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On that tangent... I've made some CAT 5 cables using a crimping tool, but aligning all 8 wires in the correct order for simultaneous insertion into the plug is

On that tangent... I've made some CAT 5 cables using a crimping tool, but aligning all 8 wires in the correct order for simultaneous insertion into the plug is quite a bit of work. Is there a trick or tool for doing it quickly?

LukeShu 7y ago
Having made a lot of them... the only trick I know is "practice".
ocdtrekkie 7y ago
Probably the biggest "pro-tip" I've seen from ISP cable techs is that they tend to strip way more cable than they need to go in the connector, like two or three inches worth, align the wires, kinda bend them back and forth to get everything smoothly bending the same way (straight, ideally), and then cutting off the excess. The easy though I've seen is some folks use RJ-45 jacks with holes in the end of the connector, so you can run this excess length right through the connector, and then the crimper cuts off the excess as well.
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
  I've found that the first method listed works pretty well- you just have to make sure that the strands don't switch places after you cut them.
- jws 7y ago
  …seen is some folks use RJ-45 jacks with holes in the end of the connector… What‽ Well that's going to make my once-in-a-while cable terminating experience better. I like the idea of knowing each wire made it to the contact, and being able to audit them on the outgoing side before trimming. A quick googling says the wording to search for is "RJ45 Passthrough Connectors", then be careful because the #1 Amazon hits are not actually CAT6 connectors despite their titles, and some of the other top ones are of, let's say variable quality.
  - cr0sh 7y ago
    > What‽ Well that's going to make my once-in-a-while cable terminating experience better. Believe me - you'll love it. I bought my house in 2002 and ran Cat5e to a few places in the home (not everywhere), running 100 Mbit. Last year I decided I wanted to upgrade things to gigabit speeds, so I bought a new router, modem, and switches. I did some online checking and everything seemed to indicate that for short runs (sub-100 meter IIRC), Cat5e would work for gigabit. I didn't want to crawl back into my attic for new runs, so I tried it out. Everything worked fine except for one run - the longest run - which spanned the width of my house (about 50-60 feet). It would only detect and run 100 Mbit - not gig. Some further testing and checking revealed that I only had 4 of the 8 wires working properly (2 pair) - and those just happened to be the ones needed for 100 Mbit! Somehow I got lucky and only lost connectivity on the other pairs. My other shorter runs all worked fine. Had that cable not failed, I would have been golden...but nope. So I had to run a new line. I decided after some research that I would run Cat6 (couldn't afford the tools or whatnot to do Cat7 or I would have) - and I found those pass-thru connectors and crimpers. Cheap enough - bought a box of Cat6, the connectors and the crimper (plus rubber boots for the ends) and then crawled into the attic early one morning (about 4am - I live in Phoenix, and this was right at the end of "spring" going into our hot season - so it was coolest in the attic at that time) and got to work. I spent all morning and into the afternoon up there (surprisingly, even as the day wore on and got into the 80s, it stayed relatively decent in my attic - I made sure to bring plenty of ice water along, though) - most of the time in the attic, stringing the lines, sometimes having to come down and go back up