Introduction to Copper Cabling: Applications for Telecommunications, Data Communications and Networking
By John Crisp
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About this ebook
*Covers the real-world issues of selection, design, installation, testing, safety, legislation... neglected by university texts
*An easy-to-read introduction that assumes no prior knowledge beyond basic concepts of voltage and current - ideal for non-specialists as well as practitioners
*Covers new BICSI (US / international) regulations and EU framework
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Introduction to Copper Cabling - John Crisp
Introduction to Copper Cabling
Application for telecommunications, data communications and networking
John Crisp
Table of Contents
Cover
Title page
Copyright
Preface
Chapter 1: Talking across the Atlantic
Electricity is too slow – let’s try something mechanical
It worked, but the neighbors were not happy
That’s better
Yes, very nice, but it could be faster
Would instantaneous transmission be fast enough?
Then came Morse and Cooke
A good idea was one thing, but selling it was another
Water and electricity don’t mix
The problems and the costs
Chapter 2: Technical bits that may be useful
A small charge
The current flows (direct current or DC)
Conventional current and electron flow
Alternating current (AC)
RMS voltage
Peak voltage
Frequency (f)
Phase
Wavelength
Multiples and sub-multiples
Frequency spectrum
Capacitance
Capacitance and capacitors
Magnetism is much the same
Magnetic materials
Important effects of magnetism
Effects of temperature
Chapter 2 quiz
Chapter 3: How cables work
Using cables to transfer power
Matching
A quick look at a cable under direct current (DC) conditions
What about signals?
What happens if the load is not matched to the cable?
We don’t get perfect open circuits or short circuits
Worked example
Another example
Return loss
A popular misconception about current flow
Some magnetic effects
Electromagnetic interference (EMI)
EMI? Relax – you probably won’t notice it
Chapter 3 quiz
Chapter 4: Decibels – they get everywhere but what are they?
The two ways of doing decibels
Getting by with decibels
Bigger or smaller?
What if we have a truck load of amplifiers and lengths of cable?
What do the numbers mean?
Some useful numbers
The decibel is a logarithmic unit
Having found a log, how do we work back to find the number?
We can use logs to multiply and divide numbers
Summary of logs
Back to decibels
Summary
Decibels and attenuators
Mind your language
How we use decibels in a real circuit
Some more maths – but it’s not too bad
Summary
What if we know the gain and the output power but don’t know the input power?
Summary
Using decibels as a power level
Chapter 4 quiz
Chapter 5: How is data transmitted?
The simplest and most popular system
Analog systems
Digital transmission
Bits and bauds
Transmission rates
Preparing for digital transmission
Sampling
Quantization
Pulse code modulation (PCM)
Time division multiplexing (TDM)
Encoding
NRZ (non return to zero)
Manchester
AMI (alternate mark inversion)
Chapter 5 quiz
Chapter 6: We don’t do it like that
What are codes and standards?
Are they a good thing?
Where do they come from?
National organizations and standards
USA
Europe
Australia
Canada
Global
Chapter 7: Not all cables are the same
Power cables
American Wire Gauge
Telecommunication cables
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) and the common cable cures
Types of cable
Twisted cable – over 100 years old and still doing fine
A few general bits
Balun
Drain wire
Recognition
Color-coding
Categories and classes
Category 1 and Class A using UTP cables
Category 2 and Class B using UTP cables
Category 3 and Class C using UTP cables
Category 4 using UTP cable
Categories 5, 5e and Class D using UTP, FTP and S-FTP cables
Category 6 and Class E using UTP or ScTP cables
Category 7 and Class F using STP (SSTP) cables
Who mentioned Cat 8?
Chapter 7 quiz
Chapter 8: Selecting, protecting and connecting cables
Selecting a cable
Cable specifications
Near-end crosstalk
How fast does the signal move through a cable?
Protecting cables by design
Mechanical protection
Electrical protection
Connecting cables
Soldering
Chapter 8 quiz
Chapter 9: Networks
LANs are a good idea
Network architecture
Medium
Copper cables for LANs
Fiber optics
Wireless systems
Radio
Topology
Mesh topology – simple but seldom used
Bus topology
Star topology
Hierarchical star topology
Ring topology
Tree topology
Physical and logical networks
Ethernet
Controlling the flow of data
Token ring
Slotted ring
Demand priority
Carrier sense multiple access/collision detection (CSMA/CD) as used on the Ethernet system
Network connecting devices
Repeater
Hub
Bridges
Switches
Routers
Chapter 9 quiz
Chapter 10: Cables in buildings and between buildings
Horizontal cabling
Pathways
Things to consider at the design stage
Maintenance and modification of the system
Electromagnetic interference (EMI)
Where are the pathways likely to be found?
