AHL Cable Chronicles: Mastering Modern ICT

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Show Overview
• 2:47 New Series and Acronym Challenge
• 4:21 Cat5e vs Cat6 Cable Differences
• 6:40 Cable Dressing and Zip Tie Usage
• 8:49 Fiber Optic Training Requirements
• 12:51 Cable Tracing and Bushings
• 15:41 T568B Color Coding and Labeling
• 21:27 Testers: Certifiers vs Qualifiers
• 30:39 Rack Bonding and Grounding
• 37:04 Bend Radius and Fiber Cleaning

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to After Hours Live with Chuck Bowser, rcdd, your favorite RCDD. You know it's me, don't even try to pretend like I'm not your favorite RCDD. Welcome to let's Talk Cabling, your gateway to the world of ICT. Get ready to dive deep into knowledge and power. As you notice, I took off last week Don't remember why, but I just did. I almost didn't do the night show either. I got a bit of a neck problem and having some issues there, so not sure what's kind of going on with it, but you know, hey, it is what it is. So welcome to After Hours Live with Chuck Bowser, where you get to ask me questions on installation design, certification, project management, estimation. I even do career path questions Career path questions. Hello Anthony, how you doing, my friend. So don't forget. If you want to submit questions, submit them to me. We'll go ahead and answer them. I got a lot of questions tonight, so I'll probably have to answer your questions next week unless I finish all my questions tonight.

Speaker 1: 1:22

Also, what are you drinking? What are you drinking? What are you drinking? Because I'm drinking my Zevia soda again. Zevia soda, zevia soda again. Sorry about that. I guess I had my microphone turned off. Holy cow, I better go double check my feed and make sure that that's working correctly. This is the bad thing about being a solo artist who does everything, everything. Let me just double check my microphone. Yes, it is indeed working. There we go. So Facebook is not live. I'm doing well, anthony. I hope you're doing well too, my friend. So, if you notice, I started doing a new series, actually two new series, two of them. Hope you noticed them. The first one is called Lunchbox Learnables. Lunchbox Learnables comes out every Wednesday between 12 and 1. I've done three episodes, no Four episodes now Four episodes, and let me know if you see that and you find value in that content. I'm also starting a new series called Chuck's Gallery of the Grotesque yes, where I take pictures I find off the internet and then I roast the people who are the installer, who actually did the work. So those are my two new things I'm working on right now. So again, what are you drinking? Tell me in the chat box. Tell me in the chat box. What are you drinking? Tell me in the chat box. Tell me, chat box, what are you drinking? Ok, let me see. Doesn't look like anybody is chatting in the chat box. So there we go.

Speaker 1: 2:53

Anyways, let's get on with the questions. There we go. Get on with the questions. That way we are good to rock and roll. If I get to the right screen, I am just.

Speaker 1: 2:59

I am messing up big time. Oh, I forgot to do the acronym challenge. I am messing up big time. Oh, I forgot to do the acronym challenge. The acronym challenge. I made it simple. I made it simple.

Speaker 1: 3:07

The acronym challenge for today is D-A-S Das Das. What is that D-A-S? While you're answering that, I'm going to go ahead and take a sip of my Zevia Cola. You know, one rule of thumb is, when you are talking, doing broadcasting or doing recording is to never drink a carbonated soda. Anybody want to take my bets on if I burp or not in the middle of this episode? There you go, tas. What does it mean? It's a DAS system. I don't see anybody answering.

Speaker 1: 3:41

Distributed antenna system. It's a collection of that. There you go, anthony. You typed in right as I said it. So 10,000 points to Anthony, good job. It's a system of antennas that take signals from the outside cellular signals, ems signals and stuff like that and put them inside of buildings where otherwise they may not actually have a signal. So there you go, let's get on with the question.

Speaker 1: 4:04

Question number one yes, it looks like I'm only on TikTok tonight, so luckily I'm recording this and I'll pump it out to the other platforms. But anyways, question number one comes from Willie on Instagram, and Willie wants to know what is the difference between Cat5e and Cat6 cable. Now, like I said, the majority of these questions tonight are going to be apprentice-type level questions because I've been saving them. Oh, before I get on with the questions, I had a call with somebody I can't remember if it was this week or last week. They said they wanted to talk to me about the RCD exam.

