atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Best Backboard Wiring Practices and Standards?

Most jobs call for a Fire Proof paint

I've only had one idiot architect that I can remember spec that for the telephone back board. It isn't an NEC requirement and I know of no local code here that requires it either. I just painted it with our standard silver gray and nobody knew the difference.

I do remember fire resistant paint being common many, many years ago on electrical backboards. I wouldn't even know where to get it today.

-Hal

heres powder that can be added to cheap interior paint for fire retardant $10 pack plus $5 a gal for oops paint 15 a gal to be fire retardant.

I asked a GTE engineer years ago about the requirement on a project we where doing and he said "don't worry about it " so I never have

FR paint or plywood is not something that is enforced by the NEC, it's a building code issue. I believe that BOCA and ANSI standards do require fire-retardant paint or plywood. This is definitely enforced around here as recently as last Thursday on an inspection of a job we did.

Here in schools it's mandated to provide fire retardant plywood for backboards. Any painted backboard must leave all fire retardant stamps unpainted so you end up with a patch work looking backboard.

guys you know what encker is that real usefull you dont need a plywood with tose

were do you get them?

Might I also add that I don't suscribe to "over-labling". I always try to consider the next tech coming in behind me so he won't have to try & figure out which tails are the CO lines, PRI, T-1, Digital & Analog ports.

When it comes to external paging, we always use Valcom & I always insist on 1 cable home run for every speaker/horn terminated on their own 66 blocks, down one side only, with the audio & -24V looped down the other side & bridge to my cables. So when it comes to trouble-shooting, I can just pull all the clips & get down to it.

:thumb:

IPKII -

Home runs are always better. They're not real practical on large PA jobs, but the more, the merrier. (I just finished an 8,000+ speaker job at JFK airport and all those home runs just wouldn't have worked)

One thing though. My practices have always been to NEVER run solid wire for a speaker. With the vibration associated with a speaker or horn I was always taught to go with stranded wire to prevent the solid wire from eventually breaking off.

I like the idea of pulling the bridge clips to test - very handy! And if you're running audio and -24 I imagine then you're using powered speakers. When I last priced them out (admittedly a long time ago) they weren't cost effective against a constant voltage system with a centralized amplifier(s) once you got past 10-12 speakers - is that still the case?

Sam