Cat 5 cable hack question

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Big Worm

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 3, 2002
Messages
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Hi there,

Basically, I am cheap, and all the computer stores are closing this time of night.

I need a long cat 5 cable and I have a bunch of short ones available. I want to solder a couple of cables together to give a 3rd computer internet.

I see that the Cat 5 cable has something like 8-10 wires inside. Are all the wires used? could someone possibly tell me how many I would need to solder together. Or do they all need to run connected.

Thanks for any help.
 
Make sure you solder the wires of the same color together. All are used if gigabit ethernet.

For a long wire, I really suggest you bite the bullet and buy one. If you like, buy a sppol of wire, some connectors and a crimper. Will cost more up front, but you can do custom lengths and will cost less over the life of the spool.

 
Don't do it. You'll probably get a connection, but you'll probably also get a lot of errors on the line. Just wait for the morning.
 
If you make your own really long cable like your thinking of doing by soldering a bunch of short ones together, then this about sums up the potential outcomes.

.5% chance of making a great cable with no problems
25% chance of making a degraded but functional cable
50% chance of making a shitty cable with horrible transmition rates and high levels of Crosstalk
24.5% of making a really long cable that will never work again except as a multi-colored clothes line.
 
blackrino9 said:
.5% chance of making a great cable with no problems
25% chance of making a degraded but functional cable
50% chance of making a shitty cable with horrible transmition rates and high levels of Crosstalk
24.5% of making a really long cable that will never work again except as a multi-colored clothes line.
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QFT.

Buy a cable.
 
well the cable was only going to be 25-30 ft.. if the connections are soldered well and properly insulated would they not work fine for a short cable? I mean it doesnt appear they are sheilded.


Either way I need a new hub anyways so I will just go down and get one tomarrow.:p
 
I just cant see why you would want to skimp out on something (and cheap might i add) that supplys your internet.

But good luck to you. :)
 
Big Worm said:
well the cable was only going to be 25-30 ft.. if the connections are soldered well and properly insulated would they not work fine for a short cable? I mean it doesnt appear they are sheilded.


Either way I need a new hub anyways so I will just go down and get one tomarrow.:p
Click to expand...
The biggest issue is the pair twists. You're probably going to have at least an inch - probably closer to two inches - of untwisted pairs in the middle of the cable. That part of the cable will be more succeptible to crosstalk as well as outside interference.
 
Burn a couple of DVDs or put it all on a hard drive and take ten steps to the next computer. If you're in need of networking, move the computers.
 
zoobaby said:
buy a sppol of wire, some connectors and a crimper. Will cost more up front, but you can do custom lengths and will cost less over the life of the spool.
Click to expand...

And then reap in extra cash by going to LANs and selling long ethernets to unfortunate lanners that are stuck 20ft from the hub.
 
agreed with axman, but buying ends, a crimper and a spool is what i would do, but my friend has a crimper so all i have to do is buy ends and cable and may not have to do that since he is talking of getting a box/spool of cat5e. But wait. And buy a linksys whatever you need.
 
Axman said:
Burn a couple of DVDs or put it all on a hard drive and take ten steps to the next computer. If you're in need of networking, move the computers.
Click to expand...

He said he wanted to give the third computer internet. But as most people have said, just go buy one.
 
Axman said:
Burn a couple of DVDs or put it all on a hard drive and take ten steps to the next computer. If you're in need of networking, move the computers.
Click to expand...


Did you read the thread? :rolleyes:
 
Pilky said:
I just cant see why you would want to skimp out on something (and cheap might i add) that supplys your internet.

But good luck to you. :)
Click to expand...


Meh, my main connection is solid on this PC, I just wanted to get some basic internet to this old g4 mac I got for free.
 
jpmkm said:
The biggest issue is the pair twists. You're probably going to have at least an inch - probably closer to two inches - of untwisted pairs in the middle of the cable. That part of the cable will be more succeptible to crosstalk as well as outside interference.
Click to expand...


This is what I was looking for, thanks for the response.
 
If you're running at 100 ethernet speed you'll only need 4 of the wires. It'll work no problems. People speaking about signal degradation etc blah blah blah are talking theoretically and clearly haven't actually done something like this in the real world (unlike me who has)

The reality is, you'll have no problems provided you join the wires properly (i.e. twist the exposed wires together tightly then solder them.

