BICSI Installer 1 Cheat Sheet

Field Planning & Design

13% of exam
Cable ID Blueprints Site Safety Labeling TIA Standards

Pathways and Spaces

31% of exam
TR/ER Spaces Bonding Conduit Fill Firestop EMI Separation

Pull Copper Cable

21% of exam
Pulling Tension Bend Limits Backbone Pull Service Loop

Terminate Copper Cable

15% of exam
T568 Wiring Punch-Down RJ-45 IDC

Test Copper Cable

6% of exam
Wiremap NEXT Return Loss Certification

Troubleshoot Copper Cable

6% of exam
Split Pair Open/Short Reversed Pair NEXT Failure

Perform Retrofits

3% of exam
Abandoned Cable NEC 800.25 Documentation Fire Load

Integration & Convergence

3% of exam
Paging BAS Life Safety Nurse Call

Codes and Standards

2% of exam
NEC 800 CMP/CMR AHJ Fire Codes

Quick Facts

Exam Code INST1
Credential BICSI Installer 1
Questions 75
Time 2 hours
Pass Score Scaled, standard-set
Format Written + hands-on
Level Entry-level
Domains 9 (JTA-based)

INST1 Domain Weight Order FI

Pathways beats Pull beats Term beats Plan
Pathways 31% Pull 21% Terminate 15% Plan 13%

Cable ID and Planning FI

UTP Unshielded twisted pair
STP Shielded twisted pair
Site safety plan Verify before starting work
Labeling scheme Follow TIA-606 standard
Blueprint symbols Read floor plans
Job supply inventory Check materials before install

TIA Standard Numbers FI

568 cables, 569 spaces, 606 labels, 607 grounds
568: performance 569: pathways 606: administration 607: bonding

TIA Standard Numbers FI

TIA-568 Cabling performance and pinouts
TIA-569 Pathways and spaces design
TIA-606 Administration and labeling
TIA-607 Grounding and bonding

Cable Categories FI

Cat 5e 100 MHz, 1 Gbps Gigabit
Cat 6 250 MHz, 10G to 55m
Cat 6A 500 MHz, 10G to 100m 10G
4 pairs Standard horizontal cable count
Drain wire Grounds STP cable shield

Pathway and Rating Picker PA

Above ceiling air-return space → CMP plenum cable
Vertical shaft between floors → CMR riser cable
Fire-rated wall penetration → Firestop system
Routing many cables together → Cable tray or rack
Single cable through conduit → 53% fill allowed
Wall or floor penetration → Sleeve or poke-through

Telecom Space Types PA

TR Telecommunications room
ER Equipment room
EF Entrance facility
TE Telecommunications enclosure
TR minimum size 3m x 3.4m per 1,000 sqm
TR temperature range 18-27°C (64-80°F)

EMI Separation Distances PA

Fluorescent lighting 5 in (127 mm)
2-5 kVA power 12 in (305 mm)
>5 kVA power 24 in (610 mm)
Motors 5kVA+ 48 in (1.2 m)

Conduit Fill and Support PA

1 cable in conduit 53% max fill
2 cables in conduit 31% max fill
3+ cables in conduit 40% max fill Common
Nipple 24 in or less 60% fill allowed
UTP bend radius 4x cable diameter Key
Cable support spacing 1.2-1.5 m (4-5 ft)

Firestop and Bonding PA

Firestop Seals fire-rated penetrations
TGB Telecom grounding busbar
TBB Telecom bonding backbone
Sleeves/cores/slots Wall and floor openings
Poke-through Floor cable pass-through
Innerduct (ENT) Protects fiber in pathway

Cable Pulling Method Picker CA

Riser run floor to floor down → Top-down pull method
Riser run floor to floor up → Bottom-up winch pull
Cable feeding off large spool → Reel stand setup
Cable feeding from a box → Center hand-hole pull

Pulling Setup and Tension CA

4-pair UTP tension 25 lbf (110 N) max 25 lbf
Pull string/rope Installed first in conduit
Reel stand Spool rotates freely
Boxed cable pull Pull from center hole
Service loop About 3 m (10 ft) slack
Cable ties Snug, never overtighten

Backbone and Bend Limits CA

Riser pull top-down Gravity-assisted from top
Riser pull bottom-up Winch or capstan pull
Max conduit bends Four 90° bends (360°) total Key
Horizontal backbone Floor-to-floor cross-connect run
Ceiling cable support J-hooks, never ceiling tiles

T568A vs T568B Colors TE

A is green pair; B is orange pair
A: pins 1-2 green B: pins 1-2 orange Only pairs 2-3 swap

T568A vs T568B TE

T568A

Green pair on pins 1-2
US federal/USOC standard
Government installations default

T568B

Orange pair on pins 1-2
Common commercial default
AT&T legacy standard
Pairs 2 and 3 swap

Termination Hardware Picker TE

Work area outlet needed → RJ-45 8P8C jack
Patch panel voice cross-connect → 110 block
Legacy voice-only circuit → 66 block ( Cat 3 max )
Stranded patch cord end → Crimp RJ-45 plug
Coaxial cable connection → F-type connector
Seating an IDC conductor → Punch-down tool

