AHL: Cable Knowledge at Your Fingertips

From copper to fiber , standards to innovation , this is the show that keeps you plugged into success . So grab your tools , turn up the volume and let's talk cabling .

I'm kind of running behind the eight ball tonight , that's why I was running a tad bit late . Oops , oops , sorry , it happens sometimes , it just happens . Got a lot of great questions for you tonight , lots of great questions . You know we start every live stream off with what are you drinking ? What are you drinking tonight ? Chuck is drinking water .

Put us in the chat box . What are you drinking ? What are you drinking tonight ? Chuck is drinking water . Put us in the chat box . What are you drinking ? Oh , wait a minute , that's not water , that's a Colazevia mixed with water . I should have known better . Yes , sorry , I'm going to apologize in advance if I got a little bit of a hoarse throat .

I was teaching today , so I do have a little bit of a horse throat today . I appreciate that . Let me see what is everybody else drinking here . Let me see on the chat . So Sean is drinking a Main Root Spicy Ginger Brew . That sounds good . That sounds good . Acronym challenge RMU . Acronym challenge RMU . Acronym challenge R-M-U . What does that sound ?

Kalen's drinking water . Good job , kalen . Rmu . What does that mean ? I'll give you a few seconds to figure that out RMU , rmu . Okay , rack mounting unit . Exactly right , matt . 10,000 points to Matt , 10,000 points . I got another 10,000 points to anybody who can tell me how wide is a rack mount unit . How wide is a rack mount unit ?

Kayla and I probably will be going to , uh , um , infocom . I got a press pass to go to infocom so I just got to decide if I'm going to execute that or not . So , 1.75 inches . Yes , yes , 10 000 points to matt and 10 000 points to YTS Garcia . Hope I got that correctly . I don't have my glasses on . I don't have my glasses on . That happens sometimes .

Hey , did you catch Monday's episode ? Did you catch Monday's episode ? It was field professionalism . It's more than a clean shirt . I actually enjoyed doing that one . I really enjoyed it . There's lots of graphics in it and stuff like that . Really enjoyed it . So it's on Monday's vlog . We dove deep into

what it really makes what real . We drove it . We dove into what really makes a professional in the ICT industry right . It's not just about pulling cable and it's everything from the way that you show up on the job site to how you communicate , to how you lead and how you lead without a title .

That was actually another section I liked , and this episode is all about the habits that that's going to help you build trust and long-term success with you , your customers and maybe even your employers . So we've got lots of great questions .

Some of these questions are from the live stream last week because a couple of questions hit me at the very tail end when I didn't have the time , because they were going to be in-depth answers and I was already at the time mark there . They were going to be in-depth answers and I was already at the time mark there .

Yt is studying the TDMM V.15 on administration and documentation . Very cool stuff . If you have any questions , you know who to hit a question with . So question number one and this came from Ryan Ryan Nolan .

He sent it to me in a message , if I remember right , and he says is it worth pursuing a career in telecommunications with all of the advancements in AI , artificial intelligence , ai is taking a lot of coding jobs and other jobs away from data centers . Do you think that the telecommunications will be effective as well . You know what ?

Thank you for verbing that out loud . There's a lot of people really afraid of AI and I'm going to tell you right now I use AI heavily , heavily in everything from creation of thumbnails to brainstorming ideas to coming up with scripts , and I heavily use AI , and I was just looking at some videos today . I got some great ideas for some other ways to use AI .

It makes my job easier , right ? So here's the thing AI absolutely it's going to affect telecommunications , but telecommunications is still going to be a strong and an evolving career path . But it's smart to ask how AI is going to change

that , right ? So let's break it down . I got a few thoughts here . I got some notes that I don't make sure I catch everything . Ai is a tool , not a replacement . I'm going to say that again for the people in the back AI is a tool , not a replacement .

Now , while AI is changing how some things get done , especially in areas like coding , knock , monitoring and predictive analytics , it's not going to replace the core infrastructure of the internet . It's not going to replace fiber optics or 5G towers or smart buildings .

It's not going to affect the hands-on work the people pulling the cable , terminating the cable , reconfiguring patch panels , crawling through ceilings , crawling through crawl spaces that's still going to require skilled technicians , skilled designers and skilled project managers . Telecom is way more than coding .

