It's a great day here in Orem, Utah! I hope that your 4th of July celebrations went well. Saturday the 7th we also celebrated Shelly's birthday. As a present to my wife I bought her the only piece of electronic gear she has ever been excited about. That's right, she couldn't care less for all of the gadgets that I tend to aqcuire, but this item really caught her eye and she has been wanting one for about a year now..... What is this technological marvel that Shelly oogled???
Shelly discovered a piece of equipment by Sony called TIVO that allows her to watch television when and how she wants. Imagine watching a TV show in real time and the phone rings. Your options at this point are to answer the phone and miss the show, or you can let the answering machine get the call and you can wonder what important call you missed. The same is true of interruptions from four children under age 11. You know how bad the timing can be as you are watching the last minute of the BYU football game when just as the field goal is being kicked the bloody nose comes screaming into the room.
Now imagine for a moment that you could press a pause button on the remote and stop the real time program. The after the blood has stopped flowing you could press the play button and your TV would start to show the program where from where you paused it. You now would be watching the program in 3 minute delay. You could then watch from there or fast forward yourself back up to real time......
Is this technology really available I asked myself as I stood in the RC Willey electronics showroom. Could it really work? What are its limitations? What are its detailed features? How much does it cost? What about the subscription fees? You mean to tell me that I could prerecord a Utah Jazz game on the 30 gig hard drive and join the game 1 hour into it? Then I could watch the game in 1 hour delay and easily skip through all of the time outs and commercials eventually catching up to real time at just about the same time as the real game finishes? That means that I could get through a game in just a little over an hour..... Wait a minute..... You mean to tell me that a TVaholic could actually be more productive in their TV viewing habits?
You also tell me that I can pre-program an actor into the memory and it will scan the programming and record any shows that they are in??? This means that I could actually watch the Prime Time Friday night Nash Bridges with a simple preprogramming feature that I can set once??? Being aired at a typical date night time slot I find it very difficult to watch this favorite TV show. It seems that I always forget to set the VCR.
Well I truly believed this was way too good to be true. I still remember telling Shelly this over a year ago when she told me about it. I was till skeptical until I opened the box and performed the installation for my lovely wife. The Sony TIVO system works just as advertised. Everything I needed was in the box and the installation was very easy, but you gotta read the instructions. If you love to watch TV (of which I know that most of you will not admit too) then this system is for you...... In fact, you should e-mail Shelly at GoldynGirl@TheHomeInspector.com for details. Handing Shelly her new remote was a very difficult thing to do.
This is not a war story, but one that has made my day...I arrived home in the afternoon, Monday 7/2 to 5 messages on my recorder. One Realtor call went something like this: "...Hi Jim, this is xxxx and I just called to tell you I now understand why you asked if I had e-mail. This Home Inspection report is great, very thorough and detailed and very well presented. I am very impressed with it. I am not up on e-mail, so I had to enlist the help of another person to access the report. I am now going to work on getting myself into the year 2001 and become more familiar with e-mail. I appreciate the report a lot and the presentation will surely help the seller as well as the buyer. Thank you." (Or words to that effect) Isn't it great when just a few words are stated that say Thank You, good job? Makes the day for me! The 3D presentation with all the positive results could not have occurred without the dedicated work of one Michael Leavitt & Co. This is just one complement of many I have received. Thank you Michael and Shelly, because it took the organized efforts of you both. Good inspecting and have a good day! Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Please include your name so that proper credit can be given.
I have just recently made the high speed internet and network upgrade for our home. What a beast of a project with 4 different computer locations throughout the home as well as the networking of a wonderful Xerox Tektronix color laser printer to all of the locations. I have had a crash course in networking and the components necessary for a successful network installation. The following was information that helps to better understand these systems while performing a Home Inspection.
This article is reformatted from the July 2001 edition of "The Journal Of Light Construction" - Subscribe at www.jlconline.com
Although most builders can confidently specify plumbing or roofing materials, many feel out of their depth when it comes to answering customers' questions about broadband Internet access or home automation. Perhaps you're still sitting on the sidelines, wondering whether today's communication cables and hardware will become obsolete, the way Betamax lost out to VHS.
