atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Jumper wire length.

I am working for the last 5 years in a PBX environment with about 2200 statiions. There are many large closets and when I got here it was a big mess. Wiring had been done by the bulb changers.
Previously, I was in a CO environment where we had spin down jumpers. I was taught to leave enough slack to reterminate twice.
The 66 and 110 blocks here had so much slack you could lace a shoe. Looked awful, so as I make changes, I have been leaving about the width of my finger and putting in a nice tight right angle when terminating. After it's all punched down I tuck it back a bit to neaten it up a little more. It does seem to make it a bit harder to trace jumpers.
My question is, what is the right way to do it?
What's your consensus.

Sounds good. I also did CO work and yes, you left room to reterminate because the jumpers could be r-e-a-l long and rerunning a major pain.

I used to leave about 1-1.5" of a loop at each end of the cross connect.

I'd rather have a slightly harder time tracing a jumper then have a real rats nest. All that extra slack just means that jumpers get caught and ripped out causing more trouble.

I used to tuck a spudger into the loop of a cross connect I was trying to trace. It made it easier to see it move from across the room.

I also used to color code cross connects - bl/wh for analog stations, or/wh for digital, gr/wh for special circuits etc. It made tracing that much easier


Sam

It's not uncommon to leave a finger loop at each pair termination. That should equate to about 1-1/2 to 2 inches on each end. With that, it's easy to tug and trace and also gives you enough to re-terminate and still have a little loop.

If you have all the time in the world to trace a pair, then you can make the termination tighter. I dislike banjo wired MDF and IDF schemes. When I worked for Mother, the switchmen ALWAYS left enough to swing to the next termination either up or down or side to side which equated to about 2 to 3 inches of slack. I worked in one CO where the chief would cut the jumper in the frame span if it was too tight and then make you run it again. Do that a couple of times in a SxS or Number 5 office and you will learn to leave slack.

Rcaman

1.5-2" slack at each end is the way I do it.

-Hal

I trained in the C.O. so leaving about 3 fingers worth of slack on one end, then pulling out the slack on the tight end is how I still do it. I guess that translates to about 1.5-2", depending on which or whose fingers I use.

Carl

Thanks for your input. Sounds like I've got the right idea.

Me too. Clip a spudger or pen/pencil from your pocket onto the jumper. If you had to move your stepladder, it made it simple to continue with the same jumper and not loose track of it.

Jim

Sam - What is a spudger? I never heard the term.

Actually the first three are not spudgers. They are wire hooks.

A spudger is a wooden or other insulated material tool that is used to clear the splashes of solder that fall between the terminals on an MDF.

Then there's the "orange stick."