AHL: Cable Knowledge at Your Fingertips

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Let's Talk Cabling
• 3:33 Field Professionalism Beyond Clean Shirts
• 5:50 AI's Impact on Telecommunications Careers
• 13:03 Crawl Space Cable Selection Guide
• 21:18 Managing Weak Low-Voltage Partners
• 28:40 OTDR vs. Link Loss Testing Debate
• 34:40 Viewer Questions and Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to let's Talk Cabling, the award-winning podcast where knowledge is power and the low-voltage industry connects. Hosted by Chuck Bowser, rcdd. We're here to empower installers, designers and industry pros with the tips, stories and best practices you need to stay ahead. From copper to fiber, standards to innovation, this is the show that keeps you plugged into success. So grab your tools, turn up the volume and let's talk cabling.

Speaker 2: 0:36

Wednesday night, 6 pm, eastern Standard Time. That can only mean one thing Live after hours with your favorite RCDD and you know that's me your favorite RCDD Chuck Bowser, bixie technician, former Bixie trainer. Bunch of other stuff as well too. Welcome everybody, welcome, welcome, welcome. I'm kind of running behind the eight ball tonight, that's why I was running a tad bit late. Oops, oops, sorry, it happens sometimes, it just happens.

Speaker 2: 1:09

Got a lot of great questions for you tonight, lots of great questions. You know we start every live stream off with what are you drinking? What are you drinking tonight? Chuck is drinking water. Put us in the chat box. What are you drinking? What are you drinking tonight? Chuck is drinking water. Put us in the chat box. What are you drinking? Oh, wait a minute, that's not water, that's a Colazevia mixed with water. I should have known better. Yes, sorry, I'm going to apologize in advance if I got a little bit of a hoarse throat. I was teaching today, so I do have a little bit of a horse throat today. I appreciate that. Let me see what is everybody else drinking here. Let me see on the chat. So Sean is drinking a Main Root Spicy Ginger Brew. That sounds good. That sounds good.

Speaker 2: 2:01

Acronym challenge RMU. Acronym challenge RMU. Acronym challenge R-M-U. What does that sound? Kalen's drinking water. Good job, kalen. Rmu. What does that mean? I'll give you a few seconds to figure that out RMU, rmu. Okay, rack mounting unit. Exactly right, matt. 10,000 points to Matt, 10,000 points. I got another 10,000 points to anybody who can tell me how wide is a rack mount unit. How wide is a rack mount unit? Kayla and I probably will be going to, uh, um, infocom. I got a press pass to go to infocom so I just got to decide if I'm going to execute that or not. So, 1.75 inches. Yes, yes, 10 000 points to matt and 10 000 points to YTS Garcia. Hope I got that correctly. I don't have my glasses on. I don't have my glasses on. That happens sometimes.

Speaker 2: 3:10

Hey, did you catch Monday's episode? Did you catch Monday's episode? It was field professionalism. It's more than a clean shirt. I actually enjoyed doing that one. I really enjoyed it. There's lots of graphics in it and stuff like that. Really enjoyed it. So it's on Monday's vlog.

Speaker 2: 3:31

We dove deep into what it really makes what real. We drove it. We dove into what really makes a professional in the ICT industry right. It's not just about pulling cable and it's everything from the way that you show up on the job site to how you communicate, to how you lead and how you lead without a title. That was actually another section I liked, and this episode is all about the habits that that's going to help you build trust and long-term success with you, your customers and maybe even your employers.

Speaker 2: 4:10

So we've got lots of great questions. Some of these questions are from the live stream last week because a couple of questions hit me at the very tail end when I didn't have the time, because they were going to be in-depth answers and I was already at the time mark there. They were going to be in-depth answers and I was already at the time mark there. Yt is studying the TDMM V.15 on administration and documentation. Very cool stuff. If you have any questions, you know who to hit a question with.