to pull lines and whatnot (using the old cable as pulling line). The pass-thru connectors and everything made it all go much, much smoother than it would have otherwise, especially when I was terminating things after pulling the lines. I used this cable: https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cat6-Ethernet-Bulk-Cable/dp/B015QJ40AU/ https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cat6-Ethernet-Bulk-Cable/dp... Though I ended up getting the orange cable (I attached it to my roof trusses using cable clips and I wanted it to "stand out" so that anybody working up there could see it clearly - my original cable had been laying on the trusses, and it had been covered by a layer of insulation we had blown it - it's quite possible that the cable was broke at that point). I ended up getting stranded because I wanted something more flexible while I ran it - though technically you're not supposed to use stranded cable for this kind of "run" - but for short runs (in a home, all runs are typically short) it's ok - different thing I guess if it were an office or datacenter. I also like the monoprice cable because of that plastic "cross" that separates the pairs, and works as a nice core for pulling the cable without distorting the pairs. It really was nice cable. Then I got these pass-thru connectors: https://www.amazon.com/ITBEBE-Plated-Through-premium-Connectors/dp/B07451LPHR/ https://www.amazon.com/ITBEBE-Plated-Through-premium-Connect... Plus some generic boots and a generic pass-thru crimper. It made everything so much simpler. It was still a "pain" to organize the wires (color code order) and get them "just right" to go into the connector, but once in, and they passed thru - I could easily see and know they were in the right order, and that the crimp would work, unlike regular connectors. If it wasn't right, I could pull it out and try again. It was really a night and day difference from what I remember in the past. I only bought a small box of cable (250 feet - I think that's what I linked), but I still had a ton left over if I need patch cables or whatnot for later. You won't regret it.
- aetherspawn 7y ago
  The industry standard for an automotive strip (for a multi core) behind a connector is 300-500mm
  - unwind 7y ago
    Uh what? Do you have a link showing that? Stripping half a metre of a cable just to attach a connector seems wild. Did you use too many zeros?
    - aetherspawn 7y ago
      No, I’ve actually recently had designs knocked back from a harness manufacturer because I specified 250mm and they didn’t think they could make it reliable.
cptskippy 7y ago
> Is there a trick or tool for doing it quickly? I've made quite a few in my day and it's never been an issue. I always untwist the pairs, then with the cable in my left hand, pinch the blue pair between my left thumb and index finger. I then slide the wires in between my fingers from either side in the appropriate order using my right hand. Once I have all the wires aligned, I grasp the wires between right thumb and index finger and slide my left fingers down to the sheath. Then I work the cable back and forth. I then return my left hand to pinching the wires and trim them to length before inserting.
- detritus 7y ago
  You should write porn.
jolmg 7y ago
Connectors like these: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ml6qOAiM9Vc/hqdefault.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ml6qOAiM9Vc/hqdefault.jpg Insert the cables through it, then cut off the excess.
naveen99 7y ago
Untwist using a paperclip and align tighter by bending side to side and forward backward all 8 at the same time. https://youtu.be/14P1cOFM_1k https://youtu.be/14P1cOFM_1k

