making CAT5 cable

d0wn_under · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 11:04 pm Post subject: making CAT5 cable

I've just bought a load of CAT5 cable and the appropriate tools for adding ends and after a lot of fiddelling managed to get a pair of ends on with all strands in the correct order, but the cable doesn't work

I assume that I didn't get the strands in far enough or something like that so can anyone give advice on doing this sucessfully before I get through my bag of ends and end up with a 20m cable down to 30cms!

kashani · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 11:23 pm Post subject: making cat 5

Assuming you've got the tool everyone else gets, here's the 411

1. Get a cable that works. Look at the color config. Write it down. Holding it flat with the tab down pointed away from you going left to right:

orange-white
orange
green-white
blue
blue-white
green
brown-white
brown

Now tape it to the wall in front of you so you dont' forget. :-)

2. Strip the outer cable. Ideally this should about 1/2 in. Don't cut in too far or you cut one ot the pair. The idea is to score it enough where you have to yank on the outer cover to pull it clear.

3. put your pairs in order. Flattne them into individual strands and then place them in order.

4. Trim your pairs. Now you want to use the cutter to make sure the pairs are all the same length. The cut across the front should be perfectly straight. Ideally the pairs will now be showing 1/3-1/4 in above the outer casing.

5. Push them into the connector. Make sure that your colors are where they should be. Make sure that each wire's copper end is visible when you look straight into the end of the connector.

Cheap connectors are often missing the metal clips that you crimp down into the wire. Double check that each on 8 clips are showing in the tops of the connector before crimping it.

6. Crimp. Wash, rinse, for the other end.

7. Make sure that both ends are the same. If you've got one side backwards you've got a crossover cable, not a striaght-thru which is what you want.

Probably more info than you wanted, but that was an afternoon of 200 cables made talking. heh heh.

kashani
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Jimboberella · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 11:29 pm Post subject:

The tool should have a part to strip the outer (blue) cover from the cable to the correct depth (~1/2") then you have to press the small wires right up into the connector till the wire ends are touching the plastic at the end, if that makes sense?

The order of colours for a normal cat5 (non-crossover) is

stripe orange | orange | stripe green | blue | stripe blue | green | stripe brown | brown

Hope this helps.

Jimboberella · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 11:29 pm Post subject:

Dammit' gazumped :cry:

timmfin · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 11:30 pm Post subject:

I've made a bunch of cat5 cable now, but when I first tried I definately messed up the first few. What really helped me was to cut the twisted pair cable a second time before inserting it into the plug. Enter ascii diagram

:

splooge · l33t Joined: 30 Aug 2002 Posts: 636

I'd just like to add one thing:

If you'll notice when you strip the outer piece of shielding (rubber, plastic) off the cable to expose the wires there will be a piece of string in there, similar to kite string. The purpose of this string is to make your life easier when stripping the outer shielding. What you do is strip the outer shielding with a pair of cutters of some sort. Typically when doing this you damage at least one of the cables in the inside. This is where the string comes into play.

First of all make sure you got an extra foot of cable at each end. Cut the outer piece of shielding about 3 inches down from the end. You should have 8 wires and a piece of string. Using the wire cutters, cut a small nick into the outer shielding (that wasn't torn off). Pull the string down through this nick, and gently yet firmly pull the string down the side of the outer shielding. This will cut the outer shielding without damaging any of the inside cables.

Once you've done that, cut the 8 wires below the point you made the initial cut into the outer shielding. This insures you aren't using any cables that might have been nicked or cut through on the first cutting of the outer shielding.

Hope that makes sense ;p
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splooge · l33t Joined: 30 Aug 2002 Posts: 636

One more thing. Although Kashani's color diagram will work flawlessly and is the way I make my cables, AT&T cat5 transmission specifications require you to do it the way Jimboberella said. :roll:

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bmph8ter · n00b Joined: 06 May 2002 Posts: 46

metalac · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 6:56 am Post subject:

practice, practice, practice

it's all i can say. Try some short ones first and just mess around untill you get it right. if you are fortunate to have a tester it could help you pin point your problems quite well. I had to make cables for this one high school and let me tell you i worked for a week, but I had hand cramps for the next year

.
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kashani · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 7:06 am Post subject: crossing the pairs

DrkPlague · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 04 Jun 2003 Posts: 107

d0wn_under · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 8:45 am Post subject: Thanks

Wow, I didn't expect this much response!

A slightly more practical question, is there any easy way to hold the strands in place once I've got them in order and while getting them into the right holes? Quite a few times I've got them in only to find that one has slipped and swaped places with another.

Any tips such as tape or blue tack to keep them in place?

ARC2300 · Apprentice Joined: 30 Mar 2003 Posts: 267

What I used to do what strip the wire, untwist what was showing (making sure that the wires would all lay side by side and flat), then put them in the correct order. Once they were all put in teh right order, get a pair of scissors, chop off abotu 1/16" to 1/8" (just enough to level them out.

Then, gently press them into the ends (there are grooves in the endcaps). Once you're in those grooves, the wires won't come out of them. When they're in there and you've checked to make sure they didn't move, push them up as far as they can go.

DrkPlague · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 04 Jun 2003 Posts: 107

practice. everyone screws up and takes forever when they are learning. after about 200 or so, you should have it down to 30 -60 seconds.

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d0wn_under · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 8:52 pm Post subject: Done it

I've done it! I now have 2 nice long new cables. After a few I realised that the problem I was having is that I wasn't crimping them hard enough so some of the earlier ones were probably ok after all :oops:

Thanks again for all the useful advice.