Larry A. Kush, Bethlehem Steel
Problem
Too often, the lighting in a telecommunications closet (TC) is poor or non-existent. Installers and technicians who try to work inside a poorly lit TC find that their tasks are more time-consuming and frustrating than necessary.
Solution
You can install a 110-volt alternating-current (AC) light inside one of the top drawers of an equipment cabinet inside the TC. Doing this will provide installers and technicians with adequate overhead lighting when they work inside the TC.
Procedure
1) Purchase a 110V AC light at a retail store.
2) Inside the TC, empty one of the top drawers of an equipment cabinet, and pull the drawer out of the cabinet.
3) Using adhesive-backed material, mount the light inside the empty drawer.
4) Place the drawer back inside the cabinet--upside down.
5) When you need overhead light in the TC, pull out the drawer from the cabinet and turn on the light. When you do not need light in the TC or when you are finished working there, slide the drawer back inside the cabinet.
When in service, the overhead light is pulled out of the equipment cabinet in the telecommunications closet.
Cabling Installation & Maintenance Online
In our September issue ("Internet services for cabling installers blossom," page 3), we announced the launch of Cabling Installation & Maintenance`s Xtra!, our revamped Web site. As we noted at the time, the new Web site has the same address as the old one, www.cable-install.com, but the content is not identical. Some of you have looked, unsuccessfully, for our online Buyer`s Guide at the new site. It has been replaced by the Broadband Guide at PennWell Media Online`s "supersite," launched last fall. The Web address of the Broadband Guide, which offers a wider selection of products than Cabling Installation & Maintenance`s former online Buyer`s Guide, is www.broadband-guide.com.
Larry A. Kush is a communications engineer with Bethlehem Steel (Chesterton, IN). This tip was submitted for the Cabling Installer Tips Contest at Cabling Installation Expo `97, held in Charlotte, NC, last October.