When it comes to control room installations, there is nothing that bothers me more than a poorly wired rack As someone who troubleshoots on a regular basis, having access to the rear of the equipment racks is crucial. So much time is saved when I can go to the back of the rack and quickly access the piece of gear or cable that is causing the issue.
What does your installation look like? If it looks like the left picture, that's great. If it looks like the right picture, let me encourage you to begin a wiring project. Now would be a good time to update your wiring to newer, digitally rated cable. If it's not in your budget to re-wire, that's ok, this article is still for you. So, why do we need to rewire, you may ask?
Let's take a look at the reasons.
From a maintenance perspective, it goes without saying: Ease of access to gear, cabling, etc., is maximized when the back of the rack is neat. In the heat of the moment, and that time will come, you'll need to be able to get in there fast, and take care of business. Old cable is just that, old.The connectors age, the cable shielding deteriorates, and you just start having issues.
The difference it made in our IMAG and archived recordings was tremendous.
How about when you get new gear? Installing the new piece of equipment will be much easier when you have room to move inside the rack. You're also less likely to damage existing wiring or equipment when the whole area is accessible.
A professional look is another great reason. Better yet, let's call it excellence. Isn't that what church technicians are striving for? This is our area of worship after all. When guests come in to see the facility, you want to be proud of your area, and if you have a premiere installation, I promise you, other churches will be coming in to see what's going on.
So, how do we achieve such a look? I'm glad you asked. Much of the older cable is very thick and inflexible, thus taking up valuable space in rack world. While neither picture represents it, I'm a big proponent of the smaller-gauge coax, such as Belden's 1855. It's rated to 4.5 GHz, and in an installation scenario, there would be virtually no attenuation of the signal, making it ideal for handling the bandwidth that HD demands. The footprint of the smaller cable makes an installation amazingly neat.
In addition to using the smaller cable, utilizing lacing bars on the back for cable dressing, and cable ties(tie wraps), will give you an installation you can be proud of.
If you're getting ready for a major upgrade, now is the time to re-wire as well. Even if you're not, I'd consider it because it'll be a part of a future upgrade that's now complete. If you're re-wiring with future plans in mind, be sure to plan for extra cable so you don't have to add it later. It's always better to set up your infrastructure on the front end.
Consider this story: I once worked in a facility that had primarily been a component video operation, which meant there was triple, sometimes five times the cable in the racks and ceilings. With an upgrade to digital in the near future, I began the task of re-wiring and converting over to digital. This involved pulling out a lot of 10-year old cable, and replacing it with newer digitally rated cable. While it wasn't the smaller gage cable mentioned above, we had several spools of the newer cable, so in the interest of our budget, I used the heavier cable. The end result still was more accessible real estate in the racks and cleaner video. While at the time we weren't yet HD, we had at least made a move from component to serial digital, or SD and the difference it made in our IMAG and archived recordings was tremendous. By upgrading the wiring beforehand, it made the transition to HD that much easier when the time came.
Whatever your timeframe, I guarantee you'll be happy with the results. If you're uncomfortable with a project like this, then hire a professional to handle it for you, but if budgets are tight, and you need to get it done, go for it. It's a fun project, and a great way to involve some volunteers as well.