T568 Wiring TE

T568A pins 1-2 White-green, green
T568B pins 1-2 White-orange, orange Common
Crossover cable T568A one end, B other
Straight-through cable Same standard both ends
USOC wiring Legacy single-pair phone

110 Block vs 66 Block TE

110 Block

Supports data and voice
High-frequency IDC design
Modern structured cabling standard

66 Block

Voice circuits only
Category 3 maximum
Legacy punch-down hardware
Data-capable vs voice-only

Termination Hardware TE

RJ-45 / 8P8C Work area outlet jack
110 block Modern data and voice
66 block Legacy voice only, Cat 3
IDC connector Cuts insulation, no stripping
Punch-down tool Seats IDC connections
Crimping tool Attaches RJ-45 plugs
Coax termination F-type or BNC connector
Untwist limit 0.5 in (13 mm) max Key

Channel Length Math TE

90 meters horizontal plus 10 meters cords equals channel
90m permanent link 10m total cords 100m channel max

Permanent Link vs Channel TE

Permanent Link

90 m maximum length
Excludes patch cords
Tests fixed infrastructure only

Channel

100 m maximum length
Includes all patch cords
Tests full data path
Fixed cable vs full path

Cable Test Selection TE

Check pin connectivity → Wiremap test
Verify TIA/ISO compliance → Certification test
Basic connectivity only → Verification test
Measure pair-to-pair crosstalk → NEXT/FEXT test
Measure signal strength loss → Attenuation test
Test full end-to-end path → Channel test
Test infrastructure only → Permanent link test

Cable Test Parameters TE

Wiremap Pin-to-pin connectivity check First Test
NEXT Near-end crosstalk
FEXT Far-end crosstalk
Attenuation Signal loss over distance
Return loss Reflected signal energy
ACR Signal-to-crosstalk ratio margin
Propagation delay skew Max 45 ns per 100m
Permanent link 90 m, no patch cords
Channel 100 m incl. patch cords
Certification test Verifies TIA/ISO compliance

NEXT vs Return Loss TE

Pair-to-pair signal coupling
Measured at near end
Crosstalk-related test failure

Return Loss

Impedance mismatch reflection
Caused by poor terminations
Measured in decibels
Crosstalk vs reflection

Certification vs Verification TE

Certification

Tests full TIA/ISO parameters
Requires Level III+ tester
Produces pass/fail limits

Verification

Checks basic continuity only
Uses simple handheld tester
No performance data given
Performance proof vs basic check

Common Cable Faults TR

Split pair Passes continuity, fails NEXT Trap
Open Broken conductor path
Short Conductors touching each other
Reversed pair Tx and Rx swapped
Crossed pair Wrong pair in position
NEXT failure cause Excess untwist at termination

Abandoned Cable Rules RE

Abandoned cable NEC 800.25 removal required
Fire load risk Unused jacket becomes fuel
Removal documentation Update records and labels
Retrofit access Reuse existing pathways first

Converged Systems IN

Paging system SCS-supported building system
Sound masking SCS-supported building system
Nurse call SCS-supported building system
BAS Building automation system
Life safety Fire alarm integration
Elevator controls SCS-supported building system

CMP vs CMR CO

CMP Plenum

Rated for air-handling spaces
Highest fire safety rating
Usable in any space

CMR Riser

Rated for vertical shafts
Lower fire safety rating
Cannot substitute for CMP
Plenum beats riser rating

Codes and Cable Ratings CO

NEC Article 800 Communications circuits and cabling
NEC Article 770 Optical fiber cables
NEC Article 725 Class 1/2/3 circuits
NEC Article 820 CATV and coax systems
CMP rating Plenum fire rating
CMR rating Riser fire rating
AHJ Authority having jurisdiction

Common Traps

Split Pair ≠ Open Circuit

Split passes continuity test ≠ Split fails NEXT test

Permanent Link ≠ Channel

Link excludes patch cords ≠ Channel includes patch cords

CMP ≠ CMR Rating

CMP rated for plenum ≠ CMR only for risers

66 Block ≠ 110 Block

66 is voice only ≠ 110 supports data circuits

Safety ≠ Standalone Domain

Safety sits inside Field Planning ≠ No separate Safety domain exists

Verification ≠ Certification Test

Verification checks continuity only ≠ Certification proves TIA/ISO compliance

T568A ≠ T568B Pinout

A puts green on pins 1-2 ≠ B puts orange on pins 1-2

Last Minute

1. Pathways and Spaces = 31% (biggest)
2. 75 questions, 2 hours, written exam
3. Hands-on: 6 tasks, 20 min each
4. Pass hands-on before written exam
5. T568A: green pair on pins 1-2
6. T568B: orange pair on pins 1-2
7. Permanent link 90m; channel 100m
8. Conduit fill: 1 cable = 53%
9. Conduit fill: 3+ cables = 40%
10. Bend radius: 4x cable diameter
11. Split pair passes wiremap, fails NEXT
12. CMP for plenum; CMR for riser
13. 30-day wait between failed attempts

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