Speaker 1: 4:42

I get a lot of those kinds of calls where people want to know you know resources and studying tips and what should they do. Why should they get it? How can it help? I get all these questions all the time. But I got a question from this guy and he started trying to say hey, what's your opinion on this test question? And he would tell me what the actual test question is. I'm not going to give you my opinion on this test question and he would tell me what the actual test question is. I'm not going to give you my opinion on that because my opinion doesn't matter. The only opinion that matters is the answer that Bixie's looking for on their exam. So there you go, moving on.

Speaker 1: 5:15

So what's the difference between Cat 5E and Cat 6? Cat 5E, the OD is typically 0.1A, 0.19, 0.20. Cat6 is 0.22, 0.23, 0.24. It's a little bigger. Cat5e performs up to 100 megahertz. Cat6 performs up to 250 megahertz. When you talk about megahertz, think about lanes in a highway. The more lanes you have, the more traffic that that highway can handle. So Cat6 can handle more data traffic than Cat5e. Cat5e and Cat6 can both do 1 gig up to the full 295 feet for the permanent link per the ANSI standards. Cat6 can do 10 gig but it can only do it up to about 55 meters. So the question here as you see, in the standards a lot says that the minimum is Cat 5E, the recommended is Cat 6. Why does it say that? It says that because Cat 6 has a little bit tighter twist, has a little extra headroom, then chances are if somebody untwists a pair too much while terminating it, you might still get a pass. So you get a little bit of extra headroom. So there is a difference between Cat5 and the E-Cast. There's also a difference in cost as well.

Speaker 1: 6:31

Question number two and this comes from Zara on Facebook, and Zara wants to know can I use zip ties to dress my cable bundles? You know, when I first started doing this podcast, I just imagined it being just a US-centric podcast. But I've got a lot of followers in Dubai, in Saudi Arabia, in India, in Pakistan, a lot of them, and I welcome every one of them, because the world is a small community, especially when it's connected with single-mode fiber. Just saying, just saying so. Anyways, zara wants to know can I use zip ties to dress my cable bundles? So that's kind of a really complex question.

Speaker 1: 7:10

So I'm going to give you the answer that's found in the ANSI standards yes, you can use tie wraps. Velcro's better. Velcro is always better Velcro. There's a lot lower chance that you could actually cinch or crush the cable jackets with Velcro. Tie wraps are allowed, though, per the standards, but if you use tie wraps, there are some requirements. Number one they should be only snug enough to actually spin on the bundle and they need to be placed at irregular distances. Now, if it's in a plenum-rated area, got to use plenum rated tire wraps or plenum rated Velgo. That rule still stays the same. See, when you over cinch on a tire wrap, it crushes that jacket and it brings those pairs closer together and they start interfering with each other. That's called internal interference. So that's the answer by the standards. Internal interference so that's the answer by the standards. Now your company, your customer, might have requirements that might say never use tie wraps. If that's the case, then don't use tie wraps. So keep that in mind. Customers can always exceed what the standards say.

Speaker 1: 8:20

Question number three and this comes from Fred on YouTube, and Fred says do I need special training to work with fiber optics? I don't know about special training, but you definitely need training. Now that you see some people, some people learn by being mentored. Somebody takes them under the wings and they teach them how to do everything. That's fine. Keep in mind that doing it that way, you're inheriting whatever mistakes that that person who's mentoring you is making. So keep that in mind. What they're doing. There's my burp Told you don't ever drink a carbonated soda during a recording, anyways. So that person might have been trained wrong and they might be mentoring you wrong. So because of that, I highly recommend that you go to either a reputable resource reputable resource you can go to YouTube, and I've said this a gazillion times and I know they listen because they mentioned it to me at a Pixie conference. If you get to F, you go to YouTube and type in free two-hour fiber training. You're going to find a video made by FIS, fiber Instrument and Sales these people. John Bruno is the instructor. He's a fantastic instructor, great class. That's a good resource.

Speaker 1: 9:39

There's also, you know, bixie has fiber optic training. They've got some really good trainers there as well. I've never taken the fiber class at Bixie, but I know the trainers and I know the quality they are, so I know they got to be good. And then there's also Light Brigade now does fiber optic training. I had Sean on what three, four, five months ago to talk about the new training program. And then also don't forget the FOA, the Fiber Optic Association you new training program. And then also don't forget the FOA, the Fibre Optic Association you can get your CFOT Certified Fibre Optic Technician. So, to give it, look up Lee Renfrow, gofar Training. He does a lot of those classes. And there's also Jane up in Canada.