Matter of fact , I know a lot of people in this industry and very few people that I know actually even do coding . Very few people actually do coding . Right ? Shotzi says AI cannot build data centers . Exactly right , sean's piping in . He says you will not lose your job to AI . You may lose your job to someone using AI if you're not embracing it and learning .

Oh , dude , I'm going to put that one in the last one . That is so great . That is so great . You may not lose your job to AI , but you might lose your job to somebody who's using AI to make themselves more efficient . I saw a TikTok video today on my lunch break . So it's on the internet . So it's got to be true . Right , it's got to be true .

And it basically said that if you're using AI , that gives you the equivalent of somebody who's 20 points smarter on their intelligent tests . So you know , there you go . So , yeah , telecom is more than cutting . So , yes , you're absolutely right . So there's the technician out in the field . How's AI going to interface with that .

You know there might be tools and stuff that they can use to make their job more efficient . Same thing with project managers , same thing with designers . There are some software jobs that are going to be reshaped by AI , but telecommunications , again , it involves installation design , project management , estimating my favorite quality assurance .

I love being a QA inspector , right , network engineering , field service and even consulting . Now , most of these roles are safe for the foreseeable future for people who are afraid of AI , but I'm going to tell you now there's more and more demand because the AI-driven system is needing more connectivity , more uptime and more speed .

So that means more drive , more AI . What does that mean ? It means massive data movement . It means there's going to be more fiber installed , more data centers built out , more wireless access points , more secure networks . Even if AI is optimizing what's inside the box , we still need more boxes .

We still need more boxes and we need faster boxes , and those faster boxes need to be connected even more . So AI I've said this before on other podcasts it's going to make the project manager more efficient . It's going to make that estimator more efficient .

So maybe a company might be able to get away with less project managers , but there's going to be way more work , way more work . And because there's going to be way more work , because they need more data centers capable of developing and implementing AI . That's going to be more work , more projects . You need more project managers .

So I mean , I don't have the glass ball , I truly don't . I think , honestly , roles will evolve , but they won't disappear . A project manager who understands AI tools and how to implement them , who's not afraid of AI it's going to help them streamline their deployment .

And the installer who can embrace the smart building tech is going to stand out over the ones who don't .

One of the things that really cracks me up and I see this a lot as an instructor I'm going around teaching people in the communications industry who are installing data networks , phone networks , and more times than not , when they are signing in on my computer because I got to sign in on a spreadsheet they are literally doing the two-finger typing .

I'm telling you right now , if you want to stand out in this industry , embrace AI , find ways to make AI work for you . Designers who understand how to plan for future heavy AI workloads they're going to be leading the next wave in this industry . The field isn't shrinking , it's shifting . Okay , it's shifting right .

George Henry says look up the home row ASDF , jkl , semi . Practice it , my friend , practice it . You know , kayla , that brings up a great point . One of the things I learned on AI is you can go on and say hey , help me learn this skill in 30 days .

So that's my challenge to you , kalen Go to AI , say hey , in the next 30 days , teach me how to be a better typist it's not using two fingers and then come back and tell me if it works or not . Right , so there you go . So the field isn't shrinking , it's shifting . And for those who stay curious early , you know I'm a boomer .

In case you haven't been able to tell , I am a boomer , but I'm an early adopter . I was , I was the . I had my first computer . Listen to this . I had my first computer in 19 , that's right , 1982 .

It was a radio shack , trs 80 , and as it was like 11 , 1200 at the time , I was you know , I've said this before I had a family , a couple , couple kids , and my wife and my mother-in-law were looking at me like , why are you doing this ? I'm telling you right now I'm an early adopter , early adopter of stuff . So adapt and thrive .

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So let's talk about crawl spaces . Cable guy's in the house . Cable guy , how you doing my friend ? I'm going to be in North Carolina and South Carolina next week . Is that anywhere near you ? Let me know , shoot me a message . Okay , I was born fossil . Yes , there you go . So let's talk about crawl spaces .

Now , crawl spaces are often overlooked because a lot of commercial low voltage guys they prefer to run their cables up in the ceiling right . Commercial low voltage guys they prefer to run their cables up in the ceiling right . They get afraid of looking behind things .

