Security Sales & Integration March 2022 - 24

SMARTS & PARTS
Tech Talk by Bob Dolph
Be a Good
Terminator
TOOL OF THE MONTH
This month I have selected an
exciting new network termination
product that is hot off
the assembly line. It is highly
recommended for anyone
serious in making great and
simple RJ-45 connections
to try out the S45-PSK10GProSeries-10G
STP Starter Kit
(simply45.com). Take a close
look at it and I think you will
be pleasantly surprised.
Bob Dolph has served
in various technical
management and advisory
positions in the security
industry for 30+ years. To
share tips and installation
questions, email Bob at
bdolph.ssi@gmail.com. Access
content from his 15+ years as
Tech Talk columnist by going
online at securitysales.com/
author/bdolph.
24
▶ SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHILE traveling
through an airport, I was questioned by security
about the unusual item I was carrying. When
they opened up my bag they were set back for a
moment due to what appeared to be a gun. Th e
security offi cer asked, " Sir, what is that? " I calmly
replied, " A termination gun. " As you might
have guessed, I had to explain further. At the
time I was running the tech training program
at Sonitrol and they used a special cable termination
tool that looked like a handgun. Ergo, it
was called a termination gun. Not funny to the
security offi cer.
Now, let's get to the matter at hand, and that
is cable termination practices. Did you know
that the biggest cause of problems in system
installations is proper electrical termination, or
the connecting of cables to equipment or other
cables? Th at is why this month I am addressing
cable termination skills and practices as an important
basic technician's skill.
Th ere are typically two types of electrical cables:
solid core and stranded. Stranded is made up of
many individual conductors twisted together. Th is
provides for fl exibility when bending and installing.
On the upside, if the cable is slightly nicked
during insulation stripping, the majority of the
conductors will still be intact. When terminating
this cable to equipment, one should always be careful
of the tiny loose strand ends as they can short to
neighboring terminals. Crimped metal connectors
should be used to minimize this problem.
Solid core cabling is often preferred due to
cost and ease of termination to equipment.
Technicians need to be careful when stripping
solid core as the conductor can be nicked, and
with typical small gauge cabling can even break
causing a bad connection.
Th ere are a few types of wire strippers to consider
depending on experience and comfort level.
One of the best overall is the self-adjusting stripper,
such as the Irwin Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper.
It will pull the cable jacket off , but not nick
the copper. Another type is one with designated
stripping holes such as the Klein-Kurve. Care
Security Sales & Integration MARCH 2022
bdolph.ssi@gmail.com
should be taken to use the proper size hole for the
cable or nicking of the conductor can happen. Th e
last stripping tool is the lightweight, inexpensive
adjustable wire stripper. While this tool is cheap,
small and handy, care should be used by inexperienced
techs as it takes a feel to get the right strip.
Th e simple act of stripping and placing cables
in a saddle type terminal connector on a control
panel can be problematic. When tightening the
connectors make sure it is on the stripped copper
and not accidentally on the cable insulation. Do
not overload a terminal connection with too many
cables. Instead use a distribution strip such as
WAGO Splice Connectors for better connections.
Every technician today has to deal with some
sort of network connections. Th e speed of data of
these connections have been increasing at a fast
rate. Th is makes this type of connection critical
for good data transmission. Th e standard connector
for these systems is the RJ-45 connector.
When terminating cabling to these connectors
the connection must be as tight as possible. Any
loose length in the cable conductors can make a
signifi cant impact on transmission quality. Experienced
installers are pretty good at making these
tight connections, but it takes practice and experience
that many newbie techs don't yet have.
To help simplify making tight RJ-45 cable
terminations, the pass-through connector (e.g.
the EZ-RJ45 connector) was invented. By pushing
the category cable stands tightly through
the connector, a good, tight connection could
be achieved with very little expertise. However,
there were some fl aws in the design that made
experienced techs reluctant to use them.
One of my jobs as your Tech Talk author is to
fi nd products and techniques to make your everyday
work life easier. Recently I was at a trade
show and discovered a new version of the EZRJ45.
It is called Simply45. I had a lengthy talk
with the inventor and was very impressed how
they have addressed pitfalls of the previous EZ
model (see Tool of the Month).
One of the errors techs make when using these
types of connectors is not using the companion
connector tool. Don't make that mistake. It will
save you a lot of headaches.
Additionally, when making RJ-45 wall connections
make sure to use a good tool that will
tightly crimp and cleanly cut the wires. Some
networking tools that have caught my attention
are from a company called Dynacom.
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Security Sales & Integration March 2022

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