Training Training Videos & Docs Part 4 Training, Trim-out, Configuration and Testing
| Part 4 Training, Trim-out, Configuration and Testing |
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| TRAINING - Training Videos & Docs |
PART 4 - Trim-out, Configuration, and System TestingIntroductionIn the trim-out phase, we'll be doing the following tasks:
1. Terminating the CablesCable preparation consists of two major tasks: preparing the cables in the distribution center enclosures, and preparing the cables at each outlet/rough-in location. We start by opening the distribution center covers and checking the cables. We need to cut the cables to the proper length, and replace the rough-in labels with permanent labels we made at the office. Then we'll terminate the TP cables to the voice and data modules and connectorize the coax so we can get all the cables tested. We start in DC2, the voice and data enclosure. To make trimming the cables to the correct length easier, Rich mounts the voice and data modules using this scale drawing we made earlier of where each module is positioned. The modules simply snap into the holes on the back of the panel. Each voice network cable terminates on one of the 110 style punch-down connectors on the telecom modules. The voice network diagram shows which line to assign to each connector.
To terminate the cable to the 110 connector, you'll need a TP cable jacket stripper, and a punch-down tool with a 110 blade.
There are two varieties of punch down tools, impact and non-impact. Both have removable blades. The blade is designed to apply an even force on the wire and force it into the contact. The impact tool uses a spring-loaded mechanism to impact the blade with a preset force slamming the wire into the fork to make a good contact. the non-impact variety requires you to do the work.
110 style connector installation 4. Once you have all the pairs punched down, cut off any excess wire with diagonal cutters. At the voice and data enclosure we first apply the new trim-out labels then carefully measure and cuts the cable to the correct length, then strips the insulation, and punches it down in the right order. We then terminates the primary incoming voice line from the NID on the surge protection module. Installing Modular JacksThe tools you'll need to install the cable on a modular jack are the same as you used for the 110 connectors. 1. Strip back about 2 inches of insulation using the cable stripping tool. You can also use the TP cables nylon rip cord to remove the jacket. Most jacks use two rows of 4 insulation displacement contacts. They are also often color coded for both 568A and 568B configurations. Be sure and use the ‘A' configuration. Each wire must be inserted into the insulation displacement contact groove by hand and then forced into the fork on the contact until it is firmly seated. Try to keep the pair untwisting to a minimum. 2. Start with the blue and blue-white pair. Untwist it down to the jacket. Keep the jacket next to the connector, as close as possible, and apply the blue and white pairs to the blue pair color coded contacts. 3. Next install the orange, pair, untwisting the absolute minimum and apply the conductors to the orange contacts. 4. Next, install the green pair, pushing them down on the insulation displacement contacts. Then finish with the brown pair.
How the modular jack should look prior to punching the wires down 5. Then punch down each wire on its contact with a punch-down tool. Cut off any excess leads. And finally snap on the contact covers. When you put these on in the field, it's helps to use something to hold the jack against while you punch down the wires. Don't do this against the wall board. Just because a jack is for voice service, don't get sloppy. Keep pair twisting tight and punch down all 4 pairs. You don't know what the jack might be used for in the future. Attaching F ConnectorsAttaching F connectors to coax is easy. We're going to use these snap-and-seal style connectors. When using quad RG6 coax make sure to use a quad RG6 F connector as well. F connectors for regular RG6 look the same.
If you plan to use the snap-and-seal type of connector you'll need cable stripper and the compression tool designed for the specific connector you're using. If you use regular crimp style F connectors you'll need a ratcheting crimping tool. We'll demonstrate installing this type of connector first. 1. The fist step is to strip the coax for the connector. The stripping tool will make two cuts in the end of the cable: One down to the center conductor, the next through the outer jacket. Use a striping tool you can adjust for the diameter of cable you are using. This tool has adjustments to allow you to fine tune the depth of each cut. Practice on a scrap cable until it cuts without nicking the center conductor or inner insulation. The tool should strip so that there is 3/8 inch of center conductor and 1/4 inch of inner braid and foil showing. 2. Insert the coax into the connector. The connector body is designed to take the center insulation and surrounding foil of the coax through the center hole. The center conductor becomes the center contact.