Speaker 1: 10:16

So if you're listening to today's podcast with Canada, so, yes, absolutely get training, because training is just not going to be a good training class is going to talk about theory, because you need to understand how it works. Why is single mode called single mode? Why is multi-mode called multi-mode? Hey, if you know, in the chat box, tell me why is single mode called single mode and why is multi-mode called multi-mode. Let's see if you guys know the difference between them. So you got to know, know theory. You've got to know what is total internal reflection, what is a microband, what is a macroband? And then, once you've got the theory down, then you need to know safety, because terminating fiber can be a dangerous activity.

Speaker 1: 11:00

So you need to you know, protect your eyes. You need to use approved scrap containers. By the way, do not use electrical tape rolled over backwards. Do not use soda cans, soda bottles, beer cans, beer bottles, parmesan cheese cans, redmond snuff pouches. Dispose them in an approved scrap container and then, once that container is full, then dispose of them properly. And then also, like I said, always protect your eyes, because the wavelength that fiber optic works at is not the wavelength that humans can see.

Speaker 1: 11:33

So always assume that every fiber is live until you prove it otherwise. And there's lots of different ways that you can prove that if a fiber is live Probably the simplest and easiest method is if you ever sat in a OSHA 10 class. Osha 10 class, right? They all talk about lockout tagout procedures, lockout tagout procedures right? My dad's going to teach me fiber as soon as it's. He said it's pretty easy. Fiber is pretty easy. It's a lot easier than it used to be 20 plus years ago when I of actually 40 plus years ago when I started today's environment. Fiber is super easy, super easy. So you know, treat every fibers if it's live. Also, make sure that you also treat every fiber connector, fiber adapter panel and every fiber optic patch cord as if being dirty. Okay, when Chuckie came to me and said, I don't care, it's dirty until you clean it. So there's a lot more. There's a lot to fiber. There's a lot to copper too, but fiber is not as hard as it used to be. So, absolutely, get that training. Just get again good, valuable training.

Speaker 1: 12:43

Question number four this comes from Tina on LinkedIn and she says how do I trace a cable when I don't know where that it goes? Okay, so this thing called a tone generator, a tone probe, a fox and hound they call different kinds of things. I don't have one in my desk in here with me. I've got one of my toolbox up on the new podcast studio. So there's one device it's usually a little square box with two wires coming out of it you can turn. There's a little on-off switch on. You turn it on. One way it turns and the other way it tests for continuity. Put it on tone. Or sometimes it comes with a little RJ-11 plug, plug that into the jack. That puts a tone on the cable and then you have this thing called a probe, a wand and a duct of amplifier.

Speaker 1: 13:27

You go into the telecom room and you push the button and you stick it in the bundle cables and at first you're going to hear Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doo-doo-doo. It's going to get a lot louder. So that's how you turn out the cables. You can do the same thing with electrical cabling and stuff like that. Some things you've got to be careful with is make sure that that cable is not connected to a piece of equipment, because I have burnt out more than one probe by doing that.

Speaker 1: 13:58

Question number five this comes from Carl on TikTok Do I have to use bushings on EMT electrical metallic tubing conduit when pulling low-voltage cable? Yes, you do. It is a code requirement. If you want to go look it up. It's NEC 300.4, paragraph G, yes, and basically it says that you have to have your pathways to be from burrs, sharp edges or protrusions. They could damage the cable during install. I know by heart, I do. So, yeah, you have to put the bushing on. Here's the thing If an electrician installed the conduit for you, they're supposed to put the bushing on. If you run a cable through a conduit before the electrician puts it on, now it's your responsibility to put on that bushing. So wait till they put it on and let them do it right Now. There's a couple different kinds of bushings. The easiest is the plastic hammer-on ones. You don't even need a hammer, you can just bang them on your hands. There's also metal bushings too, but both of them are accepted as long as it's listed for its use Listed, listed for its use. What does listed mean? Listed means any product or service that has been tested by an NRTL National Recognized Testing Laboratory. Ul Intratech, ul of Canada has been tested and it meets the safety standards set up by the NFPA. So it's got to make sure it's got a UL label on it. Question number six this comes from Ricky on Reddit. What is the proper color code for T568B termination.

