Safety & fire prevention tips for charging your Electric Vehicle using an extension lead.
Date: 15th March 2021
Author: Liz Farrimond
Electrical Safety First surveyed 1,500 electric vehicle owners on their EV charging habits. 74% used domestic multi-socket extension leads, not suitable for outdoor use. Over half used them when it was raining. 75% admitted to ‘daisy-chaining’ extension leads to reach their vehicle. This is highly dangerous as it can lead to overheating and an increased risk of electric shock.
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Electric Vehicle Charging Systems - What you need to know.
Date: 6th January 2021
Author: Liz Farrimond
Awareness of sustainability issues surrounding internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, coupled with UK Government benefit-in-kind tax incentives and grants, are accelerating the move to electric vehicles (EV).
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How to save up to 50% on an EV charging system.
Date: 19th November 2020
Author: Liz Farrimond
With the UK Government's ban on new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030, investing in an EV charging system will be crucial to companies and individuals alike.
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Go to work but don’t go to work!
Date: 16th November 2020
Author: Liz Farrimond
The use of technology has evolved faster than the technology itself this year, with applications changing to counteract the spread of COVID.
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Intelligent Building Physical Infrastructure Standards
Date: 1st October 2020
Author: Liz Farrimond
Intelligent Buildings don't currently have an independent evaluation system, however there are standards for the physical infrastructure that supports smart building technologies.
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Don’t gamble with Safety - CPR Updates & Misconceptions
Date: 24th September 2020
Author: Liz Farrimond
Structured cabling products were included in the Construction Product Regulation (CPR) in July 2017, however, there are still some misconceptions to what's covered. Here are a few frequently asked questions that we’ve received since the regulations were implemented, along with answers from our Technical Director, Paul Hunter.
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Back to work - but are your tools up to the job?
Date: 21st August 2020
Author: Liz Farrimond
How old is your network cabling tester? If it's more than a few years old, your test results may not be valid for a cabling system warranty - even if its been recently calibrated!.
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Smart Building Technology - When does it become a necessity?
Date: 21st July 2020
Author: Liz Farrimond
Funding for building projects may seem like a low priority at the moment, but moving forward, ensuring your buildings work smarter and healthier will be key to restoring normal business operations.
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Wave 105 Mission Christmas - Santa’s Warehouse
Date: 18th December 2019
Author: Liz Farrimond
This year we’re lucky to be helping out with the Wave 105.2 radio station’s Cash for Kids initiative ‘Mission Christmas’. The charity has been collecting donations of cash and presents for disadvantaged children in the Southern region.
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Smart Glamping for festivals - yes, it’s a thing!
Date: 28th June 2019
Author: Liz Farrimond
Now I haven’t been to a festival, as I’ve never been good at roughing it. However, this may change as I recently saw an article showing Smart Tent Glamping!
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Planning for BREXIT
Date: 5th March 2019
Author: Liz Farrimond
As distributors all over the country scramble to prepare themselves for the big day (don’t mention the ‘B’ word), iDaCs’ unique position as an exclusive manufacturer partner is helping to smooth the transition. As the former UK office of Swiss-based cable manufacturer, Datwyler, and the exclusive source of Datwyler products in the UK&I (since 1983) we are in a strong position.
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Back To School
Date: 28th September 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
The kids have gone back to school, college or Uni – and we’re back to rush-hour traffic jams and commuter chaos. It’s quite a while since I was at school (last century in fact), when multi-media meant a chalk-board in the classroom and a TV set on a trolley with a huge top-loading VCR underneath.
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Currency exchange rates & the common denominator
Date: 14th August 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
There is a phenomenon that I’ve noticed increasingly this year. When talking about holidays and the varying costs across various destinations, there is a common factor that is always the benchmark for comparison: The cost of a pint of beer!
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UV Resistant Cables for Outdoor Use
Date: 25th July 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
I was very young in the Summer of 1976, but I still remember seeing news reports showing people queuing in the streets to use a council erected stand pipe! Hopefully we won’t get to that point this year. I also remember the sun burn! I don’t think we had anything above SPF 8 in those days – it just didn’t exist. So, what does this have to do with UV resistant cables I hear you ask?
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The Isle of Wight Challenge - iDaCs goes the extra mile.
Date: 8th June 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
At iDaCs, we’re always willing to go the extra mile to make sure we find a solution to suit our customers’ cabling requirements. Our team ethos is led by our MD, Paul Cattell, who recently went a few (dozen) extra miles. In early May, Paul took part in the Isle of Wight Challenge.
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Intelligent Networking Solutions
Date: 23rd May 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
Have you ever done the ‘intelligence test’ where you have to come up with as many uses as you can for a house brick within 30 seconds? Apparently, the more plausible uses you can think of, the more intelligent you are. There are the obvious ones – door stop, paper weight………..
