Where'd you get your patch panels?

[beelzerob]

I need some coax and cat5e patch panels BADLY...and some cat6 ones wouldn't be a bad idea either. Heck, I think I'd like to patch my 22/4 also...we'll see about that, but it'd be nice to have the option.

Is ebay the place for good/cheap? Or is there a favored supplier out there?

 

[Sacedog]

I need some coax and cat5e patch panels BADLY...and some cat6 ones wouldn't be a bad idea either. Heck, I think I'd like to patch my 22/4 also...we'll see about that, but it'd be nice to have the option.

Is ebay the place for good/cheap? Or is there a favored supplier out there?

I got mine off of eBay. Leviton quickport patch panels. That way, I can terminate the Cat6, Camera, Intercom, and Audio all to patch panels. With the 48 port quickport panels, I can mix and match.

The 22/4 would be better to go to a 66 block. If you really wanted to do those to a rack, there are some 110 rack mounted punchdown panels around.

 

[Photon]

I hate 66-blocks, but it is easier to make changes than with 110-blocks. Tri-State Electronic has the blocks, covers, and bridge clips at the right price, and they are fast.
https://www.tselectronic.com/premise_wire/66m150.html

I made a strip to terminate my RG6QS by drilling a series of holes in a length of angle aluminum and screwing in barrel connectors, not unlike this:
http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php...=108&page=1

I had a wall mounted rack with 48 CAT5e jacks on a hinged plate, and it worked out pretty well. I can't remember where I got it, but they are hardly scarce. You should be able to find something at a good price.

Here is a shot of my work in progress:

 

[beelzerob]

Thanks for the tip, sacedog! A quick browsing of ebay, and I'm now the proud owner of a 48 port cat5e patch panel. I got it for much less than $1/port, so I'm pleased with that return. A quick calculation of how many connections I'll need shows:

12 Cat6
44 Cat5e
45 RG59
20 RG6QS

So, 48 is just right for cat5e...at least until I start adding stuff.

For the 22/4 wire, it's stranded....does that matter for punchdown blocks? And if it doesn't, then what is the difference between a 110 and a 66 block? I know they require different tools (or a tool that can do both).

Photon, I like the idea of the angle iron and barrel connectors...but how do you attach the barrel connectors to the iron? Do you buy another nut that screws onto the barrel connector?

I like your photo, photo(n). I think a lot of my stuff is going to be board/wall mounted since I don't have any racks, and that's a pretty clean setup. Of course...the 48 port panel I just bought is for rack mount... I could see getting a very simple set of rails somewhere, not a whole huge enclosed rack system. Besides what I just bought, I've got an autopatch that could go in a rack.

 

[sic0048]

I have several of the Channel Vision coaxial interface, model C-0213. They are really nice and worth the $11 IMHO. I doubt you could built it for much less.

I always have bought my patch panels off E-Bay too. Just make sure they are clearly marked as Cat5e (or better). People are still trying to sell the older Cat5 panels as Cat5e. I like to see Cat5e printed on the patch panel to make sure. If you are patient, you can usually get a 48 port panel for less than $30 (and that includes shipping).

I also have a bunch of 66 blocks (perhaps 6-10 of them including stands). They appear to be new and I bought them off E-Bay a while ago. If anyone is interested in them, I will sell them at a decent price. Take 1 or all. I've just been too lazy to list them on E-Bay.

 

[beelzerob]

Well...8 ports at $11...I need about 64 ports, so that means I'm trying to get it done for under $88. I can get a bag of 100 barrel connectors on ebay for less than $30, so that'd just leave the angle bracket and whatever means of securing them (a nut, presumably)....hmm, I'll have to look into that.

I wasn't patient (go figure!), but I got the 48 port panel for $38 shipped...so not bad for an impulse buy, I guess. It is listed as cat5e, but I'll guess we'll see when it gets here, huh? You never know....

How many connections does a single 66 "block" allow for? I'd maybe be interested in those if it will meet my connection needs (does it work with stranded wire, and why 66 instead of 110, or does it matter?)

 

[Photon]

Punchdown blocks, whether 66- or 110-, are made for solid wire; not stranded. Most of my cable is solid, but just a few stranded. I tried soldering the strands together and then punched down, but I wasn't satisfied. I ended up soldering the stranded to a short length of solid and punching down as usual. If you already have your place wired with stranded cable, I don't think you would enjoy using either kind of block. I would rather have used stranded cable, but I wanted to terminate on these blocks. I don't know how you would terminate stranded cable easily and inexpensively.

I have a sub-panel in the garage attic with a single 66-block. Here's a foto with the cover removed so you can see the "pickle forks" you punch the wires into:


This is the most common kind of 66-block, although there are lots of different configurations. There are 50 rows of forks. Each row is isolated from any other row. There are four columns of forks. In each row, the first is connected to the second. The third is connected to the fourth. You can see come clips I used to connect the left pair(1-2) with the right pair (3-4). I used the left side for Cat5e cables that connect this panel to the third block on my main panel. The yellow cables on the right side go out to the door and window contacts, etc. The clips connect them to the tie-lines to the main panel. I can quickly pull a clip to isolate a sensor for a resistance test. I am especially pleased with the cable labels. Very easy to do with a spreadsheet on the 66-block covers. I used a laser printer to print labels for the cables. Slide a short piece of clear heat shrink tube over the cable, slip in a paper label, heat and I have what I hope is a permanent label.


