Wiring my house for Network! Yet another thread!

[Neurorad]

I find the fish stix (glow stix/fiberglass rods/glass rods) much more useful than my fish tape.

Hehe, respirator under the house. Does it even block the 'dreaded' Hantevirus? That's the only thing I'd be concerned about, and I doubt the respirator would help against that. I wouldn't bother with a respirator.

Old clothes will be cheaper than multiple 'bunny suits', for crawling under the house. You'll be doing it a lot, get used to it.

 

[activemind]

I find the fish stix (glow stix/fiberglass rods/glass rods) much more useful than my fish tape.

Hehe, respirator under the house. Does it even block the 'dreaded' Hantevirus? That's the only thing I'd be concerned about, and I doubt the respirator would help against that. I wouldn't bother with a respirator.

Old clothes will be cheaper than multiple 'bunny suits', for crawling under the house. You'll be doing it a lot, get used to it.

See now you guys are going to get my ass whooped! My wife would not let me enter the crawl space because of all this :nono:

This is the mask I got , What else can I do to protect myself !

This is supposed to be a fun project rather than a money saving one, I want to learn about the house as much as I can .....

 

[activemind]

Got the LV brackets yesterday from HD and cut 1 more hole. Also found the non contact Voltage detector in my tool box. It came along with the multimeter kit I bought but I had never bothered reading about it or using it, just used the multimeter !

Told ya, I a new tools junkie!

 

[wuench]

I think a simple dust mask, the paper kind is fine, that you'll just end up taking off at some point . Maybe eye protection. Long sleeves, long pants, gloves. That mask is overkill, but whatever, doubt it will stay on long.

 

[tmbrown97]

I missed the comment about the fish tape the first time... I hate those things! Unless I'm just fishing through a conduit to run a pull string, and I prefer to use the smooth fiberglass ones for that.

One of the ones I always use is the 5ft glow in the dark fiberglass rod - I think you'd use that on a lot of runs - it is easier to line up and get through the drilled hole unless it's close enough to reach down to. For bigger stuff I have the 33ft set and I even use 30ft painter's sticks at times for ceiling work. There are so many tools you can acquire for doing all this stuff!

As for "fun project" - yeah, it's fun the first time - by the time you're done, you just might hire someone to do the next house

 

[activemind]

I went ahead and ordered the 50" Channel Vision Enclosure, should be here Fri.

Did not order any cover, I might go ahead and order the plexi-glass one in future if I feel rich enough ray:

I was looking at modules and I was thinking of getting this Leviton 24 port cat6 twist and mount.

Is this okay ? What does twist and mount really mean?

Why not something like this from Monoprice ! Way cheaper but I am not sure if this will mount properly into a SME, I think these are meant to be rack mounted!

I want to start with all the cat cabling first and then move onto RG6 etc.

 

[drvnbysound]

I have been using a fish tape for years and havent had any issues. I've always felt that it would be a lot easier to carry it through some of the tight attic spaces vs. fiberglass rods.

... not sure if I want to try them out based off the recommendations here, or just keep doing what has been working for me :unsure:

 

[tmbrown97]

The Leviton you mentioned is designed to mount in a SME - the "twist & mount" means it'll hang in the enclosure flipped around while you make your terminations, then you "flip" it around and secure it in that spot with the push pins.

The 2nd one is designed to fit into a standard telco rack or mounting bracket. If you wanted to go custom and drill your cabinet, you could make it work - but the Leviton is designed specifically for SME's to keep low profile and allow some routing of the wires.

If you really wanted to get creative to save money, instead of adapting the rack mount one, you could adapt two of these much easier.

 

[activemind]

The Leviton you mentioned is designed to mount in a SME - the "twist & mount" means it'll hang in the enclosure flipped around while you make your terminations, then you "flip" it around and secure it in that spot with the push pins.

The 2nd one is designed to fit into a standard telco rack or mounting bracket. If you wanted to go custom and drill your cabinet, you could make it work - but the Leviton is designed specifically for SME's to keep low profile and allow some routing of the wires.

If you really wanted to get creative to save money, instead of adapting the rack mount one, you could adapt two of these much easier.

Okay, so "twist and mount" is what I want. Dont really like the ones where you can see the terminations in the front.

Have you tried "adapting" the one yourself? What really needs to be changed to convert rack mount to SME mount?

The one I linked on monoprice is like $20. I could risk. Thats waaaaay cheaper than $200 for the SME mount version!

 

[activemind]

I am getting tempted to order this 12 port version from monoprice.

If I mount it horizontally (even though its meant for vertical), it will be 10" wide and 2.5" tall.

The can is 15.62" wide (from online specs). What if I have to drill some holes in the patch panel to match the holes in SME and use these pins to hold the patch panel in place.