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Cables for Low Temperatures – a guide for installers
Date: 13th February 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
It is cold at the moment. It is very cold! In fact, I’m typing this blog in our office while wearing my jacket (true story). While sitting here - I’ve been considering the plight of cables in low temperatures – who like me need a special jacket to protect them against the cold (e.g. for outdoor use, or in freezer or cold storage areas).
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How to terminate an RJ45 Module - a guide for installers
Date: 16th January 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
New applications are putting more demands on (twisted pair) structured cabling. As an installer, you can play your part to ensure that the cabling system works properly by following some simple guidelines when terminating the RJ45 Modules (jacks) - which can literally be the weakest link - if done incorrectly.
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New Year – New You?
Date: 3rd January 2018
Author: Liz Farrimond
Most of us have been back to work for approximately 24 hours and most of us have already broken our New Year's resolutions. Maybe some of you have more will-power?! Maybe some of you have resolved to be a better person ….……. eating healthier, exercising more and saying ‘yes’ to more opportunities! With the ultimate goal of having a longer and more productive life.
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Christmas is coming - and we’re clearing the shelves!
Date: 6th December 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
It’s that time of year again - when people across the country are wondering how to pay for Christmas presents for the kids and food for the table – without having to become a part-time UBER driver. At iDaCs we’re clearing the shelves to make way for the New Year – with a special December promotion on selected Datwyler cables.
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Plastic Cable Ties – can they be used for data installations?
Date: 7th November 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
In our previous blog ‘Why use velcro ties for data cables’ we mentioned that the mis-use of plastic cable ties could deform the data cable, and potentially result in a test fail for the link. To expand on this, we’re going to explain the ‘how’ and also ‘what’ you can do to prevent this.
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Why use velcro ties for data cables?
Date: 13th October 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
Datwyler has been in the UK for over 30 years and most of our staff have been in the cabling industry nearly as long. So yes, that makes us an ageing group of cable geeks, but it also means that we've been there, done that and worn the company logo'd t-shirts! Just one of the things we obsess about is the state of cable dressing - said we were geeks! So, what to do about cable ties? Velcro? plastic? bit of old string? The options are endless.
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Upgrade and Save - Which Cable to use for PoE
Date: 25th September 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
Whatever your motives are for deploying Power over Ethernet (PoE) devices on your network, energy efficiency will probably be a prime consideration. Your instinct may be to use a higher category of data cable for your offices, data centres and other high demand applications, and a lower category of cabling to support your PoE / IoT equipment.
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Win Boat Show Tickets!
Date: 12th September 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
As a company based on the South Coast of England, we benefit from all the advantages of being located near the Solent. One of which is our proximity to the World-famous Southampton Boat Show (open 15th-24th September, 2017). Win a *pair of tickets to this year’s event on us. The first correct entry wins, so don't delay, submit your answers now!
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The Genuine Article?
Date: 21st August 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
Not so much nowadays, but many of us will probably remember the old days – when we picked up the odd bargain on our holidays. That special ‘Fauxlex’ watch or ‘Designer’ handbag! Let’s be honest, our expectations were pretty low when we made these purchases – in the case of the watch – they looked the part and probably told the time (for a while anyway).
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In a League of our own!
Date: 10th August 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
The wait is over - this weekend sees the start of the 2017/18 Premier League season. This year’s competition kicks off on Friday 11th August with Arsenal v Leicester. Last year’s winners, Chelsea, play host to Burnley on Saturday and our Technical Director, Paul Hunter (RCDD and Geordie) is delighted to see his beloved Newcastle United back in the top flight, at home to Spurs on Sunday, having been promoted as winners of the Championship earlier this year.
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Baggage Allowance Causing You Problems?
Date: 28th July 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
Who hasn’t knelt on the airport concourse juggling clothing between suitcases to even out the load – or worse still – put on the extra few garments that took you over the weight limit! Our Technical Director, Paul Hunter, faced a greater challenge with his luggage on a trip to the Datwyler factory in Germany.
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Cable Installation Guidelines - It’s Not Just About Pulling!
Date: 14th July 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
Installation guidelines aren’t limited to how to pull in the cable and how to maintain bend radius control. To make sure data cables go in correctly and work effectively for years to come – there are other things you need to consider for a trouble-free install.
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What to do when rain stops play
Date: 7th July 2017
Author: Liz Farrimond
Wimbledon is upon us once again. We’re ready for the tennis, ready for the Pimms, ready for the strawberries, we’re even ready for Andy Murray’s cheerful countenance– and of course the rain! Let’s be optimistic – maybe summer will briefly sweep in (again) and make this the perfect uninterrupted spectacle that we remember from our youth (when summer days were always long & sunny and the players were characters). Or maybe we’ll hear those dreaded words ‘rain stopped play’ (again).
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