sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring patch cables too short?

You're describing a senario that I was refering to. If you have a closed cabinet and need to terminate, for instance, cable #17 on your 24-port patch panel, and you cannot get access from the rear, will you have enough slack with your short patch cables? In other words, can you get that panel off of the rack to terminate a new cable while leaving all of the other patch cables attached or do you have to remove the short cables from ports 1-16 to gain access?

I did the initial move for a company from 1 city to another a couple years ago. Revisited it this past winter to do some more work and what a mess.

Their CG, instead of using the proper length cables and using the management system, used whatever he had. The cables were criss-crossing everywhere and just as long as he needed....no more.

The patch panels were Nortel swing outs so it made it impossible to swing it out to add a cable or two.

I had to get someone to help me by holding the p/p after unbolting it so I could terminate the new cables.

From then on I use Panduit to avoid that problem.

It'd be nice if everyone would follow the setup standards, in lieu of "doing their own thing".

Dave

I prefer factory made patch cables. They are cheaper than the labor it takes to make one up and have a lower failure rate. I tend to standardize with 5' patch cables on most of my jobs. If room is at a premium then I might go down to 3'.

If I remember correctly, per the systimax guide lines, their powersum solution the entire channel had to be at at least a certain length (say about 75'), but their Gigaspeed solution is not limited. I believe it has to Near end cross talk.

Look at this cable management product.

https://www.neatpatch.com/

rich30529, thanks for that. It's essentially what I'm doing but without the cable management piece between the switch and patch panel. I understand what some of you are saying about using longer cables. But in an application where the patch cables will be installed and probably never moved, it makes sense to use the short cables. There is not even a need for horizontal cable management between the switch and patch panel.

And, oh how I wish we had gotten open racks like the ones in the photos... As the one who has to go in there and work on the cables, I pressed for it. But NOOOO we must spend twice as much money and get the closes racks because they "look better". Well, they don't look so good from the inside. Cable guys always get the business end of the pointed stick.... or would it be Gopher Pole?