Making your own CAT5 Cable?

[neomits]

I assume its possible. My Dad can pickup however long cable we need at his work but it won't have any ends? Is there a guide on how to go about putting ends on it? Has anyone done this. I have a couple of cables lying around the house but we need to get a connection from one computer on one side of the house, up a floor to the other side of the house.

 

[JackMDS]

Generally it is not a good idea.

However info here:

<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=91">CAT5 Straight, Crossover. What is CAT5, which one should I
Use?</a>

How to make CAT5.

Just in case:

How to make a crossover cable

 

[FUBAR]

Making your own cables is a fine idea, but you should expect that you will not get full 100Mb throughput on your cables. If you have that in mind and are prepared to deal with the ramifications of the network speed, then go ahead.

 

[Trashman]

Jack, if I may ask, and you don't mind sharing some info.....why is it not a good idea to make network cable?
Reason I ask, cause I had recently wired my house with cat5 cable, is it more a less a performance issue, taking into consideration, that someone with relatively no experience using not so high quality cables and/or connectors that could cause some issuses on your network?
Is there any kind of network benchmark to check the throughput or transfer rate on a network?
Would appreciate any info, didn't mean to hit ya up....just that this is the first I had ever heard, that making network cables is not good. Kinda learning more as we all go along, thanx...
Richard

 

[Tiger]

There is absolutely no problem whatsoever making your own CAT5 cables.

 

[FUBAR]

Except that you may screw one up just a hair and that may kill your performance. For example, our switch was wired with all home-made cables and we were on occasion losing 20% packets. Transferred fine, just slow. Now with all 100Mb certified (manufactured) cables, 0 problems.

Get your $3000 wire tester out and I'm sure you'll see the difference. For us, spray (the command) did the trick

 

[L3Guy]

IME, solid cables with keystone jacks used in infrastructure are relatively easy to do if you pay attention and read the relevant instructions before hand. No major tools are required. No big deal.

Patch cables are another matter entirely. If you make patch cables out of solid cable and use matching ends, you can usually make good cables, but I would recommend obtaining a tester if you are going to make very many. Solid patch cables will not stand much movement, pulling, etc. before they become unreliable.

The other option is to make stranded patch cables that will hold up well, but St. Peter himself might curse at their making. A cable tester, an expensive crimpier, the correct ends for the stranded cable and both skill and patience are required. IMHO, far better to buy the few patch cables I require.

Hope this puts it in perspective.

Doug

 

[JackMDS]

Jack, if I may ask, and you don't mind sharing some info.....why is it not a good idea to make network cable?

Most commonly, CAT5 is used in two ways.

1. Installing in the walls, and then connected to a plate with Female RJ-45 on the outside.
This can be achieved by professional installer t (which is very expensive) or doing it yourself, which is a reasonable affair.

2. Outside cables (AKA patch cables), which comprised of CAT5 cable with RJ-45 plug in both side?

Number 2 is more complicated to do, and need a lot of experience. The price of ready-made CAT5 cables is rock bottom, so there is really no incentive to do so. I just bought (on sale) 25? ready made for $2.95, and 50? for $5.99.

A little theory

Electrical transfer of electricity is made of rapid transfer of electrons from one molecule to the other.

This transfer is generating heath, and electrical field around it. It is also susceptible to be influenced by outside electrical field (commonly called noise).

The higher the frequency of the electrical transmission the more it creates noise, or can be affected by outside noise. AS a result, high frequency cables have to be shielded, and that is very expensive.

The main idea of the Cat5 is twisted pairs of conductors, since a pair of conductor is twisted together it creates an electrical filed that can cancel the noise (like pushing and pulling the same electrical signal). Thus, it does not need to be shielded.