Customer demand for structured wiring varies widely, depending mostly on geography. In some areas of the country - including San Jose, Calif., and northern Virginia - builders have been forced by insistent customers to get up to speed on communications wiring. But in rural areas away from high-tech hot spots, demand for structured wiring is still weak. "Builders won't spend a nickel until they know that their customers want it," says Bill Black, vice president for wire and cable at the Copper Development Association.
Communications wiring is often referred to as low-voltage wiring or structured wiring. Structured wiring includes the cables, outlets, and distribution boxes, as well as the process of installing them.
Structured wiring can accommodate many overlapping systems, including telephones, Internet access, home computer networks, cable or satellite TV audio equipment, home-security equipment, and home-automation functions (such as hvac control, lighting control, and smart appliances). Structured wiring generally includes two, and sometimes three, types of cable:
Unshielded twisted pair (UTP or TP) wiring, which is basically upgraded phone wire. UTP is used for phone systems, Internet access, computer networks, and home-automation systems. The most common type of UTP is called Category 5 or Cat S cable. (Cat SE is an enhanced version of Cat S.) Cat S cable contains 8 conductors in 4 bundled pairs. Cat S wiring requires an 8-pin RJ-45 jack, rather than the usual 4-pin RJ-1 1 jack used for most telephones.
RG 6 coaxial cable (coax or Cx), which is a heavier, better-shielded version of RG 59, the common TV cable used in most homes. Coaxial cable is used not only for television signals, but also for cable modems providing broadband Internet access.
Fiber-optic lines, which are often called simply "fiber" Although fiberoptic lines are commonly used for long-distance communications cables, at present they have virtually no uses in homes. Nevertheless, some structured-wiring installers include two fiber-optic lines in their residential installations, because the fibers can be marketed as an enhanced feature, at little cost to the installer.
Bundled cable, which is available from several manufacturers, is a sheathed cable that usually includes two Cat SE cables and two RG 6 coax cables. Some types of bundled cable also include two fiber-optic strands.
Standards. Fortunately, structured-wiring installers have achieved a consensus on what a new home requires. The existing standard for residential communications wiring is ANSI/TIA/EIA-S 70-A, published in September 1999. This standard offers two grades of service; most installers recommend that new homes be equipped with Grade 2 service, which requires installing two Cat S cables and two RG 6 coax cables to most rooms. Standard 570-A requires wiring to con-form to a star topology (meaning that each outlet is served by home-run cables running back to a centrally located distribution panel). This standard replaces an earlier standard, 570, which permitted daisy-chaining cables.
From the perspective of companies promoting structured wiring, most Americans, including builders as well as homeowners, are ill informed about communications wiring. This lack of knowledge, they feel, is a major barrier to growth.
Component manufacturers are trying to reassure bewildered customers by forming marketing alliances. In February, 2001, Smart Corp., a home automation products manufacturer in Las Cruces, N.M., announced an alliance with appliance manufacturer General Electric and software giant Microsoft. Similarly, Home Director, a manufacturer of home-automationproducts, recently announced a partnership with Sears Connected Home, the home-automation division of Sears Roebuck. The marketers forming these alliances hope that uncertain homeowners and builders will be more likely to purchase systems from a company with a well-known brand name. Another hurdle for the industry is public indifference to home-automation features. A sizable fraction of the population is content to control their lights with toggle switches and their furnaces with old-fashioned thermostats, and doubt the need for their home appliances to be connected to the Internet. But even skeptics admit that though their refrigerators don't need to be online, their teenagers do. "What's driving this thing is the demand for faster Internet," says Bill Black.
What about existing homes? High-tech proponents predict that within the next five or ten years, structured wiring will become standard in new homes, just as indoor plumbing did in the early years of the twentieth century. When it comes to rewiring existing homes, however, predictions vary. "Only a small percentage of homes in the marketplace have fanatics who want to rewire their homes," says Richard Dunfee, training program manager at BICSI, a Tampa, Fla.-based trade association for manufacturers and installers of communications wiring.
Many manufacturers are developing systems to permit computer networking and broadband Internet access without installing any new wires. Under development are wireless systems using radio-frequency (RF) communication, powerline systems that transmit signals or data over existing AC wires, and systems designed to cram increasing amounts of data through existing 4-conductor phone lines. Consensus standards do not yet exist for these emerging "no new wires" systems. But even if wireless technologies eventually capture the existing-home market, the advantages of wired systems - better privacy and higher data transmission rates - will almost certainly tip the balance in favor of structured wiring for new homes.
