Donna Ballast
Have you been looking for a substitute for a Lucent 188B1-100 protector panel?
The University of Texas at Austin has been installing Lucent Technologies (previously AT&T) 188B1-100 multipair protector panels from 1988--until now. I am all for innovation but not to the point of total abandonment of the customers who require additional materials for expansion of existing cabling systems.
When I contacted Ralph Pickwick, product manager of building entrance terminals at Lucent, he said the 188B1-100 has been discontinued and will not be resurrected. Pickwick explained, "It was Lucent`s decision to design a housing platform that could be used for many different applications. Specifically, it was our intent to support multimedia [copper, fiber, and coaxial cable] in a housing that could be easily modified for different customers in the United States and internationally."
I thanked Pickwick for his response. Then, because not all of us have been wall-mounting the 188B1-100s for all these years, I asked him, How does one attach these new little wonders to an existing Homaco frame? He suggested I contact Homaco.
I contacted David Coulombe, vice president of engineering at Homaco Inc. (Chicago), to see if it had any solutions. Coulombe said that while Homaco had designed a module to mount the Lucent 489 protectors to its 35-inch frame, the protectors were so space-inefficient that Homaco does not recommend its new module to customers. Coulombe also said, "We have had many customers with the same complaint."
Lucent`s previous client base is now left with one option: Find another manufacturer that either has a product currently equal (physically and electrically) to the 188B1-100 or is willing to make modifications to meet user needs.
My search led me to the Internet, where the only likely substitute I could find was the 1880B1-100 from CIRCA Telecommunications USA Inc. (Hudson, FL). We had previously ordered CIRCA 1880C110-100, which was when we discovered that we could not use our AT-8662 D test cords on the connecting blocks--the test cords would just fall into the floor.
Upon closer examination, I learned that the CIRCA 1880C110-100 used an AMP 110 block. AMP 110 C-5s do not have the protrusions on the top and bottom of the wire teeth on the connecting block that hold the test cords in place. Then I contacted AMP regarding its perspective on using test cords. AMP technical support said the company does not manufacture test cords---they tell people to use patch cords. In an attempt to further demonstrate my problem, I questioned how that would work with a jumper in place. The representative explained that when testing with a patch cord, you had to remove the jumper--not a good solution for telephone installers.
My search then led me to the exhibit aisles at the fall BICSI conference, where I met Dan Derasmo, vice president of North American sales with CIRCA Telecommunications USA Inc. We discussed the problem, and he agreed to create a new ordering number for the 1880B1-100 that mounts on Homaco frames and will accept an AT-8662 D test cord. The new ordering number is 326027C25. For more information see www.circatel.com.
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, the University of Texas, Austin, TX 78713; tel: (512) 471-0112, fax: (512) 471-8883, e-mail: [email protected].