¶ The Complexities of Mod-End Connectors
On this episode . We're talking mod-end connectors , poe stranded versus non-stranded . We're getting the low down from the experts . ["band Warms Up with the Experts"] . Welcome to the show where we tackle the tough questions submitted by installers , estimators , project managers , it personnel and even customers .
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You can schedule a 15 minute one-on-one Zoom call with me after hours , of course , or you can just send a donation , help pay offset some of the costs for this show . As I said , we're talking mod-ins . It seems that simple little piece of plastic on the other cable . How can it be so complex ? If it's wrong , what kind of stuff can cause ?
There's a lot of controversy about mod-in connectors . Is it stranded conductor ? Is it solid conductor ? Is it will work with PoE ? Is it plenum rated ? You know , as I've said many times , i can wax poetic about pulling , terminating , installing and designing cable plants And I can tell you how to crimp an end on a cable .
But you know , i just figured I would just get an expert in here to answer the questions . So I reached out to Blake Talley And Blake is going to help us answer some of them tough questions . Welcome to the show , blake .
Yeah , Chuck , thank you for having me . I was scanning the QR code so I could support the show .
There you go . There you go . So for those who don't know you and your company , would you mind just giving us the one minute overview of who you are and why you guys are such experts on mod-ins ?
Yeah , well , my name is Blake Talley . I'm the vice president and partner at Go Simply Connect . Go Simply Connect is kind of the umbrella company for our brand , simply 45 , which is a connectivity you know , head-to-head connectivity solution portfolio .
My business partner and I have been in the connector side of the business for over 10 years , working at companies like Platinum Tools back when it was a family-owned business before it sold to private equity . My other two partners are in the cable side of the business .
So it really brings a lot of engineering weight to bear because not only do we have the connectivity side and the connector side of the business you know kind of that acumen we also have engineering on the cable side which is kind of unique .
There's not a lot of companies out there that really tap into both of those you know sides of the business to make sure that the connectors that they develop , you know , are designed to work on the category cable right . So it's been a great thing for us for the last four years .
But , yeah , been in the business a long time selling pass-through connectors and standard connectors and APAC Every kind of connector you can imagine we've been selling .
so So let me don't realize all of the effort and all the engineering and ingenuity ingenuity that goes into making such a simple little thing as those mod ends .
¶ Connector Engineering and Partnerships Matter
Yeah , Is there really a difference between all those mod ends ?
There is a difference for sure . I mean , i think you have to kind of look at you know , what are they trying to accomplish , right ? I mean , people look at them as just a small little ice cube that goes on an ethernet cable .
But you know , for , you know , professional integrators , you know 95% of all network downtime is a result of either the cable or the connector , right , and so that's a huge opportunity for truck rollbacks . Truck rollbacks equal unhappy customers , equal lost profit , lost time for integrators .
So you know , while it may just look like , you know , an RJ45 or APAC connector is all the same , they're not right . There's an incredible amount of engineering that goes into these to make sure that they don't fail , especially when used with all of the different category cables that are out there today .
I used to make a joke with people when I was talking about this that you know .
I had a buddy back in college who bought like one of the first H2 Hummers that came out And he immediately went and bought these huge 24 inch rims for this car And he took those rims to the tire company and they know , tire manufacturer even manufactured tires for this car , yet right .
So those rims set in our living room for two years before a tire company caught up to the rim manufacturer and actually produced a tire for it . And in our world that is very , very similar with these cable companies .
They come out with all of these claims , they develop all of these cables , but they don't really ever come to a connector company first and say hey , I've got this cable idea , you know , like , for instance , the game changer cable with Page Electric . You know I'm gonna try to design this cat six that goes twice as far .
You know , do you have a connector that's capable of actually helping us , you know , accomplish this right ? So the connector company is always kind of like in tow behind the cable company is trying to figure out okay , what are the , what claims are they making , and how can we develop a connector that helps them achieve what they're going for ? right ?
It makes it easier for the installers to actually be successful with that cable right ?
So one of the things that we've done you know it goes to be connects is partner with cable companies like Page , so that when they are in development of new products , we actually have an inside scoop on that and we can come out and do our R&D to make sure that we provide a solution that works with these types of cables right .
And so I think that's unique , the industry partnerships that we've created . But it makes it where you can depend on our products and on you know that's an important aspect of , you know , what we're all trying to create out here is connector companies .
You know I was just telling I was teaching the class today and I was telling the class , just because we work in the communications industry doesn't mean we communicate , right , that's funny , that's true , but it's true , unfortunately .
Right , it's the sad truth And that's why I love when I hear you know , when I talk to people in manufacturing , that they're working with other manufacturers , because when you two collaborate you end up getting a better product As opposed to trying to , you know , wait until they come out and try to you know back into it and figure it out .
