Pete ‘Monty’ Monfort, Director of Arena Training Centre and Monty Electrics, reviews the Ideal Industries FT-45 Unshielded Kit.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of data. Small wires and big fingers just do not mix well together in my world. Thankfully, however, a tonic has arrived in the form of the FT-45 Unshielded Kit from Ideal Industries.
The kit comprises a crimping tool, the Data T-Cutter (with curved blades designed to keep the cable impedance (Ω) consistent during connector to cable termination), a ringing tool (stripper), 50 x Cat 6 connectors and 50 x Cat 5 connectors, all contained in a robust plastic box which can also house the various modular plugs you might need. The kit is compatible with other connectors too, including shielded and large diameter plugs.
The ringing tool has two removable cartridges – the blue one is for stripping of UTP/twisted pair cable and the grey for coaxial cables. The design of the modular plugs is quite remarkable in that it permits the wire in the data cable to pass right through the plug and the crimping tool has both A and B type wiring patterns clearly marked, allowing the installer to easily check that the cores have been arranged in the correct sequence – not crossed over or folded back. During the crimping process the excess cable is sliced off, leaving a perfectly formed modular plug.
If you undertake any tasks involving coaxial cable the ringing tool makes short work of preparing the end, leaving ¼” of conductor exposed and ¼” of shielding exposed. The Ideal Industries range of crimp, compression and twist on connectors will then make a sound connection.
Given the very reasonable price-point of this kit, it really is a ‘must have’ tool set for those who are going to be doing more than just the odd bit of data installation.
To get more details about the Ideal Industries FT-45 Unshielded Kit, click here
3 ‘IDEAL’ PRODUCTS FOR ELECTRICIANS
FISH TAPES
Tuff-Grip Pro Fish Tape comes with a large, comfortable ergonomically-designed handle which allows the user to grasp from the top or side, and can be used with gloves. Users can choose between three options for the fish tape material: Blued Steel – stiffer for long runs, Zoom – 19 strands of stainless steel, or Volt-Guard – non-conductive to 1,000V.
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YELLOW 77
Pulling cable and wire through conduit and ducting without damaging the cable? Yellow 77 is the perfect general purpose wax based lubricant as it significantly reduces friction and makes the pull easier with less chance of cable damage.
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DATA T-CUTTER
This product features curved blades which minimise cable deformation when cutting multi-pair cables up to 12.7mm/0.500”and coaxial cable up to RG-9/U. The unit’s blade cutting capabilities make it suited to soft cable (not ACSR) and steel reinforced centre conductors can be trimmed with bolt cutting holes. Spring loaded handles ensure less effort when cutting repeatedly, while a locking latch keeps the tool closed in its pouch to protect blade edges.
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