Telephone wiring

[zxcvbob]

Anyone here used an impact punchdown tool to wire telephone cable connection blocks?  Are the punch blades interchangeable from one brand to another?  I'm thinking about getting a Tripp·Lite brand tool (cheapest brand name tool I can find, $25 at Amazon) that comes with one 66-type blade and one 110-type blade, but they don't list any replacement parts.  Just wondering if Paladin or Ideal or Greenlee (etc) punch blades will fit.

I've never done this before, but I've been volunteered to rewire the church for telephone and DSL.    I'm planning to use a 66 block for distributing the phone lines, but all the phone jacks and Ethernet jacks have 110 termination, so I need a tool that will do both.  At least it's just 1 line (I'm gonna run both pairs anyway) and the everything can be run above the basement drop ceiling.

Thanks.

[JonnyB]

I have both Premier and Harris; the bits for those are interchangeable. Dunno 'bout the other brands.

jb

[RoadKingLarry]

I do it for a living, buy the best tool you can afford and that you can get replacement tips for. Some of the stuff out there is a bad joke at best. Harris is decent stuff.

[sanglant]

not suggesting anything, but monoprice might be worth lookin' into. they had some nice looking plates to. the jacks. and future resistant(no such thing as proof ) cable. and just for kicks if your dragging wire by the nursery, the ladies that run it might like a monitor setup.

[zxcvbob]

Thanks for the ideas (btw, I'm also the "nursery lady". )  I was planning to order most of the supplies (except the bulk cable) from firefold.com, but I don't like their punchdown tool.  I'm planning to use 2-pair CAT3 cable for all the telephone stuff, and CAT5e for all the data cables.  When I'm all done I'm gonna rewire the phones in my house too because it's such a hodgepodge with stuff like flying splices wrapped with masking tape. 

[mellestad]

Some are compatible, some are not.  Obviously the tips are all pretty similar, but different brands to have different connections to the handle part of the punch down tool.

I only use one rarely, so I couldn't tell you what the best brands are.  They all look the same to me :)

[sanglant]

if cat6 is in the budget, it supports higher speeds(and longer runs)

[rcnixon]

  Get the best you can afford, as someone has already said.  I have an Ideal, made in USA.  It's fine for the amount I do.  Oddly enough, I just put back-to-back 12-plexes in between my office in the house and the closet in the bonus room.  They are adjacent.  I have a lab rack in there and I moved the office networking equipment onto the rack.  The Mrs. is happier with fewer wires in view.

  Don't bother with CAT3; use CAT5e, 110 blocks and RJ45 jacks for everything, that way you can cross-connect a LAN or a phone at will anywhere.  Don't bother with the added expense of CAT6, you (and the church) will never know it's there and even if you can connect to CAT6 specs, the first cheap jumper will make it all CAT5.  Get a tester, even an inexpensive one will tell you if all the pairs are connected.  Make sure you point the cutter side of the punch the right way around.

  Make a plan first.  Put more jacks in that you would expect, four-plexes at least.  Do "home-runs" to a panel in a central location.  LABEL EVERYTHING.  Did I mention to LABEL EVERYTHING!  The blocks and the wall plate kits all come with LABELS.  Use them.  Make a drawing of what you have installed and the cross-connects you have made.  Put them in a page protector on the wall of your cross-connect field.  Make a copy for yourself and for some responsible person at the church.  Have a good time pulling cable and make sure the ladies society at the church make plenty of food for you and your crew.  You are going to get some volunteers, aren't you?  Oh yeah, make sure you use plenum rated cable for up in the drop ceilings.  Contact your local Cisco (r) reseller to see if they can get you some LAN equipment (switches) for free from the scrap pile.  Use the best, even if it it slightly obsolescent.  Contact me if you need further advice, planning assistance or the like.  My e-mail is in my profile.

Russ, CCIE candidate and multiple other industry certifications

[zxcvbob]

OK, I actually understood all that, except the part about using plenum-rated cable in the drop ceiling.   I thought plenum cable just had a high-temperature jacket (and probably fire resistant) for running inside HVAC ducts.  I'll probably send you an email with some more questions.  Thanks.

[cfabe]

Plenum cable is required IF the space above the drop ceiling is being used as part of the HVAC system, usually for return air. The plenum cable has a jacket that is more fire resistant and emits less toxic smoke when it does burn.

[zxcvbob]

The basement is all one big room with a drop ceiling, so the above space is not shared by multiple rooms.  There is no ductwork in there; not even return air.  (I'm not sure what the return air path is for the upstairs furnace; I think it's just the stairway.  This is a tiny old church.)  So it doesn't fit either definition of plenum space that I've been reading about.  But maybe I ought to check with the fire marshal. 

The existing phone wire is not plenum-rated, but I know that's a new requirement.  (I'm gonna pull it all out anyway, rather than abandon in place)

[never_retreat]

Most blades seem to be interchangeable on the punch tools that I have noticed. I have an Ideal I believe and have put other blades in it.
The key to the network wiring is maintaining the twists of the pairs and the cables. Its not like wiring an outlet an leaving 6 inches of wire folded up in the box. The outer jacket should stay intact to very close to the jack it self and each pair should remain twisted as long as possible as it goes to the points on the jack.
Remember NO splices, and data lines can't be terminated to a 66 block.

[Harold Tuttle]

http://cableorganizer.com/wire-installation/

get a cable casting gun FTW
 

[cordex]

get a cable casting gun FTW

I used that in one drop-ceiling office install.  We bounced it off of girders as often as actually put it close to where we wanted.