Before you decide to jump onto the broadband bandwagon, be sure to do your homework. Cat 5 wiring or bundled cable must be installed with care (see "High-Tech Home Wiring," 5/00). The wires won't be able to carry the data they were designed to transmit if they are installed with tight bends or too close to 120-volt AC wires, or if twisted pairs of wires are excessively untwisted when terminated in a box. The wires can also be easily damaged if they are pulled too hard or dented by staples.
Careless rough-in is just one pitfall for the unwary. The main reason that most builders prefer to leave structured wiring to an experienced subcontractor is to ensure that someone else handles any problems during the warranty period.
Who's installing? Lately, everybody and his brother has been getting into the low-voltage wiring act. Contractors offering to install structured wiring include:
Although most new homes do not include structured wiring, the percentage that do is growing rapidly. As a result, there is an acute shortage of qualified structured-wiring installers.
Costs. The cost to install structured wiring in a new 2,500 square-foot home ranges from about $750 to $3,500, depending on what equipment is included. Cat 5 cable costs about 8 to 14 cents a foot, while bundled cable (which includes two Cat SE and two RG 6 coaxial cables) costs about 50 to 85 cents a foot.
Learning more. Three good sources of information on structured wiring are:
This article is reformatted from the May 2000 edition of "The Journal Of Light Construction" - Subscribe at www.jlconline.com
Today's custom homebuyers expect the latest technology to plug in and work without having to rewire their new home, and they expect you to make it possible. So, if you're building houses in the 21st century, you had better know how to properly specify and install the cabling and devices that make home automation systems tick.
Many contractors have worked with speaker, TV; and phone wires, but data cabling is a different story; unless you've installed computer networks in office buildings, it's unlikely you're familiar with the tools and techniques required to properly install the twisted-pair cable used in home automation and networking systems.
The cabling used to connect most computer and data networks is known as UTP "Category 5," or simply "Cat 5." It consists of eight color-coded conductors, covered in a PVC jacket. ("Plenum rated" Cat 5 has a Teflon or other fire-resistant coating and is used primarily in commercial construction, above dropped ceilings and other installations where fire is an issue.) The carefully engineered twists in the four pairs of 24-gauge wire are designed to reject interference and "crosstalk," as well as maximize "throughput," which make it an excellent choice for phone, security, intercom, digital computer data, and nearly any other low-voltage communication requirements. Cat 5 installation is simple and straightforward, but the guidelines must be followed very carefully or the Installed network won't work reliably.
Choosing a system. When it comes to home automation and home networking cabling systems, you have two choices: You can use a pack-aged solution such as Home Director , or you can create own system using separate components from electrical and networking suppliers. There are some advantages to the packaged approach: one-stop shopping, good installation and technical support for both the installer and the end-user, and specialized components such as wiring enclosures designed to fit between stud bays. The downside of packaged systems is that they may limit the size of the system or the features your client is looking for. Plus, you can create the same functionality from off-the-shelf components. If you're willing to take more responsibility for the hardware, you can build a very flexible system yourself, and' may save a little money in the process.
There are two often-overlooked points when selecting Cat 5 cabling and accessories. First, all the pieces of the installation should carry the same rating as your cable: If you're using Cat 5E, make sure the plugs, enclosures, and patch panels are also Cat 5e. Second, there are two common connection schemes, 568A and S68B. The difference is which or wire goes to which terminal on the connectors and mixing them is a bad idea (see "Choosing Wiring Standard"). If you opt for a packaged solution the choice will be made for you. If not, use B. You'll find more computer-related pre-configured devices available for this standard.
Cat 5 (and Cat SE, for "enhanced") cable is available in both stranded and solid-wire conductors. Solid conductor is used for "structured cabling" - anything that is permanently installed in a building. Stranded conductor is used to make the patch cables that connect the devices together outside walls.
Colors count. Cat 5 consists of four colored pairs of blue/orange/green/brown color-coded wires. Different manufacturers indicate colors differently - the easiest cables to work with have a solid color conductor paired with a white conductor. A colored stripe or long-short, short-long identifying band run the entire length of the white wires to them from getting . Avoid cable with no markings on the white wires since it can easily be misconfigured.