Speaker 1: 15:48

Okay, first off, you have pair numbers and you have pin numbers, pair numbers. Pair number one is blue. Pair number two is orange. Pair number three is green. Pair number four is brown. Those are the pair numbers. When you look at the pins on that RJ45 or APHC, there's numbers Number one's on the left, number eight's on the right. Number one is going to be the white-orange pair, that's the white, that's the conductor's majority white with an orange stripe. Pin number two is going to be orange-white. So it's the majority orange with a white stripe. Pin three is going to be white-green. Pin four is going to be white-green. Pin 4 is going to be blue-white. Pin 5 is white-blue. Pin 6 is green. Pin 7 is white-orange. Pin 8 is I'm sorry, pin 7 is white-brown and pin 8 is brown. That's the color code for T568A.

Speaker 1: 16:42

There's also a T568. I'm sorry, that's 568B. There you can use either A or B. As long as you use them on both sides A on both sides or B on both sides, it'll work fine and dandy. If you're doing residential installs, the ANSI standard tells us that we really should be using T568A because it's backwards compatible with an older wiring scheme called USOC. The blue and the oranges line up on USOC and 568A, so that way, if you've got an older two-line phone set in your house, it'll work. Here's the rub, as they would say, in Shakespeare land. In today's environment, not that many people still have analog phone lines in their house. The majority of the people use their cell phones or use the voice system through their cable TV, right? So there you go.

Speaker 1: 17:44

I can't stand that plastic swirl in the middle of cat sticks. That is called a cross-web separator. Cross-web separator. Keith is called a cross-web separator. Cross-web separator, Keith. The purpose of the cross-web separator is to keep those four pairs further apart from each other so they don't interfere with each other. Cat 6-8 cable a lot of times has that cross-web separator, but there are some Cat 6-8 cables that do not have that cross-web separator. Just so you know that you hear that argument quite often, right?

Speaker 1: 18:12

What's my thoughts on cage nut mounting, vertical or horizontal? You know? Here's my thoughts on cage nuts. Don't ever buy them. Use the racks with the threads in them. I hate cage nuts. I hate them. My fingers hate them, my fingers hate them. So it has been 20 years since I've used cage nuts and I know that there's a lot of manufacturers using cage nuts because it helps them save on the manufacturing process. But you know that's actually I'm going to make a video about that. Let me take a screen snapshot of that so that way I can process. But you know that's actually I'm going to make a video about that. Let me take a screen snapshot of that, so that way I'm not going to there you go. Hey, zoom Miller, how you doing? My friend All right, he said there 560, 560.

Speaker 1: 19:09

There, question number seven, and this comes from Beth on Facebook and she says what's the purpose of the back box or mud ring in low voltage installs To mount your faceplate to. That's what it's for. Now there are other methods. So, for example, there's a thing called a box eliminator Some people call them MPLS that's actually a model number where you cut the hole out, there's a metal ring and you put it in and you fold it up and you screw through it. But it gives the faceplate a firm attachment to the wall. Because if you just run a screw through the faceplate into the gypsum board, it's easy for somebody to be somebody trip over the patch cord and pull it out of the wall. And it may be required by your AHJ, because it might be a fire rated wall, so they may be requiring that they make a cage nut tool so you don't have to use your fingers.

Speaker 1: 20:05

I know I don't have one. I got to get one for that. That's why I said I should make a video about it right After class. After this live stream, I will walk up to my podcast studio. I will look at my new rack. I know the one behind me. It doesn't have cage nuts, but I think the new one that I have, the new wall-mounted cabinet, I think it might be cage nuts and if it is, you know we're making a video.

Speaker 1: 20:30

How long have I been in low voltage? I have started and ready for this? I started in 1982. 1982. Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 1: 20:40

Question number eight comes from Lenny on Instagram. Do you really need to label every cable? Hey, answer that question for me in the chat box. Do you really need to label every cable? Hey, the old tech guy's in the house how you doing, mr Ed, say let me know in the chat box Do you really have to label every cable? Because Lenny on Instagram wants to know. Yeah, yeah. So the question is look at Zoom says always label, always label. Right, so always label, always label, right. So, yes, always label. So you want to label within six inches of each side for horizontal cabling, within 12 inches of each side for backbone cabling, and it has to have its own unique number and it's got to be generated by a mechanical device. Cannot use Sharpies. You can use Sharpies for rough-in, don't get me wrong. Finished product you should have a machine-generated label on both sides. So somebody says label now or pay later. Exactly right, exactly right.