I've crawled in some spaces that nowadays I kind of would go ooh , I wouldn't want to crawl in there anymore , right ? So they're often overlooked because they're harder to pull cable . But they're going to be critical when it comes to cable selection right and , more importantly , safety , compliance and co-compliance . So what does the NEC actually say about all this ?

It does give us some direction , right ? Here's your homework assignment . Go look up NEC article 300.22 , paragraph C . That covers spaces used for environmental air . Right , crawl spaces . I see cable guy says crawl spaces aren't my favorite . I knew you'd do a crawl space because you're a cable guy . Cable guys do crawl spaces .

I see Cable Guy says crawl spaces aren't my favorite . I knew you dug crawl spaces because you're a cable guy . Cable guys do crawl spaces and I started off as a cable guy in this industry way back in 1982 . So Article 300.22 , that's going to cover those spaces used for environmental air . See , when you ask that question you just said crawl spaces .

Okay , it kind of really depends . I've seen crawl spaces underneath trailers . I've seen crawl spaces in commercial office buildings . I've seen crawl spaces uh like in , uh in steam tunnels . So it kind of I needed kind of more information . I'm going to kind of cover the whole gamut .

So if it's inside of a commercial office building and it might be using for commercial air , look up 300.22 paragraph . Article 800.113 in the communication section tells us what types of cables are allowed in non-plenum crawl spaces . So make sure you look those up . So first thing is , I'm going to assume you're talking about copper . Okay , I'm going to assume .

So let's break it down CM . Cm , that's communications general purpose cable . It is permitted in non-plenum , non-environmental crawl spaces . It's going to be low cost , right , low cost , and it's commonly used in residential and light commercial . Again , you didn't say what kind of crawl space that was . Now , it's not used for a crawl space .

If that crawl space is used for air handling , cmr , communications , roser rated cable , that's suitable for vertical spaces but it's also allowed in non-environmental crawl spaces . It's a good practice that if there's any chance that the cable is going to move between floors , cmr is going to be the one . Then you've got P , cmp , p for Sanford Plenum .

That's going to be required in that crawl space . If that crawl space is being used for environmental air , it's going to be a flame retardant , low smoke and have the highest fire rate . Remember it is okay to exceed the code book . Hey , did you catch my post this week ? I did a post was it yesterday or the day before ?

On a response to the people tie wrapping a cable to a thing . That thing's got like 22,000 views , 22,000 views , love it , love it . So again , if that crawl space is being used this is my ADHD kicking in if that crawl space is being used for any kind of environmental light , then you're going to have to go with plenum .

Okay , if you want a reference for that . Again , that's going to be covered . 300.22 , paragraph C what not to use ? Okay , not to use . Do not use CMX . Cmx cable is not rated for in-wall or crawl space and unrated . Stay away from unrated stuff , right ? Um , it typically doesn't meet the nbc for inbuilding . You stay away from copper clad aluminum , you know .

Don't go to amazon , buy some copper . Buy yourself some copper clad aluminum . Don't ever do that . That's the worst stuff in the world you can do . Cmr is what I use in most my area of the country . Most spaces aren't even plentiful . Yep , there you go . Here's some field best practices for you .

Always elevate the cables , you said in a crawl space , but again , you didn't give me a lot of description there . Support the cables up off the ground . Avoid direct contact with dirt . Avoid direct contact with standing water . Guess what ? There may not be standing water while you're pulling the cable today , but there might be later .

So get that cable off of the ground . Jayhooks oh , by the way , thank you , invent , they sent me 50 green jayhooks for the podcast studio . Thank you , invent . I appreciate that . So get it up on the floor .

Protect your cables from sharp edges and you know it actually tells us in the code book that you got to protect the cables from sharp edges , protrusions that could damage the cable during install . Watch out for rodents , especially in crawl spaces . Watch out . You said you're going to run them in the joists . Be careful with attaching the joists .

I'm not saying you can't , but a lot of people like to staple cables to joists . If you staple a cable you can crush the jacket . That's going to affect their performance , cause you some all kinds of issues there . Right , label both ends , label both ends .

