All Articles Tagged Datacomm

Jason Knott | 01/25 12:23 PM, 1 Comment

Belkin has entered into an agreement to acquire Cisco’s Home Networking Business Unit, including the Linksys brand, for an undisclosed amount. Belkin, a private company based in Playa Vista, Calif., with operations and sales in more than 100 countries, intends to maintain the Linksys brand and will offer support for Linksys products as part of this transaction. Linksys’ main office is located in Irvine, Calif. All valid warranties will be honored by Belkin for current and future Linksys products. After the transaction closes, Belkin will account for approximately 30 percent… View this story

Jason Knott | 01/25 11:11 AM, 0 Comments

The old adage is that the best gifts sometimes come in small packages. That might be the case for the NTW Group‘s Universal and EZ-RJ45 Snagless net-Locks, which come in very, very small plastic bags. NTW (Networking the World) Group is a Dayton, N.J.-based manufacturer that is a division of Archtech Electronics Group, a prominent OEM manufacturer that recently expanded its channel market with a full-range catalog of products ranging from HDMI cables to switchers. But one of its slickest little doo-dads is the Universal Snagless net-Lock and Snagless net-Lock… View this story

Steven Castle | 01/25 08:49 AM, 5 Comments

How can “smart” homes use and store solar energy from their own rooftops and from a nearby solar power plant? Answers to that question are being explored in the next two years in Los Alamos, N.M., where the Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is partnering with Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology and Development Organization (NEDO) and Japanese companies Kyocera, Sharp, NEC and Toshiba, to test smart home and smart grid systems. A 2-megawatt solar power plant will energize about 2,000 residential sites in the high-desert community… View this story

Aaron Stern | 01/24 11:01 AM, 0 Comments

The residential market remains sluggish, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways that residential integrators can be proactive in building new revenue streams. Emerging technologies that enhance energy efficiency and are tied into local and national initiatives to increase the use of renewable sources of energy offer could be significant sources of business in the near and distant future. In particular, solar panel installation, EV charging stations and whole home automation are all emerging markets with high ceilings for growth that could offer reliable sources of income to integrators for… View this story

Aaron Stern | 01/23 09:30 AM, 0 Comments

Human existence is becoming increasingly urban. The number of people living in cities worldwide more than doubled between 1950 and 2010, meaning that more than half (50.6 percent) of the world’s population are now city dwellers. That trend will continue in the coming century: The United Nations projects that by 2050, 68 percent of the people on earth will reside in cities. That proportion is even greater in the U.S., where 82 percent of Americans presently reside in cities. By 2030, that figure is projected to rise to 87 percent.… View this story

Jason Knott | 01/22 09:17 AM, 3 Comments

Most guys (and some gals) have an ongoing love affair with their tools. Having the right tool for the right job can evoke a Tim Allen-like grunt of pleasure. But for integrators and their technicians, tools are even more special. They represent their livelihood. So for a low-voltage/datacomm contractor by any name—voice/data/video (VDV) installer, A/V specialist, security dealer, etc.—there is a short list of tools for both measuring signal strength and terminating twisted-pair and solid-core cable that they cannot live without. According to Dave Mueller, VDV senior product manager at… View this story

Aaron Stern | 01/21 12:29 PM, 0 Comments

As electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf gain a foothold in the consumer market, the days of plugging your car into the wall to power up after the evening commute are coming closer to reality. At an event hosted by Schneider Electric in Chicago last fall, Allen Breeze, senior vice president for Schneider’s power business, sat down to discuss what the future of residential EV charging stations will look like. Market Potential Though it is growing, there are a handful of reasons why consumer adoption of… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 06/22 08:05 AM, 3 Comments

Should you use TIA-568a or TIA-568b standards for Cat 5/6 residential installations? If you’re wondering the same thing, check out the dynamic discussion in the Custom Installers’ Lounge at Remote Central. Dealers are debating which wiring scheme makes sense, and if it even matters. The responses are mixed, but pretty much even between A and B. Naturally, all dealers agree that on retrofits, make sure to check how the existing Cat 5/6 wires are terminated. Here are some of the comments. Click here to read the entire discussion. (Comments edited… View this story

Rachel Cericola | 06/20 08:42 AM, 4 Comments

If you want to make it big in the world of custom electronics, you have to learn to adapt. New technologies, new standards, new tools and new clients. The chameleon is typically king. Just ask Ric Johnson, who provides a variety of services under a trio of companies: Ric's Electric, Elite Systems Solutions and Ohio Home Theater. Ric's Electric was founded as a three-man operation in 1968. Johnson himself has been a master electrician since 1969. Having electrical experience certainly helped the company move into more markets. But as business… View this story

Rachel Cericola | 05/25 04:55 AM, 0 Comments

Back in 1982, Ask the Advisors opened its doors under a slightly different name, Audio Advisors. The founders had car stereo in mind as its specialty. But the small company was about to embark on a ride that would take them off that beaten path. Technology has come a long way since the '80s and so has this West Palm Beach, Florida company. Not to worry, car buffs; Ask the Advisors still does those car stereos, but the company quickly expanded its scope. "I bought my first house and wanted… View this story