The barrel connectors I had came with nuts. Don't recall where I got them from.

 

[beelzerob]

Hmm...ok. So far, just for ease of use at the moment, I've been using crimp-on spade connectors. I suppose I'll have to go that route. Somehow, having to go an intermediate step of attaching solid wire just to punch down my wire seems a little counter productive.

Ok, I'll just take a barrel connector down to Lowes and see what I can find that fits. Then price their angle iron there. I think I'm going to end up doing better than $88, and with pieces I can cut to fit a 19" rack.

speaking of which, I think the kind of rack rails I'd like are just like what your pic shows....something I can maybe attach to the ceiling and floor, and not worry about anything else. Where did you get yours, if you recall?

Thanks for the help, everyone...good info, and I feel less concerned about how I'm going to terminate all this (22/4 stranded excepted).

I've still got lots of speaker wire to terminate, but I think I'm going to do the banana plug/keystone/panel method for those. Kinda pricey, but sure should look nice.

 

[Sacedog]

Thanks for the help, everyone...good info, and I feel less concerned about how I'm going to terminate all this (22/4 stranded excepted).

I've still got lots of speaker wire to terminate, but I think I'm going to do the banana plug/keystone/panel method for those. Kinda pricey, but sure should look nice.

Now you have me concerned, as I was going to use 66 blocks, and ran stranded wire for all of my security contacts. Crap!

I am doing my speaker wire with banana plug keystone jacks in a quickport patch panel, primarily for the "looks nice" reason. It would make moving equipment around in the rack easier too.

I am really kicking myself about the stranded wire punchdown. I can't believe I overlooked that. The lame part is I have about 110 contacts, between doors/windows, motions, glass breaks, heat, and other sensors. That would be a lot of work to connect solid wire to the end of those!

 

[beelzerob]

Well, let me know what you figure out.

I'm guessing that crimping is the way to go with stranded. If you really wanted to, you could crimp a spade connector to your stranded, and the other space connector to some solid, and then punch down the solid...but again, that seems like a lot of trouble just to use a punchdown block. I guess it comes down to what the other wire you're connecting to is going to be. If your stranded wires are connecting to solid cat5 wires, then maybe it'd be worth the effort.

Of course, we can't be the first to terminate large amounts of stranded wire...hopefully someone will chime in with a good recommendation.

 

[beelzerob]

Actually, Brandon has some nice pics and description of a method that would work just fine, I think. Essentially a screw-down terminating block, then attached to solid wires which are punched down. Or, if you want, you wouldn't even need to punch down the solid wire, just use a screw down terminal for both wires being connected. Not as convenient as punching down, but still certainly able to be changed if needed.

now to find a large amount of screw down terminals for cheap.....

 

[Sacedog]

Well, terminal strips are a good idea. I was going to use those for my power terminations. These might work, although you would need an awful lot of them:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...rentPage=search

You could also go with the terminal blocks here, but they would be kind of pricy:

http://web1.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopp...Terminal_Blocks

 

[Lagerhead]

FWIW, I used stranded wire (22-7/30 and similar) with 66 blocks on my model railroad (both current-carrying and signal applications) for many years without trouble. Basically, the wire's insulation kept the strands together. Whether doing so is an "approved practice" or not, I didn't know any better, and of course the risks or hazards of failure were completely inconsequential. But it worked. It was completely reliable until I took it down to move houses.

 

[beelzerob]

I ended up going for these. 44 connections for $12 shipped, not bad at all. Same price per connection as your radioshack link, though, really. I hate the hidden little screw on those connectors, though (I have 2 of them now)...though it's probably easier to make a connection to the wire than the screw on the ones I bought. What I'll end up doing is buying a buttload of those little U crimp connectors and securing them that way.

david...got any railroad pics? I have boxes and boxes of "someday" model railroad stuff. From O to N, but mostly HO.

 

[beelzerob]

Well, instead of just guessing, I just went downstairs and counted all the cables. Here's what I determined for connections I'll need:

Speaker: 17
Cat6: 14
Cat5e: 68
RG59: 46
RG6: 17
22/4: 140 - 280 (depending on if I need to terminate 1 pair or both pair)

Thankfully at least, all the coax are the same kind...so I think I'll go the DIY route of mounting barrel connectors on a plate of metal, to get the 63 I'll need.

The Cat5e took me by surprise...I guess that 48 port panel I just got off ebay is going to be 20 short... I think what I'll probably do is see how far it goes, maybe while I try to snipe another 24 port panel for super cheap.

But the 22/4. Geez, I just bought 44 connections (2 X 22 panels)...so I'll need to buy another 7 of those to deal with my worse case. Geeeez. I think I'll contact the ebay seller and see if I can get a better bulk rate. That, and on fork crimp connectors.