66 Block Techniques
bob...@my-dejanews.com
I've got a 66-block, a punch-down tool, and a bunch of wires coming out of a
hole in the wall.
Is there any FAQ out there to tell me how to proceed ?
I'm making some educated guesses to the point where I've got phones working
fine -- both 1-line and 2-line.
But, I find that I'm damaging the wires occasionally.
I'll punch down the wire on a clip, and damage the insulation on the wire on
the next clip.
Also, the job does not have a professional look to it.
I've looked around the net for appropriate information, and found none.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks, Bob
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Jim & Laura Behning
>I'm working on terminating some home wiring.
>I've got a 66-block, a punch-down tool, and a bunch of wires coming out of a
>hole in the wall.
>
>Is there any FAQ out there to tell me how to proceed ?
>
>I'm making some educated guesses to the point where I've got phones working
>fine -- both 1-line and 2-line.
>But, I find that I'm damaging the wires occasionally.
>I'll punch down the wire on a clip, and damage the insulation on the wire on
>the next clip.
>Also, the job does not have a professional look to it.
>I've looked around the net for appropriate information, and found none.
>Any help is appreciated.
Looking at a well done job is the best way to see how it is done. I am
confused as to how you can damage insulation when punching down. Just
give yourself enough slack on the wire before punching down and have
the wire twisted in a way that it will not grab or snag the other tabs
when you are punching down. That is one of the joys of 110 blocks,
less likely to snag anything.
Jim
Laura Behning
morgans at mindspring dot com
http://www.mindspring.com/~morgans/Laura.htm
Carl Navarro
>I'm working on terminating some home wiring.
>I've got a 66-block, a punch-down tool, and a bunch of wires coming out of a
>hole in the wall.
>
>Is there any FAQ out there to tell me how to proceed ?
>
>I'm making some educated guesses to the point where I've got phones working
>fine -- both 1-line and 2-line.
>But, I find that I'm damaging the wires occasionally.
>I'll punch down the wire on a clip, and damage the insulation on the wire on
>the next clip.
The trick is to keep enough tension in the wire so that it doesn't
flare out to the pin above it. We actually fan wires from the bottom
to the top and terminate from the top to the bottom, but that's not
too easy for the novice.
A few months ago, teleconnect magazine ran a series of articles on
terminating 66 blocks and station jacks. You might search
teleconnect.com back issues, try September or October, 1998.
Outside of that, visiting a site and practice will usually help.
Carl Navarro
Chris Hill
mor...@atl.mindspring.com wrote:
> bob...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>
> >I'm working on terminating some home wiring.
> >I've got a 66-block, a punch-down tool, and a bunch of wires coming out of a
> >hole in the wall.
[snip]
> >I find that I'm damaging the wires occasionally.
> >I'll punch down the wire on a clip, and damage the insulation on the wire on
> >the next clip.
> >Also, the job does not have a professional look to it.
[snip]
> Looking at a well done job is the best way to see how it is done. I am
> confused as to how you can damage insulation when punching down. Just
> give yourself enough slack on the wire before punching down and have
> the wire twisted in a way that it will not grab or snag the other tabs
> when you are punching down. That is one of the joys of 110 blocks,
> less likely to snag anything.
I have found that it's a good idea to leave some slack in the wire while
punching it down, but tighten it up after the wire is connected - you want
to end up with a sharp bend out of the actual punchdown terminal, so the
wire doesn't get in the way of the punch tool on the next one.
BTW, you *are* using the correct tool, right? Sorry, just checking. The
classic "telco" tool was the 714B, although I've seen 714Cs kicking around
recently; don't know what the difference is.
Another BTW: You realize a Type 66 block won't be Cat5-compliant, right?
They're fine for telephones or 10baseT, but not for 100baseT. That's why
you got it for free, or cheap: all those office buildings ripping them out
when they upgraded to Cat5 cable plants and 110 blocks.
As for a "professional look," they key is *be neat.* More than that, be
OBSESSIVE about neatness and orderliness - think Felix Ungar. You would
not be out of line to have a label on each wire that tells where it goes
(this end *and* the other end), or at least a nicely printed piece of
paper on the wall next to the block, giving the same information. For
large installations, I keep a database with information on Cable Number,
From Room, From Equipment, From Spigot, Source End Connector Part No., To
Room, To Equipment, To Spigot, Destination End Connector Part No., Cable
Part No., Signal Type, and Assembly Drawing. This may be overkill for a
home installation :^) But remember, make certain your documentation is
complete, correct and up-to-date; bad documentation is worse than none at
all.
Good luck!
--
Chris jch...@dgsys.com
Hmm... this "Spam-B-Gone" doesn't seem to work...
What would happen if I pulled the plug on the Reality Engine?
mth...@kbtoys.com
bob...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> I'm working on terminating some home wiring.
> I've got a 66-block, a punch-down tool, and a bunch of wires coming out of a
> hole in the wall.
Yes, an easy site for beginners is this one:
www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/4116/
Click on "Wiring three phones" and it will show you which wires to punch down
first to avoid damaging others on a 66 block.
