Reasons to use an data cabling specialist

Recently we were working on a site that had had an extension built which we were not involved in. We had been asked to add some lines for wireless access points, some of the access points were to be installed in the new extension so I checked the new Category 5e lines installed by the electrical contractor in the extension.

What I found was quite worrying and a testament to why you should use a specialist data cable installer for network cabling installations.

This is the patch panel and as you can see the wires are not twisted right up to the point of connection as they should be.

This is the user end connector and we see here that the wires are different lengths and the white wire in the foreground is also tight, this will lead to a connection failure at a later date.

Again a view of the same connector and as you can see the twists that are crucial to this type of cabling are virtually non existent. The twist in this type of cable is vital to its operation as the twist reduces the interference from external electromagnetic signals which could disrupt the signal and therefore the network.

Here we see a classic, no proper numbers! Number 1 is none existent (yes I did test it to see if it was indeed number 1) and 2 is written in pen which will rub off and/or fade. Also this building has upward of 60 Category 5e lines back to the same cabinet so how is the user going to know which is which if there is more than one number 1 or 2, which there is?

We also tested these two lines with a proper data cabling tester, a Fluke DTX-1800. Number 2 passed but only just and number 1 was a marginal pass which is not accepted as a full pass by the manufacturers. Cabling will not get better with age, it will get worse due to ware and tare on the connectors, oxidisation etc. so a good high margin pass is essential.

These are typical of the mistakes we often find where the main building contractor had asked the electrician to install the data. It is vital that you employ a specialist and that you are given full test results, including the performance graphs, for each and every line installed.