And I would also suggest , if it's going to run underneath the crawl space , that's not going to be the easiest place to get to Pull out your cable . Let's say you're going to be the cable's 50 feet long .

What I would do is since , since the label is now you can automatically print off labels pretty easy I would print off a label for every five feet and and label that cable every five feet . Because that way , trust me , the next technician who's underneath that crawl space and they go hey , where does this cable go ?

And there's a label right there , that cable , that cable technician is going to think you are a god . Yes , I wouldn't do that with every cable . But in a place where it's hard to get into , that cable technician is going to think you are a god . Yes , I wouldn't do that with every cable .

But in a place where it's hard to get into , like a crawl space , absolutely label every five feet Because all you're going to do is hit , print , print , print , print , print . It's not that hard to do with a labeling machine . But here's the thing . Here's the thing . Check with your authority-having jurisdiction . Check with your electrical inspector .

I guarantee you they know the building . Call them up , say , hey , I want to do the cable and crawl space , I want to make sure it's code compliant . What am I going to have to do there ? And , trust me , most of them are going to help you through that scenario . Most of them will .

Now let me tell you I have crawled through my share of tight , my share of muddy , my share of cobweb filled crawl spaces , and nothing's worse than seeing a cheap chewed up cable . Or cable has been zip tied right , it's been tip tied Just , especially if it's a speaker cable right , especially if it's a speaker cable right .

Not only do you risk code and fire problems , but also your reputation as a cable guy will tell you this he may not like going through crawl spaces but he's going to do it and he's going to do it right because he's a professional professional . Look up my last episode if you doubt it right .

If it's inside of the building and you're not worried about water and stuff like that , I think maybe plan will probably be your best spot there , right ? It'll pass inspection . It's going to stand the test of time .

We spotlight the tools , training and technology shaping the future of structured cabling , and your brand could be front and center . Don't just get noticed , get trusted . Email , chuck at advertising at letstalkcablingcom , and let's connect your brand to the right audience today .

about it . That's why I didn't answer it right then . And there I had to put some thought because I wanted to give it due justice . And the question I didn't catch the name of the guy who did it , but I got the screen snapshot and the question was I am a PE who manages Division 27 and Division 28 .

How do you deal with a weak low-voltage partner , for example a project manager or foreman , who do not do any progress walks , take notes or communicate or coordinate or look at the schedule ? Help , okay , so , as a PE managing Division 27 , that's the data and communication section of the AIA , and Division 28 is the electronic safety and security .

So he's doing both of those right . You're going to be right in the thick of coordinating across various trades .

It's not going to be uncommon for you to encounter low-voltage trade partners who struggle with the basics and project management expectations , for example , things like progress walks , documentation , scheduled hands and all that stuff , because a lot of project managers in the low-voltage industry are just glorified technicians who the boss gave them a title .

Don't get me wrong . There are some great project managers in low-voltage . I'm not saying that . But there's a lot of smaller companies that , in order to keep their people happy , they'll go . Okay , you're a project manager , but they're technically not doing any project management , they're just they got the title .

So the first thing is educate and set up the expectations up front . Set the expectations . In my experience , clear communication is key from day one . With a weak trade partner , you need to take the initiative to set the tone from day one . Right , daryl , the RCD says the PE needs to write the requirements in the bid documents and set the expectations before .

That's exactly where I'm heading , daryl , exactly where I'm heading , exactly where I'm heading . So , for example , here's some things right , kickoff meetings , whole detailed kickoff meetings with the low-voltage project manager and informant .

Outline the expectations , include in that progress walks and make sure you say you know once a week , once every other week , whatever you know . Set that down Daily logs . Right , communications Ensure that everybody understands what's at stake , and miscommunication could lead into delays , could lead into increased costs or , worse yet , a poor performance .

The documentation standards provide them with the specs around Division 27 and 28 . The more they understand what's expected of their team progress , the more likely they are to rise to that challenge . My boss always used to say you know I don't care if you , you know I don't care if you make the wrong decision . Just make a decision , Just do it .

Maybe even offer them on the job coaching . I know you said that they don't seem interested , but weak performance stems from lack of experience or knowledge . Again , tying back into my first point , they may just be a project manager in name only .