Speaker 2: 4:38

So question number one and this came from Ryan Ryan Nolan. He sent it to me in a message, if I remember right, and he says is it worth pursuing a career in telecommunications with all of the advancements in AI, artificial intelligence, ai is taking a lot of coding jobs and other jobs away from data centers. Do you think that the telecommunications will be effective as well. You know what? Thank you for verbing that out loud. There's a lot of people really afraid of AI and I'm going to tell you right now I use AI heavily, heavily in everything from creation of thumbnails to brainstorming ideas to coming up with scripts, and I heavily use AI, and I was just looking at some videos today. I got some great ideas for some other ways to use AI. It makes my job easier, right?

Speaker 2: 5:34

So here's the thing AI absolutely it's going to affect telecommunications, but telecommunications is still going to be a strong and an evolving career path. But it's smart to ask how AI is going to change that, right? So let's break it down. I got a few thoughts here. I got some notes that I don't make sure I catch everything. Ai is a tool, not a replacement. I'm going to say that again for the people in the back AI is a tool, not a replacement. Now, while AI is changing how some things get done, especially in areas like coding, knock, monitoring and predictive analytics, it's not going to replace the core infrastructure of the internet. It's not going to replace fiber optics or 5G towers or smart buildings. It's not going to affect the hands-on work the people pulling the cable, terminating the cable, reconfiguring patch panels, crawling through ceilings, crawling through crawl spaces that's still going to require skilled technicians, skilled designers and skilled project managers.

Speaker 2: 6:46

Telecom is way more than coding. Matter of fact, I know a lot of people in this industry and very few people that I know actually even do coding. Very few people actually do coding. Right? Shotzi says AI cannot build data centers. Exactly right, sean's piping in. He says you will not lose your job to AI. You may lose your job to someone using AI if you're not embracing it and learning. Oh, dude, I'm going to put that one in the last one. That is so great. That is so great. You may not lose your job to AI, but you might lose your job to somebody who's using AI to make themselves more efficient.

Speaker 2: 7:30

I saw a TikTok video today on my lunch break. So it's on the internet. So it's got to be true. Right, it's got to be true. And it basically said that if you're using AI, that gives you the equivalent of somebody who's 20 points smarter on their intelligent tests. So you know, there you go. So, yeah, telecom is more than cutting. So, yes, you're absolutely right. So there's the technician out in the field. How's AI going to interface with that. You know there might be tools and stuff that they can use to make their job more efficient. Same thing with project managers, same thing with designers. There are some software jobs that are going to be reshaped by AI, but telecommunications, again, it involves installation design, project management, estimating my favorite quality assurance. I love being a QA inspector, right, network engineering, field service and even consulting.

Speaker 2: 8:26

Now, most of these roles are safe for the foreseeable future for people who are afraid of AI, but I'm going to tell you now there's more and more demand because the AI-driven system is needing more connectivity, more uptime and more speed. So that means more drive, more AI. What does that mean? It means massive data movement. It means there's going to be more fiber installed, more data centers built out, more wireless access points, more secure networks. Even if AI is optimizing what's inside the box, we still need more boxes. We still need more boxes and we need faster boxes, and those faster boxes need to be connected even more.

Speaker 2: 9:11

So AI I've said this before on other podcasts it's going to make the project manager more efficient. It's going to make that estimator more efficient. So maybe a company might be able to get away with less project managers, but there's going to be way more work, way more work. And because there's going to be way more work, because they need more data centers capable of developing and implementing AI. That's going to be more work, more projects. You need more project managers. So I mean, I don't have the glass ball, I truly don't.

Speaker 2: 9:42

I think, honestly, roles will evolve, but they won't disappear. A project manager who understands AI tools and how to implement them, who's not afraid of AI it's going to help them streamline their deployment. And the installer who can embrace the smart building tech is going to stand out over the ones who don't. One of the things that really cracks me up and I see this a lot as an instructor I'm going around teaching people in the communications industry who are installing data networks, phone networks, and more times than not, when they are signing in on my computer because I got to sign in on a spreadsheet they are literally doing the two-finger typing. I'm telling you right now, if you want to stand out in this industry, embrace AI, find ways to make AI work for you. Designers who understand how to plan for future heavy AI workloads they're going to be leading the next wave in this industry.