I was kind of glad to hear you talk about game changer cable , because I get asked that question a lot . Maybe we'll dive into a little bit of that . So I've got some common questions I hit all the time and let's cover them questions . So the first question that I get a lot is is there a Cat6A field terminatable mod end ?
Yeah , absolutely . We have a standard version that's a non-pass-through . We have a pass-through version and a version that we have that's called a Pro Series , which is a hybrid version that's really designed for PoE applications . But there's even field plugs out there that you can buy that will do a Cat6A wire as well .
There's Cat7 , cat7a wire now , especially over in the European markets that we see a lot And we have . You know there's connector solutions for those as well . So , like I said , you know Cat8's coming down the road and you know any number of other technologies . You know we try to stay ahead of these .
You know cable companies so that we have a solution so that integrators can successfully use that wire . So there's definitely a Cat6A mod plug for sure .
You know , I ask every time I teach a class I always ask for the opinions of the technicians And one of the questions I always ask is who prefers pass-through , Who prefers the traditional style ? And I find , if I average the amount across all the class I teach , it's probably about 50-50 . And then I usually ask well , why do you prefer one over the other ?
Because , like I said , I'm always interested in learning why people prefer things . So let me ask you this question . This was actually on the list In general terms and , if you want , you can speak from just what your company are there more pass-through sold or more traditional sold ?
You know , i think it's . You know , at this point in time it's really a matter of personal preference . It's also a matter of , like , what you're planning on doing with the connector , right ? So certain applications , like if I'm gonna go install a voice-over IP phone system , it's not a lot of bandwidth that's needed for that .
There's not power essentially , or very low power if there is , and so you don't , you don't have to really worry about any type of electrical arcing issues or any near and far crosstalk issues on that application .
So for that , you know , you could kind of use whatever you prefer to use , right , standard connectors , especially like in the AV industry , you know have typically been used on the higher bandwidth installations . Right , because you're trying to really protect any outside influence .
You know reduced near and far crosstalk et cetera , because you're really maximizing , you know what bandwidth you're trying to pull from that wire . That's why we developed the Pro Series connectors to kind of have a hybrid of the both , so you get the best of both worlds .
And you know we do some of these things in partnership again with like companies like HDBaseT . You know organizations like them who are out there pushing the envelope in terms of what you know these cables can do for the performance they're looking for . And as they come out with these new specs , you know they have challenges , right .
They have connectivity challenges to make sure that the average installer can actually install the category cable and a connector well enough to achieve their goal right , because just because they have the ability to hit these higher end specs doesn't mean that everybody out there doing the work and installing the cable is going to have success doing that right .
So you have to at some level . You know kind of play to the lowest common denominator , and that's really what the pass-through does , right . It kind of levels the playing field for people that you know maybe aren't doing these types of installations .
You know every day to have a connector solution that allows you to very quickly and easily have a high performing connection and a reliable connection , right . But the standard connectors , you know starting back in the late 70s , you know Western Electric Steward Stamping , you know that's really where those drive from . They've been out for a long , long time , right .
And then the pass-through was patented in the late 90s . So there's a lot of old school installers that you know they would never use a pass-through because they can do it in their sleep and they have confidence that when they do these terminations they do them correctly every time . But even those older guys , you know you see there's a lot of trade shows .
You know as they got older their eyes are failing them a little bit . They have to put their readers on and you know pass-throughs are easy . You know it's easy to make sure they wire it correctly . They could see the standard before they terminate .
They know they have the TI standard correct , whether they're using , you know , a or B , and it's worth it for them to use the pass-through . So I really think it's . You know , not only is it situational , but you know it kind of depends on what technology you're installing and you know what you're trying to accomplish .
You know it's funny . I never put two and two together until you just said it When I ask that question . You're absolutely right .
The people who I can seem to remember answering those questions , those who prefer the traditional style are typically older installers , and I never put that together until you just said that The younger installers do like the pass-through connectors . They really do .
Yeah , Well , you know they're easy to do . It's easy to be trained on . You know a lot of guys that are just getting into the industry and a lot of trainers , like yourself , you know , have started to adopt it and that's what they were trained on when they went through these classes , right ?
So they don't even really know how to put on a standard connector because they've never had to do it . And that's okay with us , right ? I mean , we love the pass-through . It really does help , you know , people have success out there and reduce that network downtime that we're all trying to accomplish , right .
Yeah , exactly , and for somebody who has never terminated a traditional one , if they cut their teeth and were trained on the pass-through , i could certainly see the frustration going from a pass-through to a traditional . Oh , i can certainly see the issue there , and one of the things that we'll say is crimpers have come a long way .
My first crimper and I usually joke about this in class my first crimper I bought from Radio Shack . It shows how old I am right .
Yeah , I went to Radio Shack . I know what those are .
Yeah , yeah , and it was this plastic thing and you know it didn't crimp right after . about the third connector right , Right yeah . But the crimpers nowadays are . I mean they are metal , machine-driven , they're very precise .
