Photos

[Guest ALSEC]

I was servicing an alarm the other day and it happened to be right next to the panasonic switch for the building. I remember thinking - my god that looks really nice - someone had made a really good job of the install and I was poking around in the big grey box which houses all the connection points for the extensions etc. Does anyone have any photos of installs they've done or would anyone mind telling me how most telecomms engineers go about installing these small systems, ie do most use the supplied cables with the switch and take these to the connection box and then run the extensions to there etc etc. Also, do you have to earth the switch and how would you go about this?

Thanks

[Guest ALSEC]

You sound like you need to join BT like me

I would if there were anymore vacancies in the South West and if they would take me!!

[PJF]

No vacancies anywhere Ive looked.

Monteey, do they recruit in batches.

[Guest]

I was servicing an alarm the other day and it happened to be right next to the panasonic switch for the building. I remember thinking - my god that looks really nice - someone had made a really good job of the install and I was poking around in the big grey box which houses all the connection points for the extensions etc. Does anyone have any photos of installs they've done or would anyone mind telling me how most telecomms engineers go about installing these small systems, ie do most use the supplied cables with the switch and take these to the connection box and then run the extensions to there etc etc. Also, do you have to earth the switch and how would you go about this?

Thanks

so if someone opens your panel and starts poking around what would you think..

[Lectrician]

Alsec - where in Devon are you?

[Simon_B]

would anyone mind telling me how most telecomms engineers go about installing these small systems, ie do most use the supplied cables with the switch and take these to the connection box and then run the extensions to there etc etc. Also, do you have to earth the switch and how would you go about this?

Practice makes perfect, very few companies train on installation techniques now, apart from maybe BT (assume they still do), the norm when early in the job is out on the road shadowing another engineer and hope he is a good installer else you pickup bad habits.

If you are a good alarm installer with your cabling and trunking + terminating then the techniques are similar.

Most systems do not come with supplied cables nowadays or they prove to be unsuitable for length of run etc, the typical install might be to run a 50-pair to a box connection, label it up for extns etc and then do the runs to outlets from there.

Commonly nowadays the 50 pair will go straight to a patchpanel for structured cabling installs, though some companies/installers prefer to run from a box connection first though this is normally becuase they have to use a supplied 1.5m cable etc.

Of course you also have the systems that sit in a rack, with their own built in patchpanel for extns and then its just a matter of using 1m or 2m patch cables to link them up to user outlets via the patchpanel.

Earthing - always a big debate, used to be a requirment of the British Telecom PCI test, but nowadays many systems are very rarely earthed and if they are - normally incorrectly.

Many comms rooms even in corporates forget to have a telecoms earth pole installed.

Go by the manufacter advice, many say ensure good mains earth only, some require a good earth but on the trianing courses they tell you not to bother.

I have followed many a telecoms earth from a PBX or BT installed equipment to find it connected to nothing in a box connection somewhere. Just does not get done nowadays, though some of this is network improvements and hardware removing the need for this separate connection.

Simon

[Guest ALSEC]

so if someone opens your panel and starts poking around what would you think..

Fair point - all I did was undo the 2 sscrews on the big grey box - honest guv'nor!

Thank you all.