Home Distrobution Units 3

[perrymans]

What are the things to look for when considering a home distrobution unit (phone, cable, internet, etc...)?

So far the only ones I have seen are at Home Depot. Where are the good places to get them? (Possibly cheaper).

I don't have a large house, 3BR 2BA 1500 sqft. So it doesn't have to be fully decked out.

Thanks. Sean.

 

[rpearson]

HI Sean,

Here are some things to consider for your home cabling distribution panel: 1)Be sure your panels or modules,patch panels,and phone blocks,video splitters,etc. have enough ports or outlets to support the amount of cabling being installed onto them.2)Be sure to leave room for expansion(additional ports to terminate to)to add more wires to the system later.3)I would recommend using at a minimum Cat5e network patch panel(s) or module(s).4)Be sure to install your self a 1ghz or better splitter in there for your catv distribution.5)Your phone block will probably be a basic 110 IDC style block.
Ebay might be a good place to start if your looking for a deal on this stuff.I wish I had more time to get into some part numbers,brands and such.I can tell you that Leviton has a suitable line of Structured Cabling enclosures for residential.Both with modules,and I know they have a enclosure that allows you to add your own hardware to your liking.Good Luck.

 

[Rokyrd]

I have a UStec panel in my house. It's OK, but wish it were more versatile. Mine is probable 2 years old. Looks like they have improved them quite a bit since mine was made.

http://www.ustecnet.com/flash.html

Also, I saw these units installed in a set of new track homes I was looking at. They looked very versatile and modular. You can build a panel to suite your specific needs.

http://www.greyfox.com/

I think Leviton's units are pretty modular as well.

http://www.leviton.com/lin/index.html

Hope this helps a bit,
Butch

 

[reednet]

The stuff you saw at Home Depot is the Leviton Integrated Networks (LIN) line. Home Depot only carries a fraction of the full array of products, so if you decide to use it, check out their web site for the full product line. You may have to go to another electrical distributer such as Graybar for the stuff that home depot doesn't carry.

That said, you can also use the leviton stuff without their special cabinet. I just use a plain old 3'x4' sheet of plywood which is nice and roomy for everthing I want to put in - some that don't fit well into any special cabinet.

While you can always use a standard patch panel or punchdown block, LIN is DESIGNED for home use, so some things like the phone patch system where you can split 4 lines to 16 or so jacks is easy to use / make changes. The cost of those modules is actually comperable or even less expensive than a standard commercial patch panel of the same port density.

If you don't need to make changes often (Very rarely in fact) you can just use a standard commercial 110 punch down block. I use a big honkin' 300 pair unit for example. This is your lowest cost option, but is the least flexable. (Don't use 66 blocks - it's hard to keep them Cat5 and Easy to short things out.)

I guess my final answer is that it depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. You can use an all-in-one total solution like LIN ($$$), or you can mix and match and build your own from many vendors parts.

Lastly, think surge suppression. Get a good one (spend some bucks here - a model that offers an equipment insurance policy like $50K equipent.) Run all your hubs, amplifiers etc off them, and run your phone / cable lines through it too. Make sure everything is well grounded. If you have an older home, you may even want to run a new dedicated circuit to your board.