Top 5 Tools for a Structured Cabling Technician

In this video, we talk about the top 5 tools for a structured cabling technician. When I started out, I didn’t know which tools to use… these should help you get started for your first day on the job.

Join LVN: https://join.lowvoltagenation.com

Snips
The first item is the snips or some call them scissors. These are very common and a necessary tool for low voltage cabling, especially data cable. They are used to score cable, although some might advise against this. They are also used to trim wires, especially category cables.

Cutters
Next are cutters, diagonals, or dikes. These are commonly used for fire alarms and access control. They can cut thicker cables more easily than scissors. Milwaukee makes a solid pair of cutters. Go get you some.

Punch Down
If you are doing data cable, a punch-down tool is an absolute necessity. You’ll want to have a 66/110 punch down and to really speed things up, look into getting a keystone punch down tool like the vertical cable i-punch tool.

Copper cable and ethernet will be here for a long time to hone your skills with these tools and be prepared to punch down thousands of category cables, especially CAT6A, which is an entirely different beast.

Crimps
The preferred termination method is to punch down, but many times you will encounter the need to crimp RJ45 mod plugs. I highly recommend getting a solid pair of regular crimps, but if you really want to be prepared, get passthrough crimps.

Label Printer
An often-overlooked device is the label printer. This is such a critical part of structured cabling and if you have a solid unit and know how to utilize its advanced functionality, then you will position yourself as a valuable asset within the company. A great industrial printer that can be used for small, medium, and large projects is the Brother PTE550W

If you want to join an exclusive group of low voltage technicians, business owners, manufacturers, and suppliers please visit: https://join.lowvoltagenation.com

We have the largest Low Voltage Facebook group, which is free, but we also have a smaller group of professionals with access to discounts, training, digital marketing, networking, meetups, and more!

https://lowvoltagenation.com/2022/04/...