Field Planning & Design
13%of exam
Cable IDBlueprintsSite SafetyLabelingTIA Standards
Pathways and Spaces
31%of exam
TR/ER SpacesBondingConduit FillFirestopEMI Separation
Pull Copper Cable
21%of exam
Pulling TensionBend LimitsBackbone PullService Loop
Terminate Copper Cable
15%of exam
Test Copper Cable
6%of exam
WiremapNEXTReturn LossCertification
Troubleshoot Copper Cable
6%of exam
Split PairOpen/ShortReversed PairNEXT Failure
Perform Retrofits
3%of exam
Abandoned CableNEC 800.25DocumentationFire Load
Integration & Convergence
3%of exam
PagingBASLife SafetyNurse Call
Codes and Standards
2%of exam
NEC 800CMP/CMRAHJFire Codes
Quick Facts
- Exam Code
- INST1
- Credential
- BICSI Installer 1
- Questions
- 75
- Time
- 2 hours
- Pass Score
- Scaled, standard-set
- Format
- Written + hands-on
- Level
- Entry-level
- Domains
- 9 (JTA-based)
INST1 Domain Weight Order
Pathways beats Pull beats Term beats Plan
Pathways 31%Pull 21%Terminate 15%Plan 13%
Cable ID and Planning
- UTP
- Unshielded twisted pair
- STP
- Shielded twisted pair
- Site safety plan
- Verify before starting work
- Labeling scheme
- Follow TIA-606 standard
- Blueprint symbols
- Read floor plans
- Job supply inventory
- Check materials before install
TIA Standard Numbers
568 cables, 569 spaces, 606 labels, 607 grounds
568: performance569: pathways606: administration607: bonding
TIA Standard Numbers
- TIA-568
- Cabling performance and pinouts
- TIA-569
- Pathways and spaces design
- TIA-606
- Administration and labeling
- TIA-607
- Grounding and bonding
Cable Categories
- Cat 5e
- 100 MHz, 1 GbpsGigabit
- Cat 6
- 250 MHz, 10G to 55m
- Cat 6A
- 500 MHz, 10G to 100m10G
- 4 pairs
- Standard horizontal cable count
- Drain wire
- Grounds STP cable shield
Pathway and Rating Picker
- Above ceiling air-return space→CMP plenum cable
- Vertical shaft between floors→CMR riser cable
- Fire-rated wall penetration→Firestop system
- Routing many cables together→Cable tray or rack
- Single cable through conduit→53% fill allowed
- Wall or floor penetration→Sleeve or poke-through
Telecom Space Types
- TR
- Telecommunications room
- ER
- Equipment room
- EF
- Entrance facility
- TE
- Telecommunications enclosure
- TR minimum size
- 3m x 3.4m per 1,000 sqm
- TR temperature range
- 18-27°C (64-80°F)
EMI Separation Distances
- Fluorescent lighting
- 5 in (127 mm)
- 2-5 kVA power
- 12 in (305 mm)
- >5 kVA power
- 24 in (610 mm)
- Motors 5kVA+
- 48 in (1.2 m)
Conduit Fill and Support
- 1 cable in conduit
- 53% max fill
- 2 cables in conduit
- 31% max fill
- 3+ cables in conduit
- 40% max fillCommon
- Nipple 24 in or less
- 60% fill allowed
- UTP bend radius
- 4x cable diameterKey
- Cable support spacing
- 1.2-1.5 m (4-5 ft)
Firestop and Bonding
- Firestop
- Seals fire-rated penetrations
- TGB
- Telecom grounding busbar
- TBB
- Telecom bonding backbone
- Sleeves/cores/slots
- Wall and floor openings
- Poke-through
- Floor cable pass-through
- Innerduct (ENT)
- Protects fiber in pathway
Cable Pulling Method Picker
- Riser run floor to floor down→Top-down pull method
- Riser run floor to floor up→Bottom-up winch pull
- Cable feeding off large spool→Reel stand setup
- Cable feeding from a box→Center hand-hole pull
Pulling Setup and Tension
- 4-pair UTP tension
- 25 lbf (110 N) max25 lbf
- Pull string/rope
- Installed first in conduit
- Reel stand
- Spool rotates freely
- Boxed cable pull
- Pull from center hole
- Service loop
- About 3 m (10 ft) slack
- Cable ties
- Snug, never overtighten
Backbone and Bend Limits
- Riser pull top-down
- Gravity-assisted from top
- Riser pull bottom-up
- Winch or capstan pull
- Max conduit bends
- Four 90° bends (360°) totalKey
- Horizontal backbone
- Floor-to-floor cross-connect run
- Ceiling cable support
- J-hooks, never ceiling tiles
T568A vs T568B Colors
A is green pair; B is orange pair
A: pins 1-2 greenB: pins 1-2 orangeOnly pairs 2-3 swap
T568A vs T568B
T568A
- Green pair on pins 1-2
- US federal/USOC standard
- Government installations default
T568B
- Orange pair on pins 1-2
- Common commercial default
- AT&T legacy standard
Pairs 2 and 3 swap
Termination Hardware Picker
- Work area outlet needed→RJ-45 8P8C jack
- Patch panel voice cross-connect→110 block
- Legacy voice-only circuit→66 block(Cat 3 max)
- Stranded patch cord end→Crimp RJ-45 plug
- Coaxial cable connection→F-type connector
- Seating an IDC conductor→Punch-down tool
T568 Wiring
- T568A pins 1-2
- White-green, green
- T568B pins 1-2
- White-orange, orangeCommon
- Crossover cable
- T568A one end, B other
- Straight-through cable
- Same standard both ends
- USOC wiring
- Legacy single-pair phone
