Best Brands or Products? 1

[chiefred]

Is there any one particular brand that is the cadillac of connectors and jacks? Cable? I know I enjoy working with Allen Tel jacks over Panduit, Leviton, AMP, ICC and other brands and I like to work with AMP RJ45 connectors but I realize that everyone must have particular favorites.

Is there simply one product that is above all the rest in all methods of use, aside from personal evaluation?

Just wondering

 

[franklin97355]

No.

 

[Servamatic]

I can't say which one is best, but I can tell you I guarandamntee I will NEVER use Panduit's dumbass tool-less jacks again.
If you are going to be in this business use the tools of the trade, if you can't figure out how to use the tools, find a different line of work.

There, I got that off my chest... I am sure that my comments will spark a riot with some, so be it.

Richard S. Anderson, RCDD

http://www.smartbuilthomes.com

 

[3rc]

Right On Serve!! They are ridiculous, How in the hell can anyone justify using them.It takes me four times longer than leviton,or Avaya. I know some here don't like Leviton because of the Home Depot Thing, But Myself I travel a lot,and do jobs sight unseen and appreciate having the emergency ability to buy, what is needed on the road.Leviton has yet to fail me,several years ago I had bad experiences with ICC,Allentel,and why pay the price for Avaya.

 

[AvayaNovice]

As always...

100% ICC. They're the fastest, they never fail, and i dont care what other people on here think, they pass spec, and they work. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[ttech]

I have been using ICC for years with only one bad experience. I have cabled Thousands of cubes at the IRS with All of them passing cat5e no problem

THEN

I bought 120 Icc cat 6 jacks (the newer ones with the red punch down area) and 8000 feet of commscope cat 6 cable. well.... any way, all 60 runs failed the scan or at least the first 15 or so i scanned before realizing i Had a BIG problem. I first suspected the short run FEXX failure vulnerability -- there is an article about on the fluke DSP400 website -- but it wasn't

I guess The So-So commscope requires GREAT jacks to overcome it's marginal performance.

or

The ICC requires Great wire to overcome it's marginal performance.

Either way I ended up buying Leviton Cat 6 jacks (the newest ones also) and reterminating all 120 jacks.

Next time I do CAT6 I am going the buy the best cable I can get my hands on and probabbly try a few ICC jacks first ans scan them before I make another 16 hour mistake.


Don

 

[franklin97355]

Servamatic: Which Panduit jacks are tool-less? Don't think I've seen them.

 

[Servamatic]

Franklin

You are a lucky man then.....
Actually I have run across 2 different styles of tool-less jacks from Panduit, the first ones I did (Cat 3) weren't too bad, although on the 6 conductor jacks there is no color code, but I hate the tool-less concept.
The ones I did the other day where you have to split 2 of the pairs are the ones I really can't stand, the Mini-Com TX5e Jack is the worst piece of junk I have seen.

Avaya, good luck on your jobs from now on....since you made the statement "they never fail", and didn't even say knock on wood. I have NEVER found a brand yet that didn't have a failure, you must be one lucky pup.

Richard S. Anderson, RCDD

http://www.smartbuilthomes.com

 

[AvayaNovice]

I've never had one fail yet. I'm sure it'll happen. Manufacturing processes aren't perfect.

I love ICC. You love other stuff. Oh well, that's how it is.

 

[skip555]

like richard said I have found failure on all brands


I like ICC also but I dont get it that often since alltel closed their local branch and ADI is the only local distributor that stocks it and I dont do much with them so Im stuck with graybar and allentel

I think the allen tel is close to the ICC I use leviton occsainally and it seems fine .

generally speaking I use the least expensive name brand I can find. Unless the customer specs something out.

 

[wires]

"Is there simply one product that is above all the rest in all methods of use, aside from personal evaluation?"

No. They all have their good and bad points. It really boils down to company, client and personal preference. I had hoped that your question would not bring out some of the "product bashing" that has appeared above.

Personally I like Panduit products. I have used all the products mentioned here but find Panduit a better product for me. This decision was not made lightly since I can't run down to Home Depot and pick up Panduit parts. To me the speed of termination and the high build quality were the deciding factors. Now that I have a good stock of parts (thank you eBay!) the Home Depot run is not a issue.


Panduit tool less?

Not unless you have WAY more finger strength than me...

The older mini-com jacks used a clear plastic wire guide that required either a pair of pliers or the (included) plastic tool to push down.

