Cable Trays In Unique Places Article

Offices, homes and industrial settings require comprehensive cable management, but I've never really focused on unique situations where such needs may be exacerbated. Case in point: This afternoon, the Boston Red Sox play their home-opening game in Fenway Park, which is simultaneously celebrating its 100th anniversary this month. While opening games and anniversaries bring excitement and doses of glitz & entertainment in their own right, the key point here is that very large number, 100. In the past century, we have seen the largest technological advancements in human history. So, how is it that Fenway Park (built in the same year as the founding of the Girl Scouts and the sinking of Titanic, to put this in perspective) can cope with hosting the colossal festivities planned for today, including instant-uploads, press power access and Wi-Fi for thousands of fans? Well, not to burst the bubble I have been inflating, but fairly easily, it seems. With (wait for it...) the proper cable management.

Steve Conley is the Red Sox's IT director, and was interviewed for Good Gear Guide about how a stadium in it's golden years competes with modern sports facilities. And it can be done, with a whole lot of fiber optics cables. Fenway is getting its first Comcast Metro Ethernet fiber connection guaranteeing a level of 100Mbps, thoroughly placing them in the land of the living regarding connectivity. Such installations require space to harbor cables, as even drooping could damage cables, causing massive technical difficulties. According to Conley, man-holes allowed for easy conduit placement, but the real hero's of Fenway's festivities (excluding the athletes) are some awesome cable management apparatus', Cable Trays go up easily, and serve as pathways to safely route wires. In older, less accommodating spaces, trays can route along the ceiling without using methods of mounting cords themselves, which with fiber optics will lead to pinching, and leave the entire route vulnerable. Our line of trays are inexpensive, ideal for larger projects where connectivity is a necessity. When searching for your trays, make sure to pay attention to the grid size of the base. Smaller grids, like our PRO-10 Series CM10 trays gives you an idea, since with a grid of only 2" x 2" there will be smooth support for lines, without sag. Larger grid sizes, such as our M.E.2 trays at 2” x 4”, are recommended for heavier cables. For spaces that are, again, very unique if not exactly from our architectural generation, we also carry Snake Trays, which can be bent by hand to conform in your setting.

So the next time you are watching a game taking place at Fenway Park, regardless if your team wins or looses, take a moment to ponder the awesome collision of old architecture and cutting edge technology, blending so seamlessly that no one needs to wonder, how do they power it all?