Speaker 2: 10:46

The field isn't shrinking, it's shifting. Okay, it's shifting right. George Henry says look up the home row ASDF, jkl, semi. Practice it, my friend, practice it. You know, kayla, that brings up a great point. One of the things I learned on AI is you can go on and say hey, help me learn this skill in 30 days. So that's my challenge to you, kalen Go to AI, say hey, in the next 30 days, teach me how to be a better typist it's not using two fingers and then come back and tell me if it works or not. Right, so there you go. So the field isn't shrinking, it's shifting.

Speaker 2: 11:24

And for those who stay curious early, you know I'm a boomer. In case you haven't been able to tell, I am a boomer, but I'm an early adopter. I was, I was the. I had my first computer. Listen to this. I had my first computer in 19, that's right, 1982. It was a radio shack, trs 80, and as it was like 11, 1200 at the time, I was you know, I've said this before I had a family, a couple, couple kids, and my wife and my mother-in-law were looking at me like, why are you doing this? I'm telling you right now I'm an early adopter, early adopter of stuff. So adapt and thrive.

Speaker 3: 12:05

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Speaker 2: 12:51

Question number two. This comes from Water Pro and he wants to know which kind of cable is safe to use in a crawl space. Of course I will put them against the joists for sure. So let's talk about crawl spaces. Cable guy's in the house. Cable guy, how you doing my friend? I'm going to be in North Carolina and South Carolina next week. Is that anywhere near you? Let me know, shoot me a message. Okay, I was born fossil. Yes, there you go. So let's talk about crawl spaces.

Speaker 2: 13:25

Now, crawl spaces are often overlooked because a lot of commercial low voltage guys they prefer to run their cables up in the ceiling right. Commercial low voltage guys they prefer to run their cables up in the ceiling right. They get afraid of looking behind things. I've crawled in some spaces that nowadays I kind of would go ooh, I wouldn't want to crawl in there anymore, right? So they're often overlooked because they're harder to pull cable. But they're going to be critical when it comes to cable selection right and, more importantly, safety, compliance and co-compliance.

Speaker 2: 13:54

So what does the NEC actually say about all this? It does give us some direction, right? Here's your homework assignment. Go look up NEC article 300.22, paragraph C. That covers spaces used for environmental air. Right, crawl spaces. I see cable guy says crawl spaces aren't my favorite. I knew you'd do a crawl space because you're a cable guy. Cable guys do crawl spaces. I see Cable Guy says crawl spaces aren't my favorite. I knew you dug crawl spaces because you're a cable guy. Cable guys do crawl spaces and I started off as a cable guy in this industry way back in 1982. So Article 300.22, that's going to cover those spaces used for environmental air. See, when you ask that question you just said crawl spaces. Okay, it kind of really depends. I've seen crawl spaces underneath trailers. I've seen crawl spaces in commercial office buildings. I've seen crawl spaces uh like in, uh in steam tunnels. So it kind of I needed kind of more information. I'm going to kind of cover the whole gamut. So if it's inside of a commercial office building and it might be using for commercial air, look up 300.22 paragraph.

Speaker 2: 14:53

Article 800.113 in the communication section tells us what types of cables are allowed in non-plenum crawl spaces. So make sure you look those up. So first thing is, I'm going to assume you're talking about copper. Okay, I'm going to assume. So let's break it down CM. Cm, that's communications general purpose cable. It is permitted in non-plenum, non-environmental crawl spaces. It's going to be low cost, right, low cost, and it's commonly used in residential and light commercial. Again, you didn't say what kind of crawl space that was. Now, it's not used for a crawl space.

