Re: wire stripper recommendation

[CH®IS <sh@xxxxx>]

"Robert L Bass" wrote...
> "CH®IS" wrote:
>> The only time I hopefully need to have connectors in a
>> panel are for EOL's for recessed contacts....
>
> EOL's in the panel?  Agkkk!
>

Yeah, I know.  For awhile I was putting all my EOL's in the panel out of
laziness, except for when I thought there could actually be a risk to
damaging the wire (ie: overhead run to a garage).  But now I only have them
there for the recessed contacts.  There's really no excuse for not putting
them in motions/glassbreaks/smokes/heats/etc.  Surface contacts are a bit of
a pain to keep them looking good though, but it only takes a few extra
seconds.

>> I'll rarely put them at the contact just to reduce the
>> wiring mess and need to tear the door frame apart later
>> on just to change a resistor (ie: switch to a different
>> panel).
>
> I'd put them at the contact or program them out of the system.  With PIRs
> and such it's simpler to put the EOL inside the detector.
>

EOL in the panel or program them to be N/C?  Same difference.  Except that
in the previous DSC panels, you either had EOL's on everything or you didn't
have them on anything (except smokes).

>> In this case though, I'll often take a 1" piece of insulation,
>> slide it over the zone wire (not common, then you have
>> to mess with the wiring to see which zone has the
>> resistor on it), twist the resistor and zone wire very neatly
>> and tight... bend it back and slide the insulation over the
>> splice... trim the other end of the resistor and wire it in.
>> Sure, it would be recommended to solder this splice
>> too... but the way I twist them I'm not concerned with
>> them ever falling apart....
>
> I don't know, man.  I'd rather just solder and never have to give it a
> second thought.  Each to his own though.

I know it'll last as long as anything else in that building, so there is no
second thought.  Telling some new guy how to do it though and trusting them
to get it right?  I'd rather not.

>
> Years ago I got a lot of flak from the IB for putting my RJs inside the
> locked panels.  The thing is I trust the homeowner to make sure the RJ is
> plugged back in after a service visit better than I trust telco employees.
> I know, I know. How could I *ever* distrust those reputable telco boys.
> :^)
>

I quickly abandoned the requiremnt for having the jacks on the outside of
the panel.  Other than home/business owners playing around with things they
shouldn't be... is it really that hard to break in and unplug the jack
within the entry delay time?  Although my panels are always screwed closed,
not locked (too many lost keys).

I've only had one problem with a telco messing with a jack.  There's a
daycare in town who needed to get a second phone line.  So the telco uses
the 22/4 from the jack to the demarc as their new start on this project.
Re-wired the jack to have their two lines on it and left the panel
disconnected from the jack.

Naturally they get a call about missing test signals (ignoring the keypads
trouble light and irritating beeping), so I go there, find this mess and put
it back to the way it was.  Then we get a call the next day because the
phones don't work properly anymore... so I put them back the way it was and
leave the panel disconnected from it once again.  They do have a cell backup
though, which is now all they have.  At the time this was fine, but these
backup units have proved to be unreliable so I hope to be replacing it soon.
Unfortunately though, that's not up to me.

>> Some I've seen have the wiring come in from the
>> top, cable tied straight down to the bottom, cable
>> tied across the bottom halfway, cable tied up to
>> about half an inch to the bottom of the board, run
>> straight left or right to where ever it's going, then
>> up into it's appropriate terminal, then when it's finished, cable tied
>> across there too...
>
> Sounds like somone bought stock in a wire tie manufacturer.  :^)
>

Also, the wiring isn't just cable tied to itself.  It's cable tied to the
back of the panel.  Making it that much easier to cut a wire while trying to
remove cable ties.

- Chris