Use the mentorship approach and demonstrate how consistent documentation and communications is going to help the entire project run smoother , including their work . I've always said this you want to get somebody buy-in on what you're doing . Explain to them what they're going to do is going to make their job easier . Right , take them on walks with you .

Show them how to document , because it might be again that project manager , who's title owning they , may not know what to do . Take them with you and show them how to document issues as they walk through , mark , mark up schedules and identify gaps early .

Okay , and then I also suggest , along with the whole mentoring thing at the same time , that you escalate and protect your project . Despite your best efforts , there's going to be chances that they don't step up , and when that happens , it's going to be critical that you take a more structured approach . Document , document , document .

Yes , mentor them , but document it along the process . I stress the importance of documentation all the time . It's so important . It's pro tip number one on my list on the website . Go look it up . Let's Talk Cabling Pro tip list . Pro tip number one Document , document , document .

When things aren't going as planned , it's going to be vital to keep a proper paper . I should have got that in my green construction logbook for this class . I really should have Daily reports and logs , start documenting each and every visit and any non-performance . Put that in a book .

A simple email recap after you walk off the job site is going to help solidify expectations . After you walk off the job site , it's going to help solidify expectations . If they don't follow through on what's been agreed upon , then this is going to give support for escalation . Incorporate the schedule . For example , I mentioned this before .

I did a QA on a site somewhere in the state of Florida I won't say where it was and they hung up the ladder rack with angle irons . But they screwed the angle irons into a drywall with drywall screws , not anchors , and I told them look , you've got to fix that and I documented it and then I made sure I went back to follow up on it .

So there you go , make sure that and , daryl , you started pointing this out too leverage contractual language . Now you may not be able to do much with this particular project , but in your contract documentation , moving forward , set out those specific expectations . Right , tell them , as part of this contract you will be doing these things , okay .

And then that way what you can do is , if they start not doing it , you can refer to the contract and say , look , in the scope of work , you agreed to doing weekly walkthroughs with me . You agreed to do site QAs , you agreed to do all this , site meetings , all that stuff . So that way you can hold them accountable .

And then , if they're not , if they still not do it , then you can issue a notice of noncompliance . Issue a notice of noncompliance and that is going to get their attention . Noncompliance , those are big words , right , that's going to force them to take action in order to remain compliant with the contract .

Document all your actions here , because , again , if it ends up going to mitigation or court , you document , you document , you document . Got to protect your job , you've got to protect your job . Now let's talk about maybe vetting future trade partners . Maybe you might not want to use this guy anymore . You know , vet your contraction with early .

You know , use Bixie , certified Louisville , these contractors or people who have proven contract project management processes . You can make that part of the submittal process . Submit to us what do you have , what do you have for your project manager processes , and that's going to help you Basically just to kind of close that section out right .

Mentor them , document with their weak performance . You know some people say , you know , mentor them first and they still don't . Then document no document and mentor at the same time because time is of the essence on a project .

Question number three this comes from matt on instagram and matt says chuck , I've been wanting to ask your opinion using an OTDR to certify that's a big word there certify fiber as opposed to link

loss testing . Quite often I'm working by myself and it's just not feasible to link loss test when the fiber is at the end is about a thousand feet away . Okay , first off , thanks for the kind words . Thank you for sending me that message and you're not alone .

This is one of the most common shortcuts that I see fibers taking in the field , especially when they are working so low .

And while I totally agree the challenge to testing a thousand foot fiber run by yourself , I totally agree , it's a challenge , I got to hit you with some truth according to the standards , according to the best practices and one or two decades of experience . Right , the short answer is an otdr is not an approved substitute for link loss .

Budget for tier one testing . Okay , that certified , that comes directly from the anzi standards 568.3 . If you want to go look it up , it's a helpful tool but it's not a whole test . Now , that's what I said . The certification is the key in this one . Right , if you're just telling the customer look , I certify it's going to be working , that's one thing .

But if you're trying to submit test results to a manufacturer for warranty to get a certification that way , that's a different subject . Okay , so what do the standards actually say ?

You know , in uh 568.3 again , looking at my notes here , um section 7.1.1.1 says and it clearly states that tier one testing basically is going to require length insertion , loss using a light source and a power meter and polarity verification .

