Page 29 - Blog

Wire strippers are simple tools that make installing new connectors on any cable a much simpler job. One of the first steps for installing a connector is peeling back the outer jacket. While this is technically possible with something like a pair of scissors, doing it that way is difficult and delicate work. More often than not, it results in cutting too deep and having to start all over.

Cable cutters are designed to cut exactly through the outer jacket, no more and no less. When used correctly, the blades should never touch anything deeper than the jacket. There are different types of cutters available as well. Most strippers are compatible with multiple cables, with these multi-cable strippers covering different cables that have similar thicknesses.

Rotary Strippers

Rotary strippers are one of the most common types of cable cutters, mainly due to how easy they are to use. The blades inside the stripper are adjustable, allowing users to change how deeply they will cut. After the cable

Keeping cables organized in racks and cabinets can be tedious, but it is well worth the effort. Nothing is worse than needing to get to a single cable having problems while trying to sort through a jumbled, unorganized mess of wires. Luckily, there are a number of options for keeping cables organized so that any repairs take minutes instead of hours.

Size is the main factor to take into consideration when looking at cable management equipment. The standard width for all racks and cabinets is 19 inches across, so that will be the size of any cable management equipment that does not say otherwise. The length of the equipment is measured in rack units (RU). A single rack unit consists of one pair of holes used to secure equipment on either side of the rack/cabinet and the space around them, measuring 1¾ inches total. When selecting cable management equipment or any other equipment, make sure to check how many RUs of space are available first.

Cable Ducts

Cable ducts are made to route, organize,

Crimp tools, also called crimpers, are used to crimp connectors onto bare wire when assembling a cable. There are a few different versions of crimp tools, depending on how the crimper is made and what type of cable it was designed for.

How Do Crimp Tools Work?

Using a crimp tool is fairly simple. First, a cable must be stripped to expose the metal wire inside. Then the metal wire(s) are inserted into the connector. Single conductor cables (coax) are easier to use than multi-wire cables like ethernet or phone lines (additional details below). Once the wires are inserted, put the connector inside the crimp tool and squeeze the handle. The pressure applied by the crimper will tighten the connector to keep it in place.

Manual vs. Ratchet Crimpers

There are two main types of crimpers, manual and ratchet. Manual crimpers are powered completely by hand. The amount of pressure they can apply to a connector depends entirely on how hard you squeeze the handle. Manual crimpers are harder

Raceway, also called conduit, is a hollow plastic stick used to protect cables and keep them out of sight after installation. Keeping cables protected after they are installed increases the cables overall lifespan and cuts down on maintenance. Being made of solid plastic, raceway provides more than adequate protection in most non-extreme environments.

Regardless of whether cables are in a home or running through an office, raceway is widely considered a great solution for hiding cables as well as protecting them. Having bare wire hanging against the wall looks ugly. A simple plastic stick is much smoother and provides a more professional aesthetic for anything from a home TV antenna cable to a cable connecting a projector in a business office.

While raceway is not terribly complicated, there are a few factors to take into consideration before purchasing. There are different sizes of raceway available depending on how many cables will be going through it. Small raceway, for example,

Most devices that use USB cables come with one, but these prepackaged cables tend to be too short. Few things are as annoying as having to leave your device in a weird spot to recharge or trying to keep your phone charger from falling off the table. Using USB extension cords to get a little extra distance can be convenient or outright necessary in these situations.

There are a few facts to keep in mind when it comes to USB extension cables. First off, make sure you are picking out the correct type of extension cable. The average USB extension cord is going to be USB 2.0 A Male to Female. Some other types do exist, such as the USB 3.0 A to B male cable, but typically “USB extension” means an A Male to Female cable.

Another other key detail to check is whether you need a USB 2.0 or 3.0 extension. Usually, the plastic inside the metal end of the USB cable will be color-coded, with 2.0 cables being black or white and 3.0 cables being blue. Not every manufacturer does this, so it never

Keeping cables secure can be something of a challenge. Running a cable across the floor is one thing, but going up a wall or leaving something hanging from a ceiling is another. Loose, dangling cables are much more likely to get damaged and just look bad. Luckily, there are a number of tools that can be used to keep wall and ceiling cables safe and secure.

