Wall of shame

TonyR

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Well on top of the network problems, what's with the surface mounted PVC electrical box, dimmer switch, and romex hanging out of it?
Was done long before I started attending that church, likely done by a well-meaning member for FREE.
The network cables just blend in with that stuff.
True, but it still doesn't excuse their sloppiness. Personally, I never have and never will gauge what I do based on what someone before me has done...unless I intend to improve upon it. :cool:
 
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Smilingreen

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Our church paid $7K this past summer for a whole new digital sound system, remote mixer control via iPad app, new mikes, a cam to stream services live to FB, YT, etc. I was not involved in the process.

Last week the system lost Internet access, couldn't stream services live and the pastor asked me to take a look. The CAT-5e cable they strung in the attic that ran from the system PC to the church's office router to get Internet was the issue. Specifically, the idiots didn't know how to properly terminate the cable with the crimp-on RJ-45 connectors. They used shielded CAT-5e but regular connectors and looks like they did it with their teeth. No matter about the STP, UTP would have been OK but that wasn't the problem. The problem was they couldn't get the 4 pairs in far enough and properly so the copper teeth could pierce the insulation when crimped so they stripped 1/4" or more of each conductor in order to slide it in! One pair was shorted on each end (tester video below). Also, they didn't get the cable's outer jacket under the connector's jacket crimp so that the jacket would bear the mechanical strain instead of the 4 pair. I cut the RJ-45's off and re-did both and it tested fine, plugged in, Internet access to the streaming system OK now. RJ-45 connector "before" and "after" images below.

Fixing this allowed me to see what the idiots had done elsewhere: note the gooey electrical red tape they used to secure the cables they pulled in from the camera in the sanctuary and the cable that runs from the PC to the church office router. Sure there was already a few not-so-neat cables prior to that but they could have done MUCH better with their 4 added cables with little effort.

These guys should be ashamed of themselves, charging ANY amount of money for that level of workmanship. I wouldn't even do that poorly for FREE.
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Yeah. those are pretty bad. Now my question is: In the first picture of you holding the abomination of a attempted crimp onto a RJ-45, what part of your body are you holding that cable with? Inquiring minds would like to know.....o_O
 

TonyR

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Yeah. those are pretty bad. Now my question is: In the first picture of you holding the abomination of a attempted crimp onto a RJ-45, what part of your body are you holding that cable with?
It's a wrinkled, arthritic, 73 year old hand with little feeling holding it the best it can......
Inquiring minds would like to know.....o_O
You very well could be the only one..... :cool:
 

looney2ns

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Was done long before I started attending that church, likely done by a well-meaning member for FREE.

True, but it still doesn't excuse their sloppiness. Personally, I never have and never will gauge what I do based on what someone before me has done...unless I intend to improve upon it. :cool:
My OCD would have kicked in and I'd be ripping shit out and redoing all of it. :cool:
YMMV
 

TonyR

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My OCD would have kicked in and I'd be ripping shit out and redoing all of it. :cool:
YMMV
Same here.

Once upon a time, many years ago, in a land far far away lived a bright-eyed young man named...yep, you guessed it....TonyR.
He had a strong back, a sharp mind, money in his wallet, time on his hands...
(we could go on forever, it seems...he had hair on his head, feeling in his fingers, blah, blah, yada, yada...... you got the picture)
But the one thing the young TonyR also had was.....a long and never ending honey-do list.
That simple fact decides what he volunteers for and what he does for free.
Not trying to be stingy, self-involved or a tightwad but y'all know this fact.....happy wife, happy life.
;)
 
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Old Timer

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Same here.

Once upon a time, many years ago, in a land far far away lived a bright-eyed young man named...yep, you guessed it....TonyR.
He had a strong back, a sharp mind, money in his wallet, time on his hands...
(we could go on forever, it seems...he had hair on his head, feeling in his fingers, blah, blah, yada, yada...... you got the picture)
But the one thing the young TonyR didn't have was.....a long and never ending honey-do list.
That simple fact decides what he volunteers for and what he does for free.
Not trying to be stingy, self-involved or a tightwad but y'all know this fact.....happy wife, happy life.
;)
So true!
At times, I wish I still had control over my volunteer and free time.
 

TonyR

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I doubt that any one person did this. I see this as a little-at-a-time, work in progress....each person decides he ain't gonna clean that #$%& up and so....it grows....like a cancer. I've quoted fairly and reasonably to clean places like that up and half the time they'd turn me down so in one respect, the owner has some responsibility for such a mess.

It's too bad though that oftentimes not only is an installer content with this....so is the owner. :confused:
 
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Teken

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Whelps, given he has some of the basic's in place like two separate outlets don't know if they are 20 amps and on opposite breakers. And the hardware is in an enclosed (secure?) place / location.

Instead of receiving the maximum of -10 I have to be fair and give them a -8.5 :thumb:
 
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