Speaker 2: 15:31

If that crawl space is used for air handling, cmr, communications, roser rated cable, that's suitable for vertical spaces but it's also allowed in non-environmental crawl spaces. It's a good practice that if there's any chance that the cable is going to move between floors, cmr is going to be the one. Then you've got P, cmp, p for Sanford Plenum. That's going to be required in that crawl space. If that crawl space is being used for environmental air, it's going to be a flame retardant, low smoke and have the highest fire rate. Remember it is okay to exceed the code book. Hey, did you catch my post this week? I did a post was it yesterday or the day before? On a response to the people tie wrapping a cable to a thing. That thing's got like 22,000 views, 22,000 views, love it, love it. So again, if that crawl space is being used this is my ADHD kicking in if that crawl space is being used for any kind of environmental light, then you're going to have to go with plenum. Okay, if you want a reference for that. Again, that's going to be covered.

Speaker 2: 16:39

300.22, paragraph C what not to use? Okay, not to use. Do not use CMX. Cmx cable is not rated for in-wall or crawl space and unrated. Stay away from unrated stuff, right? Um, it typically doesn't meet the nbc for inbuilding. You stay away from copper clad aluminum, you know. Don't go to amazon, buy some copper. Buy yourself some copper clad aluminum. Don't ever do that. That's the worst stuff in the world you can do. Cmr is what I use in most my area of the country. Most spaces aren't even plentiful. Yep, there you go. Here's some field best practices for you.

Speaker 2: 17:16

Always elevate the cables, you said in a crawl space, but again, you didn't give me a lot of description there. Support the cables up off the ground. Avoid direct contact with dirt. Avoid direct contact with standing water. Guess what? There may not be standing water while you're pulling the cable today, but there might be later. So get that cable off of the ground. Jayhooks oh, by the way, thank you, invent, they sent me 50 green jayhooks for the podcast studio. Thank you, invent. I appreciate that. So get it up on the floor. Protect your cables from sharp edges and you know it actually tells us in the code book that you got to protect the cables from sharp edges, protrusions that could damage the cable during install. Watch out for rodents, especially in crawl spaces. Watch out.

Speaker 2: 18:01

You said you're going to run them in the joists. Be careful with attaching the joists. I'm not saying you can't, but a lot of people like to staple cables to joists. If you staple a cable you can crush the jacket. That's going to affect their performance, cause you some all kinds of issues there. Right, label both ends, label both ends.

Speaker 2: 18:20

And I would also suggest, if it's going to run underneath the crawl space, that's not going to be the easiest place to get to Pull out your cable. Let's say you're going to be the cable's 50 feet long. What I would do is since, since the label is now you can automatically print off labels pretty easy I would print off a label for every five feet and and label that cable every five feet. Because that way, trust me, the next technician who's underneath that crawl space and they go hey, where does this cable go? And there's a label right there, that cable, that cable technician is going to think you are a god. Yes, I wouldn't do that with every cable. But in a place where it's hard to get into, that cable technician is going to think you are a god. Yes, I wouldn't do that with every cable. But in a place where it's hard to get into, like a crawl space, absolutely label every five feet Because all you're going to do is hit, print, print, print, print, print. It's not that hard to do with a labeling machine.

Speaker 2: 19:07

But here's the thing. Here's the thing. Check with your authority-having jurisdiction. Check with your electrical inspector. I guarantee you they know the building. Call them up, say, hey, I want to do the cable and crawl space, I want to make sure it's code compliant. What am I going to have to do there? And, trust me, most of them are going to help you through that scenario. Most of them will.

Speaker 2: 19:31

Now let me tell you I have crawled through my share of tight, my share of muddy, my share of cobweb filled crawl spaces, and nothing's worse than seeing a cheap chewed up cable. Or cable has been zip tied right, it's been tip tied Just, especially if it's a speaker cable right, especially if it's a speaker cable right. Not only do you risk code and fire problems, but also your reputation as a cable guy will tell you this he may not like going through crawl spaces but he's going to do it and he's going to do it right because he's a professional professional. Look up my last episode if you doubt it right. If it's inside of the building and you're not worried about water and stuff like that, I think maybe plan will probably be your best spot there, right? It'll pass inspection. It's going to stand the test of time.

