Network Cabling

[SalesServiceGuy]

I have to do an install tomorrow after delivering the copier yesterday into a new luxury home office.

Upon inspection, the building contractor ran Cat 5e cabling from the "mechanical room" to the home office 30' away. Unfortunately, the contractor did not terminate either end of the cable run. This is a task that I have not performed in quite awhile and after watching a few YouTube videos and buying a nice crimping tool, I have a few questions.

1. On the home office side, there is a wall receptacle that the Cat 5e enters into covered in a solid face plate. When I remove the face plate, I see a cable end without a lot of extra cable. I know that I have to install a Keystone there. I first need to strip the cable cover and unwind the four pairs. The Keystone includes a cheap plastic punch down tool with a wiring diagram. You can select either the residential or business wiring plan. Business is the most common so I will go with that. I bought a wall plate to attach the Keystone when I am done and will trim any excess wires on the Keystone.

2. On the other mechanical room end, there is a lot of excess cabling leaving me with a un-terminated Cat 5e cable. I will remove the excess and still leave extra.

3. YouTube suggested to me that the way to go is with a Pass-Thru data plug. So I acquired those and a those and a nice modular crimping tool for Pass-Thru.

4. I understand how to strip the wire and un twist and straighten the four pairs.

5. Practicing at home, try as hard as I could, I could not get the eight wires, held together like the pro on YouTube, to pass through the Data plug without fowling.

6. I tired pushing the eight wires individually through the data port and I could never get past the 7th wire. The 8th wire would always jam.

7. Out of frustration, I simply tried a different Data plug, from the 10 pack that I had and I was able on the first attempt to individually push all eight wires through and terminate and trim them with the crimping tool according to the Business wiring diagram.

8.Is there a better way to do this?

I can test the quality of my working by first using my laptop to connect to the copier, bypassing the customer's computer.

[bsm2]

Re: Network Cabling

It takes practice to wire the cables in the correct order. Take your time don't rush you'll master it.

Just like the old days of restringing corona wires.

We use to do our cables but now premade cables are so cheap it was better to order them.

A network cable tester is a good tool to have.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: Network Cabling

It takes practice to wire the cables in the correct order. Take your time don't rush you'll master it.

Just like the old days of restringing corona wires.

We use to do our cables but now premade cables are so cheap it was better to order them.

A network cable tester is a good tool to have.

... I blew my budget on a nice crimping tool that I will have forever. That is why I plan to use my laptop connected via the same cable to the copier to test my cable ends.

... and I will practice a few more times tonight.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Network Cabling

I've done so many lately that I think I could do it with my eyes closed but it takes practice. Make sure that the 8 wires are flat...like a flat ribbon cable. Also, if you feel any resistance when pushing the wire into the connector, it probably isn't right. It should slide in smoothly.

You may want to try some pass thru connectors. It's easier but requires a special crimper.

The keystone jacks are a piece of cake they're color coded.

[bsm2]

Re: Network Cabling

... I blew my budget on a nice crimping tool that I will have forever. That is why I plan to use my laptop connected via the same cable to the copier to test my cable ends.

... and I will practice a few more times tonight.

Network cable testers are usally under 20.00 bucks. The idiot light ones

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Network Cabling

You're making a mistake relying on a laptop to test the cable. You'll have no idea which end is miswired. Been there, done that.


Publication1.jpg

[blackcat4866]

Re: Network Cabling

It takes practice to wire the cables in the correct order. Take your time don't rush you'll master it.

Just like the old days of restringing corona wires.

We use to do our cables but now premade cables are so cheap it was better to order them.

A network cable tester is a good tool to have.

It just takes practice.

I usually strip ~25mm of the outer insulation, then arrange the wires in the correct order. When you've got the wires arranged in a flat fan shape, snip the ends all flush ~13mm long. Since the connectors are clear, you can see if any of the wires does not slide all the way in. Once it's arrange perfectly and you're holding it tightly ... THEN crimp.

And yes, the line tester is worth every penny. This is the one that I have, and it's saved me wasting a LOT of time. Also you can check existing cables when you have a weird issue:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sperry-Coaxial-and-UTP-STP-Cable-Tester-System-TT64202/202520208?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=Shopping-B-F_D27E-G-D27E-027_011_TOOLS_ACC-NA-NA-Feed-SMART-NA-NA-New_Engen&cm_mmc=Shopping-B-F_D27E-G-D27E-027_011_TOOLS_ACC-NA-NA-Feed-SMART-NA-NA-New_Engen-71700000072501775-58700006340111859-92700057208561306&gclid=CjwKCAiAlfqOBhAeEiwAYi43F5PCnHDzUYD-dWMjvwOih5hNurVLSO_GOzKofPoTDRIw8R2N1aXBBRoCGfYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

=^..^=

[sandmanmac]

Re: Network Cabling

I'm no cable expert and have never had much like trying to make my own.
But it sounds like a perfect place to install a wireless range extender and be done with it.
Is that not an option?

[copier tech]

Re: Network Cabling

I have to do an install tomorrow after delivering the copier yesterday into a new luxury home office.