Tier two testing uses a OTR trace only as a supplement , not a replacement , only as a supplement , not a replacement O2DRs . They measure backscatter and reflection . They're not really good with end-to-end insertion laws . Now , they will calculate it . But again , here's the thing Even though your OTDR shows a smooth trace , that doesn't mean your connectors are clean .

That doesn't mean you're within the budget . So the Bixi Hitsa manual also echoes this . If you're turning over a certified system to a client , especially in an enterprise environment , link loss testing is what matters . Link loss testing doesn't matter . So FOA says the same thing too .

Here's a real world perspective , though I'm not here to beat you up , I'm really not . I understand the challenge you're having . You're doing what you can with what you've got . So here's some practical tips for you for your testing . Okay , number one pre-label and prep the prep far , far before you actually start to test .

Leave the launch cords , connectors and get your notes already . Um , loop back test trick . You know , even if your fiber , even if your fiber count is even , you can loop back the far end back . You know , for example , fiber one to fiber two and so on , so forth , and you can do end-to-end testing using a one-sided , one-sided LSPM .

Remember to divide your loss by two though , because you're going out and coming back . Remote monitoring assistance . Some testers allow for remote monitoring via phone or cloud , or grab a helper . That can help too . So what could really go wrong with just using the OTDR by itself ?

Well , you might get away with it now , but sooner or later what's going to happen is a bad connector with a clean reflection might actually pass the OTDR , but it's going to fail in real , real transmission .

So a lot of it depends too on how much bandwidth they're putting across that A dirty or mismated connector could go undetected if it's too close to the OTDR , if it's inside that dead zone , if you're not setting it up correctly , and you could end up with a system that doesn't meet insertion loss budgets .

And if your name's on that certification , guess who's liable ? You're liable . So I've seen guys use OTDR from both ends and issue certifications and in the end hook it up and see the switch fails once you put it under a load . But guess what ? Now you're troubleshooting , now you're explaining and now you're potentially repooling . So here's the deal .

Otr , yes , it's a powerful tool . Yes , but it's a great tool for diagnosing breaks and excessive connector loss . But don't skip that Tier 1 tester , Tier 1 tester . You can pick up a Tier 1 tester for not too much of an investment .

Actually you can get a Tier 1 tester , you know , three , four , five grand , and especially if you're putting that word certified with it , there's a huge legal implication there . So if you're delivering that system to the customer , give them the proof that the network's going to meet the standards and that it doesn't just look good on the trace .

All right , let me flip over . I didn't see any questions coming in here . Let's check the questions over here . I have a question . Let me put on my safety glasses so I can read this , my safety glasses when can a fiber optic splicing contractor get numbers to use for bids on outside plant projects for splicing , osp placing and enclosure bids ?

Where can a fiber optic splicing contractor get numbers to use for bids ? So I'm not quite sure I understand the question . Are you asking me where do you get numbers for people to work for you under a subcontractor ? Or are you asking me where can you get numbers from other people for what they charge ? So you know the charge ? I'm not quite sure .

I don't know if I totally understand that question right . Sean , check the contractor obligations . There are bid documents , submittals . If they don't comply , put them on notice , Educate them , but they need to be mentored . Mentor , mentor , mentor document , document , document . Put them on notice . They're not compliant .

All righty , let me see here Should you bond both sides of an armored fiber ?

This is coming from H Craig . Should you bond both sides of an armored fiber or only one side ? I've been told both ways . Okay , here's what you need to know . What does the code say ?

The code says you have to install that armored fiber per the manufacturer's instructions , and most of the manufacturers everyone I'm aware of are going to tell you both ends have to be bonded to the ground . You want to give that stray voltage , the quickest and the safest path to a ground that you can get .

Okay , so both ends of an armor fiber need to be bonded to a ground . Bullet bonds work really well . And then just run that over to , you know , to your secondary bonding bus bar or your primary bonding bus bar . Great question . By the way , all righty , it is 635 , 635 , and mama's cooking dinner out there and it's smelling pretty good , pretty good .

So let's go ahead and let's play the outro music so Chuck can go eat dinner and get ready for tonight's RCDD study group .

Until next time , keep those cables clean , your standards high and your future bright . Let's Talk Cabling empowering the industry , one connection at a time .