I am setting up a Nortel Phone switch. I have some 66 punch down blocks but need some of the stranded wire that goes between the different blocks. Does anyone know where I can get a bunch of that stuff? Also what is it actually called?

Thanks

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Adam W Clark

I believe you mean cross-connect wire ? and it is solid not stranded wire, comes in different colors and pairs.stranded wire is not a good thing to use on 66 blocks you do not get a good connection. you can get at graybar

[This message has been edited by yzark40 (edited April 05, 2005).]

Thanks for the help...

Also, I need those things that you run your cable around when you have multiple punch downs on a board. The are white and have a large fluted end. The middle is hollow and they screw to the wall.

Sorry, I don't know terminology very well at all.

Tell them you need some mushrooms.

Yikes.......

I know, they are called telephone distribution posts. Thanks for all your help!

Ditto that!

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| Signal Communication Systems - Fresno, CA |

| Telephone Systems, Voicemail Syste... & Data Cabling - Central Valley, CA

[This message has been edited by 5years&counting (edited April 05, 2005).]

Your supposed to mount the mushrooms! Not eat them.

come on you knew that, the big gray ones hot off the grill with a little butter. yum-------

Got a question (a realllyyy basic question) along the same line. What is the proper way to to terminate wires on a 66 block. I have really really bad luck with them. Right now on the system I have at home, stations get knocked off the system if a touch the block/wires or if I slightly move the block.

The way I do it now, I slightly wedge the (unstripped) wire between the teeth of a pin, line the hole of my 66 blade (on a Harris DB14, set to high) up with the top of the pin, and (with some force) push straight down 'til it pops. The wire seems to go all the way down and it requires some effort to remove the wire......but I never seem to get a connection. I'll even punch a wire that's already been punched, just to make sure it's seated well, but no luck at all......had to resort to a BIX connector and a butter knife which kind of works (can't seem to get more than 1 station to work becasue my wiring is so shoddy). Good thing this is only for home.

There is a difference in the quality of blocks. What are you using? The only time I've had problems is reusing blocks and the blades weren't cleaned correctly.

I'm using a Leviton block, which I would think is an acceptable quality block. I'll try again and see what happens. I didn't have any bridging clips handy, so I made (used 1 long piece of wire, punched but didn't cut one one clip, then punched w/ cut on the next) jumper wires. Maybe they weren't punched too wel.

This doesn't seem like it should be rocket science. It Isn't, I;ve just gotta be doing something wrong.

codasco704, are you using 24AWG wire?

Yes, for everything but MOH.

Set your punch tool to "low" for 24 gauge wire. Use "high" for 22 ga.

If you look up the post "66 block blues", there is a discussion of some bad blocks from North Supply.

I can understand that if I'm using the low setting for 22 gauge, that it won't make contact. But if I uss the high setting for 24 gauge, I would think that it would work. I'd be using more "power" for a smaller wire, rahter than using too little "power" for a larger one.

Maybe it is a bad block. I'll just deal with it for know. I have harmonica adaptors on the way to use instead.

Make sure your 66 blade is cutting on the side where you pull off the excess wire, not on the side that's staying connected to the cable. Notice that your 66 blade probably has a flat side and a side with a blade.

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| Signal Communication Systems - Fresno, CA |

| Telephone Systems, Voicemail Syste... & Data Cabling - Central Valley, CA

I am. The ends that should be terminated and making contact are very securely held by the pins.

When I lay a wire down to be punched, should I be just setting it down far enough so that it stays in place when I punch it, or should I be trying to pull it down as close to the back of the block as possible and then punching it?

Also, once punched, should the wire be ALL the way down to the back of the block, or is it OK for it to be slightly away from the back of the block?

Anybody have an illustration or a website that shows the right way to punch?

Wrap the wire around the small "hook" and hammer it home the whole way to the end.
Use a pair of pliers to squeeze the pins back together. It sounds like you probably spread them out too far with that butter knife. Just a thought?

It was actually the bix block that i used a butter knife on.....but good suggestion anyway. I'll try it.

Tried to post earlier and couldn't, but want to coment on the last, if you have good blocks and a good punch on tool you don't need to squeeze the pins. Sounds to me like you have a difective or worn out blade. I've punch thousands of pairs, as I'm sure others have, with no problems to speak of. The punch on tool has a specific opening for the pins so they make correctly, I'd try a new blade first. As far as using high and low setting, the only time I use low is when I'm looping from one pin to another.

Also, I have found that the angle at which you hold the end that will be cutoff during the punch is important. Hold them at 6 oclock they tend to get caught in the pin below, 3 oclock and the blade will not cut. Between 4 and 5 works just right. I always use the low setting unless it 22awg cable. I'm so scrawny the high setting will sometimes push me back away from the board instead of terminating

Well, I know my impact tool is good...so I guess it might be the blade. I don't want to wait to have a new one shipped to me, so can anyone reccomend a good place in St. Louis to buy one...or am I better off just buying a blade at Home Depot (probably easier, esp. since it's such a simple/small item).

Nothing wrong with Home Depot, same blade your going to get if ordering as far as name brands go.

hmmm...just tried it again with the same blade,...and it works. This time i went through with a tweezer and used the tip the push down on the wires on each side of the pin, just to make sure they were all the way in.

So, my CO lines are working very well now, just need to get the stations over to a 66....I'm getting some funky things happening because of my bad connections on the bix.