DoItYourself AV Installations

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Do-It-Yourself AV Installations

• Christopher Caesar
• ccaesar_at_wesleyan.edu
• Wesleyan University
• June 3, 2008

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About Wesleyan

• Small, liberal arts school in Middletown, CT
• 2700 undergrads, 200 graduate students
• 60 smart classrooms in 20 buildings
• 350 faculty, 900 courses per semester
• New Usdan University Center constructed during
  Summer 2007. 10 new multimedia spaces.

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Sample Outside Contractor Bid Spec(room built in
Summer 2003)

• Labor - 8,000
• Equipment -27,500
• Programming - 1,000
• Cabling - 1,500
• Total 38,000

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In-house bid spec
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Labor Savings

• Outside contractor installation costs can be
  upwards of 110/hr
• Cost of travel time to and from job site passed
  on to you
• Diminishing returns seen as labor force increases
• Utilize on-campus resources to do certain parts
  of AV installation

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Materials and Equipment

• Establish relationship with a vendor and purchase
  all equipment and material through them.
• Ease of exercising warranty very important
• Obtain other bids to make sure you get a fair
  price
• Bulk purchasing cables by the spool saves much
  money, given a slight investment in time.
• Keep brands/models of equipment as consistent as
  possible across all installations

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Sample Equipment List

• Bulk cable
• Crimp-type terminators (RCA/BNC/CAT5/DB9)
• RCA/BNC crimper
• DB9 crimper
• Utility knife
• Wire cutters
• Wire strippers
• Electrical tape
• Zipties
• Rack Screws
• Screwdriver

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Control System Programming

• Key Requirements reliable, intuitive,
  informative, highly functional, flexible
• Ownership of the integrated controller source
  code and touch panel files is key
• In-house programmer ensures savings
• Consistent equipment choices throughout campus
  can be linked with efficient programming

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Hidden Benefits

• In-house staff performs installations with
  maintenance and future upgrades in mind
• In-house staff will be intimate with the inner
  workings of the multimedia system reduced
  troubleshooting time

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Precautions

• Construction materials require storage space and
  organization
• Student labor can be a great benefit, but should
  be closely monitored and inspected
• Be prepared to handle non-AV construction delays
• Know the law - electrical code and regulations
  vary from state to state