New home comms cabinet, tidy install

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coffeebaron

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#2176749 11-Feb-2019 20:25

Brunzy:
coffeebaron:
Was that in an actual apartment? And was it affecting other apartments? If so, that is also a bad install by the TV reception installers.

“ multiple complaints from an apartment block of no reception”

So what’s bad about it?
I agree it’s not the tidiest , but there’s nothing wrong from a technical aspect.
And who knows how it looked before the ONT installer pulled everything out to make his hardware fit!

What I was trying to understand, was this a cabinet in one apartment that affected other apartments? E.G. let's say I'm in apartment 101, and I decide I need to fit more stuff in my cabinet. I don't use the TV, so let me unplug all those coax. Now my neighbors at apartment 102-110 have no TV :(

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Brunzy

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#2176752 11-Feb-2019 20:31

Correct. It’s a tap ,signal in , 4 outlets to that apartment, out to the next apartment, and more downstream . Disconnect the output and in this case 6 or 7 apartments with no signal.

coffeebaron

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#2176756 11-Feb-2019 20:37

Brunzy: Correct. It’s a tap ,signal in , 4 outlets to that apartment, out to the next apartment, and more downstream . Disconnect the output and in this case 6 or 7 apartments with no signal.

Wow, is that common practice? That's just asking for trouble.

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Brunzy

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#2176770 11-Feb-2019 21:05

It depends on the size and layout of the apartment. Tower types are normally easier as they generally have a riser cupboard, but ones like the one today, two stories high with each apartment next to each other ,not so easy as there are often no common areas. I’ve done multiple apartments where I have run the cables to a common point in the hallway ceilings and got the builder to install a hatch .
This particular complex had apartments back front and side with an atrium in the middle, so I am guessing there would’ve been no straightforward way for the cable run.
That being said it would all work fine if nobody interferes with it .

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#2176771 11-Feb-2019 21:05

hio77

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#2176782 11-Feb-2019 21:24

coffeebaron:
Brunzy: Correct. It’s a tap ,signal in , 4 outlets to that apartment, out to the next apartment, and more downstream . Disconnect the output and in this case 6 or 7 apartments with no signal.

Wow, is that common practice? That's just asking for trouble.

i'd have to agree, seems very strange for that sort of setup.

Having to organize access to multiple locations to track down a fault is just a nightmare.

Also very poor for a chorus installer to leave the premises with disconnected service for other customers (be it not a chorus service)

In a single dwelling i'd understand a discussion around it, but with a building setup like that... what a pain! - I'd ask if much like you and I, the tech was working on the assumption they aren't used by the customer IN that unit.

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bazzer

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#2176787 11-Feb-2019 21:38

mattwnz:

bazzer:

A lot better job than mine. I managed to move stuff around and ended up with this, that does the job OK.

I just noticed that my pairs are a bit untwisted too? I wonder how much of an issue it is? I have some 100Mbps gear so I probably wouldn't notice on network transfers. The router and switches are all gigabit and the appropriate light comes on but that might not mean much?

That looks quite tidy and good to see that it is using a patch panel, although is it labeled so you know where each port goes?. Does anyone have a photo of the perfect home network install similar to this?

No, that was a bit of a mission. I ended up getting a guy that came to look at my aerial to run through the house and test all 16 (or whatever) TV outlets (only running 8 at a time and even that is a bit overkill but lets us choose which rooms can have a TV) and I labeled them myself. I did charge the TV guy's time back to the contractors so that's OK.

The patch panel, just used trial and error to find the ones I needed and intend to go back and figure out the rest later. At least they seem to be in a reasonable order that relate to the rooms in the house. That was probably the worst thing about the end result (other than the recently discovered untwisted pairs), just a bit sloppy and lazy. Things were "labelled" but it was impossible to follow and plain wrong in places. There wasn't any room to put the switch (even though I specified it) and originally you couldn't close the door because the powerpoints faced the wrong way for the TV distribution they supplied!

But, I'm pretty happy now. :)

richms

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#2176802 11-Feb-2019 22:39

Brunzy: Correct. It’s a tap ,signal in , 4 outlets to that apartment, out to the next apartment, and more downstream . Disconnect the output and in this case 6 or 7 apartments with no signal.

So there is an alternate conductor between different electrical installations causing potentially a massive ground loop? Doesn't sound very ideal at all.

I was told that it was forbidden in the electrical regs to have any non isolated connections between 2 installations, and that there is about as non isolated as it comes. Suprised there were not sparks off the shield when it was reconnected.

Richard rich.ms

cyril7

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#2176830 12-Feb-2019 06:36

richms:

Brunzy: Correct. It’s a tap ,signal in , 4 outlets to that apartment, out to the next apartment, and more downstream . Disconnect the output and in this case 6 or 7 apartments with no signal.

So there is an alternate conductor between different electrical installations causing potentially a massive ground loop? Doesn't sound very ideal at all.

I was told that it was forbidden in the electrical regs to have any non isolated connections between 2 installations, and that there is about as non isolated as it comes. Suprised there were not sparks off the shield when it was reconnected.

As I recall the MATV regs, and its a few years since I read them so feel free to corrrect me, whilst the installation is on the same ground mat or systems (or similar description, but essentially on the same main switchboard) so the general interpretation of that is say a single tower block or row of connected apartments, then you can have a continuous bonded backbone.

If there was a further tower block or row of apartments that was physcially seperate and would infer a seperate main switchboard to feed it, then you would need to break the MATV backbone and either provide a seperate antenna/dish/headend or if connected as one use some form of isolator. For V/UHF there are commonly available isolators, but not ones that cover L-band, but now days you can use a fibre link if you want to feed several "earth mat backbones from a single head end.

In this case the real issue is that the backbone appears in the tenancy, hence a tenant or in this case 3rd party contractor can monkey with the "backbone". Ideally the backbone and taps would be in the riser or a hallway manhole and laterals to each apartment with a "splitter" there to distribute within each apartment. But as is common these days the developers and architects dont give a rats ar$e about this stuff and as you only appear late in the build you suck it up and do what you can to make the best of the job.

Cyril

dimsim

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#2176835 12-Feb-2019 07:31

bazzer:

A lot better job than mine. I managed to move stuff around and ended up with this, that does the job OK.

I just noticed that my pairs are a bit untwisted too? I wonder how much of an issue it is? I have some 100Mbps gear so I probably wouldn't notice on network transfers. The router and switches are all gigabit and the appropriate light comes on but that might not mean much?

While your cabinet is smaller than the OP's, its laid out about as best as I've seen. Now I wouldn't use anything smaller than the ops cabinet for most full home installs.

The thing I'd like to see more of are the in-cabinet standoff's that allow for hidden cable routing within the cabinet... that's what makes an install really pop but AFAIK the dynamics cabinets I have been using don't have these standoffs available.

Coil

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#2176850 12-Feb-2019 07:47

coffeebaron:
Brunzy: Correct. It’s a tap ,signal in , 4 outlets to that apartment, out to the next apartment, and more downstream . Disconnect the output and in this case 6 or 7 apartments with no signal.

Wow, is that common practice? That's just asking for trouble.

The entire time I spent as a sparky, it was drilled into me that you keep services separate. We did a few MDU's and made sure everything was accessible to the people that need it. I would not call it common practice, but in the current state of cowboys throwing apartments together racing the dollar to the bottom corners are going to the cut and mistakes made and standards ignored.

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