How to write a cable schedule for an AV install

A cable schedule (also called a patch list, cable list or run sheet) lists every cable in a system: where it starts, where it ends, what it is and what it is called. The signal flow diagram shows the design. The schedule is what the install crew actually works from, so when the two disagree on site, the schedule usually wins. It has to be right.

Who reads it

• Installers pull and terminate cables from it.
• Labels are printed from it.
• Commissioning engineers test each line against it.
• The client's maintenance team uses it years later to trace a fault.

Every one of these people needs to find a single cable quickly. That drives most of the decisions below.

The columns that matter

Keep one row per cable. A workable minimum:

1. Cable number: unique across the whole project and never reused.
2. Source device and port: for example "CAM 1 / SDI OUT 1". Use the device name exactly as it appears on the diagram and the rack labels.
3. Source location: room, rack and U position, or floor box.
4. Destination device and port.
5. Destination location.
6. Signal type: 12G-SDI, HDMI, Dante, mic level, DMX, mains power.
7. Cable type and connectors: for example "Belden 1694A, BNC to BNC" or "Cat6A U/FTP, RJ45 to RJ45".
8. Length: measured or estimated, including service loops.
9. Status: pulled, terminated, tested.

Useful extras: loom or multicore ID, containment route, colour code. Add a column only if someone on site will read it.

Numbering schemes

Three schemes are common. Pick one per project and stick to it.

• Sequential: 001, 002, 003. Simple and never collides, but the number tells you nothing about the cable.
• Prefixed by system: V001 for video, A001 for audio, N001 for network, P001 for power. A wrong cable type stands out at a glance.
• By location: R2-015 for the fifteenth cable leaving rack 2. Useful on large multi-room jobs where crews work area by area.

Whichever you choose, the number is an identifier, not a description. Once labels are printed, don't renumber. If a cable is removed, retire its number. Late additions get the next free number rather than being squeezed into an existing sequence.

Labelling

Label both ends with the same text. At minimum that is the cable number; better is number plus source and destination, such as "V014 CAM1 > SW IN3". Place labels 100 to 150 mm from the connector so they can be read when the cable is patched, and keep them clear of the boot so the connector still seats.

• Self-laminating wrap labels survive handling better than flag labels on thin cables.
• Heat-shrink sleeves look tidy but must go on before the connector is fitted.
• On multicores, label the jacket and every tail.
• Match the text on panel labels, cable labels and the schedule exactly. "SW IN 3" and "Switcher In3" are two different things to someone tracing a fault at 2 a.m.

Keeping the schedule in sync with the diagram

The usual failure: the diagram gets revised, the spreadsheet doesn't, and the crew pulls cables to the old design. These habits prevent it:

• One source of truth. Either generate the schedule from the diagram, or treat the schedule as master and update the diagram from it. Never edit both independently.
• Revision and date on every page of both documents, so an old printout is obvious.
• Freeze numbers at issue. After the schedule goes to site, changes get new numbers or are marked as revisions, never silent edits.
• Show what changed. A revision column or highlight tells the crew what differs from the last print.
• Walk it at commissioning. Tick each row as it is tested. The ticked schedule becomes your as-built record.

Common mistakes

• Port names that don't match the legends printed on the equipment.
• No lengths, so nobody can check the cable order or cut list.
• Patch panels and tie lines left out, leaving a gap wherever a signal passes through a panel. Panel-to-panel links are cables and need their own rows.
• Power and network cables skipped because they seem obvious.
• A schedule that is only sorted by number. Installers work one rack at a time, so provide views sorted by source location and by destination too.

Doing it in Patchify

In Patchify the cable schedule comes from the diagram. With cable numbering on, every connection you draw between two ports gets the next free number, and you can edit or renumber them. The connection list, with source, destination, connectors and length, is built from the same data and exports to PDF or Excel for the crew. Change the diagram and the list changes with it, so the two can't drift apart.