I really love the crimpers And I have one of yours I mean one of your , one of the you guys manufactured , that somebody gave to me And I'm just super impressed with how far along the crimpers have come . I really am . You mentioned at AV one of the things I see quite a lot is people doing like outside plant cameras and stuff like that .
Is there a mod-in that's IP rated ?
So there's not a mod-in that's IP rated . Obviously , you know you're trying to install these in a waterproof or watertight you know NEMA box or something like that . Right , we do .
A number of manufacturers , including ourselves , you know , have an IP68 rated coupler and a panel mount version as well that you can use , you know , in conjunction with a water tight box to kind of give you that you know , water intrusion rating . But the connector itself .
There is no way to really do that because you know , as you can imagine , if you have water spilled in any electrical port , you're going to have it short out , right ? So there's got to be some sort of enclosure that's used in conjunction with the connector in order for that to be successful .
So you mentioned IP68 . What does that really mean ?
So IP68 just kind of loosely is being able to have a connector inside of something like a housing . That's like this right , it can be put one and a half meters underwater for longer than 30 minutes . Right , that's going to be your IP68 rating , right , so it prevents any kind of dust intrusion .
But generally speaking , that's what we do And you know we tested items like this
¶ Mod-Ns for Plenum and Contact
. You know , my business partner put it in his pool for , you know , a day and then pulled it out and it worked perfectly right . So a lot of guys use these for , you know , bearing underground for certain things , that they're used in broadcast a lot .
You know , when there's temporary , you know , like the Academy Awards , and there's wire running everywhere outside and it's exposed to the elements and they don't know if it's going to rain or not , and they're doing the red carpet A lot of that's a lot of times when these products are used .
Oh , I can see a business expense there . We need to build a pool So we could do some IP testing .
Yeah , luckily it didn't show up on his expense report .
But there you go , There you go . Another common application I see Mod-Ns for are access points right And a lot of times are mounted , you know , in the ceiling and a lot of times those ceilings can be plenum rated And then Starle can get in a lot of trouble if they're putting non-plenum rated products in plenum rated ceilings .
Is there a Mod-N that's plenum rated for the applications like access points ?
Yeah , there's not like an official measure for this right , like there is with coax wire , but generally speaking , the UL94VO rating is the rating that you would need for plenum rating , commercial use , right . All of our connectors , for example , our material spec , is a UL94VO rated material .
And just to kind of give you some idea of what that UL94VO rating means , there's actually a test that you can do , right , and actually if you go to our Instagram on atgosimplyconnect , you can actually see us doing this test on our connectors .
But essentially there's two flame tests And the reason you want to have this UL94VO rating is , you know , for a fire rating , right , if you have these types of products in an air handling space and they catch on fire and burst into flame and create smoke , you know then that smoke can be carried throughout the building very quickly , causing the fire to spread ,
causing dangers for firefighters , etc . So you know , that's really why we're trying to , you know , create this material spec . That doesn't , you know , make that happen .
But the UL94VO rating is essentially when you take a connector , you hang it about this bit , this high above a Bunsen burner , you flip the burner on and you totally torch that connection or that connector for 10 seconds And then you immediately move it off the flame after 10 seconds .
And if it self-fix extinguishes in less than 10 seconds , then you pass test one . Then you move it immediately back over the flame , you torch it for another 10 seconds , you move it off and you hope it self-estimishes before 10 seconds again . Right , so there's two flame tests that happen . Underneath that Bunsen burner is a bunch of cotton right Now .
If anything falls from the connector that's flaming and burns the cotton , you fail the test , right ? So it's kind of a multi-part test whether it's self-extinguished fast enough or if it drops any material that could cause the fire to spread right .
And so if you look at the video on our Instagram , for instance , you'll see that our connector is self-extinguished in a matter of seconds . Nothing falls . So therefore they can be used in plenum spaces and for that purpose .
I think I missed my calling because I remember as a young kid I hate to admit this , i am part pyro , that's one of the reasons why I went into as a volunteer firefighter for many years . But I remember as a small kid I used to take lighters and burn my plastic cars and just watch the flames go , so I could just see that I missed my calling .
I was like I'm going to get an official UL tester for mod-ins .
Yeah well , and you know , definitely don't put those cars up in air handling spaces in your Commercial properties when you're when you're doing it , because they would not be plundered .
Exactly so . Is there a difference between mod ends designed for horizontal cabling versus mod ends for patch cables ?
So typically Makes ? try understand your question correctly . So horizontal cabling is essentially solid conductors versus a patch cord , which is a stranded , stranded conductor . Yeah , there , there are . It really relates to the contact design , right ? So there's a host of different contacts and IDCs that are out on the market that have been developed over the years .
We at go simply connect , believe that our , you know , offset three prong trident is the correct contact for both solid and stranded . We've tried to consolidate that .