3. Push the connector until the center insulation is flush with the inside edge of the connector then crimp the connector on. 4. Use a ratcheting crimping tool on the barrel and make sure the die in the tool is the right size for the connector. Next we demonstrate installing the snap-and-seal connector. Prep the cable the same way. We like to remove the outer braid and foil and fold back the inner braid over the jacket. Apply the connector the same way, making sure the dielectric is flush with the inside edge. 2. With the ratchet on the crimping tool fully open, insert the front of the connector into the tool so the center conductor passes into the alignment hole. 3. Snap the cable into the locking jaws, then crimp the tool through its complete ratchet cycle. When the crimping is complete, you should not be able to pull the connector off with less than 40 pounds of pull tension. And make sure you check off that you've connectorized each cable as its done. Once the TP voice and data cables are done, we terminate the coax cables in the RF distribution enclosure. Again, to get them cut to the correct length, we mount most of the modules according to the enclosure layout and wiring diagram. TP TestingOnce the cables are terminated, they must be tested. There are two classes of tests you can perform on category rated TP cable, verification testing and certification testing.
Verification testing is required and will check for the most common problems in the cable and connectors, pair opens, shorts, and proper connector wiring-making sure the pairs are on the right contacts at each end. And it will also check that the cables are labeled correctly. All of these potential problems can be caught with simple to use UTP test equipment. To test the cable requires something attached at each end of the cable. The Fluke Microscanner Pro is a good example. It consists of a push button tester and a remote. Both attach directly to the cable under test.
It doesn't matter which end you connect where, but typically you connect the remote end to the outlet and use the tester at the distribution center. The job is a lot easier with a pair of two-way family radios. The disadvantage of having the voice lines connected together in parallel on a voice line termination module is that if there is a short anywhere it's a little difficult to find. We use an Ideal Linkmaster to run a quick check on each module to see if there is a short. Fortunately, there isn't a short. If there is a short, remove any jumpers between voice line modules to isolate it to a module. Then you're pretty much stuck with removing a cable at a time until the short clears.
The Microscanner Pro display indicates the actual wire-map of the cable and connectors your testing. That is, which pin on one end is connected to what pin on the other end. The top row indicated the wired detected at the tester, and the bottom row is what was detected at the remote. Testing CoaxIt's easy to test coaxial cable the same way using low-cost testers specifically for coax such as this Ideal Minitracker. All the cable testers we have are capable of testing coax, but were going to demo the Linkmaster Pro. It comes with four color coded remotes with F connectors so you can identify and check four coax cables at a time.
The remote screws in at the outlet using a barrel connector. If you do several at a time, remember to note which color is on which cable on your cable chart. The tester plugs in back at the distribution panel and automatically performs the test, detecting the color code of the attached remote. Note that an OPEN condition may indicate an break in the cable, a bad connection at the connector or a mislabeled cable The easiest way to determine if we have the right cable or to find a mislabeled cable is with a tone generator and detector, one of the handiest test tools you can have. We're going to use this Harris TS90, it generates a distinctive audio signal that's placed on the cable we're trying to locate. And an Ideal tone detector is used to locate the cable carrying the signal We simply attach the generator directly to the cable. The TS90 automatically measures the length of the cable as well. The detectors pick-up coil will detect the tone within a foot or so of the cable. When cables run close together for any distance the tone can be coupled to other cables so it takes a little practice to sort out the strongest tone. But the Harris generator has a nice feature. If you short the cable connected to the tester, the tone changes so you get a good confirmation that you've got the right cable.
2. Installing Outlet Hardware and CoversWhen you are installing connectors into wall plates, stay consistent on connector placement and color coding. Your job is to minimize customer confusion by making the function of each jack easy to identify. You can label the jacks. This lets you keep everything the same color, but the labels can be hard to see. Even if you do use labels, keep the placement of the jacks consistent. The other technique is to use color coding to indicate the jack function. In the project house, we chose blue for voice, orange for data, and green for special functions like audio distribution. We used gold-plated F jacks to identify outputs on external cable runs, and regular nickel-plated to identify modulator inputs to the internal cables.
If you're using barrel connectors without built-in terminators, be sure and install screw on terminators on each connector. 3. Installing Security System and Home Automation EquipmentSecurity Sensor InstallationItems installed:
Camera installationFour surveillance cameras were installed. Each camera outputs a baseband video signal over coaxial cable and requires 12 volts DC operating power. Power was supplied to the cameras over the CAT5 cable of the siamesed CAT5/RG6 cable prewired for the cameras. When distributing power over cat 5 cable, use at least two of the conductors for each polarity to minimize the voltage drop in the cable due to the resistance of the wire. We standardized on combining the orange pair conductors for positive and the green pair for negative. The cameras are supplied with BNC connectors so we had to apply BNC connectors on the RG6. We used a two piece crimp connector. First,
Home Automation Equipment InstallationEquipment installed
Installation of the CorAccess panel consists of attaching power, a serial interface to the Omni LT automation electronics, and an Ethernet connection. The thermostats are wired normally to the HVAC equipment using the standard thermostat color code and the cable provided by the HVAC contractor. They are also wired directly back to the Omni controller using CAT5 cable for the serial interface. The thermostat for the master suite zone is mounted in a poor location (a small hallway off the front entry. What was the HVAC contractor thinking?) for monitoring temperature so we installed a separate temperature sensor in the center of the master suite space. It's wired directly back to the Omni panel and can be used to control the master suite zone.
