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Did you know that over 40% of industrial
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network failures are attributed not to
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software bugs or hackers, but to simple
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environmental stress? Imagine a
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scorching summer day on a factory floor,
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ambient temperatures rising above 100°
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size, or a remote utility station
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freezing in the dead of winter. In these
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moments, standard office grade equipment
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doesn't just falter. It melts, cracks,
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and quits. When the network goes down,
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production stops. And when production
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stops, money burns. If you are relying
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on the same plastic switch used in a
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climate controlled server room to run
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your oil rig, manufacturing plant, or
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outdoor kiosk, you are sitting on a
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ticking time bomb. Today, we aren't just
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looking at a switch. We are looking at
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insurance for your uptime. Detailed
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information contained in this video can
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be found at acccca.ca.
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A link has been put in the description
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below. The website offers extensive
0:53
links, references, and coding samples,
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making it a one-stop shop for all your
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Welcome to the world of industrial
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Ethernet. Today we are focusing on a
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piece of hardware that acts as the
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central nervous system for rugged
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operations. The stride industrial
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unmanaged Ethernet switch. Specifically,
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we are looking at the 8port gigabit
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model. Why does this matter? Because in
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the age of IoT, industrial internet of
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things, data density is increasing. You
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aren't just sending simple onoff signals
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anymore. You're streaming video from
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vision systems, pulling massive logic
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files and monitoring real-time
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analytics. You need bandwidth and you
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need speed. This stride switch offers
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eight Ethernet gigabit RJ45 ports
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encased in a housing that looks like it
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could survive a tank tread. It is built
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for the extremes. Rated for a staggering
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40 to plus 175° 40 bgra to plus 167
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degra. This is where IT meets the grit
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of OT operational technology. Let's be
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honest about the environments we work
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in. Industrial settings are the enemies
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of electronics. First, there is
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temperature. A standard switch is happy
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at 70° F, 21 da, but put that switch in
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a Nema enclosure outside in North Dakota
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in January or next to a blast furnace in
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Alabama, and the internal components
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will expand, contract, and eventually
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desolder themselves. Second, there is
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vibration. Large motors, punch presses,
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and forklifts create constant tremors.
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Standard RJ45 jacks and plastic clips
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vibrate loose, causing intermittent
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packet loss, the kind of ghost problems
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that take hours to troubleshoot. Third,
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there is electrical noise and dust. A
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typical office environment is clean. A
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factory floor is a storm of
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electromagnetic interference, EMI, and
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conductive dust. If your switch isn't
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built with IP30 protection and shielded
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components, you aren't building a
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network. You're building a failure
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point. The challenge isn't just
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connecting devices. It's keeping them
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connected when the world around them is
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trying to shake, bake, and freeze them
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This is where the stride shines. Let's
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get this beauty on the bench and see
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what makes it tick. The unboxing. As we
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crack open the box, the first thing you
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notice is the weight. This isn't flimsy
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plastic. It's a robust metal housing. It
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feels cold, solid, and substantial.
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Included in the box, you'll find the
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switch itself, a terminal block for
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power, and your mounting hardware.
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The form factor. It's compact, designed
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for a 35mm D rail mount. This is
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standard for control panels, allowing it
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to snap right in alongside your PLC's
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and power supplies. It also supports
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panel mounting if you're working in a
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tight cabinet without rails. The IP30
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rating means it's protected against
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solid objects larger than 2.5 mm.
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Perfect for keeping out tools and stray
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wires in a busy panel. Wiring. Doing it
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right with feral rules. Now, let's give
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power to this beast. This is a critical
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step that many amateurs get wrong. The
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stride switch uses a removable terminal
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block for its power inputs. You are
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likely using stranded wire for your DC
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power distribution because it's flexible
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and better handles vibration than solid
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core wire. However, never insert bare
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stranded wire directly into a screw
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terminal. Why? As you tighten the screw,
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the strands spllay out. This leads to a
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poor connection or worse, a single stray
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strand touching the chassis or a
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neighboring terminal causing a short
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circuit. The solution? Use fererals.