So where we don't have to , you know , burden our Distributors and our integrators that use our products with having multiple connectors that all look the same with different contact designs , right , but the long and short of it is the opposing blades .
You know , when it goes down and Terminates , that conductor prevents any torsion , right , any twist of that wire and essentially , you know , makes it where . You know you're gonna have a higher reliability of that termination for , you know , both stranded and solid wire , you know .
But you don't want to have a lateral Contact design , right , because that doesn't , you know , give you any protection , you know . So this is a conductor , so to speak . A three prong contact comes down and holds it .
Like this You can see the amount of surface area and how there's no twist on that at all , versus , let's say , like a two prong lateral contact that comes down and it doesn't even really capture the contact , it kind of sits on top and then any movement , you can see how it it flips out .
You know that just little bit of engineering makes a huge difference when it comes to long-term connectivity because , believe it or not , category cables are moved frequently , right , oh yeah , installation , you pull the rack out , you have a security camera . You know Sometimes there's guys wiring it , moving it . When moves it , animals move it .
You know , and you don't want to have that . That contact fail , you know , causing any , you know , and you also don't want to have heat build up at that .
Right , because if you have a contact design like this , you know you can see how easy it can pivot there , right , and that little bit of movement creates friction And friction creates heat and heat can lead to intermittent and electrical arcing .
Right , so it's a very important , we feel , to use a three-prong contact That really holds that wire securely and prevents , you know , any of that friction from occurring .
So are you using the three-prong contact for both the solid and the stranded ?
Yeah , we use it for for all types . So yeah , for both solid and stranded wires design . That's what I was saying . It it makes it easy for our integrators that use our product , because whether they're using it for patch cords Or they're using it for the horizontal runs , they don't have to switch up and have two different types of connectors in their truck .
Right , it works for everything .
I tell you a service technicians point of view , because that's one less thing I got to carry in my truck .
Yeah , well , i mean , that's really . You know , my business partners and I really focus on trying to optimize SKUs for you guys . Right , we want to have the you know least amount of SKUs in your truck to do the most amount of work . I mean , you mentioned crimp tools earlier .
We have a patent on our crimp tool that allows us to use it for stranded I mean not stranded for , you know , standard non-pass-through connectors , pass-through connectors . You can use it for our shielded connectors , the way our connectors are designed , both the internal and external ground .
So now you have one tool that does every single connector that we manufacture versus . You know , like when I worked at platinum , We had four tools that you had to use , right , whether you were using their original pass-through series , their standard series , ever .
¶ Simplifying Connector Selection for Installers
So , you know , when we started this company , we kind of wanted to move away from , you know You , having to support four different tools in your bag to do the same job , right ? So , but yeah , i mean it's , it's part of what we try to accomplish to make life easy for you guys .
So you don't have to make sure you , you know You don't have this stuff in your , your truck and you all , you have to run back to the office , get it . You're wasting time and money .
You know doing that right because your time is money if I have to go back to the office or go to the local supply house , that's , that's money for time and money for driving the vehicle and gas and fuel . and then how do you calculate the customer's loss of confidence ? because You didn't have the right thing on your truck ?
Yeah well , and you're also looking for people to become absolute experts at all this technology , including the distributor . When you walk in , you say I need these , you know , and I need this connector . Does this work in my ? you know this print tool and you're expecting that distributor Sales person to know everything about that ? Oh , yeah , that sure .
That crimp tool ? Yeah , you know me . Most generally speaking , you know You want to create crimp products or crimp tools and connectors that are ti rated standard , you know ? so they fit in all of these different formats right ?
So it's a ti standard that we're building our products to , but there are manufacturers out there that have products that are not to that standard and you might be using them every day And not even know it that's got to be a huge challenge trying to make , you know , as few connectors as possible fit as many cables as possible .
I'll give you example cat 5e It's generally 24 gauge , but they do make a 22 gauge cat 5e . Yeah , how do you make a connector that can fit that wide range of size of conductors ?
Well , i think in today's world , you know you , it's not as easy just to say , oh , i have a cat 5 wire and I need to go buy a cat 5 connector , right , so we'll use the game changer . Going back to that cable , that's a cat 6 cable that has a 22 gauge conductor and not a 23 gauge conductor .
So if you're just buying it off the shelf and you're like , oh , it's a cat 6 , that goes twice as far , i'm gonna go buy a cat 6 connector , you're gonna get out in the field and the conductors are never gonna see correctly , right , exactly . And so what we've developed is kind of we call it kind of cable rated connectors .
All of our connectors can pass up to 10 gig , right , which is essentially what we're trying to accomplish with copper , you know , until you get up into the higher cat 7 , 7a wires , right . But so all of our connectors are essentially cable rated , right , and so there are differences between the connectors , you know , for certain long distance runs , etc .
So , you know , i don't know if you know , but for , like , a cat 6 wire , for instance , you know it goes up one gig , you know two , 328 feet , right , but it can actually get 10 gigs at a shorter run , like 37 meters , right . So you know you have .
