Structured Cable

[SMHarman]

Recommend me a site to buy what I need to build it...

Patch board/box
Cable
Wall Sockets

The widgit to nail the cables to the wall

Cable Strippers / plugs / wigits to make up cables etc.

Need to put it into a 5 room office suite, I'm thinking of two cables to 3 of the offices and 4 to the other two (where more hardware will be).

Am I right in thinking that with those cat 5 to bt phone plug thingys I can run the phone service through this too?

A lot of a noob for network cableing, only ever bought it premade before.

Reps and appreciation all round

[Paul K]

Maplins and screwfix?

[MetaWraith]

CPC www.cpc.co.uk (http://www.cpc.co.uk)

which inturn redirects to cpc.farnell.com

[Halcyon]

http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/

[Graham M]

Am I right in thinking that with those cat 5 to bt phone plug thingys I can run the phone service through this too?

I cant think what you mean by this, a photo perhaps?

[MovedGoalPosts]

Definitely www.screwfix.co.uk. Got everything I needed, including the small 9 rack height cabinets, sockets, patch boards and patch cables cable stripping, crimping and IDC tools from there. Did an office with over 30 network points with that little lot.

Wiring up is straighforward, it's all colour coded. Just keep the pairs twisted as close as possible to the connectors.

[nffc]

Not a cable purchase site but you should also have a look at this site

http://www.swhowto.com/

Interesting read, if not maybe a way of "showing off" his own installation!

[greencreeper]

I tend to favour Maplins.

Cable strippers are hopeless. Have one myself for electrical cabling and its easier to use a vegetable knife. Same with co-ax - recently did an aerial re-wire with just a pair of cable cutters and a vegetable knife. IDC type tools are a must though - no bodging with a screwdriver.

[Millay]

You will need a crimping tool for patch leads etc also, an idc tool is a must for putting the cables in the back of the patch boxes etc.

Yes you can run telephones over cat 5 and you need to know what tlepeohne system you are running through before you purchase the converters. Although you can just plum a standard BT line straight into cat 5 I cant see what use this would be.

I always run double wall sockets, this the allows for telephone and data, I also usually find that working out how many people are lily to be working in each room, then adding at extra point is a good idea, this allows for printers etc to be hooked up, and the user can decide which point to plug there machine into.

Dont skimp on buying cable, you will no doubt easilly eat into/use a 1000ft box of the stuff by the time you allow for cuts and wastage, and at £27 a box its cheaper than buying more smaller runs.

Looking at your plan, I would look at doing 4 cables to all rooms, it just like plug sockets, there are never enough. Unless these office rooms are hoebox size you need to allow for two pcs/printers minimum and then two telephone/fax machines...

Dont whatever you do under price this job if it is for a customer, cable running is often a pig of a job, that will easilly eat into profit margins if you let it. Oh and its a lot easier/nicer to do if there are two of you.

hope that helps...
__________________

You will need one of these if you need to do patch leaads non boxed terminations:
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CXTOOL.html

and one of these for the back of the patch unit and cabling into the junction boxes.
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/GPT107.html
You can get plastic ones but they aint worth the bother... IMHO

[zoombini]

www.ardelectronics.com

However, I'd suggest trying your local electrical wholesalers., they can be very cheap & right on your doorstep.

[SMHarman]

I cant think what you mean by this, a photo perhaps?
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2005/06/27.jpg

[Graham M]

You'd need some kind of exchange system to run phone cabling through a network switch as phones dont tend to have MAC addresses... When I did my work experience they could connect the CAT5 at the cable rack end to either a network switch or a telephone exchange, hence the adaptor, it is perfectly acceptable to run telephone over CAT5, maybe clearer voice etc, better for Modems and so on, but it needs to be terminated as telephone at the other end and not connected to a hub/switch.