Speaker 3: 20:22

Let's take a short break. Are you trying to reach the technicians, project managers and decision makers of the ICT industry? Then why aren't you advertising on let's Talk Cabling? With over 150,000 impressions a month across podcasts, youtube and social media? This isn't just a show. It's the go-to resource for the low-voltage industry. We spotlight the tools, training and technology shaping the future of structured cabling, and your brand could be front and center. Don't just get noticed, get trusted. Email, chuck at advertising at letstalkcablingcom, and let's connect your brand to the right audience today.

Speaker 2: 21:09

Next question, number three. And this one came during last week's episode and I had to think about it. That's why I didn't answer it right then. And there I had to put some thought because I wanted to give it due justice. And the question I didn't catch the name of the guy who did it, but I got the screen snapshot and the question was I am a PE who manages Division 27 and Division 28.

Speaker 2: 21:32

How do you deal with a weak low-voltage partner, for example a project manager or foreman, who do not do any progress walks, take notes or communicate or coordinate or look at the schedule? Help, okay, so, as a PE managing Division 27, that's the data and communication section of the AIA, and Division 28 is the electronic safety and security. So he's doing both of those right. You're going to be right in the thick of coordinating across various trades. It's not going to be uncommon for you to encounter low-voltage trade partners who struggle with the basics and project management expectations, for example, things like progress walks, documentation, scheduled hands and all that stuff, because a lot of project managers in the low-voltage industry are just glorified technicians who the boss gave them a title. Don't get me wrong. There are some great project managers in low-voltage. I'm not saying that. But there's a lot of smaller companies that, in order to keep their people happy, they'll go. Okay, you're a project manager, but they're technically not doing any project management, they're just they got the title. So the first thing is educate and set up the expectations up front. Set the expectations. In my experience, clear communication is key from day one. With a weak trade partner, you need to take the initiative to set the tone from day one. Right, daryl, the RCD says the PE needs to write the requirements in the bid documents and set the expectations before. That's exactly where I'm heading, daryl, exactly where I'm heading, exactly where I'm heading. So, for example, here's some things right, kickoff meetings, whole detailed kickoff meetings with the low-voltage project manager and informant. Outline the expectations, include in that progress walks and make sure you say you know once a week, once every other week, whatever you know. Set that down Daily logs. Right, communications Ensure that everybody understands what's at stake, and miscommunication could lead into delays, could lead into increased costs or, worse yet, a poor performance.

Speaker 2: 23:38

The documentation standards provide them with the specs around Division 27 and 28. The more they understand what's expected of their team progress, the more likely they are to rise to that challenge. My boss always used to say you know I don't care if you, you know I don't care if you make the wrong decision. Just make a decision, Just do it. Maybe even offer them on the job coaching. I know you said that they don't seem interested, but weak performance stems from lack of experience or knowledge.

Speaker 2: 24:13

Again, tying back into my first point, they may just be a project manager in name only. Use the mentorship approach and demonstrate how consistent documentation and communications is going to help the entire project run smoother, including their work. I've always said this you want to get somebody buy-in on what you're doing. Explain to them what they're going to do is going to make their job easier. Right, take them on walks with you. Show them how to document, because it might be again that project manager, who's title owning they, may not know what to do. Take them with you and show them how to document issues as they walk through, mark, mark up schedules and identify gaps early. Okay, and then I also suggest, along with the whole mentoring thing at the same time, that you escalate and protect your project. Despite your best efforts, there's going to be chances that they don't step up, and when that happens, it's going to be critical that you take a more structured approach.

