Q: I am bidding on data installation jobs. Are there any books in which I can find wiring standards for Category 3 and Category 5 patch panels and terminating blocks?
Anthony Scovanner
Harrison Terminal
Cincinnati, OH
A: Other than Clause 10.6.3, which warns of the consequences of excessive stripback of the cable jacket and forbids excessive untwisting of paired conductors, tia/eia-568a, the commercial building telecommunications cabling standard of the Telecommunications Industry Association and Electronic Industries Association (tia/eia-- Arlington, VA), is virtually devoid of cabling installation practices. bicsi`s (Tampa, FL) Cabling Installation Manual, which provides step-by-step procedures on industry-accepted cabling installation practices, is a good place to start. Then contact the hardware manufacturers for additional, product-specific information.
Donna Ballast is a communications analyst at the University of Texas at Austin and a bicsi registered communications distribution designer (rcdd). Questions can be sent to her at Cabling Installation & Maintenance or at PO Drawer 7580, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78713; tel: (512) 471-0112, fax: (512) 471-8883, e-mail: [email protected].