What's the going rate for LAN wiring?

I totally agree. If you use best practices and common sense, you shouldn't have any problems. Thinking back over a three year period, of all the jacks I've put in only one didn't work. Even after reterminating it, it still was bad so I replaced the jack.

CAT6 is a little different. I'd say one out of twenty may fail and all you need to do is repunch the jack.

Interestingly was a test of stapling CAT5 cables. I read it on some telecom installers forum where someone stapled a hundred feet of cable with a box of staples and it passed certification. While it might be all right to staple cables, there is too much a chance of driving a staple through the cable.

In comp.dcom.lans.ethernet DTC wrote in part:

Not with the proper stapler or using the spacing nose-piece.

I don't doubt this worked if:

2) The staples were _irregularly_ spaced to avoid creating a notch-filter.

-- Robert

Dang it...I wasn't thinking and hit SEND.

I was going to add that when we tested a twenty foot length stapled around a base board with a TDR, we could see disconuities where the T-25 staples were...which gives credibility of creating a notch filter as well as other SWR issues.

We try to avoid stapling and use wire molding, but if thats not an option, we'll use a staple gun that uses stand off staples.

From Lowes - Cable Boss? Mechanical Staple Gun

Try the experiment with a length of cable suspended in the air between two points and simple lay the staples on top of it; if you say any effects I would be truly surprised.

Michael

Cold fingers on a crappy keyboard... s/simple/simply/ s/say/see/

Michael

To ad to this. For the frequent change situations, slotted raceway can hold extra cable and look nice also.

David

But over time? Buildings and walls vibrate. Depends on what is bolted to what where. AC on the roof over the load bearing wall you're using? Subway under your foundation? These kinds of things cause staples and sharp corners and whatever to migrate into the casing or through it and the insulation. So everything is fine for 1 to 10 years then you get a series of ongoing failures.

Similar to my house built in 63. I bought it in 90. I had a water leak show up somewhere about every 6 to 12 months. I just figured it was the old compression fittings failing due to corrosion. Turned out my water pressure was about 160 psi. Once I put in a regulator and took it down to less than 80 I've not had a leak in 5 years.

Think of those staples as a long term problems developing slowly.

David Ross

Can you point to an example of this? Sounds cool...

FBt

That was my point although not clearly made; I believe that the compression of the cable would be responsible for any TDR effects seen.

Michael

So would I.

Now try it again with it stapled to plywood and where the staples deform the outside jacket.

Oh, yes, these. I know them. I was picturing a longitudinal slot, which I hadn't seen before...

Thanks, FBt

What I've done is put these vertically one or two side by side where cables come into the area. Run them down and back up and out to the patch panels as needed. The slack is under the covers and what you see is neat.