sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Had to smack around a sparkie.

I refuse to buy or use blue cat5 on principle. Whenever I see blue wire I know who's been there before me, and I adjust my expectations, prices and attitude accordingly. It's "SPARKIE" your neighborhood "Master" electrician who knows absolutely that cat5 only comes in blue and yellow, because those are the only colors that the supply house sells.

A few days ago, I get a hysterical phone call from a woman who owns a small business in my town. She had the landlord's electrician rewire her interior design shop and I convinced her to let me do the phone and LAN wires and jacks.

In between tears and sobs, she tells me that since we have been close friends for years, and since I gave her such a strong sales pitch, and since I claimed that I knew what I was doing, etc etc etc, "How could you have done such a terrible thing to me, cheating me and charging me for wires that won't be the right ones for my computers...sob...tears...sob?"

It seems that one of the electrician's helpers saw the gray cat5e that I had run, assumed that since it was not blue or yellow it was not cat5, and "tattled" on me to the customer.

I responded immediately to the site, cut a piece of the gray jacket off, showed the helper and the customer where it says "CAT5E" stamped on the jacket, and got her calmed down.

I called the owner of the electrical contracting company, to explain what his moron had said.

I simply informed him that if he or any of his "workers" ever mentioned my name or anything to do with me to any human on Shelter Island again, I would take him to court and make a complaint to the licensing board. I explained to him that in a small town, where the plaintiff's family has lived for 7 generations, always been involved in local politics, and is the communications guy for the town court, that I suspect that I would probably win.

He probably was in the midst of apologizing to me, but the connection suddenly went dead. Oh well.

Go look at sparky's job and see if he used #14 or #12 wire. Not that #14 is neccesarily wrong, but I always pull #12.

But being commercial work, #12 is probably code; it's been many years (like.... 25; I was a washout - one summer working in completely framed and sided houses and apartment buildings with no ventilation was enough to convince me that I was a desk man) since I did electrical work for a living, so I don't have the first clue what code is anymore.

It's just that the words "electricians helper" scare me a bit. Of course all of this wouldn't make the owner feel any better; and doesn't reflect any better on you (unless you find something seriously wrong that the inspector missed) ... probably best to just let it go, I think what you've done so far pretty much resolves the issue, you defended your name and reputation, made your customer happy again, and let it be known you won't tolerate ignorant comments (especially to a customer) from someone outside your trade.

Way to go, sometimes you have to show them how it is done!

I think if everybody made or at least threatened legal action every time a sparkie showed his incompetance this kind of crap would stop. You can bet your butt that if they had to pay to make things right they would either learn how to do it or not do it at all.

-Hal

I have run into this a couple of times - ie - rookies that think Cat5E must be blue, green, or yellow.

We install gray or white now exclusively because when you run into 'open areas' it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

I still use blue for network and white for phone and I ain't changing. Blue is faster

:thumb: , Mark.

Same here on the colors used and why...right down to the 8p8c data jack being blue and the 6p6c voice jack matches the face plate.

No computers plugged into a digital station port.

, do I slap around sparkies? Well, I have used a newspaper on their nose a time or two but I think I have them house broke now. I work in conjunction with several ECs that I have majorly trained....the hard way.

Now the CGs are the problem.....got one who has his own cabling guys, loves *, and can't keep his data server running....how will he keep the phones working?

Merry Christmas !!!

But I thought the extra twists in cat 6 will speed up my DSL??
Read this: https://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1255174

(kidding)

Over here gray is the most common color by far, and the only type sold by many places, including most electrical wholesalers.

Multiple colors are available for anyone who cares to look though:

https://www.rapidonline.com/productinfo.aspx....moduleno=62395

What's the deal with blue? That is my standard color. Blue jacks as well. I will use white or grey if I have to but blue is the one I pick first. Most distributors I know carry heavy stocks of blue jacket cable and less of the other colors. When I run cat5 as an alternate to cat3 I run yellow so it stands out in the patch panel and I use yellow jacks as well. I once used red jacks only because the client asked for red to match the carpet. No skin off my nose. If I were cabling a complex datas center I would use standard wire colors for risers, frame connects and home runs.