[SMHarman]

Dont whatever you do under price this job if it is for a customer, cable running is often a pig of a job, that will easilly eat into profit margins if you let it. Oh and its a lot easier/nicer to do if there are two of you.

hope that helps...
It's for Mrs H, so I'm not likely to make much of a profit on the job!
The job will replace current phone cables, so much of it will be rerunning cable in place of the existing BT lines, the office used to be a recruitment consultants and so is wired to the hilt with phone sockets, but no networking. Looking at it, it should be a case of 1:1 replacement along the same lines so someone has already done the cable route planning for me.
__________________

You'd need some kind of exchange system to run phone cabling through a network switch as phones dont tend to have MAC addresses... When I did my work experience they could connect the CAT5 at the cable rack end to either a network switch or a telephone exchange, hence the adaptor, it is perfectly acceptable to run telephone over CAT5, maybe clearer voice etc, better for Modems and so on, but it needs to be terminated as telephone at the other end and not connected to a hub/switch.
I'm asking BT to put the phone sockets for their CentrEx sockets and the DSL line above where all this cable terminates, then basically use one of those thingies in post 11 to connect from the phone socket to the patch panel and another at the other end to connect the phone to the cat 5 socket in the wall. I believe that is how you do this, so some cables will terminate in the router and others in the phone sockets.

[SMHarman]

Bumping for the evening crowd that may know this stuff.

[SMHarman]

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2005/06/27.jpg
Ok final stupid question - well until all the cables turn up and I start trying to put it together...

The widget above connects the structure to the BT phone socket. How do you connect the BT phone socket to the structure?

BT phone socket > The lead I am talking about in the paragraph above > Patch Panel > CAT5 cable > CAT5 socket > Widgit in image above.

Is there anyone here who does cable stuff? Millay?

[Matthew]

I believe it would go BT socket > funny thing > patch panel > wire > socket > funny thing > phone.

Tell me if I am wrong but is how I would do it.

[SMHarman]

I believe it would go BT socket > funny thing > patch panel > wire > socket > funny thing > phone.

Tell me if I am wrong but is how I would do it.
But funny thing is plug to socket.
Bt socket to patch panel requires plug to plug - is this a custom cable? Am I the only person in the UK who wants to do this?

[Matthew]

I am sure there are people who have done this sort of thing. I think it is straight forward but a case of trial and error.

[Millay]

I have done this before, for a simple bt socket to patch panel, you need to take an bt extension lead, cut the female off and then take the two wires (there are four you only need two.. and connect them to an RJ45 plug in the middle, if memory serves me right... i cant remeber the colours off hand.. if no one has the answer before I get back i will pop into my customers and check what whent where..

[SMHarman]

Thanks - The company I have bought those thingys from are making me up four of the leads you describe to match the pin wiring of the thingys. It just felt like I was explaining a totally new concept to them and that perhaps there was another way.

[SMHarman]

Well I'm writing this from port the other end of port 1 on my structured cable - wooooh.

[SMHarman]

Building a structured cable network...

Would anyone find this a useful topic for the knowledge base.

Anyway - places I would recommend.

www.screwfix.com
Item 87654
12 Port Patch Panel
No need for racks or cabinets - this 12-port, 10" Soho Patch Panel is ready to use and will fit on a wall or fixture. Fits 6 Keystone Jacks into a module. Write-on designation label and coloured module blocks. Mounting bracket supplied.
https://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/28/p1832528_l.jpg
I got two of these as they seem good value and I needed a maxiumim of 24 ports.

Item - 67571
Punch Down Tool
Handy, disposable tool for quick stripping and punch down work. Strips round UTP cable. Can insert 24 AWG cable into Keystone Jack wall outlets.
https://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/53/p1831153_l.jpg
The cable stripping side works really well.

http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/
http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=23_155&zenid=237f495a4639ee4e5f62aacaf4730b82
Got all the wall boxes from them - very good - quick delivery even with Royal Mail
Good telephone help too. Confirmed all the boxes were B colour coded.
http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/catalog/images/wallplate3.jpg

www.ebuyer.com
Patch cables - pointless making your own IMHO. The crimp tool costs too much.

More to follow.

[SMHarman]

I got my CAT5e cable from here
http://www.netshop.co.uk/
http://www.netshop.co.uk/productcategorydetail.aspx?categoryid=51553

The advantage is they do different colours - including white, though you pay a little more - if you are running this stuff in visible locations, e.g. baseboards, you need the white not the grey or it looks nasty.