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TekTip: Tek-MICRO^®II Cabling Information

When troubleshooting a system, one of the hardest problems to overcome is cable problems. Attempting to remedy this is very difficult, because often the cable is sealed within the building structure itself and is not readily accessible. Re-pulling cable is a very costly and difficult issue to handle and can be avoided by ensuring that the correct cable is used for the system from the start. Do this as early as possible for a project, to avoid the far-reaching effects of making an error at this stage.

The Tek-MICRO^®II (NC300™II) common cable specifications are listed below, and are also in the IL715 manual. This cable is used in two places of the NC300^™II system. It is the cable that connects the patient stations to the central equipment. It is also used to connect the master stations to the central equipment.

Data Wires: #18 AWG, 1 twisted pair (8 twists per ft.) plus 1 conductor (3 conductors, 7 str. BC) with 100% aluminum/Mylar shield and #20 AWG TC drain wire. Nominal insulation 0.017", nominal OD 0.245" and capacitance <24pF/ft. Recommended conductor colors are ORANGE, YELLOW and GREEN. Overall jacket.

Power Wires: #18 AWG, 3 conductors (7 str. BC) with 100% aluminum/Mylar shield and #20 AWG TC drain wire. Nominal insulation 0.009" and nominal OD 0.175". Recommended conductor colors are BROWN, RED and BLUE. Overall jacket.

Audio Wires: #18 AWG, 1 twisted pair (8 twists per foot, 2 conductors, 7 str. BC) with 100% aluminum/ Mylar #20 AWG TC drain wire. Nominal insulation 0.017", nominal OD 0.235" and capacitance <24 pF/ft. Recommended conductor colors are VIOLET and GRAY. Overall jacket.

Ground Wire: #16 AWG, 1 conductor (26 str. BC) with nominal OD 0.101". Recommended color is BLACK.

• Do not use wire nuts for wire connections. Wire connections must be made with compression-type connectors, rated for stranded wire, that use a ratcheting-type tool for installation.
• Do not short shields together as this allows for noise transference from the data lines to the audio lines. Feed shields through like any other conductor and tape them off (isolated) at the end of runs.
• Unused conductors from the plug-on wiring harnesses of various devices must be taped up to prevent the ends of the cut wires from coming into contact with other points (circuit boards, back boxes, etc.).
• Do not exceed the maximum specified cable distances (1000' total on station and master ports). Pay extra attention during the planning stages when running cable to areas that add "hidden" length to cable runs.
• The capacitance on the data wires is critical (<24 pF/ft.). If the cable capacitance exceeds this level, data signal degradation can occur and interfere with normal system operation.
• Do not run system cabling in close proximity to other electrical system cables or building power cables. These systems can induce noise, resulting in system operational problems and/or audio noise.

(2nd Quarter 2003)

TekTone^® Sound & Signal Mfg., Inc.
277 Industrial Park Road Franklin, NC 28734 USA
Phone: (828) 524-9967 Fax: (828) 524-9968
Sales: (800) 327-8466 Tech Support: (800) 332-6608