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Tricks of the Trade - For the Video Installer - Part 2 of 5

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i always want to try these wire pull tricks but the ceilings that i go up into have so much pipes, wires, insulation, wires, crap, etc,etc that trying to do any type of slingshot fancy shooting unfortunately doesnt work

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I used a expandable cane type pole...........25ft. easy..............you can direct it as you extend it. good for up to 4 cables at once.....with someone on the end guiding it.

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This method helps out on certain installs where you have the realestate above the ceiling tile, but I agree with you both for crowded areas.

 

As an alternative, I use the following Creep-Zit from Labour Saving Devices.

 

Each fluorescent 6 foot fiberglass piece has screw-on couplers, so you add the links as far as you want. The egg beater looking piece helps keep the rods from getting stuck on the ceiling tile supports. The fluorescent color makes it easier to see and retrieve in crowded spaces.

 

LSD81130%20LG.jpg

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yeah i have the "fish sticks" that i use a lot.. most of mine are badly injured from use - the ends are broken, etc.. but they do help... i'd like to teach one of those mini chihuahua dogs to pull wire for me but havnet had the time to train one yet

maybe that new robotic sony dog could be taught to run along the ceiling tiles and pull cable

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wire cutters tied/taped to the end of the wire... then just chuck it in the direction you want .. at least that worked with telco wire

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extendable gopher pole,,,the greatest,,,25' plus your arm and you can go over all things to keep cable off the ceiling and away from flourescents. be smart though, go to the other end and fish it then go attach wires and PULL. i have pulled 8-10 cables at a time this way with no problems.

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Good suggestion on the Gopher Pole...hadn't seen this before. Although it's a bit pricey ($200 Cdn) looks like it would do the trick.

 

915020.jpg

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wire cutters tied/taped to the end of the wire... then just chuck it in the direction you want .. at least that worked with telco wire

 

Wow, and I thought I was bad when I didnt wanna go down 14 floors to get my fish rods. I didnt use wire cutters, but I did use a large screw driver.

 

The things we do to save time!

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915020.jpg

 

If only most drop ceilings were this clean and unobstructed. I find that about half of them have no more than a small cavern over them that is filled with insulation (Minnesota), vents, and electrical running all over the place.

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I know a guy that worked for the phone company and he actually trained a cat to pull fishing line from one guy to another.

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oh ya j hooks are a must for us. Suspends your cable up off the tiles, con duit, and everything else. makes a channel for your cable and keeps it from being damaged throughout your pull

j hooks are well worth the extra time it takes

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Ya, the "J" hooks are very handy if you have them.

 

On new installs, we work (and I use this loosely) with the IT guys and use cable trays for our cabling which makes things go well....plus it's easier to pull additional cables at a later date.

 

In the past you could pinpoint video cable, leaving it susceptible to tampering if it wasn't in conduit. Now that it's in the same tray as the IT group, no one is likely to cut anything in fear they might lose their internet!

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What about using a remote control buggy with a wireless cam attached to the front of it. I'm looking for a rover with big enough tires yet small enough to go just about anywhere.

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I used to have a remote controlled tank when I was little, lent it to a friend, never seen it since. Shame as that thing (from Radioshack, which is no longer in the UK) could climb over almost anything considering it's size...

 

Used to have it controllable by my sinclair zx81 (timex 1000 in the usa) as I wired up a homebuilt relay card to the remote control. Great fun it was

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Thought you might like this one.....called the CableCaster Wire Pulling Tool..."The CableCaster is supplied with 3 darts and can launch a dart 15.25Mtrs or 50 feet." ONLY £52.00

 

 

49193_1.jpg

 

Note to self....don't bring this on a plane!

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oh ya the gopher poles are very expensive but worth every penny

 

they pay for themselves after a few uses after you consider the time saved

 

and...

 

stuctured cabling......real good on paper but,,,anybody here says they never "b-lined" a cable or did some hokey thing they weren't particular proud of in an older building or at the end of a day,,,,,,you are lying

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I think he means "straight for" or as we say "as the crow flies"

 

Have to admit in my early days (doing this for 18 years) I made a few poor judgements in cable pulling....all in all to get the job done.....then again I didn't have much training.

 

Ever pull cable just to find out you've looped it around a utility?....Guilty!

 

Course I'll never do that again.....yah right!

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oh ya there is always the "battle plans" that you have for your wire when you are going into the install. But there is always the one or two pulls that were left out. And so you do what you have to do to get the job done.

Hey its called being honest.

Sure we do it. Just dont let it be something that you will be servicing later. Because you will then kick yourself.

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yeah,, "b-lined" means straight line with no reguards to anything in the way.

 

and when you are wrapped around something and don't find out till the end of the pull, "button-hooked". the worst, out one ceiling tile and back up the next, wrapped around the grid. i assume, never happened to me, unless you were watchin

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wire cutters tied/taped to the end of the wire... then just chuck it in the direction you want .. at least that worked with telco wire

 

Rory,

 

Should you not also mention to yell "INCOMING" to your helper who has their head poked up through a tile some distance away giving you a target ??? haha

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