What length are we talking here, 30 metres? no worries. I've hacked a 100 metre BNC cable up to my friends house down the round with no problems and that isn't even twisted pair (before I took it down it had about 5 joins in it where it had been cut by neighbours strimmers etc and I'd rejoined it).
 
spine said:
If you're running at 100 ethernet speed you'll only need 4 of the wires. It'll work no problems. People speaking about signal degradation etc blah blah blah are talking theoretically and clearly haven't actually done something like this in the real world (unlike me who has)

The reality is, you'll have no problems provided you join the wires properly (i.e. twist the exposed wires together tightly then solder them.

What length are we talking here, 30 metres? no worries. I've hacked a 100 metre BNC cable up to my friends house down the round with no problems and that isn't even twisted pair (before I took it down it had about 5 joins in it where it had been cut by neighbours strimmers etc and I'd rejoined it).
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Please post the results of benchmarks/tests that show you have no signal degredation. And there are so many differences between UTP cable and coaxial cable that your comparison really doesn't mean anything.

It's certainly possible to get a connection by splicing the cables together. It's possible that it will work fine for what he needs it for. But why even bother doing it when a new cable is only a few bucks?
 
I've a 30 metre cat5 cable going from my cable modem downstairs to my server PC upstairs which I've cut and patched. I then have a 10 metre cat5 cable going from my server PC to my own PC which I've also cut and patched. Everything works great. No problems at all.

Crossover cables cost 3-4 times the price of straight through ones over here for no reason, so yeah, it's worth it. ;)
 
I was actually looking for something more along the lines of statistics on errors, damaged packets, retransmits, bandwidth tests, etc., not just whether it works or not.

You don't have to splice cables to make a crossover cable. Just cut one end off and crimp a new connector on with the appropriate wiring sequence. You save money while still maintaining the cable's integrity.
 
IMO, your best bet if you're a pretty serious user is to get a large spool of wire and the stuff to make your own. As many have said, it pays off in the long run. I make my own cables and they work flawlessy. I wouldn't join two cables together though, it's so much easier to just make a new one (plus then you have the old one for future use)
 
spine said:
If you're running at 100 ethernet speed you'll only need 4 of the wires. It'll work no problems. People speaking about signal degradation etc blah blah blah are talking theoretically and clearly haven't actually done something like this in the real world (unlike me who has)

The reality is, you'll have no problems provided you join the wires properly (i.e. twist the exposed wires together tightly then solder them.

What length are we talking here, 30 metres? no worries. I've hacked a 100 metre BNC cable up to my friends house down the round with no problems and that isn't even twisted pair (before I took it down it had about 5 joins in it where it had been cut by neighbours strimmers etc and I'd rejoined it).
Click to expand...


Hehe... sweet..

hell not even 30 meters, mabey 12 meters. Yes at 100 speeds, nothing more. The ethernet card on that mac is probably not even capable of full out 100m.


A 50' cat 5 cable here is 34.99 + tax, comes out to 40 bucks Canadian. Thats like most of a tank of gas for my truck. Now I could buy a 100' spool, then buy the connectors, and then buy a crimping tool, and then only use it this one time and never need it for the next 5 years.

Or I could give this a shot and try it out. I am not looking to be doing any 80mbit file transfers, or even network this thing for that matter, it just needs internet.

And why do it when a cable is only a few bucks? why overclock when the upgraded cpu is only 40 bucks more... because we can.

I might give the soldering a shot, if it doesnt work I will throw the cable out the window and buy one. No big deal. The use of solder costs nothing to me. If it does work, and is stable via benchmark tests, you guys will now kinow its not out of the realm of possibility to patch together these wires. Hell I might even use a couple peices of aluminum tape and shield my connections.
 
$35? :eek: That's waaay too much for a 50' cable. Newegg has 50' ethernet cables for ~$5. I know you're in Canada, but I'm sure there are stores that ship to canada that have comparable prices. Hell, compgeeks has a 300' spool of cat5 + crimper + rj45 connectors for $23.99 right now.

Though if you have your mind set on using cables you already have, then you really should just get a coupler. They're only a couple bucks and will be much better(not to mention easier) than soldering two cables together.

ps. Doing something just because we can doesn't mean we should do it. ;) I'm not saying absolutely don't do it; I'm just saying there are much better ways of accomplishing what you want to do without spending much money.
 
I did something similar once.

I came home for a one week break. When I got home I found out my parents threw out my 50 ft ethernet cord. I have 1000ft spool of cat5e in my basement, but I left my crimpers at school. Stores were closed and I was not going to go without internet for the night, so...