If you know these things , you know you're like , okay , then I can use , you know , cat 6 connector on cat 5 , etc . Right , to kind of like equal out that math . But You know , generally speaking , you need to know what your conductor range is , you need to know what your jacket OD is , what your installation is .
So all of the information on these cable manufacturers spec sheets have become more and more important So that you can make sure that you mate the right connector size to the cable that you're looking for , right ?
So if you have a cat 6 that goes twice as far with a 22 gauge conductor , you know to use a staggered design connector that traditionally would be considered a cat 6a connector . But it's gonna accomplish the job for you and make your life a lot easier out in the field when you're trying to terminate .
So let's say there's a new installer out there in the field who maybe only has , you know , a year or two years experience And they don't do . Mod ends that often and they they got a job or somewhere where they're gonna have to crimp some of those And they don't really know which one to order .
Do you guys offer any kind of a Service or support where somebody can call you say look , i've got xyz Manufacturer cable , here's the part number Which is the best mod in for that . Do you offer any kind of support like that ?
Yeah , we have a couple ways that you can do that . Right on our homepage at go , simply connect calm . You'll see a connector selector guide and if you pull that PDF up , it'll tell you exactly what conductor range is each of our connectors are designed for .
So Essentially , you just pull up the spec sheet for the cable You're using , look at those three important metrics , compare it to our chart and then you can see exactly what connectors whether it's a pass through , non-pass through or one of our pro series connectors that you know you can use that's compatible for that cable .
We also have a chat feature on our website where you can go to the website and just chat with us And it's essentially like a text message to us that we can get back to you really quickly . We look at a lot of spec sheets . We also have a lot of our product pages have certification reports with specific wire . That's very common in the industry .
So if you're using , for example , a genesis cable , you can go to any of our product pages and actually see which connector fits that and a certification report from a land tech 4s Certifier , you know , so you can see what performance that you're , you know , generally going to get If it's installed correctly .
Oh , that's cool because , like I said , i can certainly see a A technician getting overwhelmed pretty quickly , especially with , like I said , i mean start talking multiple size conductors , different type of manufacturers , game changer versus , you know , cat 5e that's rated for PoE versus regular cat 5e .
I can certainly see a technician getting overwhelmed very easily with that kind of stuff . You know , it's , it's . I could confuse sometimes , you know , and I've been a initially for four decades .
Yeah , we actually have a segment that we do on our Instagram page called a master class , and we have , you know , over the years We've kind of captured some really interesting wires that you know People have called in and said I do not know how to terminate this , and so part of that master class series is kind of terminating these .
You know outlier wires that are just crazy , that you know you never really see that often . But you know people come across in the field and they just can't do it .
So you know , even for us , as you know People who have been in the industry and do this day in and day out , you know we always come across a , you know , certain situations where There's not a connector that's really been designed for this yet .
Right , this is not a wire that's been brought to our attention and you know , good luck , i hate to say it , but it's not gonna be easy to terminate out there .
And then that's when you typically get into , like the field plugs that You know can cost ten bucks a piece , you know , to the dealer to do those those harder wires , which is , you know , not that big of a deal unless you have a thousand drops and Obviously that adds up very quickly .
But what's the time and failure rate take , you know , if you're constantly re-terminating and cutting it off and not being able to terminate either . So You know it's interesting when we go to trade shows , you know People sometimes come by the booth and they say , man , i've been using these , you know connectors off Amazon .
I'm having all these failures And I'm like , well , you know , you should use a connector that's really designed for this . That's a little bit higher end . And then I had you know It's your connectors are like 45 cents a piece . You know that's like well , you know , i get that you're using a connector that's 15 cents a piece .
But no one has ever retired , you know , at the end of their career , and been like , wow , i really am glad I saved . You know that , that you know 20 , 30 cents On those connectors on that job . You know it's all about truck rollbacks , right ?
You , you're never gonna get to your retirement goals by like cutting corners on a you know 45-cent connector , but you definitely will if you don't have , you know 10 rollbacks Associated with that job . That's taken you four hours each time to try to figure out what failed , right ? So definitely use high-quality infrastructure products .
You know It's amazing to me like a lot of these equipment manufacturers that we deal with on a regular basis . You know , they have all this equipment that's gonna do 10 gigs and it's gonna do PoE , and it's like you know A $2,000 network switch and you've got security cameras that are 8k .
You have all this expensive equipment but none of them really dictate to their customers , like , what the standard is for installing it . They kind of leave it up to the integrator to decide . Okay , well , you're the expert , you know a wire to pull , you know how to terminate it , right .
But it's kind of the equivalent of you know designing this like high-speed train . You know that you spent billions of dollars designing and then you put it on a broken track And then you sit around and scratch your head like why am I not seeing this bullet train go 300 miles an hour , you know ? and it's like your track was not designed for it , you know .
