How to attach rj45's.

[SageGk]

Can someone describe a good way to attach RJ45 connectors to CAT6 cable? I just wired my house for my new HD100 and I can't get the connectors attached properly. I have been going at it for a couple hours already and am very frustrated.

[Sparhawk6]

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Network-Cable

[carlgar]

See this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qZfQrtnFic or these links http://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/ethernetcables.html or http://www.incentre.net/incentre/frame/ethernet.html

I only use pre made cables.

[SageGk]

Ok, I ran cat6 cable and crimped the rj45 connectors on myself, I was having a hard time (see my other post), but I have finally got it. Everything looks good, I have the wires in the proper order. I plugged one end into my HD100, and the other end into my router. No servers are found by the HD100, and the router does not light up to indicate that I plugged it into port "2" of the router. I'm pulling my hair out over this, can someone offer some advice please?

* merged *

[ke6guj]

probably a bad crimp. Doublecheck to make sure that a wire didn't get fully crimped, or that it was not wired as a crossover cable.

An easy check is to plug something else in, a laptop?, and see if it works with that.

[bluenote]

I find that crimping your own is always a crap shoot. In my experience, anyways, it's a skill that takes some practice to get down properly. between reading the reference to make sure you're putting the right pins in the right order, and physically getting a good connection on each one, takes some practice. The problem is, us amateurs do it so seldom that by the time we actually get decent at it, the job is done, and the next time we have to pull out those crimpers, we're absolute crap at it again. At least, I am.

Or maybe I just have butter fingers, I don't know. but if the cable isn't working, you've probably done something wrong -- wrong order, bad crimp most likely.

Cory

[SageGk]

Can I just buy a short CAT6 cable with the RJ45's pre-installed and cut it in half and splice it to either end of the wire I already ran?

[starfire]

No, that would give you a terrible connection. The only decent way of joining cat5 is with couplers.

Best to invest in a cat5 tester, they are really cheap and will show you whether you have all the pins correctly connected.

[matt91]

yeah, i figured out after frequent frustrating attempts that a tester was well worth it. Cheap on ebay or elsewhere.

[Apap]

I have found that the simplest way to make my own connections is to use the female connector as it is a "punch down" type and is much easier to make for my fat fingers. Then use a regular Cat5 patch cable to connect. The female connectors also make it easy to create a simple loopback plug and breakout plug for diagnosing bad cables.

Hope this helps.
Apap

[SageGk]

I just bought 100' with the connectors installed already.....done.

[malbec]

Originally Posted by Apap

I have found that the simplest way to make my own connections is to use the female connector as it is a "punch down" type and is much easier to make for my fat fingers. Then use a regular Cat5 patch cable to connect. The female connectors also make it easy to create a simple loopback plug and breakout plug for diagnosing bad cables.

Hope this helps.
Apap

Ditto!

[Taddeusz]

Also, having the correct tools is nice as well. A good 110 punch with a cutter for terminating a jack and and a good ratcheting crimper for terminating with a plug. The tools make all the difference in the world.

[EdwardATeller]

Originally Posted by SageGk

Can I just buy a short CAT6 cable with the RJ45's pre-installed and cut it in half and splice it to either end of the wire I already ran?

I've done exactly this, and it works fine. Just be careful joining the wires and make sure the connection doesn't get stressed.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by EdwardATeller

I've done exactly this, and it works fine. Just be careful joining the wires and make sure the connection doesn't get stressed.

Why not just get a coupler? That would be the cleaner solution with less likelihood of it coming loose, shorting and damaging equipment, or losing signal quality. Either the right length of cable or a coupler.

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by EdwardATeller

I've done exactly this, and it works fine. Just be careful joining the wires and make sure the connection doesn't get stressed.

Don't do this if you want a reliable gigabit run, especially not for any real length of cable.