Toner Cable Equipment, Inc.

Since 1978 Toner Cable has been custom building headends for our customers, world wide. Be it a simple 12 channels system or a complex 80 channel, digital and fiber optic headend we have the knowledge, experience and expertise to build yours. We have completed hundreds of projects for customers such as the headend used inside reactor #2 at Three Mile Island. The headend for Connections cable, Newark, New Jersey, the 450 digital transition headends in Las Vegas and the new Digital headend for the White House.

When it comes time to build a new headend or add to an existing one you owe it to yourself to give Toner a call to see how we can help. Often you will find that the overall cost is less when we build it for you because we have turned it into an art. We build so many headends that we have everything needed in stock and in volume so there is no delay. We have pre-manufacturer headend cables for equipment interconnection, we have more then 250 different racks in stock and we have more than 1.5 million dollars of headend electronics in stock!

When building a headend we start with you to determine your needs, requirements and time frame. We identify what you like and what you don't. We have more than 20 equipment manufacturers' products in stock so we can pick the best of what's available. We then identify the channel plan and list of desired programming. From this we then develop a plan and bill of materials for your custom headend. Once this is done we will provide you with a firm quote.

From this point It can be as easy as picking up the phone and placing the order. And if you need it in a hurry, we can sometimes ship within a week if needed.

How do we do it? Once we get you order for the headend we generate an as built front elevation drawing for your approval. Once this is approved we give it to our custom headend engineering department along with the bill of materials. Any equipment not in stock or any specialized equipment our purchasing department takes care of ordering. All the equipment is pulled and staged for headend construction.

From this point we start to build you prepackaged headend. Typically we build most headends by laying the racks or cabinets down so we can load the equipment from the front. This allows us to modify and adjust equipment if needed prior to screwing everything down. This also prevents damaged front panels and striped out screws. Once the racks are loaded we stand everything up to prepare for the wiring and installation of the accessories from the rear. We normally provide a rear equipment support bracket to support the electronics and prevent damage in shipment.

We mount all the outlet strips and dress all the power cables. This starts the burn in time which typically lasts 168 hours. This allows us to identify any defective equipment and replace it prior to shipping.

We then start to wire the headend. We wire all our headends with Times Fiber 2240V series Quadshield headend cable. This cable features a silver plated center conductor which provides superior connection, low resistance and low attenuation. The cable also has a dual 95% braid for aluminum braid for premium shielding. We then terminate the cable with compression type connectors designed for headend cable. All our headend cable is color coded for functionality. This makes it much easier down the road to identify cables.

RF inputs use a green cable
Analog video uses a yellow cable
Satellite L-Band uses a white cable
Digital Video uses a purple cable
RF outputs uses a blue cable
IF uses a black cable

We also custom label the ends of each cable as to channel program and use.

For the interconnect cables between satellite receivers and modulators we have a Siamese Audio/Video jumper cable made for us. These cables feature both RCA and F type connectors eliminating the need for interseries adaptors.

We then dress all the cables to the rack for a neat appearance. This makes access to the different equipment much easier and also makes any troubleshooting down the road, a simpler task.

Once everything is installed and wired we start to do programming set channels and set levels. It is during this time that we can identify and product not working correctly and replace it. Once all the equipment is tested and levels have been set we sweep the headend with a spectrum analyzer. We check an balance all RF levels, all sound carriers and then check the C/N on each piece as well as on the combined output.

Once all this is completed we separate the racks and disconnect any interconnection cables. These cables are then tagged to make it easier for re-assembly.

Once all the packs are broken down everything is checked to make sure it is secure. We typically use a moving van service to deliver the headends. The moving van is "air ride" which prevents damage. Also the moving van delivers the headend to necessary location. They don't drop it at the curb and leave you with the hassle of putting it in place. Once you have the headend in place it is as easy as reconnecting the wires, connecting the inputs and the output and firing up the headend. You can be up and running in a day!