I had several 10ft ethernet cords already, plus around 800ft of cat5e. So, I cut out like 60ft, then cut one end off of each 10ft ethernet cord. Equipped with one swiss army knife, 10 fingers, and a roll of electrical tape, I spliced the three cables together.

Hardest part was stripping the damn wires (had to use my knife), and it was also annoying twisting the wires together. The 1000ft spool was solid copper, and the 10ft cables were not solid, so it annoyed me.

It mostly worked fine. I don't think the speeds were lowered at all.
 
Did you read the thread?
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Believe it or not, this time I really did. There was that whole bit about moving the computers to get some networking on, that you quoted, in there that should sate his need to get his patches in because they're so stupidly important he can't wait until this morning to get them done. Seriously, the shops open in fewer than 12 hours, I'm sure. No internet is that valuable. If it's a file necessity, than a burner should do in a pinch.
 
Axman said:
Believe it or not, this time I really did. There was that whole bit about moving the computers to get some networking on, that you quoted, in there that should sate his need to get his patches in because they're so stupidly important he can't wait until this morning to get them done. Seriously, the shops open in fewer than 12 hours, I'm sure. No internet is that valuable. If it's a file necessity, than a burner should do in a pinch.
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You idiot, did you not read that I am lazy and cheap tonight?

I am not transfering files, nor doing ANYTHING important. I simply am bored, have this shit laying around, and have time to waste.

All I want is internet on the machine. Actually I dont need it at all, I just want something to do. I made this thread to find out the realities of patching together cat 5 cable. My basic eletrical knowledge tells me there isn't anything that prevents this situation from happening. Rather people saying "IT WONT WORK, GO OUT AND BUY CABLE FOR NO REASON!!!"

So no, I didn't say I was moving the computers around, I am just adding a cheap computer to the household.

No, I am not transfering files, if you read the post, I only need a net connection.

Again no, I did not mention I was setting up a network

Aswell I did not mention it was important at all,

And I didnt ask you whether or not the fucking local store will open in 12 hours or that buying a cable is a viable option. I *really* didn't need your help in this thread if you cannot answer what I asked in the original post "I see that the Cat 5 cable has something like 8-10 wires inside. Are all the wires used?" And no, most likely they are not all used.

You obviously did NOT read the thread at all :rolleyes:
 
Big Worm said:
Rather people saying "IT WONT WORK, GO OUT AND BUY CABLE FOR NO REASON!!!"
Click to expand...
I thought we made it quite clear that there WAS a reason for getting a new cable rather than splicing together multiple cables.
 
ChingChang said:
I did something similar once.

I came home for a one week break. When I got home I found out my parents threw out my 50 ft ethernet cord. I have 1000ft spool of cat5e in my basement, but I left my crimpers at school. Stores were closed and I was not going to go without internet for the night, so...

I had several 10ft ethernet cords already, plus around 800ft of cat5e. So, I cut out like 60ft, then cut one end off of each 10ft ethernet cord. Equipped with one swiss army knife, 10 fingers, and a roll of electrical tape, I spliced the three cables together.

Hardest part was stripping the damn wires (had to use my knife), and it was also annoying twisting the wires together. The 1000ft spool was solid copper, and the 10ft cables were not solid, so it annoyed me.

It mostly worked fine. I don't think the speeds were lowered at all.
Click to expand...

Thanks, yes it seems there is nothing preventing from patching cables together the same as any other AV cable splicing+connecting. As long as the solder makes a nice clean thin connection, and each of the individual wires are insulated enough to prevent cross talk (they are not close together once insulated so I dont see cross talk an issue on a sub 10mb connection) It should work, and it did.

I now have a ~35 foot ca5 cable, which cost me zero dollars. works perfect, I ran a speed test on dslreports.com. My main PC completed the test at about 5.5mbit, the mac with my spliced together cable completed the test at ~4mbit. HOWEVER, I plugged the 35' hacked cable on my main PC, and the test concluded the exact same result as the *clean unhacked* cable, 5.5mbit. The reason for the difference, the Mac had a shitty built in network card, my main PC has a modern gigabit card. The wire appears to work flawless for 5.5mbit, for real networking and 100+mbit? I dunno, I didn't set out to network the mac onto my PC.

OMG I SHOULD HAVE JUST BOUGHT A WIRE!!!!.....
 
Insulation has absolutely nothing to do with crosstalk. :rolleyes: Insulation does not "prevent" crosstalk. Ethernet cables are a totally different beast than AV cables.
 
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