Speaker 2: 25:09

Document, document, document. Yes, mentor them, but document it along the process. I stress the importance of documentation all the time. It's so important. It's pro tip number one on my list on the website. Go look it up. Let's Talk Cabling Pro tip list. Pro tip number one Document, document, document. When things aren't going as planned, it's going to be vital to keep a proper paper. I should have got that in my green construction logbook for this class. I really should have Daily reports and logs, start documenting each and every visit and any non-performance. Put that in a book. A simple email recap after you walk off the job site is going to help solidify expectations. After you walk off the job site, it's going to help solidify expectations.

Speaker 2: 25:53

If they don't follow through on what's been agreed upon, then this is going to give support for escalation. Incorporate the schedule. For example, I mentioned this before. I did a QA on a site somewhere in the state of Florida I won't say where it was and they hung up the ladder rack with angle irons. But they screwed the angle irons into a drywall with drywall screws, not anchors, and I told them look, you've got to fix that and I documented it and then I made sure I went back to follow up on it. So there you go, make sure that and, daryl, you started pointing this out too leverage contractual language.

Speaker 2: 26:31

Now you may not be able to do much with this particular project, but in your contract documentation, moving forward, set out those specific expectations. Right, tell them, as part of this contract you will be doing these things, okay. And then that way what you can do is, if they start not doing it, you can refer to the contract and say, look, in the scope of work, you agreed to doing weekly walkthroughs with me. You agreed to do site QAs, you agreed to do all this, site meetings, all that stuff. So that way you can hold them accountable. And then, if they're not, if they still not do it, then you can issue a notice of noncompliance. Issue a notice of noncompliance and that is going to get their attention. Noncompliance, those are big words, right, that's going to force them to take action in order to remain compliant with the contract. Document all your actions here, because, again, if it ends up going to mitigation or court, you document, you document, you document. Got to protect your job, you've got to protect your job.

Speaker 2: 27:38

Now let's talk about maybe vetting future trade partners. Maybe you might not want to use this guy anymore. You know, vet your contraction with early. You know, use Bixie, certified Louisville, these contractors or people who have proven contract project management processes. You can make that part of the submittal process. Submit to us what do you have, what do you have for your project manager processes, and that's going to help you Basically just to kind of close that section out right. Mentor them, document with their weak performance. You know some people say, you know, mentor them first and they still don't. Then document no document and mentor at the same time because time is of the essence on a project.

Speaker 2: 28:25

Question number three this comes from matt on instagram and matt says chuck, I've been wanting to ask your opinion using an OTDR to certify that's a big word there certify fiber as opposed to link loss testing. Quite often I'm working by myself and it's just not feasible to link loss test when the fiber is at the end is about a thousand feet away. Okay, first off, thanks for the kind words. Thank you for sending me that message and you're not alone. This is one of the most common shortcuts that I see fibers taking in the field, especially when they are working so low. And while I totally agree the challenge to testing a thousand foot fiber run by yourself, I totally agree, it's a challenge, I got to hit you with some truth according to the standards, according to the best practices and one or two decades of experience. Right, the short answer is an otdr is not an approved substitute for link loss.

Speaker 2: 29:24

Budget for tier one testing. Okay, that certified, that comes directly from the anzi standards 568.3. If you want to go look it up, it's a helpful tool but it's not a whole test. Now, that's what I said. The certification is the key in this one. Right, if you're just telling the customer look, I certify it's going to be working, that's one thing. But if you're trying to submit test results to a manufacturer for warranty to get a certification that way, that's a different subject. Okay, so what do the standards actually say? You know, in uh 568.3 again, looking at my notes here, um section 7.1.1.1 says and it clearly states that tier one testing basically is going to require length insertion, loss using a light source and a power meter and polarity verification.

Speaker 2: 30:10

Tier two testing uses a OTR trace only as a supplement, not a replacement, only as a supplement, not a replacement O2DRs. They measure backscatter and reflection. They're not really good with end-to-end insertion laws. Now, they will calculate it. But again, here's the thing Even though your OTDR shows a smooth trace, that doesn't mean your connectors are clean. That doesn't mean you're within the budget. So the Bixi Hitsa manual also echoes this.