And so the cable infrastructure is not where you want to skimp out , right , like , and it's not a big upgrade to go from a 20 cent connector to a 45 cent connector and have it where you never have to worry About it again so you mentioned the cat 7 connectors .
Do you guys make cat 7 mod ends ? Yeah , we do . I didn't know that . I thought I looked at your website before and I just don't remember seeing it . Is there a lot of those being sold ? because I mean , i know that's a European thing and I know there are some Jobs in the US that may use cat 7 . And there's another one of those questions ask .
Every single class Hasn't ever installed cat 7 , has never saw cat 7a , and generally I get in a week's worth of training .
Maybe two people say that they've done cat 7 right , Yeah yeah , it's definitely not , you know , in the US and domestic markets .
You know we don't see it a lot , but we do a trade show called ISC over in Barcelona every year , and one of the reasons we do that show is because Europe is generally a little bit ahead of us in terms of some of these Technologies that are coming out on the market , and so we do sell a lot of 7 7a connectors in that market .
We have a lot of really good conversations with European integrators and what they're doing with it , and So it's really kind of helped us stay ahead of the curve , you know , for when it does come , you know , to the US , but yeah , it's not something that you're gonna see a lot of in the US market yet .
I mean , quite honestly , you know we just now kind of crested where we're seeing more cat 6 connectors sold than cat 5e .
Right , i mean that's really Where we're at here domestically , you know , and we're you know cat 6a has been out on the market for years and years and it's just , you know , it's a more challenging cable to work with , it's more expensive and there really just hasn't been the You know , network devices that are really needing it yet , and now there are right now ,
especially in the AV side of stuff .
That's our industry . It's always done that . I mean , cat 3 was like that , took forever for it to be retired , and and that's another place where you see a lot of arguments on the internet . I mean , the internet seems to be an argument haven , but you know people like , well , who still installs cat 5e ? Well , there's still a lot of cat 5e being installed .
It is tailing off . You know there's less and less being sold each year and at some point it will go legacy , just like the cat 3 did . Right , yeah , definitely disappeared some point , especially when you look at Cat 5e and cat 6 as far as the standards are concerned , you know they both would tell you they can do one gig up to 328 feet .
So why would you even choose cat 5e ? Yeah , but it's cheaper . That's that's where . That's where the people are still buying it something . I think the biggest markets for 5e is residential , because a lot of people using 5e for their house .
You know , yeah , there's a lot of it out there . There's also a lot of it already in houses and commercial buildings throughout the country . So sometimes you know , depending on what devices you're putting into that building , you know You may not need to upgrade to cat 6 and you just want to use the cat 5e .
So there's always going to be wire out there that you guys , as integrators , are gonna have to deal with . Right , those connectors are gonna Stay on the shelves , at least in our warehouses , for a while right And you hit the nail on the head .
I mean , you know you can do , you know 10 gig over cat 6 , but it's gonna be a shorter distance and you think about most residential installs . Most of those runs are way shorter than the 328 feet for that , for that channel . You know I think yeah , the average run length in a ?
well , the average run length for Cabling period is about 150 feet , but when you get into houses that my house is not 150 feet long . I had 550 foot piece of cable . I could almost loop my house .
Yeah , I was gonna say you probably had a guy that went like this In the walls with it right , Exactly exactly .
¶ Right Tools for Network Connections
So you mentioned the standards and stuff , so I'm assuming the stands will tell you what size the mod ends have , because they have to be able to fit inside of an APHC or RJ45 for us old people . Does the crimper that you're using to crimp those mod ends on ? does it have to match the Manufacture of the mod end ?
No , i mean , like I mentioned earlier , you know All of our products are manufactured to a TIA standard , right , and that standard exists so that RJ45s fit all the keystones , keystones fit all of the racks , right . That's it makes everything compatible in our industry , right .
Like I said , there are companies out there that have non TIA compliant plugs , right , and keystones , etc . So you want to always be cognizant when you're looking at purchasing a product that it's , you know , has that , that credential on the , you know , on the jar . Our tools are designed again for that TIA standard .
So you know they're definitely manufactured to where they will work with other people's products , right . But you know we of course , when we do our R&D , test it on our stuff , right . That's first and foremost . We design that tool for our products and make sure that our performance on our products is as high as it can be .
And so we always kind of have a little disclaimer , like you know , if you're using our connectors , you should use our tools right . In one way we actually encourage , you know , integrators to do that is we came out with this program a few years ago And there's been companies out there now that are kind of knocking it off .
But you know , we Really believe that you need to have the right tool for the job . Yes , and so if you buy two jars of connectors , we actually will give you that tool for free , right What ?
What , yeah ? Where do I sign up for this ? I'm gonna go buy me two jars right now .
Well , we offer it through most of our distributors . We have a link to it on our website . But , you know , we want to make sure that you know if you're using you know Our products , that you're using the right tool right , because our products can be adversely affected if you're using a cheap Crimp frame that you got .