The newer mini-com TX series definitely require a tool. The included plastic gadget is almost worthless but a good sized pair of channel locks or robogrips works fine. These are the fastest jacks I have ever wired and maintain twist to within millimeters of the IDC. We all have our preferences but in terminating 100 jacks the speed gain with the TX series (over fan and punch) is appreciable.

Both styles are excellent when terminating a short cable. You can even terminate a cable that does not reach out of the box without extreme difficulty (not that I would recommend such short cables).

In my opinion Panduit plugs are the best made. Snagless tabs, wire guides and standard tooling make them a no-brainer.

 

[lopes1211]

You rock if you can get the panduit stuff to work well for you. I'm not a product basher to say any one product is the best. I think price, local availabilty, termination speed, performance, etc., play into anyone's personal decision on what they feel comfortable with. I've found the new Panduit jacks a real pain requiring you to lay the wires, snip, and crimp the jack. Most other products using 110 cut the wire as you terminate and dont require manual "snipping" of every pair. It just seems like a big pain to me. Most customers demand for me to use a specific brand on each job. All of my customers use something different and all seem to work well to me except the the panduit products. I'm not saying they are worthless junk but they definately seem to fall short of the termination speed/practices of the other brands.

-CL

 

[daronwilson]

Well the panduit line works fine if you do it their way. We recently had a panduit spec job requiring we get panduit 'certification' which is basically a death by powerpoint presentation followed by terminations on their Cat6 products and testing of your work. They are different, and actually I rather like that. Doing it in the right pair order and a little practice, and they go together like any other project.

The fact that they have a special tool for them is a bit frustrating, but it does make them "snap" into place for a solid connection.

They work, they arent my first choice, but in my opinion when I have the chance to get another manufacturers certification I grab it. Never know where I'm gonna be next

Good Luck!

It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[jeffmoss26]

I don't really like the Panduit products, but if I have to, I will use them. The older Mini-Com modules were much better IMO. (the ones with the clear plastic piece that the wires slip into)
I also think that the Panduit stuff is much more expensive then Leviton, which I normally use.

jeff moss

 

[chiefred]

Yikes--I did not intend any strong negative comments--but never the less, sometimes thats how things get fixed for the better. I see ICC is a strong contender---I myself prefer AMP jacks as they seem to be very simple and roomy for the wires to be laid in and terminatied and also if a cable is re-located, it seems easier to re-terminate. Only have had maybe one out of 70 fail on me. They also seem to snap into and out of the faceplates easier than a lot of other jack/faceplates.

I did not see any comments on cable though--

 

[Jtodd]

Well, I'll have to add one more defense for Panduit. I will admit that this is definately a preferenance issue. I've been using Panduit for almost 10 years now, and am faster terminating them than any of the others that I use (mostly Avaya, Hubbell, occationally Leviton, plus a few odds and ends). So for me termination speed leans towards Panduit. Quality wise, well I've got some definate preferences there, and admittadly some are just preception, which I should probably allow to change (Leviton mostly) but there are some that I just won't ever give the chance.
Anyway, put a check in the Panduit column from me.

Justin T. Clausen
Physical Layer Implementation
California State University, Monterey Bay

 

[skip555]

as a result of this thread I did look at panduit it does look like you have to use panduit faceplaes with them

thats one thing I like using icc, allen tel, hubbel and leviton they will all fit in the same faeplate although surface mount boxs are seem to be brand specfic

 

[Jtodd]

Yes they do. Panduit and Avaya are the only ones that I can think of off hand that do not use the keystone mounting for their jacks. And yes, that does lock you into their faceplates. Well, price wise, there about the same price as the keystone, depending on vendor. But I can live with that.

Justin T. Clausen
Physical Layer Implementation
California State University, Monterey Bay

 

[mikeydidit]

Chiefred, I prefer Amp patch panels and Pass & Seymour jacks and face plates. I am in a University environment here, so I try to standardize every building by using one type jack/faceplate setup. These were made by Wiremold and Pass & Seymour bought them out. They make a very reliable product and are easy to work with. This is going to come down to personal preferences, so I guess this is mine. I also prefer to use Berk-tek cables for voice and data. Not to get on the Panduit bashing, but I had a Panduit sales rep come out and try to sell me on their products. It took him twice as long to terminate his jack as it took me to do mine. I understand that he is a sales person and not a tech, but their product looked to be more time consuming on terminations.

Mike Jones
LSUHSC

 

[fs483]

I didn't see anyone mention Nordx type jacks. I find that they take a lot of time to terminate but oddly enough the major companies (retail/commercial) seem to use these more than others. The Bix punch down ones are very quick to terminate but they cost more and you only have max of two jacks on one single gang face plate.

anthony