Speaker 2: 30:48

If you're turning over a certified system to a client, especially in an enterprise environment, link loss testing is what matters. Link loss testing doesn't matter. So FOA says the same thing too. Here's a real world perspective, though I'm not here to beat you up, I'm really not. I understand the challenge you're having. You're doing what you can with what you've got.

Speaker 2: 31:05

So here's some practical tips for you for your testing. Okay, number one pre-label and prep the prep far, far before you actually start to test. Leave the launch cords, connectors and get your notes already. Um, loop back test trick. You know, even if your fiber, even if your fiber count is even, you can loop back the far end back. You know, for example, fiber one to fiber two and so on, so forth, and you can do end-to-end testing using a one-sided, one-sided LSPM. Remember to divide your loss by two though, because you're going out and coming back.

Speaker 2: 31:38

Remote monitoring assistance. Some testers allow for remote monitoring via phone or cloud, or grab a helper. That can help too. So what could really go wrong with just using the OTDR by itself? Well, you might get away with it now, but sooner or later what's going to happen is a bad connector with a clean reflection might actually pass the OTDR, but it's going to fail in real, real transmission. So a lot of it depends too on how much bandwidth they're putting across that A dirty or mismated connector could go undetected if it's too close to the OTDR, if it's inside that dead zone, if you're not setting it up correctly, and you could end up with a system that doesn't meet insertion loss budgets. And if your name's on that certification, guess who's liable? You're liable. So I've seen guys use OTDR from both ends and issue certifications and in the end hook it up and see the switch fails once you put it under a load. But guess what? Now you're troubleshooting, now you're explaining and now you're potentially repooling. So here's the deal.

Speaker 2: 32:48

Otr, yes, it's a powerful tool. Yes, but it's a great tool for diagnosing breaks and excessive connector loss. But don't skip that Tier 1 tester, Tier 1 tester. You can pick up a Tier 1 tester for not too much of an investment. Actually you can get a Tier 1 tester, you know, three, four, five grand, and especially if you're putting that word certified with it, there's a huge legal implication there. So if you're delivering that system to the customer, give them the proof that the network's going to meet the standards and that it doesn't just look good on the trace.

Speaker 2: 33:26

All right, let me flip over. I didn't see any questions coming in here. Let's check the questions over here. I have a question. Let me put on my safety glasses so I can read this, my safety glasses when can a fiber optic splicing contractor get numbers to use for bids on outside plant projects for splicing, osp placing and enclosure bids? Where can a fiber optic splicing contractor get numbers to use for bids? So I'm not quite sure I understand the question. Are you asking me where do you get numbers for people to work for you under a subcontractor? Or are you asking me where can you get numbers from other people for what they charge? So you know the charge? I'm not quite sure. I don't know if I totally understand that question right. Sean, check the contractor obligations. There are bid documents, submittals. If they don't comply, put them on notice, Educate them, but they need to be mentored. Mentor, mentor, mentor document, document, document. Put them on notice. They're not compliant. All righty, let me see here Should you bond both sides of an armored fiber?

Speaker 2: 34:40

This is coming from H Craig. Should you bond both sides of an armored fiber or only one side? I've been told both ways. Okay, here's what you need to know. What does the code say? The code says you have to install that armored fiber per the manufacturer's instructions, and most of the manufacturers everyone I'm aware of are going to tell you both ends have to be bonded to the ground. You want to give that stray voltage, the quickest and the safest path to a ground that you can get. Okay, so both ends of an armor fiber need to be bonded to a ground. Bullet bonds work really well. And then just run that over to, you know, to your secondary bonding bus bar or your primary bonding bus bar. Great question. By the way, all righty, it is 635, 635, and mama's cooking dinner out there and it's smelling pretty good, pretty good. So let's go ahead and let's play the outro music so Chuck can go eat dinner and get ready for tonight's RCDD study group.

Speaker 1: 35:50

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