And you know , a lot of times people go to Home Depot and Lowe's and on Ace Hardware and a lot of these companies . But a lot of those products that you see in the low voltage section , you know , Are kind of designed for the do-it-yourselfers , right , the DIY channel right , and we're really a professional grade product . That's what we manufacture , right .
So , and I get the point of having those more affordable products , because we also have a more affordable crimp frame for kind of a DIY Market , because somebody who's doing , you know , 10 connectors and that's all they need to do , doesn't want to go spend $100 on a Crimp frame in order to do that , and they're not even gonna buy Two jars to even get the
one free because they don't need two under connections to do 10 , right . So every crimp frame kind of has its its role in the ecosystem . If you're , if you're a professional integrator and you're out there doing this day in and day out and your reputation is on the line . You know , day in and day out .
You know , go get the right tool right , make sure you have the right tool and then maintain that tool right . If you're using pass-throughs , change the blade right . It's a $6 product to change and it's the single most important piece of maintenance You can do on a pass-through crimp frame .
And we've made it easy on our tool by having little cartridges and a Phillips screw And it's got a . It's pre-calibrated , you just snap it in and it's . It's a done deal . But we really want to encourage you to do that . Our pro series tool even has blade storage built into the handles so that you always Have a blade with you .
But you know , just be cognizant of some of these things because it's amazing albeit trade shows and this happened Especially when I was , you know , in my previous life , before we started this company People would come up with tools they've been using for 10 years and I'd be like how often do you change the blade ? and they're like Never .
I'm like , well , you know , that's hey , first thing you need to do to make sure you don't have these problems that you're telling me about .
You just taught this cable dog something I didn't know you could do that . Yeah , i mean , i guess I suffered with that old game , that old mod , and crimped off and raised back for years and Just I just put up with it . Yeah , and I didn't know that they did that . You could do that .
So let me ask you this how many crimp cycles can you get through for one of the cartridges ?
Now , generally speaking , we say about 20 jars or 2,000 connections is what you want to , so it's not like you need to change it every day or anything right . But it depends on the wire .
If you're out there doing a lot of CAD 6A wire , then I would change it every 1,000 terminations because you're cutting through 22 gauge wire instead of 24 gauge with CAD 5 . Depends on if you're using a shielded wire , sometimes the insulation , whether it's PVC insulation or foam insulation .
there's so many variables within how these category cables are constructed that you want to make sure your blade's sharp . I mean , if you're using pass-through connectors , it just kind of is part of what you have to do to be successful with them .
And a lot of the failures that people see out in the field , even with electrical arcing issues , stem from the fact that they've never changed their blade . And , as you know , copper is a metal that holds its memory right . So if a blade comes down and shears off something very sharp , it cuts it clean , right . It keeps that conductor around .
If it comes down and it's a dull blade , it just kind of like rips at it And guess what You get ? copper that kind of is distorted and ripped out the front of the connector and it leaves a burr that can cause electrical arcing between conductors , right , and that's an issue that happens all the time .
And if you plug that poorly made connector into a $1,500 at low-nose switch , guess what ?
You're going to get a short right , and so that's not a good thing to do , and that's why , when we developed the Pro Series connector and patented the Cap45 , we really wanted to prevent that failure in people not changing the blades indefinitely , right , we wanted to make sure it was a done deal .
And what that Cap45 does is it just seals off the front of the connector , making sure there's no copper exposed at the top of that RJ45 .
So you get all the benefits of a pass-through connector being able to check your TI standard , minimize the untwist by making sure your jacket is seated right up underneath the contacts , but you get the security of a standard mod plug that doesn't have that copper exposed at the front , right . So it's a hybrid connector and it's been very , very well received .
It's the only connector on the market right now that can wear the HD-based T-badge in the AV side of things for PoE distribution .
So it's kind of solved that problem . Yeah , that could be up to 90 watts . when you're talking HD-based T-stuff And you kind of answered my question as I thought it I mean we must be on the same wavelength , because as you're talking I was like I'm thinking in my head . I know most technicians , most technicians aren't counting them .
They don't have a hash mark every time they crimp a mod end . No of course not , and they're not keeping track even to the boxes . That probably the easiest way just keep track of the number of the boxes you buy . And so I was going to ask what are some of the things that show up that gives the technician that may be not to be replaced ?
And you answered it as I was thinking the question Yeah , i mean , use a connector like the Pro Series . It doesn't matter if it is a little dull , because you're covering up that opportunity for any electrical current to get into that front of that connector when you plug it into an active PoE port , right ?
So there are ways to , obviously , and also if you put it on a certifier , that Pro Series Cat45 reduces near and far crosstalk as well . So if you're looking to maximize just the properties of the Cat45 .
Really , that seals it off and it prevents any of those conductors that are close together at the end of that connector from causing any interference right From any electrical interference to get in there .
