wiring methods

[guba807]

I am setting up to start wiring the house. I think I have patch panel use understood.

Network -> Switch -> patch panels -> wall jacks around the house.

I also was wondering about routing incoming phone lines through a patch panel. Such as,

Incoming phone -> phone distribution block -> patch panels -> wall jacks around the house.

Basically I am trying to setup any connection in the house will come to the patch panel, where it can be patched to either phone or network. Anyways, I'd like to elaborate more, but only so much break time at work.

 

[fcwilt]

Are you planing on only one jack in the various rooms of the house?

The patch panels are a good idea but don't "underwire" the house.

 

[Monk]

I am setting up to start wiring the house. I think I have patch panel use understood.

Network -> Switch -> patch panels -> wall jacks around the house.

I also was wondering about routing incoming phone lines through a patch panel. Such as,

Incoming phone -> phone distribution block -> patch panels -> wall jacks around the house.

Basically I am trying to setup any connection in the house will come to the patch panel, where it can be patched to either phone or network. Anyways, I'd like to elaborate more, but only so much break time at work.

Quba807 - The way I use patch panels is that for each "IO" or "Jack" that you place throughout a building, the other end comes back to the panel. You then interconnect whatever needs to go to the jack at the patch panel, be it network, phone or whatever. I think this is what you are indicating. If so, then "yes".

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I use this type of network and phone patch panel system:

All of my jacks are RJ-45. I know phone uses RJ-11 but you will not notice the difference plugging a phone into an RJ-45 vs an RJ-11 jack.

Each RJ-45 jack has a Cat5e cable that goes to a patch location in the wiring closet. The phone Demarc is then landed into the phone patch block. Flat "ribbon cable" type of patch cables were provided for phone patching.

Now I can use the RJ-45 jack in the rooms for either phone or network, depending on what I patch into it. If I want a phone I just patch from the phone block socket to the appropriate RJ-45 socket. If I want network I plug a Cat5e patch cable from the router/switch to the appropriate RJ-45 patch socket.

This is the way my house was wired and also the way I did my friend's house and it worked out great.

In each room there is a dual RJ-45 jack along with Coax drop on each "left" "right" walls. This way you will never have to route a cable 'across' a room and can use the jacks for either network or phone.

 

[Photon]

Just think of the wiring from the Main Distributuion Frame (MDF) to each Information Outlet (IO) as a high quality extension cord buried in the walls. If you use Cat5e (or better) cable and appropriately rated RJ-45 jacks at both ends, you can use them for data or voice circuits as needed. I also have some of mine connected to various speakers and accessories for the security system. They call it Structured Wiring because it is more or less universal. Additionally, if you are careful in your selection of coax, you can have circuits in place for RF or baseband video. Need a TV in the guest room this week - no problem.

Regards. . . . John

 

[guba807]

Frederick,
I am planning about 4 wires to each room. It was (may be) more since I was planning 4 for data/misc. and 1 or 2 for phone depending on the room. I have about 50 home runs (i think that is the correct term) planned at this time. I will start running them in the next month or so depending on time.

I use this type of network and phone patch panel system:

I have looked at that panel and was wondering how exactly it's used. I imagine all wires are home run to that panel and I can use patch cords to direct them from there.
If the wire's terminate at the multi-line telephone section, is that all the wire could be used for? What about terminating at something like this? Then from there, would I be able to patch over to a phone distribution panel like in the leviton panel you linked to? I'm trying to keep this as dynamic as possible for future users. I do everything with the cell phone, but want to cover the resale aspect.

Thanks and let me know if I'm not clear about anything. All this stuff is still new to me.

 

[nexus99]

Patch panels work as follows:

Your "drop" (the cable running to the wall where the jack will be) is home run to the panel. It is connected to the punch down on the back of the panel. The jack on the front of the panel is used to "cross connect" to a port on your switch using a "patch cable".

 

[guba807]

Patch panels work as follows:

Your "drop" (the cable running to the wall where the jack will be) is home run to the panel. It is connected to the punch down on the back of the panel. The jack on the front of the panel is used to "cross connect" to a port on your switch using a "patch cable".

That I understand. My only remaining question is if I punch down my "drop" to a telephone distribution module, can that line only be used for telephone then. If so, would it be better to run all "drops" to patch panel for data and then patch from that to phone distribution when needed?