4. Audio Equipment InstallationEquipment installed:
We are using an A-bus audio distribution system. The system distributes baseband audio from a single source to multiple volume controls. The volume controls receive base-band audio and power from the distribution panel over CAT5 cable, and provide the amplification to the set of attached speakers. Wiring to the speakers uses conventional speaker cable. In-wall speakers were installed in the master bedroom. In ceiling speakers were installed in the office, master bath, and dining area. The volume controls have a LED display to show the volume level, and a built-in IR receiver. The IR signals are sent back to the source input module in the entertainment center to remotely control the attached A/V equipment. Installing the in-wall speakers consists of the following steps:
Installing the volume controls consists of the following steps
Note: the wire color codes for speaker attachment are not standardized but the following conventions are used by most installers: RED/GREEN pair: RED+ / GREEN - (RIGHT Speaker) WHITE/BLACK pair: WHITE + / BLACK - (LEFT Speaker) We mounted an A-bus source module in the entertainment center. We connect it to one of the CAT5 jacks that's wired to the A-bus termination module in the 28 inch enclosure.
5. Off-air and Satellite Antenna InstallationOn the roof we mounted
We prewired 6 RG6 cables to the roof. One for the UHF antenna, One for the FM antenna, and four for the satellite dish. We also prewired a 10 AWG ground wire connected to the house grounding electrode. We installed the FM and UHF antenna on short masts separated by about 4 feet. G's Tip: Whenever you install multiple antennas, try to keep them at least 3 ft. apart and more if you can to avoid interaction between them. If you have to mount them on the same mast, keep them as far apart as possible. Put the UHF antenna on top. We used weather proof F connectors on all the cables on the roof and installed "weather proofing" rubber boots over the connections whenever possible. Per NEC grounding requirements, we connected the metal masts together using a 10 AWG ground wire and connected it to the ground wire we prewired to the roof using a grounding block.
Typical installation and grounding of off-air antenna We next mounted the satellite dish. We mount the mast lined up with the slope of the roof. The mast contains a small bubble level to make it easy to get the mast perfectly vertical. We set the dish to the approximate elevation for our latitude (53 degrees), and we mount the dish to the mast. We then we do a preliminary azimuth alignment using a signal level meter attached to the primary LNB. The meter supplies the necessary power to the LNB. We then attach the 4 LNB cables from the multi-switch (left and right hand transponders from each LNB). A final alignment will be done when the dish is connected to the customer receiver. 6. Network Support Equipment InstallationInstallation of the distribution network support equipment consisted of the following (see the diagrams in the rear of the workbook). Voice and Data panel equipment
Security and audio panel equipment
7. System Configuration and TestingOnce all the equipment is installed and interconnected we need to perform initial tests and configuration starting with the voice network. Voice NetworkIf telephone service is available, you can make a final check of the voice network by using a "butt set" such as the Harris telephone test set. It will check for dial-tone and which line is active at each voice jack. Data NetworkYou should preconfigure as much of the network equipment such as the router, wireless access point, and servers as you can in the office. You should also make a network configuration worksheet. A sample is in the back of this Workbook. It lists all the networked devices with their configuration information such as IP addresses, passwords, setting, and so on. This is an extremely valuable piece of documentation of you need to troubleshoot the system later (which you will!). G's TIP: It is a waste of your time to configure network equipment in the field. Always do it in the office where you have time to think! Standardize on a set of IP address for all your customers so you don't have to remember what the IP address for each router should be. Make the all the same. Make sure "built-in" devices such as wireless access points, servers, etc. are given static IP address. Our first step is to power up the panel and make sure we have good status lights on all the equipment, including link lights between the switches and router, to the wireless access point, and camera server. The next step is to plug in a laptop to the network and make sure the router is working (that it executes the DHCP protocol for the laptop) and that it's configuration is per the worksheet you did in the office. Without an Internet connection, we can still check everything on the LAN side. We use a Fluke Linkrunner to teach each data outlet to make sure there is a 100 Mbps link. From the laptop we check to make sure everything connected to the network is working including the wireless access point, the CorAccess panel, and camera server by bringing up their configuration web pages. Once the wireless access point is configured, we can use the wireless connection with the laptop to check for a good signal strength throughout the house. It also a good idea to check the signal strength outside on patios and porches. There's a pool going in here in the back yard so the owner is likely to want to use a laptop in this area We next check the camera server. The main server web screen shows all four cameras at once. We can configure how often the cameras refresh, and how they are accessed from the internet. The CorAccess panel has it's own built-in diagnostics to show it's IP address and whether it has a good connection to the internet. We can set up all the initial panel settings including web cam sites, our camera web server address so we can view the cameras