And that increases overhead , which means that ultimately the network you're installing is going to be capable of being upgraded in the future without you having to rerun a different category cable et cetera . So there's a lot of benefits to using a proper connector , design right .
And the cost from going from the past three series to our Pro Series is minimal , less than a couple pennies a connector . So , and if you're doing a voiceover IP phone system and you don't have to worry about it , then don't put the cap on right .
And it gives you that security that you know that insurance policy , so to speak , in every jar that if you're a lot of times these integrators , they don't necessarily know a year from now who's going to come along and use that wire for an entirely different purpose , right ?
So just because they're installing a voiceover IP phone doesn't necessarily mean it's always going to be connected to a voiceover IP phone .
Exactly , exactly . So that was actually the last question . is R-pass throughs saved for PoE ? So it sounds to me like your answer is yes , if you , and there's some ones that are better for it than some of the worst for it right ?
Yeah , i mean I , generally speaking , i answer that question . You know in kind of a couple different parts , right ? So you know , we believe that if you have the correct contact design , which is that offset three prong trident , you know that goes a long way to securing and making sure there's no friction on that conductor when that cable moves .
Therefore you're not going to get that heat which causes electrical arcing , right . Preventing , you know , that copper from being distorted , you know , by using a sharp blade , is another way to ensure that you get a good , you know , cut and termination on your pass through connector .
And then the third way is by using our Pro Series connector which essentially caps off and prevents that copper from being exposed and any electrical current from arcing .
So you know , if you're really concerned about PoE , you know use the Pro Series And if you , you know , have never had an issue with it , you know because you've been using pass throughs forever , it's probably because you're a good integrator that's changing their blades and you know installing the connector correctly and you're not having these issues right .
So , but yeah , they definitely are issues out there for sure , and we see them all the time . You know we get people sending us pictures of you know they installed a camera and five weeks later they go back and guess what ? they pull the connector out and there's an electrical short on it . You're like what happened ? That's what happened .
Someone moved that cable , that little friction happened and you know , all of a sudden you get an electrical arc . So yeah , definitely pass throughs can be used for PoE . Just know what you're doing and use the right connector .
Oh great man , What a fantastic show . man . Who knew there was so much stuff behind mod end connectors ?
You know I get that a lot . Every time we talk to somebody at a trade show they're like I had no idea , i just thought an RJ45 was an RJ45 . And it absolutely is not true .
There's a ton of RD obviously that go into this , and you know my partners and I have developed an entire company that does nothing but work on these types of problems , and you know that's what we love about trade shows is interacting with integrators .
Doing podcasts like this is awesome because the feedback we get is how we develop new product And that's really how we continue to innovate is by learning what issues people are having in the field and solving them Right . So you know we have an open arm policy .
Bring all your problems and connectivity issues to us and let us try to see if we can't figure out with our engineers how to fix it .
I love that attitude And I really love that Instagram thing that you were talking about . I'm going to check that out after I get off .
Yeah , definitely . Follow us at Echo . Simply Connect . You know we try to pride ourselves on being a company . You know , having worked in this industry a long time . There's a lot of people out there that just say oh yeah , this is 10 gig rated . Oh , really , like , how do you know that ?
And part of the reason that we partnered with Trend Networks which is a super high end portfolio of every kind of tester you could ever imagine to develop Simply Test is because you know we want to make sure that every single claim that we make has been tested and proven and we have reports that you can see on our website that show our Instagram , that show
what we're talking about , even down to the UL94VO rating . We don't just say that our connectors are UL94VO rated , we literally light them on fire and show you that we have that rating Right . So that's really just kind of a mission of us is to make sure that we can always substantiate our claims Right .
Yep , Absolute pleasure having you on , Blake . I appreciate you taking the time and coming on and helping dropping some knowledge on the people who listen to my show . You certainly educated this old guy because I didn't know that you could replace the cartridges .
Well , if that is the only thing that comes from this interview , it was a job that you was , a job well done and an hour worth spent , because that is such a crucial part of being successful out there , no matter what connector platform you're using .
Well , that was an interesting conversation . Who knew there was so much information , so much research , so much engineering into those little plastic mod ends ? That was absolutely cool . I certainly hope you look up Blake and his company and help support them , because it sounds to me like they're a class act .
I really I'm going to have to make sure I check them out at Infocon when I go over there next month .
¶ Recording on the Road
And I also appreciate you being patient with the audio because , as you can tell , i'm not in my home studio this week because I'm recording on the road . I brought a separate microphone but I forgot to bring the USB adapter . Stupid MacBook Pro . You got to have that stupid adapter . I forgot to bring the adapter .
So I appreciate each and everybody who listens to this show And until next time . Knowledge is power . That's it for this episode of today's podcast . We hope you were able to learn something . Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on future content . Also , leave a rating so we can help even more people learn about telecommunications .
Until next time , be safe .