I'm not the most experienced Crestron guy. Is this kosher? If you can't tell, it's 3 Cresnet connections off 1 port (On the Pad8). Weird part is there is a cresnet block less than 2 feet away.

It all depends on the wattages of the devices on the other end and the maximum output of the Pad8. Providing you aren't exceeding the maximum wattage of the Pad8 this although is not ideal for troubleshooting it isn't necessarily "illegal".

Think about this as wiring in the "Star", again not an ideal wiring standard for troubleshooting Crestron does have this as one of their recommended wiring practices.

Since I'm re-wiring, I'll just home run them all to the block. Thanks for the info.

That connection looks like only the tip of the iceberg judging by the other wires we can see in the photo. Make sure to take before/after pics for your portfolio.

Also remember that is not Cresnet cable but obviously CAT5. Cresnet has a pair of 18 gauge for power and ground for their standard cable. The power being drawn and cable lengths will come into play. Make sure you're familiar with their cable length and wattage calculators...many problems can be avoided by ensuring the proper cable gauge is in place given distance and power demands. Also remember to leave headroom on your power supplying devices. I'm conservative and leave 30% headroom.

In your pic you're only using 2 conductors of 24 gauge which only gives you about 21 gauge. To get 18 gauge equivalent using CAT5 for power and ground you need to quadruple up 24 gauge to give you approximately 18 gauge. Here's a chart to help you with those calculations:

24 awg = 404 CM
23 awg = 511 CM
22 awg = 640 CM
21 awg = 812 CM
20 awg = 1020 CM
19 awg = 1290 CM
18 awg = 1620 CM
17 awg = 2050 CM
16 awg = 2580 CM

Sorry if this is all redundant for you but I cringe when I see Cresnet connections like that, plus you said you're somewhat new. Good luck on the take over project.

Also, the Y & C should be on the same pair, not split. That will give you another pair for power.

This right here is the biggest failure I see all the time. As Greg says, you cannot double up the Y & C conductors, same with AMX. Have you ever heard of gremlins in your system? I have gone into systems other people have installed and fixed problems simply by removing the doubled up comm pairs.

what do you mean? If I use cat5 instead of cresnet cable - I should use orange/white-orange for Y/C for example and the rest for the power?

Yes.

That speaker wire looks pretty bad in that pic. Is that zip cord?

That is actually the RCA cables connecting the amp to the pad8. They were see through. and about 10 feet long each. That is electrical tape bundling them up and making them shorter.

Hope it goes without saying that was not my work :)

Don't you love going in after some hacker was there. I went to a meeting with a new client yesterday that was starting a new restaurant. He wanted me to do some trouble shooting on there existing audio system. What a joke. After a two hour investigation we got a call from the contractor and he said they were demoing the whole building. I just told the new owner now you have nothing to worry about. I'll post pictures later on how they were controlling all the lights. Just switches, no dimmers and very heavy loads. You gotta see this.