Audio/Video Cable Installer's Pocket Guide (Pocket Reference) [Paperback] by Stephen Lampen

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Audio/Video Cable Installer's Pocket Guide (Pocket Reference) [Paperback] by Stephen Lampen.

Cable Any Kind of Audio or Video Installation. Put complete performance specifications for analog and digital audio and video installations - from professional recording studios to living room theaters - in the palm of your hand! Audio/Video Cable Installer's Pocket Guide packs over 200 illustrations that clarify all the methods, procedures, and tools you need to successfully tackle even the most complex installation job.

Great for everyone from home enthusiasts to professional engineers and technicians, the convenient take-along size is as perfect for professionals working out in the field as it is for hobbyists tinkering in the basement.

Author Stephen Lumpen, an industry pro, anticipates and answers your every question on analog and digital audio, analog and digital video, including high definition video cabling; connectors; using Category 5, 5e, and 6 to carry audio and video; installation; and much more. CABLE ANY KIND OF AUDIO OR VIDEO INSTALLATIONFROM A PROFESSIONAL RECORDING STUDIO TO YOUR HOME THEATER!

Great for everyone from home enthusiasts to professional engineers and technicians, the Audio/Video Cable Installer's Pocket Guide puts complete performance specifications for analog and digital audio and video installations in the palm of your hand.

Table of Contents:

