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FOA Reference Guide To Premises Cabling

Study Guide To FOA CPCT Certification


Introduction

The purpose of this section of the FOA Guide website is to provide a technical reference to those involved with premises cabling networks, either in design, installation, use, maintenance or troubleshooting, and those teaching the personnel who will work with it. Premises cabling covers copper and fiber cabling as well as wireless networks used for telephones, LANs (local area networks), security systems, building management systems, DAS (cellular distributed antenna systems) and any other applications using cabling or wireless inside buildings or on campuses.

This website along with its companion book is also the reference guide for FOA Premises Cabling Certification, CPCT. With a subject so broad, it’s impossible to cover every aspect of the topic in depth. What will be covered is the basics of premises cabling for communications systems that utilize copper and/or fiber optic cable and wireless as a transmission medium.

The Fiber Optic Association, Inc., the nonprofit professional association of fiber optics, has become one of the principal sources of technical information, training curriculum and certifications for the cabling industry. As technology has driven the rate of technical change ever faster, it has become a challenge to provide printed reference books that are not hopelessly out of date. Instead, many readers turn to the Internet for more up-to-date technical information. 

The information on the Internet, however, is often biased toward commercial interests or application points of view, even that on supposedly non-commercial websites, and anonymous sources must be assumed to be untrustworthy or have a commercial agenda. The FOA is focused on education of technicians, not selling products, and we think it’s important that every tech knows as much as possible about fiber optic technology without bias so they can deal successfully with design and installation in all types of applications.
The FOA created its FOA Online Reference Guide to provide a more up-to-date and unbiased reference for those seeking information on cabling and fiber optic technology, components, applications and installation.  It’s success confirms the assumption that many users prefer the Internet for technical information.

With the companion printed book (see below), we address the needs for those who prefer printed books or who must have them to meet academic requirements. For those who want this printed version but also want access to the web for color graphics, self-study programs with automatic self-testing or links to even more technical information, we have this FOA Online Guide website to find additional information on the sections covered in the book.

Fiber U

FOA offers "Fiber U" as a free online training site for learning about premises cabling. It includes online self-study courses to help everyone learn about cabling and fiber optics.

If you have feedback on the website or book, feel free to email comments or questions to the FOA at <info @ foa.org>.


Premises Cabling Website Contents

Each page will open in a new window.

Overview of Premises Cabling and Standards  
Jargon  
Networks
UTP CablesPower Over Ethernet.
UTP Terminations, (Tutorial) UTP Termination
UTP Installation VHO  66 Block, 110 Block, Jacks, Plugs  
UTP Testing,  UTP Wiremapping  
Coax Cable  VHO Coax Termination  
Fiber Optics in Premises Cabling
Wireless
Design, New T-568-C Nomenclature
Premises Cabling Installation
Glossary

CCTV Using Premises Cabling

See the "Fiber Optic Technology and Standards" Section below for information on networks, etc.
FOA Lectures on Premises Cabling and videos about cable preparation, termination, splicing and testing on FOA videos

Check your comprehension: take the section quizzes! Links are at the bottom of each page.

FOA Reference Books
FOA Reference Guide to Premises Cablng book    
    

This website is accompanied by a textbook, The FOA Reference Guide to Premises Cabling. We have created FOA textbooks to be used in training for FOA certifications and as reference books for contractors, installers and end users of fiber optics. All are available printed, in eBook formats for the Amazon Kindle or Apple iPad/iPhone. A self-study program is also available as an iPad/iPhone app. Click on each book for details.



Table of Contents: The FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics



 


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