What type of cable should you use for your security cameras?

As you know security cameras are everywhere, have you ever wanted to know what kind of cable they use? The most common cable installed is a "Siamese Cable" that consist of a RG59 coax cable for the camera signal and a 18 gauge 2 conductor cable for the power. The jacket on the "Siamese Cable" covers both of these different cables now making it one cable and easier to pull and install.



When the 2 cables have to split at the security digital video recorder the RG59 cable gets terminated with a BNC male coax connector and the 18/2 cable attaches to a power supply. If you have multiple cameras that need power you might want to consider installing a master power supply to help keep your installation clean and organized.


It's cool how the master power supply has a fuse for each channel in case of a surge in power, you pop the fuse not your camera.

"By Mercy Salinas"

Tips for networking buildings together with direct burial cable

External wiring to the building is called outside plant cabling. Outside plant cabling can support a wide variety of communications services such as telephone, data transfer, live video, security, building automation control systems and any other low voltage circuitry.

Keep in mind that you must install OSP cable in compliance with National Electric Codes (NEC), National Electric Safety Code (NESC), utility franchise regulations and local building codes.

Before you start laying your cable down OSP cable installation should be based on a 10 year outlook plan. You may consider that the building owner may sell portions of the property so it may be necessary to obtain property easements. Keep an eye out if the cable run is going to cross railroad tracks or other utility company right of way or a natural occurrence such as a pond or stream.


Your OSP cable run will need to be secure. You'll need to provide an alternate route in case of disaster recovery, location of local exchange carrier facilities and the physical terrain of the campus. Extra pathways should be planned for maintenance purposes. It's typically a good idea to check in with your local exchange carrier regarding their facilities within, or adjacent, to the building.

Three pathways are used in outside plant construction. Aerial, underground conduit and direct burial and they can be used in any combination. Today we're going over direct burial installation.

A direct burial cable system is similar to a buried coduit system and has many of the same advantages but, the disadvantage is the capacity cannot be increased. Your cable also doesn't have as much mecanical protection as a buried conduit system.

Things to consider are type of soil and subsurface conditions, the possibility of joint trench use, and the back-filling method. The minimum depth of the trench should be 24 inches unless the local code requirement differs. If a possibility exist of your OSP cable being dug up by accident you may want to bury it deeper for added protection. Continuous planks should be used and placed 1ft below grade level for visual warning. (Trenching in action below).

For direct burial fiber optic cable you need to put down a copper conductor along with your fiber so that your cable can be located by a cable locating instrument in case you need to identify where your underground cable is in the future.

When back filling your OSP cable examine and use clean backfill material. The soil should not have any sharp objects or large rocks that could damage your cable during your backfill. After your backfill is complete your now ready to terminate your cable.

Special thanks to Electrical Construction and Maintenance.

Questions comment below. Thanks!

"By Mercy Salinas"

Cat5e Cable for Cell Tower and Outdoor Wireless Installations

As you know cell tower and outdoor wireless equipment installations can be some of the most demanding and dangerous. Contractors for these installations face many pressures from meeting a deadline, proper materials, making sure the job is done correctly and doing everything with a safety first mentality.

We can't help you with everything your going to bump into at your installation but we can help with getting you proper materials for your installation in a timely manner to help meet your deadline.

One product that comes to mind is the BBDE serise of outside plant cable by Superior Essex.


* This cable is built with a dry water blocking agent outside of the inner jacket that helps prevent  water ingress between shield in inner cable preventing damage to equipment.

* The core is fully filled with PFM Gel allowing for a no drip or flow in vertical installations, also helps fight against degraded transmission performance.

* Outside plant rated sunlight resistant black jacket will allow for years and years of reliable performance.

With these features and the reliability of a company that has been making cable since 1930 you can rest assure the quality of this cable is as good as your installation.

You can order this cable at Discount Low Voltagee

"By Mercy Salinas"

Wire and Cable cut per foot by Discount Low Voltage

Wiring and cabling installations are hard work and can vary greatly based on the location of your cable pull. Figuring out what type of cable will work for your application seems to be half the battle, now you must chose the best pathway.

For example if you have a building to building installation you may have to use a ditch witch and direct bury an armored cable.

Maybe you have a cable run from the 9th floor to the 22nd floor. Do you need a plenum rated cable? Do you have to run it in innerduct? Can you use a interlocking armor cable? You might want to double check the National Electric Code for your building as codes vary from city to city.

