- Uncle Ted's Guide To
- VDV (voice/data/video) Cabling
Who Is Uncle Ted?
Several years ago, we created Lennie Lightwave's Guide to Fiber Optics - a guide that was written to demystify fiber optics. Lennie was the mascot of our Fiber U training programs. Lennie must have hit a responsive chord, because we received requests for over 65,000 of the printed Guide and had millions of downloads from the web version, making Lennie the best known guy in fiber optics!
We saw the same need for a similar simple explanation of the jargon, technology and installation of communications cabling. This led to the creation of Lennie's Uncle Ted, the cabling expert and Uncle Ted's Guide to Cabling, which became another "best seller!"
Now both Lennie and Uncle Ted now work for VDV Works and VDV Academy, the training arm of VDV Works. Here we present our new, updated version of Uncle Ted from the VDV staff, the same group that created the Cable U training programs.
Uncle Ted's Guide is an overview of what you need to know to get started in installing voice/data/video, low voltage or communications wiring, structured cabling or whatever you call it. (Turns out the terminology is not standard, perhaps the only thing that isn't!)
One thing we've cut out is all the hype! The cabling business, as we write this, is overloaded with claims from many vendors. For instance, the committee that writes the cabling standards we all refer to as "568" finally approved the standard for Cat 6 cabling. Read on, we will attempt to cover some of the important Cat 6 issues (such as interoperability) in Uncle Ted's guide.
What is VDV Works?
Jim and Karen Hayes at VDV Works created Cable U, the training organization at Fotec, the company they started in 1981. They trained over 10,000 people on fiber and copper cable installation, developed their own course material (which has been published as three books) and ran the biggest website in the cable biz.
Now VDV Works has brought Lennie Lightwave and Uncle Ted to its new website to recreate the great websites so many people came to depend on!
VDV Works develops course materials for training and offers complete curriculum packages for instructors and self-study programs. Hundreds of instructors worldwide use VDV Academy training materials so they can have the best up-to-date materials for their classes and concentrate on what they do best - teaching. VDV Works is your best source of training materials and information on communications cabling!
This tutorial will hopefully get you started. If you want some hands-on training, we can put you in touch with trainers who give classes around the country or will come to your site. We're always adding training material, links to information and cabling vendors to help you find what you need to know about cable installation.
And be sure to let us know how you like this guide and how we can improve it in the future . Contact us at jim @ vdvworks.com.
