame (CIX 40? CIX 28?)

The only place I cheated was in an area that has 3 phones on one cable, per their specs. All the rest is one cable, one jack, and one phone.

Carl who even substituted those fancy 8-pin wall plates for the 6-pin screw terminals :-)

Carl, the smallest one is the CIX40. There was a CIX28 but I don't think it's made anymore.

I punch the whole shooting match down on a 300
pair 110 block and then I stock 110 to 8 pin
patch cords for data and then I use assorted
crossconnect wire for slt's digi pots
and if i have time I'll hide all of this in a 42 inch vault the only time I don't use 110 blocks
is when its all cat 3 dangling there or I am subbing for a guy that does not understand the way 110 stuff works and does not know the colorcode ......

BIX it!!! :thumb:

forgive him, the BIX made him do it...

Ive seen many cat5e patch panels where the patches from equipment to station side were so messy that the weight of subsequent patches were pulling the earlier patches out. Some work that we will be performing includes the "cleaning-up" of such a patch bay. Is there cable management equipment that addreses this issue other than brackets and 4x4 vertical race way? On a new cat5 installation what termination equipment would provide greatest flexability and reliability, 110 blocks,cat5 patch panels,cat5 66 blocks.