West Penn Wire Blog

Over the past year, we provided hospitals with large volumes of Cat 6 Networking Cables, Access Control Systems and Fire Alarm Systems. Looking back, we benefited from the federal government’s funding of hospitals to offset revenue shortfalls created by the decline in elective surgeries and increased demand for treating COVID-19 patients, including the need to buy personal protective equipment (PPE). Although healthcare will continue to be a strong market for us over the next 12-18 months, the education sector should be even stronger.

Topics: Category Cable, Category 6A Cable, Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optics, networking, networking cable

Mobility and flexible working environments have created a new kind of employee. Although this transition started happening before the pandemic, it has only sped up this process even more.

Topics: Category Cable, Category 6A Cable, Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optics, networking, networking cable

The entertainment industry is changing to accommodate people's expectations as they become more connected to devices. As technology advancements taking place in the broadcast industry give users a more impactful, unforgettable experience. It also places a large demand for a wired infrastructure because of the amount of data and people connecting to networks. Similar to stadiums, the growing demand for bandwidth in the broadcasting market will continue to increase.

As a result, the broadcast industry will begin to rely heavily upon fiber for its dependable wireless connectivity. Fiber can provide faster downloads, maintain signal strength over long distances, and provides fewer delays.

Topics: Fiber Optics Assemblies, Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optics, Fiber, Fiber Optic, Pre-Terminated Fiber Optic Assemblies

As industry shifts begin to change, bandwidths continue to increase, and fiber prices have fallen, many organizations are asking the question, "When should I use fiber optic cables?"

Below is a list to consider when looking to use fiber optic cable:

Topics: Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optics, Fiber Optic

With the recent surge of fiber optics within the market in the past few years, it is imperative that any upcoming projects have the right fiber optic cables, assemblies and the best termination method. While there are many options with which fiber optic cables and connectors to choose from, there are really only two major termination solutions: field terminated and pre-terminated. This post is going to break down what the difference between these terminations styles, the advantages and disadvantages, so you can have the best solution for your business and technicians.

Topics: Fiber Optics Assemblies, Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optic, Pre-Terminated Fiber Optic Assemblies

 

When selecting the right fiber optic connector to use for any job or installation there are a few key features to make note of. Not doing the proper preparation cable make the customer go from satisfied to unsatisfied pretty quickly. So what are some keys factors to look at when selecting the right connector for a fiber optic installation?

Topics: Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optic Connector, Fiber Optic, Pre-Terminated Fiber Optic Assemblies

In the ever-increasing reach of today’s video security and surveillance systems, many security professionals are finding that the quality, bandwidth, and distance needed to perform even the most basic surveillance is beyond the reach of coaxial and UTP cabling. Even though IP-based video security systems are gaining popularity, they face a serious distance limitation of 100 meters (328ft) or less over UTP cabling infrastructure. This poses an insurmountable hurdle when trying to monitor the many outreach locations of a typical surveillance installation. 

Topics: Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optic, Security Products

This year's winter weather has been far from pleasant from coast-to-coast thus far. With the polar vortex that took place in January and high speed winds, there have been many power outages, cabling issues and more. With frigid temperatures and a record low of -50 degrees in certain parts of the country, how does this affect our cabling, especially fiber optic cable?

Topics: Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optics, Fiber, Fiber Optic

This year marks the first year that West Penn Wire published blog posts on a regular basis, a total of 20 blogs this year ranging from basic cable information to systems with greater detail.

Topics: Category Cable, Category 6A Cable, Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optics, Copper Cable, Armored Fiber Optics, Fiber Optic, fire alarm, fire alarm systems, fire detection systems

There has been a big change in the AV industry from the standard coax cables to networking cable solutions, known as category cables. Although Category 5 cables are still heavily used, many growing businesses are looking into faster solutions with Cat 6, Cat 6A Cat 7 and Fiber Optic cabling.

In this article, we will compare the differences between Cat 6, Cat 6A and Fiber Optic cable so that you can best decide what will suit your customers and business in the evolving AV industry.

Topics: Category Cable, Category 6A Cable, Fiber Optic Cable, Fiber Optics, Fiber