Have fun.
Mark Thorne
Thorne Datacom Services
mth...@kbtoys.com
pe...@petrocelli.com
see...@domain.com (Chris Hill) wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> Another BTW: You realize a Type 66 block won't be Cat5-compliant, right?
> They're fine for telephones or 10baseT, but not for 100baseT. That's why
> you got it for free, or cheap: all those office buildings ripping them out
> when they upgraded to Cat5 cable plants and 110 blocks.
>
>
> Chris jch...@dgsys.com
> Hmm... this "Spam-B-Gone" doesn't seem to work...
> What would happen if I pulled the plug on the Reality Engine?
>
Just figured I'd let you know that Siemon does make a CAT 5 complient 66
block but you must follow their instructions for fanning and laying in the
conductors in order to achieve cat 5 specifacations. It is a little different
then the conventional way of fanning cable conductors for this block. I've
used this on a few installations without problems and the link tested just
fine.
Best regards,
Joe Golan, RCDD
Director of Telecommunications
Petrocelli Communications - Long Island City, NY
Harry McGregor
always assumed that you can unbundle the cat5 about as much as I want
(within reason) before faning it out (ie still twisted, but not with
the outer PVC on it). I was takeing off about 2" of the PVC to make
attaching to the 66 block much easier, he said that we could only take
off 1/2" (how the hell you can attache the 4 pairs is another
matter...). I was keeping the untwisted amount to about .3-.4" at
most, but the cables were not covered. Could someone here clear this
up a bit.
Harry
Daniel Hicks
Certainly, the most important thing is to maintain the twist of the
pairs as much as possible. Stripping the wire and faning out the pairs
will upset the impedance a bit, but probably not enough to worry about.
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pe...@petrocelli.com
mic...@azstarnet.com (Harry McGregor) wrote:
> Here is a question about NEAR cat 5 compliancy on a 66 block. I have
> always assumed that you can unbundle the cat5 about as much as I want
> (within reason) before faning it out (ie still twisted, but not with
> the outer PVC on it). I was takeing off about 2" of the PVC to make
> attaching to the 66 block much easier, he said that we could only take
> off 1/2" (how the hell you can attache the 4 pairs is another
> matter...). I was keeping the untwisted amount to about .3-.4" at
> most, but the cables were not covered. Could someone here clear this
> up a bit.
>
>
Harry,
The only ones out there that make a cat 5 complient 66 block is Siemon. They
do have reccommended practices for laying in the cable which will allow you
to get cat 5 compliency consistantly....give them a call and they will fax
you the instruction sheet (it's not on their web site) in the US call
860-945-4395 or look in their latest catalog (1999) on page 15.11 to see how
this is done. Best regards, Joe Golan, RCDD Director of Telecommunications
wbro...@my-dejanews.com
mic...@azstarnet.com (Harry McGregor) wrote:
> Here is a question about NEAR cat 5 compliancy on a 66 block. I have
> always assumed that you can unbundle the cat5 about as much as I want
> (within reason) before faning it out (ie still twisted, but not with
> the outer PVC on it). I was takeing off about 2" of the PVC to make
> attaching to the 66 block much easier, he said that we could only take
> off 1/2" (how the hell you can attache the 4 pairs is another
> matter...). I was keeping the untwisted amount to about .3-.4" at
> most, but the cables were not covered. Could someone here clear this
> up a bit.
>
> Harry
>
Several years ago Siemon announced the first 66 block that would meet Cat 5
requiements. This was before TSB-67 and TIA 568A. If I remember correctly,
under the TSB-36 requirements the amount of jacket removal was suggested to
not exceed 1" (25mm) for Cat 5.
In one of my old Siemon catalogs their suggested means of terminating to a 66
block was to bring the pair, twisted, between the spreader bar and then fan
the pair so one wire went up to the IDC, the other down. With a lot of
attention to detail, one could keep the amount of jacket removed to the
absolute minimum, which was just slightly more than 1". Needless to say, the
amount of labor involved in comparison to a 110 didn't even come close.
OBTW, I believe most 66 blocks are now Cat 5 compliant, if you compare a new
block with one of the "old" blocks you will see the IDC pins are shorter. I
also believe the spacing between them is slightly different as well.
William "Bill" Brownlow
"While my employer has their opinions, I have mine. Occasionally they
converge"
"Wise men are not wise at all time." Emerson, The Conduct of Life, 1860
Eric Bourlet
twisted and fanning one wire up and the other down 66 blocks will pass Cat 5
acceptance testing. I do this all the time at work. And all my 66 blocks
pass as long as they are punched down in the correct manner.
Chris Hill
<ebou...@gte.net> wrote:
This sounds like a really good thing. Let's see if I've got it right.
Something like this? Keeping the pairs twisted as far as possible, of
course.
- - - - - - 1st row of 66 block
pair 1 ======/
\
- - - - - - 2nd row
- - - - - - 3rd row
pair 2 ======/
\
- - - - - - 4th row
...etc.