Also, when it comes to racks, how deep is ideal?
I was looking at an open wall mount unit that is 12" deep. My room is only 3 1/2' wide so I don't want get one that takes up half the width of the room.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Here is a picture (below) that might help explain my patch system.

The Phone Patch board requires only the phone demarcation line in and is punched down on the board as shown. The RJ-45 jack's in the rooms have Cat5e cable running to the other RJ-45 punch down patch boards (I have four shown in that pic).

My network switch is mounted below all of this.

So, if I want network going to a particular room's RJ-45 jack, I use a (blue color in this case) Cat5e jumper that goes from the network switch to the appropriate punch down jack.

If I want a phone line going to a room's RJ-45 jack I use those flat gray jumpers and go from the phone patch board to the appropriate punch down jack.

Therefore any room's RJ-45 jack can be used for phone or network.

Also, another feature (that I don't use in that pic) is if you have a security system and want a dedicated front end phone line to it (i.e. 'before' any of the patched lines), there is a special socket on that phone patch board for that as well.

 

[guba807]

Thanks for the reply BraveSirRobbin. Everything makes sense now.

 

[Slates]

Also, another feature (that I don't use in that pic) is if you have a security system and want a dedicated front end phone line to it (i.e. 'before' any of the patched lines), there is a special socket on that phone patch board for that as well.

Yanked this thread out of the history books... but I wired my Leviton panel last week and couldn't figure out the security line for the phone. I wired it just like the manual showed, but when I connected from the "security" RJ45 to my actual security line's patch panel (using one of the ribbon cables supplied), I would get no dial tone on the remaining lines. If I patched from the security line to an actual phone line, the dial tone came through fine.

Am I just confused on how this works? I figured the security line was there to bypass the downstream lines (if they were taken off hook, etc). If I connect the security to the alarm, then why don't they downstream patches work?

Sorry, I know this description is confusing.. but short story is that when I route my blue twisted pair (where my incoming line is, I have only 1 phone line active) through the Line In->Line out->Demarcation, the downstream lines don't seem to work. If I wire directly to demarcation, they work fine.

Thanks!

 

[sic0048]

The "security" feature is designed to put the security panel 1st in line for the phone line. That way if there is an alarm and the panel needs to dial out, it will always be in control of the line. It will disconnect any phone located after the security panel. However this disconnction is generally only when the alarm panel is "off hook."

But perhaps the panel does normally feed the line back to connect the rest of the phones. Without a panel actually connected, maybe you are missing this "link" unless you create it manually like you did.

Bottom line is unless you are using an alarm panel that needs to dial out via POTs, don't use the security feature

 

[signal15]

Buy your patch panels and jacks from Monoprice. They are about 1/4 the price of buying them elsewhere, and they are awesome stuff.

In my last house, and in this one, I only wired ethernet. Then if I needed a phone jack, I would just use RJ-11 plugs in the RJ-45 jacks, and had a cheap little phone distribution block down by the patch panel that each phone port plugged into.

 

[miamicanes]

How do you mount arbitrary items, like a gigabit switch or 110 block? I bought an OnQ 14" panel yesterday at Lowe's and mounted it, but now I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with the round and square punch-outs on it. Having spent the better part of the day and a nontrivial amount of cash on it, I kind of feel like I should treat it with respect and do it "correctly"... but I have no idea what "correctly" is. I just don't want it to turn out looking like my Elk panel (it's so bad, if someone broke in and stole it, and the police found it, I'd deny it was mine because I'd be too ashamed to admit to having wired it so badly).

 

[troymt]

Just as a side note.

I have seen numerous occasions when a person plugging in a phone (RJ11/etc) into a RJ45 jack being used for phone cause a short. I also have seen bent pins as the connections works but can be slightly loose. Not to mention the standard A/B punch will only work for two lines.. if you have more then the standard pin out will not work for you and some adjust will need to be made anyway...Not a big deal for 99% of the people out there but I personally just run cat5e but use RJ11 Keystones for phones. If you every need to convert the jack is it a 1 minute punch on to a RJ45 as the wiring is there just the jack needs changing.


I am a big fan of keeping it simple with the hopes of reducing my time doing support over the small avoidable things.

I cannot count the times I have seen the phone line plugged into the data jack or vice versa... .


My 2 cents