Cat 5 is available in a variety of outer jacket colors. in use these to great advantage by running one color for network, another for phone, a third for control wiring, and so forth. The standard color scheme is:
Bundled cables. Specialty cable, available from home automation suppliers, combines multiple strands of Cat 5, coax, and speaker wires in one color coded jacket. Bundled cables may save a little labor, but they are more expensive in the long run and limit the flexibility of your system. You're better off purchasing good-quality bulk cabling and running exactly what you need to each location.
Jacks and plugs. Computer and data networks wired with Cat 5 use RJ-45 jacks and plugs, which look like a wide version of the familiar RJ-11 telephone jack. Solid wall and surface-mount jacks are available, as well as modular systems that let you create your own configuration of TV, network, and telephone connections at a single location by snapping small Lego-like modules into a frame. The "keystone" modular system (made by various manufacturers) is very popular in commercial installations and works just as well in the home environment, but requires special cover plates. Newer QuickPort and TechWire modular systems by Leviton and others use decorator-style or even standard duplex cover plates.
All structured wiring installations involve home runs from individual devices back to a central location known as the wiring closet. This is also known as a "star topologv" because every-thing radiates outward from a central hub. Prepackaged solutions such as Home Director feature their own wiring enclosures, which fit between studs or surface-mount much like a conventional electrical panel. The other option is to purchase individual punch-down blocks and patch panels that mount on a wall, in an equipment cabinet, or in a standard 19-inch equipment rack similar to what you'd use for professional stereo equipment. The individual conductors are "punched down" between thin metal contacts in the patch panel, and each cable is then connected internally to a RJ-45 jack on the panel face. From there you use short patch cables to connect to your network hubs or other devices in the rack. A rack system is flexible, expandable, and easy to service; the only downside is the floor space required compared with a between-the-studs enclosure.
The wiring closet needs to be centrally located so no single run of Cat 5 wiring will be longer than 285 feet, the maximum distance for reliable performance. Don't locate your wiring closet near the electrical service panel - common practice for regular phone and TV but the kiss of death for data networks because of electrical interference. In a conventional two-story home with stacked stairwells, the space under the basement stair is often an excellent spot for the wiring closet because it is central to the floor plan, and allows a clear shot from basement to attic.
Cat 5 must be used for data networks, should be used for phones, and can be used for intercom, equipment control, and security sensors. Speakers typically use 14-gauge dedicated speaker cable, and high-grade video requires RJ-6 coax. Permanent equipment locations such as smoke alarms or speakers are self-explanatory: You run the required cable to where the device is. What isn't quite as obvious is where to place network/phone nodes or mixed data/video/home automation jacks.
Many home automation specialists recommend that every multi-use outlet have two RG6 coax video cables, two 2-pair 14-gauge speaker wires, and two Cat 5 cables - one for phone and the other for computer. In reality, you don't need video and speaker cables at every location - it's doubtful the Internet-enabled microwave will ever care about who is at the front door. However, rooms that are data-heavy, such as home offices, could require as many as six to eight separate runs of Cat 5 to accommodate multi-line phones, dedicated fax machines, and multiple computer workstations, not to mention the usual security, intercom, and control wiring. As more video and audio moves to the Internet, Cat 5 will become increasingly important. The point is, it's easier to run the cable while the studs are open.
When installing Cat 5:
It's a good idea to provide a couple of basement-to-attic and house-to-outbuilding 2-inch PVC conduits for future expansion. Just be sure to cap off any not in use to prevent moisture problems and vermin from taking up residence.
In addition to the usual electrical wiring tools, you'll need a networking tool kit with some basic gear, available from mail-order outlets for under $100 (Figure 6). The kit should include:
There is no rocket science necessary for installing Cat 5 cabling, but you do have to pay close attention to the rules if you expect the system to work properly when you're done.
Household wiring causes electrical interference which will disrupt data flow on network cabling and create line noise and crosstalk on telephone cable. To avoid problems:
A home automation system can involve hundreds of individual runs of cable terminating in the wiring closet area. There is nothing more time-consuming than trying to figure out where they all came from because you were too lazy to document them as they were installed.