Beam Clamps

Beam clamps are named for what they are able to do; these small fixtures use a screw to clamp down onto beams. The purpose of a beam clamp is to provide a spot to screw in a bridle ring or similar equipment, which is then used to actually hang cables. The average beam clamp has a ⅞” opening with a ¼-20 thread and is available in both iron and steel. Iron beam clamps can support up to a 250 lb. load while the steel version supports up to 100 lbs. There is also an extra wide version with a 3⅛” opening that supports up to 200 lbs.

Bridle Rings

Bridle rings are one of the most common tools for hanging cables and come in a few

In any scenario, having to deal with a dead cell phone is a pain. No one likes to realize their alarm did not go off because their phone died in the middle of the night. Or that they are totally lost when the phone’s GPS suddenly changes to a black screen.

With how important cell phones have become to everyday life, you would think that grabbing a charging cable would be simple. However, there are a number of options available depending on what type of phone you have. Even when looking at the same type of charger, different versions can be available.

Phone Charger Ratings

Chargers can have different ratings that are based on three factors: power (watts), current (amps), and voltage (volts). Amps are the key factor to look at here. Larger devices with bigger batteries, such as a tablet vs. a phone, hold more power and can take longer to charge. Phone chargers are made with different ratings depending on what device they are designed to go with. For example, this car charger has three USB

A little cable prep can go a long way towards keeping your work area tidy. Anytime you use more than a few cables, they can quickly become a tangled, jumbled mess. Using a few cable prep tools can keep cables safe, secure, and neat.

Cable Labels

When lots of different cables are all hooked up right next to each other, it can be hard to remember where each cable goes. One of the simplest ways to keep track of each cable is with some simple labels. These labels come with templates and are on sheets the size of a standard piece of paper, allowing them to be printed on any standard printer and you may even use a USB 2.0 A to B cable or some other cable to do the printing. The individual labels are also available in multiple sizes to ensure a fit regardless of how thick or thin of a cable you have.

Electrical Tape

Electrical tape is another simple way to keep cables labeled. Some types of cables are available in multiple colors, but others might only be available in black or white

American Wire Gauge (AWG)

What is American Wire Gauge (AWG)?

American Wire Gauge (AWG, sometimes called the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge) is the standardized wire gauge system used to measure the size of electric conducting wire in the United States since 1857. AWG refers to wire made with a solid metal core. It is represented as a simple number that is calculated by finding the radius of the wire, squaring that number, and multiplying it by pi (AWG = πr²). The smaller the number is, the thicker the cable will be.

Stranded wire is also commonly referred to using AWG, but it a little more complex. Because standard cables are made using multiple wires instead of a single solid core, they can be given multiple numbers. For example, a cable called “24 AWG (7x32)” means that the overall outer diameter is 24 AWG but on the inside, the cable has seven 32 AWG wires.

Common Wire Gauges

Certain types of cables will always be the same AWG. For example, RG58 cable is always made as a 20 AWG cable regardless

Speaker wire is one of the most common types of audio cable. While it looks simple at a glance, there are a fair number of factors that come into play. Some speaker cables have connectors while others are blunt (ending with bare wire). The AWG (American Wire Gauge) of speaker wire comes in a few different varieties with different types having advantages and disadvantages depending on the application.

Speaker Wire Connectors (or Bare Wire)

Most speakers (and some similar equipment) do not come with the speaker wire they need. The first step in selecting one is deciding how you the wire will be connected to the speaker. Many speakers have the option to insert the bare wire, eliminating the need for a connector. Bare wire does provide the best sound quality since there is nothing between the wire and speaker but comes with a few downsides. Since the wire is out in the open it can be frayed or otherwise damaged over time, which can lower the signal quality or even break the cable. If the cable