Since the efficacy of the cable is a result of the twisted pairs, it is important to build the CAT5 correctly, other wise the noise cancellation is reduced, and the Network will stop functioning, or will function at a reduced frequency (speed). Testing, and certifying a cable actually transfers high frequency through the cable, and measures the outcome, this is the reason why DC conductance (using regular Ohmmeter) is not the variable that insures CAT5 performance. A good ?benchmark? to certify CAT5 is very very expensive.

A lot of ?Why my 10/100Mb/sec. Network transfer files like a snail?? Is a result of low functioning CAT5 Cable.


However, you are not in a hurry, you should give it a try, it can be a learning experience, that why I provided the fancy links.

A good measure to evaluate the overall functioning of the network can be found here:

A FREE Utility for Network Troubleshooting from NetIQ!).

 

[Amber]

I went to Home Depo and picked up 500 feet(the smallist box) and a 25 pack of ends for $60 got a crimper from Circut City for $20 did a google serch on net working cat 5a
it was very easy to do we ran about 100 feet made 10 bad ends but now I'm a pro (you will have a lot of cable to play with)
we play LAN game and split a internet hookup, it's very fast sending files we even burn CD's @ 32X over the LAN
with the left over cable you can help wire your friends house
it's as easy as doing phone wire but more wires

 

[ivwshane]

I made my own cat5 cables for the first time, 4 of them to be exact and I haven't seen any performance loss from when I switched from the premade ones. Just take your time and read the directions and all will be fine. Now if this was for a business enviorment then speding the extra money for premade would be a good idea to garuntee quality.

 

[spidey07]

terminate your own cat5 patch cables isn't too bad. just be prepared for facing -

slow performance
intermittant network problems
in ability to troubleshoot network problems because you can't rely on the cable

I agree with L3guy, using solid core wire with punch-down jacks is pretty reliable. crimping ends on cat5 cable and actually have it pass cat5 specs is somewhat of a work of art and requires a lot of experience.

 

[SgtBuddy]

When I first read JackMD5's reply, I exclaimed "Bullhockey!"

But then I read into it. First, the person asking the question has very little knowledge in making cables. (He wouldn't be here asking..unless...this is like a test or something...they...you know..."they"...do these things from time to time.

Jack was right on, he was just looking out for the guy. Just don't discourage him to learn...but then...I couldn't get a job fixing bad cables...hmmm...I see your evil plan JackMD5...


Making your cables is a perfectly fine thing to do. Shoot, if we couldn't make our own cables, we would have a very messy comm closet.

Yes, I have terminated an end 6 times to get it right. That was a bad day.)

Yes, I have seen bad machine made cable right out of the bag.

Without a decent tester ($3000? One a Kmart maybe), Fluke Network Analyzer is my new best friend, Pentascanner is jealous, you are rolling the dice on how good the cable is. You could have the perfect crimp and find out you messed up the color order and you will get 20%+ loss.

Make some cables. Make a million of em, get good at it and you will be "signed off" on cable makin'

Just dont expect to do it right the first time. Get someone to show ya. Reading out of a book is not the way to learn (Ok, you jeanuseses need not reply)

 

[Trashman]

Thanx Jack, for takin time to post a very informative explanation on what all goes on behind the scenes, and what myself and others may take for granted...lesson well learned here.

 

[Tiger]

I agree on the patch cable responses. It's easier to just buy them than roll your own.
I was refering to long runs inside walls to plates and jacks. Just did my entire house and I'm sure I saved some cash being able to cut the cable to the required length and install my own connectors. Bulk CAT5e is cheap and in the end makes a better install, IMHO. Short of a $25,000 network analyser the only way to get good is to do it. Don't strip too much jacket, don't un-twist the wire too much, and buy a good quality crimper.

 

[RemyCanad]

I have never had a problem with home made patch cables. Although I do use stranded cable with ends made for that kind of cable. On top of that I have a 5000 dollar fluke one touch tester that I can use to test all of my cables. I was amazed that the first 20 ends I put on were just fine. I had a class on putting the ends on and that is where I put 20 straight ends on at once.