Some installers do a beautiful job of running the cable, but then blow it when making the final device connections. Sloppy workmanship at this critical step can ruin network performance.
Joe Stoddard is a contribing editor specializing in information technology for the Journal of Light Home Construction
568A and 568B - Cabling/wiring standards established by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). It describes every aspect of cable installation for both data and voice communication. 568B is the more common standard for structured wiring, 568A exists to integrate with older networks. The difference is that pairs 1 and 2 and pairs 3 and 6 are reversed in color.
Category 3, 4, 5, SE - Electrical standards for cabling developed by the EIA and TIA. Category 3 cable offers speeds up to 16MHz and a data throughput rate up to lOMbps (million bits per second - 10baseT); Cat 4, 2OMHz/ l6Mbps; Cat 5 and SE 1OOMHz/lOOMbps (lOObaseT). Cat 3 and 4 are seldom specified today. Additionally, "gigabit" standards (1000 Mbps) are under development for use with Cat 5 cable.
Coaxial Cable (Coax) - Solid copper core surrounded by insulation and a copper braid. This cable has many varieties depending on the amount of electromagnetic interference shielding allowed, and the voltages and frequencies accommodated. Coax allows high bandwidth, between 50 and 500 MHz, making it ideal for video signals. RJ-6 is the current designation for coax cable used in home automation systems.
EIA - Electronic Industries Association.
Ethernet - The most widely installed local area network technology. Now specified in a standard, IEEE 802.3. An Ethernet LAN typically uses special grades of twisted pair wires.
Hub - A "junction box" in any "star topology" network that allows computers or other network devices to communicate with each other. IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
IEEE 802.3xx - The set of standards that describe Ethernet cabling standards from 10 million bits per second (lObaseT) to "gigabit" (lOOObaseT).
NIC - (Network Interface Card) This is also called a "network card" or "network adapter." This is the card (like a small circuit board) that goes inside of a computer or other network device and allows the computer to be plugged into a network.
Patch Cord - (Also called a Patch Cable.) The flexible cable that connects computers or other devices to the network or to each other.
RIAS - Similar to a telephone (RJ-1 1) plug/jack but eight pins wide, used in lOBaseT and lOOBaseT Ethernet networking.
Star Topology - Network design where all cable is "home run" from each device directly to a central hub. All communications between devices in a star topology go through the hub.
STP Cable - (Shielded Twisted Pair Cable) Cable that has a foil and/or braided shield for EMI (electromagnetic interference) protection. Seldom used in Ethernet or home automation systems.
TIA - Telecommunications Industry Association.
UTP Cable - (Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable) Category 5 UTP cable with RJ-45 plugs is the most common type of cable used in Ethernet networking and home automation systems. Maximum usage length of UTP for data transmission is 100 meters.
Choosing a Cat 5 Wiring Standard
Before purchasing connecting hardware, it's critically important to decide which wiring standard you're going to use. The standard designates which color wire from the horizontal wiring connects to which pin on the RJ-45 modular jack. If you're using a packaged solution, you'll use what the manufacturer recommends. If you're designing a system from scratch, you'll have to choose between the original EIA/TIA wiring standard T568A, or an alternative standard, T568B, which is more commonly used in the U.S. The proper wiring for each standard appears below. Note that the only difference between the two is that the orange and green pairs on the RJ-45 jack are reversed.
Table of Cat 5 Clearances
I had a long time friend/agent show up for a walkthrough this past week on behalf of her out of state client. Her first comment was..... "You haven't found anything major wrong have you?" I replied, "Well that depends, if you consider an immediate needed repair on the A/C system as major, then yes I have." That dialogue didn't put her mind at rest, but I know this agent and know that she wants the truth and she doesn't want me to sugar coat anything. She then followed this up with a comment at the conclusion of our walkthrough.... "I want you to talk to the Buyer and let them know what a wonderful cute little house this really is" I looked her hard in the eyes and I said "I don't think it is possible for me to utter the words wonderful cute little house in the same sentence." Then I burst out with laughter while she caught my drift. The male Listing Agent also laughed as he realized the thought that I was conveying.
It is amazing how professional inspector lingo differs from successful realtor lingo.......
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