NKOTB

We're moving into our new bldg, and we spec'd Avaya jacks when we did the req for bids, but I guess since Avaya sold to Commscope, the contractor decided to replace them with Panduit Cat5E jacks. The jacks are CJ5E88TWH white color, which is the same color as the voice jacks, which leads people to plugging the telephones into the data jacks. Oh, well.. Anyway, here's the URL for the instruction sheet on installing the jacks. Interestingly, it says that it can handle stranded wire.

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also says they can be reterminated a minimum of ten times. That's reassuring.

So now I gotta learn how to terminate these new jacks, since I've been a diehard Avaya/Lucent/AT&T fan for so many years. But just a couple Qs.

They show using a special "CGJT" tool to squeeze the back half onto the jack, OR use a small channellocks to do the same thing. Anyone try both and find any problems with either? They also show a "CWST" tool to cut off the conductors, which looks to me like a regular dikes or sidecutters. Any comments here? I didn't notice if they conformed to our usual 568B ternminations, so I'll have to check, but assuming they didn't, I will do the same to maintain consistency. Obviously I'll still have to use the same patch panels. Thanks.

Reply to
Watson A.Name "Watt Sun - the
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I have only terminated these jacks using the Panduit tool, but have had no problems with the tool itself. I have had about 3% open failures using these jacks, which is much higher than than my failure rate with standard 110-type jacks. I suspect this is due to the fact that the excess on the individual conductors must be cut off prior to termination

- allowing some conductors to shift out of place during termination. I find I can terminate these jacks faster than standard 110-type jacks, but the higher failure rate makes up for the improved termination speed.

I also had a rash of Panduit faceplates and surface mount boxes that were 'brittle", causing the retaining clip for the jacks to snap off during jack insertion. I recently did some add-on work at a site using Panduit Mini-com jacks and faceplates, and had about 50% of the faceplate retaining clips break off.

Reply to
Michael Quinlan
[snip two posts]

Well, I'll say it up front, I'm a fan of Panduit. It's my first choice for connectivity, wire management, and surface raceway. (no, i'm not a sales rep!) Anyway, just thought I'd get that out front...

As for the rash of bad faceplates, I'd say it was a fluke. I've never had any problems with Panduit products. One post mentioned having a certain percentage of opens at the jack. Again, not something I've experienced. Though I would suggest not using channel-locks or the such to squeeze the pieces together. The appropriate tool comes in each box of 25 jacks, so on a large project, you should end up with a bunch of them.

I too have used ATT/Lucent/Avaya for quite a while, and would say that Panduit is an equal to the Systimax line in quality and performance. As for flexibility, Panduit wins hands down. Just my opinion.

Reply to
Justin T. Clausen

There are a couple of things that I really like about panduit over others. One is you can terminate it before the drywallers put up the drywall or they paint. Allowing you to run the cable, test and verify it works, let everyone else do their work, then comeback and snap on the faceplates. Other manufactures that I use, usually have to snap into the faceplate from the front meaning you cant terminate until everyone is done and your ready to put the faceplates on the wall. Another thing I like about panduit is I can terminate one using only a tool I carry with me everywhere everyday, my Gerber multitool. I can strip back the outer sheathing with the scissors on the tool fan out the individual wires, put them in place, cut off any extra with my scissors, and then snap it together with the pliers (on the older ones CJ588 models) or I used to put the little plastic widget thing on my keychain so I always had that with me, but the pliers on my gerber multitool do just as good of a job. On the newer panduit jacks i have to use that other panduit tool to finish the termination, wich I don't like so I always order CJ588s when I'm ordering. And on CJ588s I can get the outer jacket right up to where the termination is with less than a quarter of an inch between the outer jacket and the end of the wires, mainting the twists and all that.

Reply to
Daniel Hobby

A bit off topic, just wanted to add a comment: Instead of switching to other manufacturers, the contractor could have waited couple months after that acquisition and then get the same former Avaya Systimax jacks from Commscope under the new name: "Uniprise". Absolutely the same thing, but cheaper than you used to. Those olde AT&T/Lucent/Avaya jacks will also work with stranded conductor cable, although it is still a pain in the neck to deal with stranded conductors as they tend to twist and flex too much.

Reply to
Dmitri(Cabling-Design.com

conductors

Thanks for the info. I'm not happy with the situation either. We already have thousands of Avaya jacks, and going to a new and totally different type makes things much more complicated. Another thing that makes it worse for the users is that both data and voice jacks are the same color. I may just ask to purchase a bunch of extra Avaya jacks and as time goes by, change out the Panduit jacks and faceplates with the Avaya or Uniprise or Systimax, whatever.

installing

That's

comp.dcom.cabling

Reply to
Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun, th

Why was the contractor allowed to use an alternate product in the first place? By replacing the jacks yourself, you're relieving the original contractor of any warranty liability.

Reply to
Michael Quinlan

totally

Well, I don't know why the contractor was allowed to do whatever. The big shots have meetings with these contractors and subs, and I have no idea what goes on. I just see the bad results afterwards. This happens every time we have new construction. And, mind you, this is on a bldg that has to be approved by the California State Architect.

The Avaya stuff we have had installed previously has had a warranty of

15 years, I believe.

But we have much of our upgrades done thru an open PO with Anixter. We (or should I say the boss, since I don't like the guy's work) have had most of the work done by one subcontractor, and he has had at least five different company names on his biz card in the last ten years, so I guess if we had used any of his companies, they would no longer be around to _do_ any warranty work. With Anixter, they have been, and will be around for a long time. BTW, we haven't seen that contractor lately, so I gueess he's with some other company, somewhere else. I hope he stays gone!

Reply to
Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun, th

Just one thing to note: the Commscope Uniprise Cat6 is the Systimax Cat5e. Haven't looked at the patch panels that close to see one way or another.

Reply to
Justin T. Clausen

Well, that would be technically impossible: CAT5E SYSTIMAX is a standard CAT5E cabling that would not pass CAT6 test and cannot therefore be marketed as CAT6, even under a new name. I think, what creates this confusion is the fact that SYSTIMAX has two grades of CAT6: GigaSPEED XL7 and XL8. As far as I could understand from CommScope's marketing materials, Uniprise does not have an equivalent for XL8 solution. Therefore SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED XL8 is (in a long run) going to be their CAT6E (or will it be CAT6A from "augmented"?) offer as soon as TIA-568-B becomes TIA-568-C. From this I would logically conclude that everything else will be pretty much taken by Uniprise. I think CommScope owes it to confused SYSTIMAX customers a statements about them switching to Uniprise and addressing related warranty issues.

Reply to
Dmitri(Cabling-Design.com

I've tested many Systimax 5e jacks with a variety of cable and had them pass Cat6. If they didn't, Systimax has a lot a years of false advertising to be taken to task about. The point is, the Uniprise jack is the same as the old Systimax (both Lucent and Avaya branded) MPS100E, which was sold as a Cat5e and the performace of those jacks was good enough that they just needed to be recertified to be stamped with Cat6.

Most manufactures have two levels of Cat6, and a couple even have three, so that's not exclusive to Systimax. I agree with your assesment that Systimax will be the "augmented" Cat6 offering, and Uniprise will be the rest. And yes I think there are a lot of warranty issues that need to be addressed by this change, but since I can't get my Systimax rep to return my calls, I guess it really doesn't matter.

comp.dcom.cabling

Reply to
Justin T. Clausen

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