LukeShu 7y ago

Having made a lot of them... the only trick I know is "practice".

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

Probably the biggest "pro-tip" I've seen from ISP cable techs is that they tend to strip way more cable than they need to go in the connector, like two or three inches worth, align the wires, kinda bend them back and forth to get everything smoothly bending the same way (straight, ideally), and then cutting off the excess. The easy though I've seen is some folks use RJ-45 jacks with holes in the end of the connector, so you can run this excess length right through the connector, and then the crimper cuts off the excess as well.

HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
I've found that the first method listed works pretty well- you just have to make sure that the strands don't switch places after you cut them.
jws 7y ago
…seen is some folks use RJ-45 jacks with holes in the end of the connector… What‽ Well that's going to make my once-in-a-while cable terminating experience better. I like the idea of knowing each wire made it to the contact, and being able to audit them on the outgoing side before trimming. A quick googling says the wording to search for is "RJ45 Passthrough Connectors", then be careful because the #1 Amazon hits are not actually CAT6 connectors despite their titles, and some of the other top ones are of, let's say variable quality.
- cr0sh 7y ago
  > What‽ Well that's going to make my once-in-a-while cable terminating experience better. Believe me - you'll love it. I bought my house in 2002 and ran Cat5e to a few places in the home (not everywhere), running 100 Mbit. Last year I decided I wanted to upgrade things to gigabit speeds, so I bought a new router, modem, and switches. I did some online checking and everything seemed to indicate that for short runs (sub-100 meter IIRC), Cat5e would work for gigabit. I didn't want to crawl back into my attic for new runs, so I tried it out. Everything worked fine except for one run - the longest run - which spanned the width of my house (about 50-60 feet). It would only detect and run 100 Mbit - not gig. Some further testing and checking revealed that I only had 4 of the 8 wires working properly (2 pair) - and those just happened to be the ones needed for 100 Mbit! Somehow I got lucky and only lost connectivity on the other pairs. My other shorter runs all worked fine. Had that cable not failed, I would have been golden...but nope. So I had to run a new line. I decided after some research that I would run Cat6 (couldn't afford the tools or whatnot to do Cat7 or I would have) - and I found those pass-thru connectors and crimpers. Cheap enough - bought a box of Cat6, the connectors and the crimper (plus rubber boots for the ends) and then crawled into the attic early one morning (about 4am - I live in Phoenix, and this was right at the end of "spring" going into our hot season - so it was coolest in the attic at that time) and got to work. I spent all morning and into the afternoon up there (surprisingly, even as the day wore on and got into the 80s, it stayed relatively decent in my attic - I made sure to bring plenty of ice water along, though) - most of the time in the attic, stringing the lines, sometimes having to come down and go back up to pull lines and whatnot (using the old cable as pulling line). The pass-thru connectors and everything made it all go much, much smoother than it would have otherwise, especially when I was terminating things after pulling the lines. I used this cable: https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cat6-Ethernet-Bulk-Cable/dp/B015QJ40AU/ https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cat6-Ethernet-Bulk-Cable/dp... Though I ended up getting the orange cable (I attached it to my roof trusses using cable clips and I wanted it to "stand out" so that anybody working up there could see it clearly - my original cable had been laying on the trusses, and it had been covered by a layer of insulation we had blown it - it's quite possible that the cable was broke at that point). I ended up getting stranded because I wanted something more flexible while I ran it - though technically you're not supposed to use stranded cable for this kind of "run" - but for short runs (in a home, all runs are typically short) it's ok - different thing I guess if it were an office or datacenter. I also like the monoprice cable because of that plastic "cross" that separates the pairs, and works as a nice core for pulling the cable without distorting the pairs. It really was nice cable. Then I got these pass-thru connectors: https://www.amazon.com/ITBEBE-Plated-Through-premium-Connectors/dp/B07451LPHR/ https://www.amazon.com/ITBEBE-Plated-Through-premium-Connect... Plus some generic boots and a generic pass-thru crimper. It made everything so much simpler. It was still a "pain" to organize the wires (color code order) and get them "just right" to go into the connector, but once in, and they passed thru - I could easily see and know they were in the right order, and that the crimp would work, unlike regular connectors. If it wasn't right, I could pull it out and try again. It was really a night and day difference from what I remember in the past. I only bought a small box of cable (250 feet - I think that's what I linked), but I still had a ton left over if I need patch cables or whatnot for later. You won't regret it.
aetherspawn 7y ago
The industry standard for an automotive strip (for a multi core) behind a connector is 300-500mm
- unwind 7y ago
  Uh what? Do you have a link showing that? Stripping half a metre of a cable just to attach a connector seems wild. Did you use too many zeros?
  - aetherspawn 7y ago
    No, I’ve actually recently had designs knocked back from a harness manufacturer because I specified 250mm and they didn’t think they could make it reliable.

cptskippy 7y ago

> Is there a trick or tool for doing it quickly? I've made quite a few in my day and it's never been an issue. I always untwist the pairs, then with the cable in my left hand, pinch the blue pair between my left thumb and index finger. I then slide the wires in between my fingers from either side in the appropriate order using my right hand. Once I have all the wires aligned, I grasp the wires between right thumb and index finger and slide my left fingers down to the sheath. Then I work the cable back and forth. I then return my left hand to pinching the wires and trim them to length before inserting.

detritus 7y ago
You should write porn.

jolmg 7y ago

Connectors like these: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ml6qOAiM9Vc/hqdefault.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ml6qOAiM9Vc/hqdefault.jpg Insert the cables through it, then cut off the excess.

naveen99 7y ago

Untwist using a paperclip and align tighter by bending side to side and forward backward all 8 at the same time. https://youtu.be/14P1cOFM_1k https://youtu.be/14P1cOFM_1k