110 Block vs 66 Block
110 Block
- Supports data and voice
- High-frequency IDC design
- Modern structured cabling standard
66 Block
- Voice circuits only
- Category 3 maximum
- Legacy punch-down hardware
Data-capable vs voice-only
Termination Hardware
- RJ-45 / 8P8C
- Work area outlet jack
- 110 block
- Modern data and voice
- 66 block
- Legacy voice only, Cat 3
- IDC connector
- Cuts insulation, no stripping
- Punch-down tool
- Seats IDC connections
- Crimping tool
- Attaches RJ-45 plugs
- Coax termination
- F-type or BNC connector
- Untwist limit
- 0.5 in (13 mm) maxKey
Channel Length Math
90 meters horizontal plus 10 meters cords equals channel
90m permanent link10m total cords100m channel max
Permanent Link vs Channel
Permanent Link
- 90 m maximum length
- Excludes patch cords
- Tests fixed infrastructure only
Channel
- 100 m maximum length
- Includes all patch cords
- Tests full data path
Fixed cable vs full path
Cable Test Selection
- Check pin connectivity→Wiremap test
- Verify TIA/ISO compliance→Certification test
- Basic connectivity only→Verification test
- Measure pair-to-pair crosstalk→NEXT/FEXT test
- Measure signal strength loss→Attenuation test
- Test full end-to-end path→Channel test
- Test infrastructure only→Permanent link test
Cable Test Parameters
- Wiremap
- Pin-to-pin connectivity checkFirst Test
- NEXT
- Near-end crosstalk
- FEXT
- Far-end crosstalk
- Attenuation
- Signal loss over distance
- Return loss
- Reflected signal energy
- ACR
- Signal-to-crosstalk ratio margin
- Propagation delay skew
- Max 45 ns per 100m
- Permanent link
- 90 m, no patch cords
- Channel
- 100 m incl. patch cords
- Certification test
- Verifies TIA/ISO compliance
NEXT vs Return Loss
NEXT
- Pair-to-pair signal coupling
- Measured at near end
- Crosstalk-related test failure
Return Loss
- Impedance mismatch reflection
- Caused by poor terminations
- Measured in decibels
Crosstalk vs reflection
Certification vs Verification
Certification
- Tests full TIA/ISO parameters
- Requires Level III+ tester
- Produces pass/fail limits
Verification
- Checks basic continuity only
- Uses simple handheld tester
- No performance data given
Performance proof vs basic check
Common Cable Faults
- Split pair
- Passes continuity, fails NEXTTrap
- Open
- Broken conductor path
- Short
- Conductors touching each other
- Reversed pair
- Tx and Rx swapped
- Crossed pair
- Wrong pair in position
- NEXT failure cause
- Excess untwist at termination
Abandoned Cable Rules
- Abandoned cable
- NEC 800.25 removal required
- Fire load risk
- Unused jacket becomes fuel
- Removal documentation
- Update records and labels
- Retrofit access
- Reuse existing pathways first
Converged Systems
- Paging system
- SCS-supported building system
- Sound masking
- SCS-supported building system
- Nurse call
- SCS-supported building system
- BAS
- Building automation system
- Life safety
- Fire alarm integration
- Elevator controls
- SCS-supported building system
CMP vs CMR
CMP Plenum
- Rated for air-handling spaces
- Highest fire safety rating
- Usable in any space
CMR Riser
- Rated for vertical shafts
- Lower fire safety rating
- Cannot substitute for CMP
Plenum beats riser rating
Codes and Cable Ratings
- NEC Article 800
- Communications circuits and cabling
- NEC Article 770
- Optical fiber cables
- NEC Article 725
- Class 1/2/3 circuits
- NEC Article 820
- CATV and coax systems
- CMP rating
- Plenum fire rating
- CMR rating
- Riser fire rating
- AHJ
- Authority having jurisdiction
Common Traps
Split Pair ≠ Open Circuit
Split passes continuity test ≠ Split fails NEXT test
Permanent Link ≠ Channel
Link excludes patch cords ≠ Channel includes patch cords
CMP ≠ CMR Rating
CMP rated for plenum ≠ CMR only for risers
66 Block ≠ 110 Block
66 is voice only ≠ 110 supports data circuits
Safety ≠ Standalone Domain
Safety sits inside Field Planning ≠ No separate Safety domain exists
Verification ≠ Certification Test
Verification checks continuity only ≠ Certification proves TIA/ISO compliance
T568A ≠ T568B Pinout
A puts green on pins 1-2 ≠ B puts orange on pins 1-2
Last Minute
- 1.Pathways and Spaces = 31% (biggest)
- 2.75 questions, 2 hours, written exam
- 3.Hands-on: 6 tasks, 20 min each
- 4.Pass hands-on before written exam
- 5.T568A: green pair on pins 1-2
- 6.T568B: orange pair on pins 1-2
- 7.Permanent link 90m; channel 100m
- 8.Conduit fill: 1 cable = 53%
- 9.Conduit fill: 3+ cables = 40%
- 10.Bend radius: 4x cable diameter
- 11.Split pair passes wiremap, fails NEXT
- 12.CMP for plenum; CMR for riser
- 13.30-day wait between failed attempts
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