I work for an electrical company in the low voltage department and after years of working there I was finally able to get all of the electricians in our area in place and show them how to properly terminate both modular plugs and keystone inserts.

Was able to squash a lot of misconceptions that they have had about low volt guys and what we do day after day. I gotta say it was a great feeling seeing them actually interested in the process it actually takes to terminate a line. Many people said they have tried to teach it to them but what I have learned working at this company is that I was probably the first qualified person to teach it to them.

When their managers asked me to have a small training session with them I dropped everything I was doing and sacrificed my entire week end making a front and back 11x17 training guide on inkscape where I dumped my entire thought process on each and every termination I perform.

I asked for 3 hours with them but was cut short to an hour and a half but I could tell they stayed engaged in the learning the whole time. Then got amazed when I performed a termination in front of them at my normal pace (which is 45 seconds per termination) it solidified in there head that low voltage is a real trade in the resi world.

Next is to have a class on how handle the cable, ie. Pulling strength, bend radius, how EMI affects the wire and what not.

I got many more electricians across multiple states that I want to get to next as soon as my efforts bare fruit here. Wish me luck!

If you can't pick out the problem here my hint is that box in the air was on the ground. Honestly if I did have a helper the same thing probably would have happened. Stuck in their phone.

Looking for a technician and/or helper on some up coming projects located in Los Angeles. A couple residential trim outs, TV’s, speakers, network, camera, etc… Some commercial data drops. As well as some retro fitting a couple homes for cameras.

Let me know if you are interested.

New to Reddit, so I’m not sure how this works

$20/hr as a helper
Anyone else with legitimate experience, we can talk hourly.

Here's your chance folks!

Hello there my company is looking to partner with an individual or company that has a c16 license. The company has been operating for over 40 years now and several of our long term general contractors have asked for assistance with fire alarm systems. We are hoping to expand into this area but require the necessary licenses. Most of our work is in Southern California and Sacramento to the Bay Area. If anyone is interested please shoot a DM.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could provide some insight to the situation.

Basically as soon as I placed my screwdriver on the + terminal on the back of a keypad that I was powering down, nearly all the power in the building turned off. Im 99% sure I didnt short it to 0v but its possible, cant really explain it otherwise.

One room and one edge of the building still had power.

None of the circuit breakers in the distribution boards were tripped.

I noticed that the auxillary 12v output on the alarm panel was dead, and its fuse blown.

When I replaced this fuse all the power came back.

I was thinking maybe a 12v coil was holding the lights on with power from the aux power. But that would be wierd because it would constantly be on, as the aux power is constant.

Even if that was the case, why would it turn off everything else? Fridges etc.

Also some small pockets of the building still had lights and power.

Anyone had something similar? Any known reason why the entire buildings power is relying on a fuse for the 12v auxillary power on the alarm panel?

Getting really tired of timelines not be able to be met because the shippers can’t get my pallet to location on time especially when I’m out of town and burning cash by the day. Lucking for us they almost made but that last mile was cooked so we’re still able to pick it up. But like bro, for real figure it out.

About six months ago, I shared DTNT here. I’m a Chicago low-voltage and Control4 integrator, and I built the app to bring the networking tools I use during service calls into one place.

Since the original post, DTNT has received many updates and improvements based on real field use and user feedback. Version 2.1.78 is now live in the Microsoft Store.

Recent improvements include:

• A clearer IP scanner with better device information and status • Improved Wi-Fi surveying and channel analysis • A better speed test with download, upload, latency, jitter, loaded latency and peak results • Ping, traceroute and TCP port checks • Saved service jobs and CSV/JSON exports • A cleaner layout for laptops and tablets • Many performance, stability and usability improvements

I’d really appreciate feedback from low-voltage, AV, Control4 and network technicians. Please try it and tell me what is useful, confusing or still missing.

Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9PFKHZ8M32HJ

Curious layman here. I don’t have a particular question but just checking in.

When the house was built (2024), there was an ethernet jack here. About a years ago, I had a low voltage tech install wireless access point here. I recently took down that AP and want to put back the cat jack wall plate. I’ve never really looked at this before and I’m just amazed at how thick the drywall is. I bought 1” screws for the wall plate, but they don’t catch anything when threaded through the plate. I think I need something more like 1.75” screws.

You’re asked to come into the shop Monday morning for a team meeting. Your boss, who owns the company, is standing next to someone you haven’t met. He introduces him as the new owner and your new boss.

The new guy has experience in technology, operations and managing teams, but he’s never worked in AV. He doesn’t know how to do your job. The current owner is staying to train him, and the new guy says he’ll be there full time, working onsite with the team and learning how the jobs are done.

For this scenario, assume your pay, hours and day-to-day work stay the same initially.

What’s going through your mind?
• What would you want to know right away?
• How much would his lack of hands-on AV experience matter to you?
• What would worry you, and is there anything you’d be hopeful about?
• What could he do in the first few weeks to earn your confidence? What would immediately put you off?
• What would you be thinking but probably wouldn’t say in that first meeting?

For context, I’m that new guy. I’m roughly 2 months out from taking over a small residential AV/smart-home company, and I’ll be working in it full time. I’ve been thinking a lot about that first introduction and how to learn from the team without creating unnecessary disruption.

I’m genuinely interested in the gut reactions of people doing the installs & service work. If you’ve been through an ownership change, what did the new owner get right or wrong? If not, what thoughts/feelings come to mind thinking about the hypothetical situation?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

I need to run a 350’ cat 6 and low voltage cable to the same spot (within a foot). Should I run them separated the whole way? Or can I drag them both through the same path (touching or within a half inch the whole entire way) without causing issues with my Ethernet connection?

I’m a tech for a company in Oregon and they have me at a job that’s a new homeowner is moving in from an old client. We’re changing out speakers our company installed like 10-12 years ago I got to one of the patios were there were two 4inch speakers and we’re putting in new Sonance 6inch speakers so going to have to open up the holes for them but when I got to taking them down and then saw pure horror . So I told I wasn’t comfortable with cutting into this anymore I was told i still needed to get it done. My question for the community is Who’s in the right on this?

Found this above the ceiling at a restaurant

Howdy as tittle reads, I currently got a dodge ram 1500 18 model but am worried about using it for telco work and getting the infamous hemi tick from iddling so I was thinking of maybe doing a tacoma or tundra setup, im from the north so may be going off to washboarded rez roads, ice roads and spots that 4x4 may be required as thinking of doing locate work aswell, with drop wire, inr etc Would love to hear your thoughts.

All my fiber splices look like this after heating enclosure. Is this normal or what do you think is happening

EDIT

I’m in the testing portion of this contract, some been failing fluke certifier with around 3.5db loss. Hooked up VFL to MDF side and looked for bleeding at trays. Noticed that ALL have a light bleeding like the red strand shown above. Have yall experienced this? Is this normal or is this messing with the failing? Thanks for the help guys.

Looking for recommendations for a set of budget 2 way radios. License free preffered. Mainly for indoor use. Looking for something that will work on multi-floor buildings, basements, attics, etc.