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Strip your wire, slide on a fereral, and
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crimp it down. Now you have a solid
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metal contact point that inserts cleanly
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into the terminal block. It ensures 100%
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surface area contact and vibration
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resistance. Wiring with fererals isn't
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just best practice. In the industrial
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world, it's the mark of a professional.
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Initial powering up. Once your power
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wires, usually 12 to 48 VDC, are secured
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in the terminal block, plug it into the
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switch. Flip your breaker or power
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supply on. You should see the power LED
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light up solid green. This indicates the
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internal logic is receiving juice.
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You'll also see LEDs for each of the 8
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GB ports, which will flicker with
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activity once you patch in your Ethernet
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cables. Troubleshooting the fault light.
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Here is a scenario that trips up even
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seasoned technicians. You've wired up
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the power. You turn it on. The switch
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works, but there is an ominous red
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light. The fault LED is on. Panic sets
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in. Is the unit dead? Did you fry it?
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The reality the stride switch is
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designed for missionritical redundancy.
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It has inputs for power supply 1 P1 and
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power supply 2 P2. In a perfect world,
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you would have two separate DC power
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sources wired in so that if one dies,
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the other takes over instantly. However,
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many of us are just wiring a single
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power supply for a simple application.
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The switch detects voltage at P1 but
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sees 0V at P2. It thinks a power supply
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has failed, so it triggers the alarm and
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lights the fault LED. The fix. If you
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are intentionally only using one power
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source, you need to trick the switch.
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Take two small jumper wires. Jump the
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positive terminal of P1 to the positive
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terminal of P2. Jump the negative
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terminal of P1 to the negative terminal
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of P2. By jumping these out, the switch
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sees voltage at both inputs. The logic
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is satisfied. The red fault light turns
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off and the relay output closes. You now
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have a healthy status. This is a pro tip
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that saves you from staring at a red
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warning light for the next 10 years.
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Real world application. Consider a water
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treatment plant in Minnesota. Last
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winter temperatures hit 30°.
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Their previous commercial grade switches
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froze. The capacitors failed and the
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telemetry data for tank levels went
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dark. They had to send a technician out
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in a blizzard to manually check gauges.
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They swapped to this stride unmanaged
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switch. Because of its 40° C rating and
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metal heat sink properties, it shrugged
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off the cold. The gigabit speeds handled
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the high-res security camera feeds
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monitoring the perimeter and the
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redundant power inputs wired correctly
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this time meant that even when a drail
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power supply hiccuped, the network
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stayed live. That is the difference
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between a crisis and a normal Tuesday.
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If you are enjoying this video, please
6:46
hit the like button below. Keeping up
6:47
with all the latest automation
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innovations can be difficult, so hit the
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subscribe button. Remember to hit the
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bell beside your subscription to receive
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the notifications. The Stride 8 port
6:56
industrial Ethernet switch is more than
6:58
just a junction box for your cables. It
7:01
is a hardened warrior built for the
7:02
front lines of industry. From the metal
7:04
housing and IP30 rating to the wide 40
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to plus 175° C temperature range, it is
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designed to survive where others fail.
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By taking the time to install it
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correctly, using fererals on your
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stranded wires and understanding how to
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jumper the redundant power inputs to
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clear faults, you ensure a clean,
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professional, and reliable installation.
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Whether you are running automation in a
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hot automotive plant or data logging in
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a freezing wind farm, this switch
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ensures your data keeps flowing. Have
7:32
you ever had a network switch fail due
7:34
to heat or dust? What was the cost of
7:35
that downtime? Drop a comment below. I'd
7:38
love to hear your horror stories from
7:39
the field and how you solved them. If
7:42
you found this unboxing and wiring guide
7:43
helpful, make sure to check out our
7:45
other videos on industrial control
7:46
panels and proper grounding techniques.
7:49
Stay wired, stay safe, and keep those
7:51
packets moving. Ready to transform your
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approach to industrial automation?
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