sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Looking for help upgrading cabling

I'm looking for assistance upgrading some voice and data wiring. This is the conversation that I started in the Constructive Criticism thread. I'm continuing the discussion here so it is easier to follow.

This is a small office building. Each room (there are seven) could potentially be rented by a different tenant. Right now, There is one tenant leasing four rooms and the building owner is occupying the other three rooms. The tenant with the first four rooms has their own phone system.

The picture of my scenario is posted below. Right now, my two main questions are:

1. How should I best connect the loose cables to the wiring blocks in the picture? They are too short to enter the 66M's through the bottom. The members here have already given me some great ideas on this question.

2. Cable colors: Right now, most of the communications cable in this building is a gray-beige color. Some of the data cables are blue. I would like to continue to use blue for data since it is the TIA/EIA standard for horizontal cabling. Should I also use blue for voice since it is TIA/EIA standard or continue to use gray or beige for voice to keep it separate from the computer wiring?

I will post more pictures as this project progresses.

-- Nelson

From your posts in the constructive criticism thread, I realize that my station cables should be terminated on a block and not be spliced. One thing that I may not have been clear about is that I want each 66M block to be dedicated to one room. There are seven rooms, two of the seven are half-size, so they could share a block. That is why I have six blocks. At four pair per cable, I can terminate 12 station cables on one block. That is plenty sufficient for each room.

Here is the catch: Those station cables that are too short go to different rooms, therefore, I would like to have them terminate on the correct block for each room. No matter how I move the blocks around, I can't make all cables reach all blocks.

What if I did something similar to the picture below? I have added a block near the short cables. Could I cut down the station cables on that block and then run cables from there to the individual blocks for each room?

Or am I spending way too much time and effort on a silly issue? Am I over-complicating this project? Let me know if I should just make it work and move on! I know everyone's time is very valuable.

Still wondering about cable colors, too.

Again, thanks.
--Nelson

Honestly I would rerun the wiring. Then use the block setup you have in place. As for color of wire. There is no standard, it is just common practice to denote a color cable with it's intended purpose.

If rerunning the wire is not possible. Swap your block locations. Match the voice wire and like you said move on. Dont let this thing become over complicated.

What are the 88 blocks for? Why didn't you use split 66 blocks, that way you could get two rooms on one. What is this for anyway? A system or POTS lines to the rooms?

It looks to me like you could reverse your layout, put your 66 blocks on the left and move them up a bit and drop your "short" cables right down onto the first block.

-Hal

The six blocks on the right are split 66 blocks. There are six of them. Five rooms are large enough that I wanted a whole split 66M block for the room. The other two rooms are small enough to share a block.

This is primarily for POTS lines, but it is always possible that a system could be set up later. Four of the rooms are already served by a phone system, but they have their own wiring for that system.

Thanks for the help. I'm trying to learn how this should be done before I do the work!

Sooo, why not just reverse your layout, 66's on the left and the 88's on the right??

-Hal

Those are 66B4-25 blocks on the left. They need to just be removed and this problem will be solved. Although not desirable, you should be able to bring the cables into the top of the 66M1-50 block(s).

Right Ed,66B blocks.

I think he is coming out of that terminal with the CO's and onto the 66B's then cross connect to the 66M's. I suppose that it does make it a little easier to have 5 clips per line on the B blocks when the line has to go to more than one jack.

Are you going to have 50 lines (or more than 25) to warrant two blocks?

Like I said, just reverse everything. Also I see that it appears you already have a feed out of the terminal to the left most block. You have it cut down on the right side. Feeds are always on the left side.

Another point is that you shouldn't be in that terminal. The telco is supposed to provide demarcs on that backboard which you would come off of. What they use may or may not have a bearing on those 66B blocks.

-Hal

Thanks again for the advice, I am going to move things around and make the cables fit, even though they will enter through the top of the blocks. Everyone here has been telling me to do that, and it makes perfect sense. I just didn't want to at first because those cables go to different rooms, therefore, different blocks. I can work around this, though. :idea:

Yes, I am coming out of the terminal with the lines on the 66B blocks. Even 25 lines is more than sufficient. I have one 25 pair cable coming from the terminal going to both blocks. That is why the cable is in the middle of the two blocks. The pair is punched down on the right side of the first block and punched and cut on the second block. I am going to remove this. I thought that it would be handy to have ten clips to cross-connect from on the 66B's, but I think that is overkill. The space is more valuable for other things.

If I did need to do this again somewhere else, is that the correct way to connect one cable to multiple blocks? Any other install I have seen, the CO lines connect to a phone system, so I have never seen CO lines connected to multiple places.

I am going into the terminal because the telco has placed the RJ21X connector and block inside the terminal. All of our cables used to connect in some fashion inside the terminal. I am trying to eliminate the need to open the telco's equipment to work on our cabling. After this, I should never have to enter the terminal again.

--Nelson

[edited for clarity]

If I did need to do this again somewhere else, is that the correct way to connect one cable to multiple blocks?

Yes, that's fine.

Any other install I have seen, the CO lines connect to a phone system, so I have never seen CO lines connected to multiple places.

I normally do the same thing but with 25pr 66M block(s). Lines not associated with the system get cross connected to their respective jacks just as you are doing. The system will have it's own 25pr 66M block for the CO lines and the lines get cross connected to it the same as the jacks.

So, everything has it's own block or blocks with cross connect wire running between them as necessary:

>The station ports from the system (multiple split 50pr blocks)
>The CO lines into the system (single 26pr block)
>The individual drops to the jacks (multiple split 50pr blocks)
>The CO lines from the demarc (usually a single 25pr block)

I normally arrange them in that order from left to right wherever possible. The system would go on the far left. Of course when retrofitting the layout has to suit what space there is.

I am going into the terminal because the telco has placed the RJ21X connector and block inside the terminal. All of our cables used to connect in some fashion inside the terminal. I am trying to eliminate the need to open the telco's equipment to work on our cabling. After this, I should never have to enter the terminal again.

Well, if they put the RJ21x demarc inside the terminal then you can go in there any time you want. :thumb:

-Hal