Speaker 1: 21:48

The kind of person who doesn't label their cables doesn't think about the technician who's going to be coming behind them to do service work on the cable a year or two down the road, because if you don't label the cable, then you're going to have to get with. Who was it that asked about the toner probe just a little bit ago? They're going to have to go back and label it right. So there are plenty examples, plenty examples. For example, like this Brother P-Touch labeling machine that I've got. It's kind of dusty, but there are other ones. Brady makes one, panduit makes one. So it's only the machine-generated label. And when it comes to labeling the best way, listen up now. I'm talking to the people in the back of labeling the best way. Listen up now I'm talking to the people in the back.

Speaker 1: 22:34

The best way to label your cables is to follow the ANSI standards. No, the ANSI standard says is let's say, for example, you've got a 19-inch rack. A 19-inch rack has 45 rack units. If you put a patch panel on the very top, put a 45 on that patch panel and the very first portion is going to be 45-1, 45-2, 45-3. Or you can use patch panel A, patch panel B, patch panel C. That works too.

Speaker 1: 23:00

And the reason you want to do it that way is because a lot of guys I see this all the time. They will create labels that go across their patch panels and then two months later, half those labels are missing. Half those labels are missing Because it's cold in the data center. So now there's all different kinds of wraps. I mean all kinds of labels. You got heat shrink labels, wrap around labels. Um, I will tell you this make sure you're using the right label, right label, because some of them don't wrap around very easy. They got a memory to them and they'll actually peel back off. So I got a former student in the room. Good job, yes, appreciate that. I love when people come in and visit me. This one comes from Rose on LinkedIn what's the right way to dress a cable into a patch panel? Okay, what's the right way to dress a cable into a patch panel? Okay, what's the right way to label cables into a patch panel?

Speaker 1: 23:58

I did a show with Anthony Anthony was on that show, sean Repp and All Green Lights, and while there were some minor differences between the three of them, they all said the same thing Plan your routes first. Plan them first, plan them first. So if you've got a bunch of cables that are more than 6, you've got 12, 24, 48, if you look at the backside of the patch panel, you want the cables coming down the right-hand side for ports 1 through 6. Not 6. 1 through 12, sorry. And then on the left-hand side, going through 13 through 24. You never want to cross that imaginary center line. So they come down a route. Don't exceed your band radius, just go in. Okay, that means you've got to bundle them that way and you really want to bundle them that way before you bring them into the telecom room. Okay, before you bring them into the telecom room, because that way it's going to help them dress.

Speaker 1: 25:00

Now a lot of people say well, chuck, what about? Can I cable comb them? Cable comb them, that means you know you take that. I've got one here somewhere. Jannard sent me one I don't know where it is on top of my head, but I got a cable comb and I will be using it for the new podcast too and I'm going to need your help soon, by the way.

Speaker 1: 25:21

And you can dress those cables. So a lot of people say you can't do that because of alien crosstalk. Right, yes, you can. You can use, you can. You can cable comb your cables. We've gotten around those issues. You're good to go.

Speaker 1: 25:38

Somebody says cable comb saves time. The thing. That's really a matter of A, of opinion and B what you're most used to using. Because if you've got somebody, the old school method, zoom, the old school method is to take a tie wrap, put it around the bundle manually with your fingers, sort them out and then, as you work your way down, you slide the tie wrap down and then you put Velcro behind it. That's the old school method. That's old school method.

Speaker 1: 26:01

But a lot of people do like using the cable count. And who was it? It was the cable guy. The cable guy. He's on TikTok and he was doing a live stream over the last couple weeks where he's been dressing up cable behind a rack and he was talking about using cable coms and stuff like that when I build the new podcast studio, which I'm wearing plywood for for this week and I'm starting to get the ladder I came in, thank you. Uh, thank you for the ladder rack that came in. So I'll be mounting that all in and you can see me cable dressing some cable too, just so you know I can do it too. I don't just talk about it, I can actually do it.