• Preface                xvii


• Acknowledgments          xix


•  1.            The Basics           1


• Conductors         1


• Oxidation and Corrosion               4


• Silver     8


• Copper                 8


• Gold      12


• Aluminum           13


• Nickel    13


• Steel      14


• Alloy Conductors              15


• Solid and Stranded          15


• Insulation and Dielectrics              17


• Shielding              19


• E- and H-Fields 29


• Shields and Frequency 30


• Above 1000 Hz 32


• Multiple-Layer Shielding               33


• Shield Effectiveness       33


• Jackets 34


• Resistance          37


• Frequency and Bandwidth           38


• Wavelength       42


• Velocity of Propagation                 44


• Delay     46


• Wavelength and Velocity of Propagation              47


• Skin Effect           47


• Capacitance        49


• Inductance         51


• Impedance         53


• Foam Dielectrics               58


• High-Density Hard-Cell Foam      59


• Return Loss        63


• Crush Resistance              65


• Structural Return Loss versus Return Loss             66


• Return Loss and VSWR 67


• 2.            Constructions    69


• Single Conductors            69


• Multiple Conductors       72


• Twisted Pairs     73


• A Quick Course on Balanced Lines            73


• Common Mode Noise Rejection               77


• Multipair Snake Cable    81


• Coaxial Cable     82


• Coax and Impedance     83


• Multicoax Cables              85


• Unbalanced Lines            87


• NEC Fire Ratings               90


• Two Stories About Fire 92


• 3.            Analog Audio     95


• Capacitance versus Impedance 98


• Signal Level         101


• Unbalanced Analog Audio Interconnection          102


• Salanced Analog Audio Interconnection                103


• Microphone Cable           103


• Installed Cable 106


• Ruggedness       107


• Flexibility             108


• Self-noise            108


• External Noise Rejection              109


• Performance     109


• When to Use Starquad 112


• Starquad Microphone Snake Cable          114


• Install Cable        115


• Flexible or Stiff?               115


• Coiling Snake Cable and Reelers                116


• Snakes and NEC Fire Ratings       117


• Pair Counts         119


• How to Buy Snake Cable               120


• Unbalanced or Balanced?             120


• Balanced to Unbalanced and Vice Versa                121


• Impedance Matching and Conversion    122


• Matching Transformers                 123


• Balanced to Unbalanced               124


• Buy a Conversion Box    124


• Pin 2 Hot              125


• Phase Cancellation          125


• UTP and Analog Audio   127


• Unbalanced Audio and Category Cables                128


• Don't Say bay-lun             128


• Flat Cable and Analog Audio        135


• Installing Twisted-Pair Flat Cable for Audio           137


• Splits and Mults                140


• Connectors         142


• 75V RCA               144


• Speaker Cables                 144


• 4.            Digital Audio       157


• What Is Digital Audio?    157


• Why the Rush to Digital?               158


• Data Rates and Standards            159


• Aliasing                 163


• The Digital Cliff 163


• Birth of the AES3 Standard           165


• Balanced Line Twisted Pair AES Cables    167


• AES Impedance Tolerance           168


• How Far?             169


• Unbalanced Digital Audio             170


• Noise and Bit Errors        171


• What Coaxes to Use for Digital?                172


• How Far Can Digital Run on Coax?             173


• Digital Unbalanced versus Balanced         173


• Coax Considerations       175


• 1-Volt AES Baluns             177


• S/PDIF 178


• Can I Run Digital on Analog Pairs?             179


• Can I Run Analog on Digital Pairs?             183


• Return Loss and Digital Audio     185


• Splitting Digital Audio     190


• Connectors         190


• Patch Panels      192


• Digital Audio Distribution              194


• Category 5 and Digital Audio       195


• Solid versus Stranded    196


• Shielded or UTP?             196


• Category 5 and Return Loss         197


• MADI    198


• MIDI      199


• Networked Audio            200


• Cobranet             200


• 5.            Analog Video     203


• A Very Short History of Television            203


• Which Cables for Video?               204


• Buying Surplus Cable      208


• Standard Video                 210


• Center Conductor            211


• Analog Dielectric              211


• Impedance Tolerance    212


• Standard Video Testing                 212


• How to Buy Coax ... or Any Cable              213


• Analog Video Shielding 214


• The Perfect Analog Cable             214


• The King Must Die           215


• Connectors         216


• RCA for Video    218


• F for Video          219


• Precision Video                 220


• Analog Equalization         222


• A Two-Cable Installation               224


• One-Cable Installation   226


• Composite/Component                226


• RGB       226


• Timing   227


• Pre-timed RGB Cable     230


• Multicoax Beyond Six     232


• S-video                 232


• Patch Panels      234


• Video on Twisted Pairs 234


• Other UTP Video Baluns               239


• 6.            Digital Video       241


• Data Rates and Standards            241


• Composite and Component        242


• Screen Sizes       242


• Image Type        243


• Digital Cable Choices       243


• What Causes Return Loss?           245


• Structural Return Loss    246


• Crushing a Cable               247


• Crush Testing     249


• Precision Digital Cables 250


• Stiffness versus Flexibility            252


• Distance               253


• The Digital Cliff, Part 2    255


• Connectors         257


• How Many Connectors in a Wavelength?              263


• The Impedance of Everything    263


• Abrupt Changes in Impedance   266


• Patch Panels      267


• Digital Video on Twisted Pairs     268


• Eye Pattern        269


• How Much Crosstalk?    269


• VGA       271


• S-VGA   271


• 7.            Broadband          273


• What Is Broadband?       273


• Which Channels Are Which?       274


• How Broad Is Your Band?             283


• The Cable Box   284


• Which Cable to Use?      284


• How Broadband/CATV Cables Are Sold 286


• Shield Coverage               287


• Braidless Coax   287


• Braid Resistance               288


• Shield Effectiveness       288


• The Ultimate CATV/Broadband Install? 291


• Basic Sizes           291


• Cable Features 292


• Hard Line             293


• Sag and Span     302


• Connectors         303


• Distribution        306


• Level and Noise                308


• Digital Systems 309


• Bandwidth          309


• The Future of Cable        310


• 8.            Hiring, Buying, and Selling            311


• An Informed Customer                 312


• Wire and Cable Planning               313


• $urpri$e$             314


• The Book of Contingencies          316


• Problem Solving               316


• How to Say No 317


• Do You Know How Big the Project Is?     319


• Have You Talked to the Customer?          319


• What Crew Size Will Be Required?            320


• Do You Have the Crew and Crew Skills? 320


• How Many Days to Complete the Project?           321


• What Day Will the Project Begin and End?            321


• A Schedule for Each Employee?                322


• Customer Liaison             322


• What Parts to Buy and Where to Buy Them         323


• Dealers and Distributors               323


• 9.            The Installation                 345


• Putting It All Together    345


• Subcontractors 345


• Code     346


• NEC Considerations        346


• Installing Each Cable Type            348


• Conduit and Conduit Fill                356


• Pulling in Conduit             358


• Metal Underfloor Duct 359


• Lubrication and Pull Ropes           359


• How to Pull         361


• Service Loop      362


• A Very Short History of Power Distribution           366


• Protecting the Customer              369


• Ground and the NEC      371


• Other Types of Ground                 371


• Safety Ground and Racks             372


• And Then There Is Signal Ground              375


• Ground Potential             376


• Ground Loops   379


• Quick Fixes         380


• The Fiber Optic Solution                381


• Medium-Quick Fixes      382


• Telescopic Grounds        382


• The Illegal Solutions        383


• Analyzing the Problem 384


• The Real Ground Loop Solution 384


• The Legal Solution: Star Ground                384


• What's the Standard?    389


• Addendum         395


• Ohm's Law          395


• Capacitive Reactance     397


• Inductive Reactance       397


• Impedance Formulas     397


• Index    399

The convenient pocket-size is perfect for professionals in the field as well as hobbyists tinkering in their basement.

Published/Edition: January 2002. ISBN/Book No.: 0071386211