In the ceiling
Under the floor
Or even in the floor
It may be in conduit
The work area (WA)
Single offices
Multi-user offices
Transition point
Undercarpet telecom cable (UTC) installation
There are some disadvantages
Consolidation points (CPs)
To the telecommunication room
Topology
Cable used – types and lengths
Bridged taps
Give them some slack
Backbone cabling
Bending cables
Telecommunication room
Equipment room
Cabling buildings
Interconnected buildings
Multistory buildings
Cable for the backbone
Backbone cabling in multistory buildings
Slots, cores and sleeves
Open shafts
Installing heavy cables
Connecting two buildings
Aerial pathways
Underground cabling
Locating previously buried cables
Accidental method
Electronic methods
Dig a hole method
A final thought
Chapter 10 quiz
Chapter 11: Does it work?
Test equipment
Wire map testers
Tone generator and detector
Cable analyzers
Time domain reflectometer (TDR)
Acceptance tests
The basic link
The permanent link
The channel
Testing the cables
Wire mapping
Cable faults
Wiring faults
Direct current (DC) loop resistance
Length of a cable
Propagation delay and delay skew
Cable attenuation
Insertion loss
Return loss
Crosstalk (XT)
Chapter 11 quiz
Chapter 12: Staying alive until payday
Think first
Experience helps
Our responsibility
Unpleasant things that can happen to us
Electrical injuries
First aid for electrocution
Installation issues that affect us
Lightning
The lightning strike
Grounding of power systems
Telecommunications grounding and bonding
Grounding choices
Batteries can be dangerous
Lead–acid batteries
Nickel–cadmium cell
Alkaline cell
Fire precautions
Containment
Fire stopping
Materials that we may meet
Heavy cable installation
The rolling hitch
Lowering cables
Raising the cable
Chapter 12 quiz
Chapter 13: A brief introduction to fiber optics
Why do we use optic fibers?
What is it?
How clear is clear?
What is the difference between optic fibers and fiber optics?
How thick are they?
Are optic fibers dangerous?
What are optic fibers used for?
What makes the light stay in the fiber?
What else do we need?
Is the size of the core important?
What light source and light detectors do we use?
Are lasers dangerous?
Are all lasers dangerous?
How do we recognize a fiber optic cable?
Will it break if I bend it?
How can I find out more about fiber optics?
Chapter 13 quiz
Chapter 14: Moving on
Exhibitions
Catalogs
Magazines
Training courses
BICSI – a fine organization
So, what is BICSI?
What doesn’t BICSI do?
So, what does it do?
Why is it good for its members?
Why is it good for customers?
Bibliography
Glossary
Quiz answers
Index
Copyright
Newnes
An imprint of Elsevier Science
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP
225 Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801-2041
First published 2002
Copyright © 2002, John Crisp. All rights reserved
The right of John Crisp to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1T 4LP. Applications for the copyright holder’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 0 7506 5555 0
For information on all Newnes publications visit our website at www.newnespress.com
Typeset by Keyword Typsetting Services Ltd
Printed and bound in Great Britain
Preface
How will future generations refer to our times? Will it be known as one of space exploration, genetics, atomic energy or computing? Possibly, but I think it is more likely to be ‘The age of communications’. Not since printed books and newspapers were first introduced has there been such an explosion of communication. None of this technology could function without modern cables and, just as important, competent installers.
In every building, there is a lot of technology hidden above the ceiling, under the floor and in the walls, as a network of cables interconnects every desk, room and beyond, across the city and the world.
As with learning all forms of new technology, we have the problem of getting started. We need to know the basic nuts and bolts of how it works and face the problem of ‘the words’. There always seems to be hundreds of new words that everyone else seems to understand.
This book introduces cabling without assuming any previous knowledge of the basics or the jargon. I hope you find it both useful and an enjoyable start to your life in cables.
John Crisp
1
Talking across the Atlantic
Unless we were to remain happy to communicate by lighting bonfires on hilltops or employing runners or galloping horses, we needed a real breakthrough.
A good idea that wasn’t followed up was the work of the Greek Thales who, in the sixth century BC, was one of the first to investigate electricity and magnetism. He did the trick of rubbing a balloon on his sleeve, and picking up some light pieces of material – actually he rubbed a piece of amber with some fur, but that’s near enough the same.
If he could only have encouraged more people to continue his work, we may have had warp drives and teleporters by now. But no-one showed any interest and, like they say in all good history books, ‘nothing happened for 2300 years’.
In the sixteenth century there was a flurry of interest in devising some form of long-distance communication system. There were many attempts with lights and mirrors, which had limitations where distances were involved. But flashing lights were nowhere as limited as the speaking tube, in which we would shout down a tube with an ear placed at the other end. This would limit the scope for long-distance communications but was resurrected about 200 years later with the idea of banging the outside of the tube with a hammer to send messages in code. This didn’t work either.
Towards the end of the sixteenth century and in the early seventeenth century, we had noticed that the effects of magnetism and many people had great faith in its ability to provide a fast long-distance communication system as well as miracle cures for all ills and almost anything else.
It had been noticed that a compass needle can be deflected by another compass needle and so it was a small step to conclude that if it could be made to happen at any distance then all communication problems are virtually solved. There was a tendency to assume that this small problem would soon be surmounted and we could get on with the real invention bit. Rumors and claims were made for the most unlikely methods.