Speaker 1: 26:38

Question number 10, and this comes from Mickey on YouTube what's the difference between a continuity tester and a certifier? Continuity tester and a certifier? There's three types of testers. You have certifiers, verifiers and certifiers, verifiers, and my mind is pulled to blank Certifiers, verifiers, and what's the third one? A certifier measures the cable's electrical properties and qualifiers. Thank you, yes, thank you. So it's certifier, qualifier, verifier, that's, and qualifiers. Thank you, yes, thank you, so it's certifier, qualifier, verifier. That's what it is. Thank you, thank you, hunter. I had a mental stroke there for a second.

Speaker 1: 27:21

So certifiers measure the cable's electrical properties and compares them to the standards, and if it meets it, then it's going to go and give you a winner, winner, chicken dinner. Good to go, rock on. Qualifiers don't actually measure any electrical properties on the cable. It actually sends data across it and if you tell, okay, I'm doing a one gig system, it's going to make sure that that cable can send one gig. It doesn't matter if that cable's 410 feet, it doesn't care about the length. If it can successfully send that one gig at four or 10 feet, that qualifier is going to give you a pass. A certifier is going to fail you because you went past 310 feet. 328 feet, sorry. So that's the difference. And then the verifier, the continuity tester.

Speaker 1: 28:07

It's just looking for opens, shorts, reversals and transposals. Where an open is where maybe a conductor did not get punched down all the way, or a conductor got a cable got cut you know it got cut on a ceiling grid or got smushed behind a gypsum board right. A reversal is where you flip the tip and ring, flip the tip and ring. Transposal is where you flip the tip and ring, flip the tip and ring. Transposal is where you flip entire pairs. And usually the most common problem with transposal is you got A on one side and B on the other side. You can thank them for the support and welcome them to join the fan club. Alrighty. So there you go, join my fan club by sending a heart to me, to my live. I'm not sure what that means, but there you go, I said it. So, yeah, a to B is the most common thing for transposals.

Speaker 1: 28:59

Right, here's the rub. If you're trying to go for a warranty, most of the cable manufacturers are going to tell you you have to use a certifier. Certifiers are the most expensive testers you can buy. They range anywhere from $9,000 to $26,000. A qualifier is going to be $3,000, $4,000, $5,000. A continuity tester you can buy one as cheap as $25. Can a certifier do everything? A qualifier can? Yes, it can. But a toner, a continuity tester, can't do everything that a qualifier can. There you go, chip.

Speaker 1: 29:39

What's my thought on the old wax lacing? I miss it so much. Sometimes we do it for power only. I think it's a work of art. I truly do, and I think it's. As long as you don't crush the cable jacket, sure Go ahead, have at it.

Speaker 1: 29:55

There's nothing in the standard that says you can't use wax lacing, and so I gotta ask you, ed, which wax lacing? And so I got to ask you, ed, which stitch are you? Which stitch are you? Are you the Kansas City stitch or are you the Chicago stitch? I think I already know the answer to that one, because I think I asked you that question once before. So absolutely use it for power cabling, absolutely use it for, you know, old voice cabling and or old 25 pair, 50 pair, riser cable, stuff like that. Even though I would say you're probably okay with high-performance data cabling, I would probably shy away from it. And the reason I'd shy away from it is because it's too easy. It's too easy for someone to say, oh, you switched it too hard and cause an argument so there you go. So I'd say, yes, I know you're in Chicago, but you love your Kansas City stitch. You know, when I come to Chicago for Nika in September, you're going to have to show me how to do the Kansas City stitch. You have to show me how to do that.

