Anyone who has spent time in the world of telecommunications cabling has seen the “spaghetti mess.” Competent cabling contractors build high-quality and well-installed networks consistent with industry management standards...
From the technology with which Alexander Graham Bell yelled, “Mr. Watson, come here!” to crank, dial and touch-tone phones and continuing with Ethernet from 10 million bits per second to 10 billion, a pair of copper wires has...
For the most part, telecommunications cabling contractors weren’t concerned about the threat presented by early wireless networking technology. Most reasoned that even wireless access points need cable. But as wireless...
It’s a question invariably asked after severe weather or other disasters knock out electrical power. Of course, much of today’s electrical distribution lines already are underground—power companies have routinely buried...
"Clean up on aisle nine!” Perhaps such overhead pages are sufficiently effective in a grocery store, but in general, organizations with in-building mobile workers waste time and money each year due to such inefficient...
Standards support proper design and installation Electrical contractors have been cabling or wiring the industrial environment for years. Today, careful and professional connection is imperative because information on the...
Datacom maintenance work today is different from a few years ago. Since there are no moving parts and so many installations are configured at initial startup and not modified for some time, there isn’t anything to maintain...
Q: Does the National Electrical Code permit Class 2, Class 3 and telephone conductors to be installed in the same bored hole in a wooden stud with Type NM or Type AC cable operating at 120V? A: Class 2 and 3 conductors are...
Fire case histories make an argument for requiring survivability of all fire alarm system circuits. A fire occurred in the London Apartments for the elderly in Delaware, Ohio, on March 12, 1994. Manual fire alarm boxes and...
When Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) considered construction of The Ray and Maria Stata Center for Computer, Information, and Intelligence Sciences, the facility committee wanted something bold. They wanted a...
Is it time to fine-tune older fiber? Some fiber optic networks have now been in use for more than 20 years, a tribute to the inherent capabilities of optical fiber. In that same time, copper cabling for premises networks has...
Article 210 Branch Circuits Article 240 Overcurrent Protection Article 250 Grounding Article 310 Conductors for General Wiring Article 430 Motors, Motor Circuits and Controllers Branch-circuit size for motor load Q: I have to...
Dedicated 20-ampere branch circuits are required Most dwelling units are required to have a laundry area within the living area or have a laundry area provided on the premises for a multifamily building. However, some...
Add to your profit with voice and data wiring Residential electrical contractor owners and managers must often push aside their efforts to increase business and improve the bottom line to make way for bidding projects and...
Earlier this year, routine activities came to an abrupt halt at San Bernardino Valley (Calif.) College when a construction crew excavating with a backhoe struck a power cable, causing a small explosion that knocked out a...
Picture an electrician installing a load center (technically, a panelboard) on a 120/240V AC system at a location in the building remote from the service location. The electrician finds the bonding screw in an envelope, notes...
It can keep you warm—or create a fire hazard “BUNDLE (bundled, bundling):To occupy the same bed without undressing, said of a man and woman, especially during courtship.” —Webster’s Dictionary. This practice was brought to...