When you build a network, either it’s a simple home network or a complicated office network in your office, you’ll need network cables. The most common type of network cable is Category 5 or Cat 5, which allow speeds up to 100 Mb/s (Megabits per second). You can buy pre-made cable in the store, but you’ll pay expensive price for it, and usually they’re only available for 10 feet (3 meters) max.
If you need a many cables or longer cable, you must make it yourself. You’ll also save a lot of money as buying the necessary tools will be a lot cheaper in a long run.
Requirements:
- Cat 5 cable – you can buy a 1000 feet roll of Cat 5 cable at computer stores about Rp 3.000,- per meter, depends on quality. Don’t be cheap, get the decent quality stuff, or it’ll be troublesome. Make sure that the colors on the wires easily recognized.
There are 2 types of wires (solid wire cable and stranded wire cable). Solid wires is a better conductor than stranded cable, so you can have longer cable with it, but it’s not as flexible as stranded wire (hair-like strands). Stranded wire good for short cables, solid wire good for long cables.
- RJ-45 connectors – usually come in bags of 50 or 100, it cost about Rp 2.500,- each. Pay attention of the type RJ-45 connector, make sure it is intended for the type Cat5 cables.
- Crimping tool – this is an expensive part of making your own cables, they cost about Rp 50.000,- and it might support crimping other connectors such RJ-11.
- Cable tester – this is optional part, you can purchase a cable tester for less than Rp. 100.000,- usually support RJ-11 connector too.
- Cutter or scissor – Standard home cutter should be good, don’t need to buy anything.
Click read more to see the instructions.
Cross-over vs Straight-through
There are two types of network cables commonly used in networking, straight-through and cross-over.
A cross-over cable is used to connect between two devices (computers) without using a hub or switch. (Note: you can only connect two device at one time, more than that will require a hub or switch of some sort).
A straight-through cable is just what the name implies, a cable that passes data straight through from one connector to another. It is used for a variety of connections. (e.g. computer-to-hub, computer-to-switch, linking other devices like switches and hubs.)
Instructions:
- Cut a piece of Cat 5 as long as you need, remember to measure it carefully before cutting.
- Strip about about 1 to 2 cm of the insullation off the cable using scissor. This is the hardest part, don’t cut the wire inside. Damaging one of the 8 wires will ruin your cable.
- Untwist the wires, there are 4 pairs of multi-colored wires inside.
- Now align the wires in the following order from left to right. The order is important since there is a wiring standard defined by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). It’s called EIA/TIA-568 Commercial Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard.
- Get the wires lined up and nice and straight. Then clip off the top millimeter so that they are all the same length and stick out about 1 cm from the insulated part.
The best way to insert the cable into the RJ-45 connector
- Hold an RJ-45 connector so that the plastic release clip is facing away from you, and the opening for the wires is pointing down.
- While squeezing the cable so that the jacket does not move on the wires, insert the sorted and aligned wires carefully into the RJ-45 connector partway. You’ll feel some resistance as the wires enter the grooves in the connector.
- Looking at the side of the connector that’s facing you (should be the one without the clip), verify that the wires are still in the correct order. Sometimes the act of pushing the wires into the connector can cause the order of the wires to be switched at the last moment. Use a magnifying glass if needed.
- Push the wires the remaining way into the connector. Make sure that the wires have gone all the way into the connector and are touching the end of the RJ-45 connector. You should see a line of 8 bare wire ends. If one is missing and that individual wire hasn’t gone far enough into the connector, pull the wires out, line up the ends and put them in again. You can’t see this problem from the side – you can only see it from the end.
- Now push the jacket as far as it will go into the connector.
Getting all of the wires lined up and inserted correctly can be a little tricky, so take your time. This gets easier as you get the feel of it.
If everything went well, it should look like this:
Right:
See how the end of the insulation sits snug inside the RJ-45, and how the wires go all the way to the end?
Below are two examples how it should NOT look. In the example on the left the wires were left too long, which leaves wires unprotected between the RJ-45 and the insulation. In the example on the right, the wires were cut too short and now don’t reach far enough to make contact.
Wrong:
- Double-check one last time that the wires are aligned correctly and all the way in. Then insert the RJ-45 connector into the appropriate opening of the crimping tool. Give the handle a nice, tight squeeze without crushing the RJ-45. If you have purchased a pair of ratchet type crimpers you will know that you are done when they release. If you bought a cheap-o pair, check to make sure that all of the little metal contacts are even and at the same height below the plastic of the plug.
- Now repeat this entire procedure to put an RJ-45 plug on the other end of the cable. Use the exact same wiring scheme as on the first end, which will make it a straight-through cable.
Note: If you decided to spend a couple extra bucks on the strain relief sleeves, be sure to put them on and facing the correct direction before you crimp the second end.
Cross-over Wiring
The cross-over cable can be made using the same steps as the straight-through cable. The only difference is the order in which the wires are put into the second connector. On the straight-through cable you use the exact same order of wires. On a cross-over cable you use a different order on the other end.
Cross-over cable use the following color scheme:
If you take a close look and compare the two ends, you’ll notice how the green and the orange pair trade places, which makes it a cross-over cable.
Note: When you make a cross-over cable, mark it to distinguish it from your straight-through cables. You can put colored tape on it, use a marker, use a different color cable, whatever works for you. If you don’t, eventually you’ll get it mixed in with your other cables and lose your mind trying to figure out why your connection to the network is hosed.
Test The Cable
If you have cable tester, you can test your cable by insert the two ends of the cable into the jacks on the tester and watch the lights. Make sure they all light up one by one.
Source: PC 911
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Tags: cat5, category 5, lan cable, network cable, rj-45, utp