atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems Project 1A2: Phase I complete.

Yep, been there, done that as well. I lost count of how many times I'd be punching down a keyset, get to the 23rd or 24th pair, punch it down, for some reason it cut on both top and bottom, try to pull a little slack... punch it again.... cuts on top and bottom again... no more slack.

Yank all of 'em and start over.

But I'm starting to get the hang of it, and the logic behind all of it is standing out clearly. I doubt I'll ever get to the point where I can punch down all 25 pairs from memory, even though I understand (thanks to Ken) the color coding pattern, and that there are really only 5 combinations.

But I will say that punching down the cross connects the proper way took half the time the other (wrong) way did, and I only cross connected 2 lines that way. Also Ed gave me a great tutorial on how to punch the Intercom lines, so that went like a breeze as well.

I have the color code memorized, as everyone does, but I still mess up

Matt, here's the color code:

Bell Operators Give Better Service.

Why Run Backward, You'll Vomit.

Incidentally, you and perhaps others on this forum may not know this, but there are two pairs that are named in honor of two Bell Operators, who gave their lives during a horrific flood that devastated a large mid-western city back in the early 1900's. They were cousins, and when they were given the order to evacuate, they defied the order, and stayed at their positions, answering emergency calls until they both lost their lives as the flood waters drowned them.

In a very somber ceremony, after the waters had receded, the president of AT&T, William Vail, decreed that forevermore, two pairs in every cable group would commemorate their heroism:

Violet Green, and Violet Brown.

LOL Arthur!

There's a fix for that and I never recommend or do it :-)

Your screwdriver is your friend. If you've dutifully cut the sheath behind a 66 block, you can seperate the wires and wrap it around your screwdriver in a single loop. Carefully work the screwdriver back and forth with the wire wrapped around it. You stretch the wire and can gain about an inch :-)

Carl who would ever want to do that?

Hmmmmmm

I still have room for 4 more sets.... I promise not to do that if the need arises.

Did I mention my fingers became permanently crossed at about the age of 7?

Well, my cell phone doesn't seem to want to send anything much tonight, but I did get one to come through.

I gotta get a real camera.

https://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7448/10310721211jb8.jpg

YES! That is the way to do it!

Nice job!

As you can see in the photo, the newer 66M blocks have a notch molded into the fanning strip at the beginning of each 5 pair sub-group. These notches will tell you if you are off by a half pair, allowing you to correct your small mistake before it gets to be a big one.

Wire stretching was a common practice on MDF's in CO's, when a wire transfer required moving the X-conn just a few terminals further away. It was a lot easier than a re-run on a 150-foot frame.

There is always room for a B-connector or a Scotchlok behind the 89B bracket, too, to correct mistakes due to severe cases of eyeball spasm and/or brain fart.

Thanks guys!

I tried to do my best, the only thing I would change if I had it to do over would be to punch from the bottom up, so that the wires going off to the terminals would be on top of the rest of the wires. Other than that, I'm real happy with it. As I mentioned earlier, it's already paid off in ease of troubleshooting. I just go unplug all my keysets, and run continuity checks from the KSU and through each block until I reach the keyset lines. If I have continuity all the way to there, then I know the keyset line is broken off the terminal. In my case, 2 cross connect leads had bad punches, and 1 keyset lead was broken. Also it's much easier to see which line you are testing, just follow the drip loops.

Thanks for the tips Arthur - Ken had pointed out the notches when he came out, but I'd always wondered if using a scotchlok would get you thrown out of the club. In my csae, it's no big deal to start over, I actually enjoyed the practice I got because of all my screw ups; and also learned more as I got halfway through something and through a combination of this forum, the ITT manual, and common sense, realized I was going down the wrong path.

Although I'll admit some cabling was sacrificied for my learning... a small price to pay.

Now if I could just get the **@^&^#!!! MOH working. It's punched down exactly as per specs, I think I'm going to try a different music input source as the next test.