One very popular method was to make two such needles become ‘sympathetic’ and by moving one, the other would move by the same amount to remain parallel even when separated by enormous distances. Having produced two sympathetic needles, all we have to do is to mark the edge of the compass with the alphabet, and there we are – no-cost instant communications. Despite the small fact that the needles never did align themselves in parallel even when the needles were close together, the rumor spread quickly, probably just because it was such a neat idea that everyone wanted it to be true. A bit like flying saucers and little green men from Mars.
In those days we had to spread rumors from person to person but nowadays we have the media, which are in the fortunate position of not only being able to spread rumors to millions of people at a time but actually get paid for doing so.
When it was accepted that the range was very limited and the needles never did remain parallel, we could still demonstrate that a magnet could be used instead of the first ‘transmitting’ needle and the receiving needle would still be deflected, so the rest of the system could still work. It was soon seen to be limited in range but, and this gave hope, a larger magnet would have a larger range. All we needed to do was to build larger and larger magnets but this idea also died as some calculations were done on the size of the magnet needed for transmission over a few hundred miles. There was also the small problem of interference if more than one communication system was set up in the same area.
The American scientist, Benjamin Franklin was rumored to investigate electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. Now, whether he actually did this or not, it was certainly a good enough story to encourage others to try it and to die in the attempt.
Benjamin certainly did investigate and develop the idea of air terminal or lightning conductors on buildings but even nowadays, many people have the wrong idea of what they are for and how they work. We will look at lightning conductors in a later chapter.
About 50 years later, in Geneva, Switzerland, George Lesage decided to use wire and a pith ball. The point of the pith ball was that it was extremely light and when charged with electricity by a connecting wire they would hold equal polarity of charge and hence repel each other. The pith ball would move away from the wire as in Figure 1.1. If we connect one wire for each letter of the alphabet, all we had to do was to energize the wire corresponding to the first letter and, at the far end, they would watch to see which ball moved. By this laborious process we could spell words, one letter at a time.
Figure 1.1 Really slow telegraphy – but it worked
Electricity is too slow – let’s try something mechanical
Like most methods up to this time, the search was always for a way to generate movement at a distance, usually to point to a letter. This latest version abandoned electricity in favor of mechanical engineering. As usual, it was a good idea on paper but more difficult to actually achieve. This is how it worked, or should have worked. To send a message to your house, all we have to do is to pop down to my cellar, turn a lever until it pointed to the first letter and a system of mechanical gears and drive shafts between our two houses turned the pointer in your cellar. Then on to the next letter. It would probably work if we lived in adjacent houses but there would be rather a lot of friction if we were in different towns. Not to mention the small problems of hills and rivers.
Five years later in 1792 another mechanical solution by Claude and Rene Chappe took a step back towards the ridiculous but within three years of further development they had a winner.
It worked, but the neighbors were not happy
Behind their parent’s house, the two brothers arranged a clock face with just a single hand that swept around the face in 30 seconds. Ten numbers were written on the face so every three seconds the hand pointed to one of the numbers. At the receiving station a few hundred yards away, a similar clock face was set up. The first job was to synchronize the sweeping hand. This was done very simply by striking a casserole dish as the hand passed the vertical position, whereupon the hand on the receiving apparatus was released. A second clang indicated the moment to read the transmitted number.
To the irritation of all in earshot, a series of numbers could be clanged out and hence deciphered by reading the position of the receiving hand. By coding the numbers into letters, a message could be beaten out.
It was soon modified to a system that was purely visible, which must have been an enormous relief to all those within earshot. This was a wooden panel that was painted black on one side and white on the other and the moment that corresponded with the required number was signaled by pivoting the board to change the color.
The day of the big test came in March 1792. With the aid of a telescope, and in only four minutes a message, ‘if you succeed you will soon bask in glory’, was sent over a distance of 10 miles. The message was supplied at the moment of the test to avoid trickery which, as we can imagine, was rife with the demonstration of new signaling methods.
That’s better
The Chappes were happy to see the system work over such distances but synchronizing the clock was a nuisance so they thought of ways to eliminate the timing problem. But was it possible? In 1793, the Chappe Mark III version was unveiled and this was a winner.
The clock was thrown out and instead a semaphore system was built on a tower. The tower had two pivoted arms on it and provided enough combinations to provide a different pattern for each letter and number. A system of ropes was used to reposition the arms as shown in Figure 1.2 and the towers were used to send a message through a series of such towers over 20 miles and to everyone’s amazement, 20 minutes later, a reply was received. Not a bad speed.
Figure 1.2 Chappe telegraph code
Claud Chappe was put on a government salary to build a series of towers over hundreds of miles around France. They even built one on the French coast to enable easy communications with Britain after the forthcoming invasion. As it happened, they never did manage to invade, so the British end of the link was never constructed. During this time the British were busy building their own set of towers of a slightly different