If it works, I can order another one and viola, there is my 24 port for 20% of the price.

If it doesn't work, I'm out $20 and learnt something. Don't try to put rack mount stuff in SME! :nono:

 

[activemind]

Score! I KNEW I was not the first one trying to do this and reading through the reviews on monoprice for the patch panel above, one of the guys did use to this inside a leviton SME.

I think I will go ahead and order 2 tonite so that I can have it by the weekend!

Here is a cut'n'paste of the review from monoprice :

Rating:

(10 out of 10) Reviewer: Jason from Roseville, CA

3/20/2012 8:35:31 AM​

Awesome for home networking

Pros: Small size is perfect for leviton or other home network cabinets. Would highly recommend for home network installations.

Cons: Took a few extra holes since it doesn't snap in with Leviton's little pin/standoff things. Not a big deal though.

It was easy to punch down all the cat5e cables. All the ports seem to work as expected, the wiring diagram appears to be correct (I think this was an issue in earlier products). Get a cable tester to go with this product!

 

[activemind]

One more question :

I am trying to decide on the keystone jack and I see two types punch-down and tool-less.

Whats the difference between them aside from the way you install the wires? Do the wires come off after some time on the tool-less, if no, then why bother with the punchdown, just go with the tool-less one.... just curious!

I do have the punchdown tool and I *think* I should be able to attach the cables ( though have never done it). :unsure:

 

[tmbrown97]

See - that monoprice one is the same as the 3rd one I listed above... I just didn't see it on Monoprice when I looked so I linked one I could find... The Leviton will still be closer to the back of the SME giving more clearance in front, but it's quite expensive in comparison.

You're going to be getting decent with 110 punch-down either way doing the patch panel - which jacks you go with are up to you. I would automatically get the punch down as it's what I'm used to. Just make sure you have a quality punch-down tool; it makes a big difference. That said, it's up to you - go with whichever you prefer.

I'm not sure what all tools you have, and everyone has their own preferred set - but here are the ones I don't leave home without: scissors, stripper (they come in all brands, but that's the version I carry), punch-down, crimper (image shows Coax crimp but description says RJ45 - I have both). I also use a quality Fluke tester but those are way too expensive for the casual home user. For business, there's nothing simpler than plugging the tester in, seeing Pin 6 has a break 11ft away and tracing that to see where the office cat used the cable as a chew toy.

Don't use the $10 crimpers or punchdowns from home depot or radio shack - they just don't perform well and will waste your time.

 

[activemind]

See - that monoprice one is the same as the 3rd one I listed above... I just didn't see it on Monoprice when I looked so I linked one I could find... The Leviton will still be closer to the back of the SME giving more clearance in front, but it's quite expensive in comparison.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound that I ignored what you said. The idea of horizontally mounting a smaller vertical panel came from one of the links you posted when I looked at the length of that panel.
Does it really matter how much clearance I have in the front, as long as I can put patch cables and close the door, I don't think I really care.
Am I missing something here?

You're going to be getting decent with 110 punch-down either way doing the patch panel - which jacks you go with are up to you. I would automatically get the punch down as it's what I'm used to. Just make sure you have a quality punch-down tool; it makes a big difference. That said, it's up to you - go with whichever you prefer.

Then punchdown it is. I have my cart ready at monoprice, I will just add the punchdowns and place the order. I am not sure what you mean by "quality" punchdown tool. I got the one from monoprice itself, is that good enough, I dont mind buying another better one, if you think its worth it.

I'm not sure what all tools you have, and everyone has their own preferred set - but here are the ones I don't leave home without: scissors, stripper (they come in all brands, but that's the version I carry), punch-down, crimper (image shows Coax crimp but description says RJ45 - I have both). I also use a quality Fluke tester but those are way too expensive for the casual home user. For business, there's nothing simpler than plugging the tester in, seeing Pin 6 has a break 11ft away and tracing that to see where the office cat used the cable as a chew toy.

Don't use the $10 crimpers or punchdowns from home depot or radio shack - they just don't perform well and will waste your time.

Most of the wiring tools I have are newly acquired (new homeowner, first project). The crimper I have is I think Klien, punchdown is monoprice and Fluke tester is TOO rich for my blood, I got a tester from monoprice and I am guessing it should do the job.

I already have a tough time justifying all the tools I have, my wife is about to start on "why do you have to do this yourself, why not hire someone to do this" monologue :rockon:

 

[cctv]

Isnt something like this better? I like the fact that the punchdown block is on the front. This way you dont have to remove from cabinet to add a new ethernet line.

http://www.ebay.com/...9-/180966428670

Or Like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Steren-550-030-FastHome-Data-Hub/dp/B000EHW88Q