on this screen, and we need to configure the interface with the Omni security panel since the CorAccess panel has a graphical user interface option for the Omni built in to handle thermostat setting, lighting control, and security status and settings. We'll need to go over the security issues with the homeowner: WAN firewall settings, virtual server settings, wireless security, and review the recommendations for individual computer security. Broadband RF Distribution System ConfigurationThe first step in setting up the RF distribution system is to set the main amplifier gain and tilt. To do that, we need a 0 dBmV reference signal to act as a good cable channel at the input of the external distribution amplifier, first at a high channel, then at a low channel. We will then measure the output at the closest and farthest location. The goal is to set the amplifier gain so that all outputs are between 0 and + 10 dBmV and to set the amplifier tilt to the difference between the highest and lowest channel is minimum. We first set our signal generator for channel 118 and measure the output at the farthest location (the master bath). We adjust the amplifier gain for about 5 dBmV (in the middle of the desirable range). We then set the generator for channel 14 (lowest we can go with the generator) and measure the output. It is high as you would expect (lower loss in the coax cables). We adjust the tilt control (which attenuates low frequencies) until the level in the master bath is also about 5 dBmV. This sets the tilt for the system. We then check the levels a the closest outlet to the distribution system (Bedroom 1). The level at channel 118 is +9.5 dBmV and at channel it's +10.5 dBmV. These are perfectly good levels so we leave the adjustments as is. Note that if the levels were too high (over +15 dBmV) we would have to lower the amplifier gain (but not more than 5 dB). Once the amplifier level is set, we double check the level at each outlet and record it on our test sheet. It is also a good idea to use a portable TV you know is working correctly to visually test the signal. This will also make sure there is no hum or interfering signals on the system. Next we need to check the internal signal distribution. we'll do this by injecting a modulated signal on one of the internal cable connectors. We use one in the entertainment center since this is a very likely location for a modulator. I set the generator to ch. 86, a typical channel to set the modulator of a satellite receiver and adjust the signal level for +25 dBmV. Again, this is a typical output level for a modulator. We need to make sure that the level at the external outlets is also within the 0 to +10 dBmV range. Again we check the output levels in the master bath and find the output to be about +8 dBmV. The level at the closest outlet is about +11 dBmV. Acceptable levels. Next we configure the camera modulator. Each of the 4 channels can be set independently. We program the cameras on channel 88, 90, 92, and 94. We have notched these analog channels out of the incoming cable service using a Channel Vision notch filter that removes these four channels. The output level of the modulator is fixed so we check the level. We need it to be close to +25 dBmV to get the levels we need at our outputs. It's a little high, around 29 dB so we add a 3 dB attenuator to it's output. Now that we have the RF system up and configured, and the camera modulator working, we can test and aim the cameras. Once the camera modulator is working, we can monitor each of the four cameras on a portable TV and aim and set them in place. Home Automation and Security Configuration and TestingASL programmed the security panel, so we just need to check that all the sensors are working properly. We monitor the zone status on an Omni keypad display while walking around the house and open and close all the doors and windows and test the motion sensors. We also check to make sure the telephone remote access function is working. This lets the homeowner operate the panel functions from any phone inside or outside the home. And we also check the thermostat operation, not only that they control the HVAC zones, but to make sure they can be also operated from the Omni security system We then make a final check of the CorAccess system to make sure it has internet access through our temporary internet connection, and that the serial interface to the Omni panel is working. The display of remote web-cams is a sure sign it has a good connection to the internet. Note: the next door neighbor was nice enough to let us "borrow" his internet connection to test our router and CorAccess panel. Audio System TestingFinally, we test the audio distribution system. We use going to use iTunes on the laptop as a handy audio source and plug it into the A-bus baseband input adaptor. We then checks volume control operation in each room and makes sure there are no rattles or vibration from any of the speakers. Final Clean UpYou should always keep a copy of the field documentation (wiring schedule, test results, network configuration worksheet, etc.) on the site as well as the office, preferably in the enclosure. We're going to keep the documentation for our project in a plastic bag taped to the inside of the enclosure door. Be sure and include your business card! Also make sure you have copies of any configuration files on your laptop and store them in the customer data base when you get back to the office. We will need to return after the homeowner moves in to familiarize them with the operation of the system. There is still a lot to configure based on how the customer wants the various systems to operate. Where to Get Additional InformationThe following is a list of manufacturers where you can obtain additional information about products shown in the course. SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT
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Link - P-0328
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