Speaker 1: 30:54

Question number 11. This comes from D on TikTok. Can I lay my low voltage cables directly on ceiling tiles? And the answer to that is no, you can't. No, you can't, it's a code violation. It's a code violation 800.24, if you want to go look it up. So you can't just lay cables on the grid because the ceiling panel is considered an access panel and it says in the code book you cannot block access panel comma to include ceiling panels. So it's got to be at least three inches above the ceiling tile. That's so the inspector can lift the tile and look at your cables and make sure that you dialed correctly. That's so you can open the ceiling tiles to make sure that you can install cables. That's so the fire department can open the ceiling tiles to make sure they put out the fire that's in the ceiling. So you can't just lay it. It's a code violation. At least three inches. Now the standard says six inches. So if you follow the standards you are exceeding the code. Remember, please remember, this about the code book you can exceed the code book. It is okay to make the building safer. It tells us in the codebook 90.1, paragraph A, paragraphb actually, not A that the codebook is for safety, for safety. And then it goes on further to tell you a paragraph that even if you follow this code further, tell you a paragraph that even if you follow this code, it will not guarantee that it will work. Says it in the code book 90.1, paragraph B. Look it up if you don't believe me. Another term you hear quite often when people talk about the code book is minimum quality of construction. Do you want to be known as the technician who does minimum quality? Tell me yes or no to chat box right now. Do you want to be known as the technician who does minimum quality? Probably not. Does your company want to be known as the company that does minimum quality? Will he just join the house? Hey, will he? Yes, no, yes. You probably don't want them to be there right Now. So we know we got to support the cables above the ceiling tiles. So a lot of times you're running through the middle of a room and there's nothing really. You can't attach to the conduit, you can't attach to the sprinkler parts, you can't attach the HVAC duct work. So what a lot of technicians will do is they will is they will shoot a CC27 clip into the ceiling. It's like an L-shaped clip with a hole in it and a pin and you shoot it in the ceiling. And you can buy them with an independent wire already attached to it so you can attach your own J-hook to your own independent wire. But you've got to mark that independent wire as your own, as your own. Now, in the code book it says something about painting, so absolutely paint it. But Invent has this device. It's in my toolbox. It's a little yellow clip that snaps onto the T-bar and's got a hole. So you attach your independent wire to. So now you can tell the inspector. Look everywhere, you see that yellow clip. I installed that wire, so that's my wire. I'm not attaching to the ceiling grid wire. So those are the requirements that you got to install in the museum. Question number 12. Question number 12. And this comes from Sean on Reddit Do I need to worry about static electricity when working with fiber?

Speaker 1: 34:32

Yes, you do. A lot of people don't think about this, right, when we're a truck, fiber is photons, not electrons. So why not worry about static electricity? Ed the old tech guy will tell you Wrist straps when you're working on electronics, so that way you dissipate that static discharge and you don't mess up stuff. But here's why you need to worry about static electricity and fiber. Static electricity attracts dust, and what is the number one enemy for fiber? It's contamination dust, dirt and debris. So yeah, you got to worry about static. You truly do. If you want to go overboard, yeah, do the anti-static mat. Use the wristbands, just make sure that you keep your connectors clean. Use 99% isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free wipe or one of the pre-made cleaners.

Speaker 1: 35:30

Question number 13, and this comes from Grace on Facebook. Oh, I'm overpassing my 30 minutes. We'll keep going. I only got 15 questions.

Speaker 1: 35:39

Question 13, why is bonding important for racks and pathways Safety? It helps to reduce the chance of shock, helps reduce the chance of damage to equipment and, not to mention, it's required per code. It's also required per the standards and what we're doing is we're giving the voltage surge a safe pathway to go so it doesn't damage equipment, doesn't hurt people. We're trying to equalize the potential between two different points. The lower the number, the better connection to an earth you have. So, for example, when you drive a ground rod into the earth, just kind of give an example between codes and standards. Code says when you drive that ground rod into the earth, just kind of give an example between codes and standards. Code says when you drive that ground rod into the earth, you've got to measure it and it's got to be 25 ohms of resistance or less. Standard says 10. So if you follow the standards, you're exceeding code.

Speaker 1: 36:34

So yes, it's got to be bonded to the ground, even unshielded cable. Your racks got to be bonded to the ground. The ladder racks got to be bonded to the ground. The ladder racks have to be bonded to the ground. If you've got a shielded solution, the patch panels also have to be bonded to a ground, and both sides. This is going to cause a lot of problems with a lot of conflict. I hear now Both sides of a shielded cable have to be bonded to a ground, both sides. Some people say but Chuck, that creates an antenna. No, it doesn't. It does not not for what we're doing. So if you're operating below 1 megahertz, you can get by with only bonding one side of a cable. But since we're at a minimum of 100 megahertz, both sides, both sides.