Discount-Low-Voltage.com understands that having the cable your looking for is half the battle but we also must be able to support your installation in a timely manner.

Our reeling and coiling machinery allows us to better support your installation in a few ways.

1) Cable is cut per foot saving you money. Why buy a 1000 foot reel if you only need a 340 foot piece.

2) Our machinery in house allows us to get your cable shipped to you fast!

3) No cut charge. Manufactures can cut cable but typically a cut charge is included and will take longer to ship out the door.


When it comes to supplying your installation with cable, whether you need a PE89 burial cable, Armored Cat5e 4 pair, interlocking plenum rated fiber or anything for low voltage wiring we can supply you with exactly what you need quickly.

So for all your wire & cable that needs to get cut per foot, order from Discount Low Voltage

Thanks.

"By Mercy Salinas"

Is there an equivalent to Belden 6506FE? Yes!

When looking at the technical and data sheet for Belden part number 6506FE it mentions for commercial applications. So we dug into what types of commercial applications has this type of cable been installed by our contractor customers.

Burglar Alarm installations: Is a system designed to detect intrusion -- unauthorized entry -- into a building or area. They are also called security alarms, security systems, intrusion detection systems, perimeter detection systems, and similar terms.

Public Address Systems installations: An electronic amplification system used as a communication system in public areas.

Intercom Installation: A two-way communication system with a microphone and loudspeaker at each station for localized use.

Telephone Stations Installations: A system of electronic components that connects telephone calls.

Speakers: An electro-acoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems.

Instrumentation: Electrical, electronic and control system applications.

Now let's take a look at this Belden cable. A 22 AWG bare copper conductor, 8 conductors, overall tape shield and foil side out, drain wire, ripcord. Ladies and Gentlemen we have a match! Tappan Wire and Cable part number 2280AB8M/CMP spec number P20037


This equivalent by Tappan Wire and Cable is made in the USA and will save you a nice chuck of change. With that extra money you should take out that "special lady friend".


"By Mercy Salinas"

What the heck is LSZH Wire and Cable?

So you've been doing wiring for some time now and you come across a job walk that specifies the installation of LSZH or maybe you need to match some cable at your location that is LSZH specified. Lets check out what is LSZH, where to install it and pros and cons.

LSZH stands for Low Smoke Zero Halogen. The cable jacket and insulation is made with some very special materials. In case this type of cable is ever involved in a fire very little smoke is produced making this cable an excellent choice for confined places with lots of people.

I know the LS part is easily understood but what about the ZH? The zero halogen, what is that? Halogens are elements such as bromine, chlorine and fluorine. Halogens are very highly reactive and hurt people and animals. PVC wire and cable has a huge amount of halogens in it. The C stands for chloride and typically this cable on average contains 29% by weight. Teflon, FPE and PTFE contain up to 76% of fluorine. Halogens in LSZH materials are under 1%

Another concern is when cable is burned and toxic gases are released into the air they can also be harmful when mixed with water. So when that sprinkler system turns on you've now created toxic acids.

The number one cause of death related to fires is smoke inhalation. An estimated 70% of fire deaths are a result of smoke inhalation rather than burns. Smoke Inhalation occurs when products of combustion are breath in during a fire. Damages to the body are by simple asphyxiation (lack of oxygen), chemical irritation, chemical asphyxiation or a combination of all these.

Now that you have a quick understanding of LSZH what are the Pros and Cons of the cable?

PRO: LSZH produces less smoke when burned allowing for more time to exit.

CON: LSZH is more susceptible to jacket cracking. Special lubricants have been made to minimize damage during installation.

PRO: Because little or no halogen gas is released less damage to the respiratory is done and less corrosion damage is done to equipment near the fire.

CON: LSZH jacket has a high filler content, around 50% to provide the required flame and smoke performance. This results in a lower mechanical, chemical resistance, water absorption and electrical properties then non LSZH compounds.

PRO: The jacket of LSZH cable has a lower coefficient of friction making installation easier.

CON: The current generation of LSZH cables has not yet established a proven history of long time performance.

In one of our YOUTUBE videos a LSZH fiber cable is shown. Its hard to tell the difference just looking at it but off camera I did notice once stripped that the jacket buckled and cracked when flexing it.



Questions? Comment below!

"By Mercy Salinas"