Dennis Mazaris,
PerfectSite
Problem
When vertical cable-management racks are placed side-by-side, the brackets on the abutting ends of the racks often cannot accommodate the number of cables running through them. Overloading the small brackets results in kinked patch cords, an aesthetically unpleasing management system, and difficulty in patch-cord identification.
Solution
Cut each bracket on the abutting ends of the racks in half, and place the brackets back in the racks. The result will be one large path for patch cords instead of two smaller paths.
Procedure
1) Remove the brackets from the sides of the racks that abut each other. This step is optional; the modification can also be done without removing the brackets.
2) Cut the brackets in half using a hacksaw.
3) Replace one bracket-half in each rack so that you have created one large cable path instead of two smaller paths.
4) Run patch cords through the large path.
5) Comb down the patch cords, forcing the slack to the bottom of the rack. If you do this, the force of gravity will prevent the cables from exiting the larger-than-normal opening in the newly created bracket.
Small cable managers compress patch cords together, causing cords to overflow and exit the managing system. They also cause cords to kink and make cord identification difficult. Because so many patch cords reside in vertical managers, creating larger managers in this way can be beneficial.
Cut the brackets in half with a hacksaw.
When cable-management racks are placed side-by-side, the brackets on the racks` abutting ends are too small to handle the number of patch cords that will run through them.
The modified bracket-halves provide one large path for patch cords.
Dennis Mazaris, registered communications distribution designer (rcdd), is the principal consultant for PerfectSite (Sterling, VA), a consulting firm specializing in premises cabling management and design.