Speaker 1: 37:19

So bond it to your bus bar in the room, either the primary or the secondary binding bus bar. Attach it to the bus bar with irreversible compression style fittings. Never stack them. Always use two-hole long barrel connectors, two-hole long barrel connectors. Also make sure that you scratch and use antioxidant for reduced contact resistance. Good, clean connection, matter of fact, here's how you can tell if you've got a good connection. Take your volt ohm meter, put it on the connector on the bus bar, put the other lead on the patch panel and you should be at 0.1 ohms of resistance or less. 0.1 ohms of resistance or less.

Speaker 1: 38:00

Question number 14, this comes from Jake on Instagram what is the minimum bend radius for Cat6 cabling? Minimum bend radius for Cat6 cabling Another complicated answer. See, here's the thing I can hear people right now. But, chuck, it's four times the diameter of the cable. It's that simple, that's what the standard says. Okay, but now how do you calculate four times the diameter of the cable? It's that simple, that's what the standard says. Okay, but now how do you calculate four times the diameter? You find out what is the OD, you multiply that by four and you don't exceed that bend radius. Right. But if you happen to have a piece of cable I teach this in class all the time If you have a piece of cable, flip the cable into a loop, pull the cable apart. At some point it kicks out by itself. That's the minimum bend radius. Don't exceed it, right there. That's 4x the cable. But remember we have codes, standards and best practice manuals. The best practice manual, the ITSUM, the practice field, the Bixie practice field guides. They're going to tell you 10 to 20 times OD 20 while you're pulling it, 10 while it's at rest. The larger the bend, the less chance you're going to have problems. Question number 15. This comes from Carmen on LinkedIn.

Speaker 1: 39:14

Do I really need to clean my fiber before I plug it in? I thought we already covered that. Yes, clean it. The actual process is dry clean it, inspect it. Dry clean it, clean it. The actual process is dry clean it, inspect it. Dry clean it, inspect it. If it's still dirty, then use a wet-dry system, again, 99% ice-propyl alcohol and a lint-free wipe, and then inspect it. If it's still dirty. At that point I don't know what to tell you. I just don't know what to tell you, I just don't. All right, let me see here.

Speaker 1: 39:43

Chuck, do you ever talk about handholds and manholes? Like, what's the difference in water issues? So a handhold and a manhole? So a handhold is literally just big enough for you to put your hands in. They're typically, you know, maybe 12 to 18 inches wide, maybe up to 24 inches long, and they're usually like maybe 12 inches deep, a manhole you can actually climb into it. We don't call them manholes anymore technically. They're technically called maintenance holes. Now we don't call them manholes anymore. So a maintenance hole, you can actually climb completely into it. There's lots of things you've got to consider yourself right. A utility vault is very similar, except for a utility vault is even bigger. You've got to worry about your. You've got to test for the oxygen. You've got to test for oxygen, right, because what happens is you'll get fumes inside of it and they're heavier than oxygen. You go down there and if the oxygen gets below I think it's 16% you die. You die. All right. So you've got.

Speaker 1: 40:51

It's considered a confined space, exactly, right, anthony, there are three requirements for a confined space, right? Three requirements. Number one you have to physically be able to get into it. Number two it has not to be it has not to be designed for continuous occupancy. I can't remember the third. I can't remember the third. Yeah, there you go. So, yeah, if I remember the third, I'll make a video about it.

Speaker 1: 41:18

The three things. So you've got to ventilate it out. You've got to have a tripod. You have to have something attached to a single point of entry. Thank you, hunter Boy. I can tell you're an RCDD student. I can tell you're an RCDD student. So, single point of entry, not designed for continuous occupancy, and you have to physically be able to get into it. Those are the three requirements for confined space. So, phone protector, there you go. Let me see.

Speaker 1: 41:43

I answered that question. I answered that question. I answered that question. Did I miss any questions up here? Let me see here. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Looks like we covered all of the questions, all of the questions. I had nine people here tonight. Tonight is the last night for the RCDD study group. I'm kind of sad. I'm kind of sad it's the last night, but next week that means I'm not going to feel so pressured to get off of this live stream because I got the RCDD study group. So the live streams might start getting longer, longer next week. So there you go. So see you until next time. But remember, knowledge is power In the world of ICT. Let's ride this tide. Thank you for joining us on let's Talk Cable. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with innovation. Keep connecting, keep achieving Until next time.