Upon inspection, the building contractor ran Cat 5e cabling from the "mechanical room" to the home office 30' away. Unfortunately, the contractor did not terminate either end of the cable run. This is a task that I have not performed in quite awhile and after watching a few YouTube videos and buying a nice crimping tool, I have a few questions.

1. On the home office side, there is a wall receptacle that the Cat 5e enters into covered in a solid face plate. When I remove the face plate, I see a cable end without a lot of extra cable. I know that I have to install a Keystone there. I first need to strip the cable cover and unwind the four pairs. The Keystone includes a cheap plastic punch down tool with a wiring diagram. You can select either the residential or business wiring plan. Business is the most common so I will go with that. I bought a wall plate to attach the Keystone when I am done and will trim any excess wires on the Keystone.

2. On the other mechanical room end, there is a lot of excess cabling leaving me with a un-terminated Cat 5e cable. I will remove the excess and still leave extra.

3. YouTube suggested to me that the way to go is with a Pass-Thru data plug. So I acquired those and a those and a nice modular crimping tool for Pass-Thru.

4. I understand how to strip the wire and un twist and straighten the four pairs.

5. Practicing at home, try as hard as I could, I could not get the eight wires, held together like the pro on YouTube, to pass through the Data plug without fowling.

6. I tired pushing the eight wires individually through the data port and I could never get past the 7th wire. The 8th wire would always jam.

7. Out of frustration, I simply tried a different Data plug, from the 10 pack that I had and I was able on the first attempt to individually push all eight wires through and terminate and trim them with the crimping tool according to the Business wiring diagram.

8.Is there a better way to do this?

I can test the quality of my working by first using my laptop to connect to the copier, bypassing the customer's computer.

Not very helpful I know but can you not pass this back to the building contractor to finish the job ?

[blackcat4866]

Re: Network Cabling

I had one customer that had crimped his own connectors on a new installation. The only problem was that only one PC would connect to the internet, and another would only connect intermittently, of 14 network ports. I had to tell him that there is a specific order that the wires get inserted into the connector. Of the 56 connectors that he crimped, only four were fortuitously close enough to work.

To get a working printer installation I re-crimped the 4 connectors, plus the 2 on the printer cable. I wasn't going to re-crimp every connector, but I did provide him with a color code diagram. I never heard anything else about it, so I'll assume that he figured it out. =^..^=

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Network Cabling

I had one customer that had crimped his own connectors on a new installation. The only problem was that only one PC would connect to the internet, and another would only connect intermittently, of 14 network ports. I had to tell him that there is a specific order that the wires get inserted into the connector. Of the 56 connectors that he crimped, only four were fortuitously close enough to work.

To get a working printer installation I re-crimped the 4 connectors, plus the 2 on the printer cable. I wasn't going to re-crimp every connector, but I did provide him with a color code diagram. I never heard anything else about it, so I'll assume that he figured it out. =^..^=

Just as an aside: There's 2 ways you can configure the wiring: 568A or 568B. It doesn't matter which one you use as long as it's the same on both ends.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Network Cabling

Just as an aside: There's 2 ways you can configure the wiring: 568A or 568B. It doesn't matter which one you use as long as it's the same on both ends.

I can seem to remember T-568A pretty consistently, so that's my favored configuration. =^..^=

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Network Cabling

Quick story: One day I'm at the shop making some network cables and the girl that answers the phone asked me if she could try it. I told her that it's harder than it looks and told her some other time. She kept hounding me about it days later. I blew her off again. Then one day right before 5:00 she asked again. I asked her if she thought she could do it correctly. She said "I know I can". I asked her if she was willing to bet lunch the next day. (I wasn't gonna make her do it but she didn't know that.)


Long story short. She did it right the first time and did it as fast as I can do it. I was fucking shocked and ended up buying her lucnch the next day.

[srvctec]

Re: Network Cabling

Quick story: One day I'm at the shop making some network cables and the girl that answers the phone asked me if she could try it. I told her that it's harder than it looks and told her some other time. She kept hounding me about it days later. I blew her off again. Then one day right before 5:00 she asked again. I asked her if she thought she could do it correctly. She said "I know I can". I asked her if she was willing to bet lunch the next day. (I wasn't gonna make her do it but she didn't know that.)


Long story short. She did it right the first time and did it as fast as I can do it. I was fucking shocked and ended up buying her lucnch the next day.

Sounds like she did it before or it was just beginner's luck.

I've done a few hundred of them over the years, so when I need to do another one now and then, it's a piece of cake to pick up and correctly wire them again. We don't make nearly as many as we used to a couple decades ago.

Oh, and like you said, a network cable tester is an absolute must, no exceptions.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Network Cabling

Sounds like she did it before or it was just beginner's luck.

I've done a few hundred of them over the years, so when I need to do another one now and then, it's a piece of cake to pick up and correctly wire them again. We don't make nearly as many as we used to a couple decades ago.


Oh, and like you said, a network cable tester is an absolute must, no exceptions.

Don't think it didn't cross my mind that she had done it before...but I don't think so. She had watched me do several and I think she just picked it up. It wasn't that way for me. I fucked some cables up til I got it right.