ethernet wire caps?

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HAF72

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Edit: Complete! and Before pics

Long story short. My dad is going to change some rj-45 wiring of the house.. but forgot what the caps(and the tools to melt?) were called so he can go buy some. Or if there are any similar way to connect the wires together. Thanks!!

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Please don't use anything like that, they make better ways of splicing cat5 together, i don't have a link but someone here will
 
wow, if you really have to I would use an RJ45 on both ends and a joiner over them!
 
Thanks for the response so far. Note that my dad didn't do the install. We are the 2nd owner of the house(so the patch panel etc was there already) and also the caps on there were put by the installer from ATT when he installed U-verse.
 
Those look interesting, never seen before. But for data yeah, I woudl not do this.

I have joined cat6 cabling together using just a dab of solder and it works fine though... NOT FOR DATA!!11 though. I was making a magnetic coil, totally different. ;)
 
These are called scotch locks made by 3M. They do not melt anything, they are attached by simply crimping the ends and can be crimped by using a standard pair of pliers, although they do make a special tool for them if you really want to spend the money. They are fluid filled with a compound meant to resist corrosion. Also they are typically used for telephone installation. They can be used for joining wires, but are not ideal for ethernet. I have had to use use them for this purpose before and they have worked fine for me. I would try to keep the copper pairs as twisted as possible if you need to do so.
 
Holy. Crap. Gel Caps? For data? REALLY!?

Jay_oasis said:
wow, if you really have to I would use an RJ45 on both ends and a joiner over them!
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That would work, although I would prefer punching down the bare wires on each end to keystone jacks (no wall plate of course) then use a 1' patch cable to join the two cables. It's essentially the same thing, but I have never been a fan of terminating long runs into RJ45 ends.

This YouTube link will help you out: Link (you can get everything you need from Monoprice for cheap)

Thanks for the response so far. Note that my dad didn't do the install. We are the 2nd owner of the house(so the patch panel etc was there already) and also the caps on there were put by the installer from ATT when he installed U-verse.
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Please call AT&T and have them fire that person immediately. They should never be allowed to touch UTP again - ever. That's not the most ghetto thing I have seen from a "professional" installer, but it's up there.
 
brshoemak said:
Please call AT&T and have them fire that person immediately. They should never be allowed to touch UTP again - ever. That's not the most ghetto thing I have seen from a "professional" installer, but it's up there.
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Why, it is acceptable to use these in a voice install
 
funny, Not the first time I have seen that done.... The guy ran his network cord just like if you where running phone line.
 
Typical AT&T UVerse install. Trained Voice techs given tickets to install a new product/service they've never been trianed on. Keep in mind than until UVerse, as far as the outside installers are concerned, DSL was run the same way as basic POTS. Now with UVerse you have true data standards that they've never been trianed on and/or told about so they just keep going as they always have been.
 
Thanks again for the response! Wow, never knew about that on the caps. All the wires were like that before the tech came, he just changed the configuration and used those caps. Dad doesn't want to solder as the patch panel is in a closet(small space)
Thanks brsh, that is mainly what my dad is looking for :) Still open for suggestions though!

Another shot of the patch panel
IMG_0015.jpg


The blue cable is from the patch panel. White is from the u-verse modem
IMG_0016.jpg
 
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looks like a 66-block, which is designed for POTS.
not exactly the type of "patch panel" for data runs.
and yeah, scotch-loks are for POTS. Definitely wouldn't pass for data. Although I have seen it work fine, most definitely not recommended.
 
j-sta said:
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Oops for misunderstanding. That 66 block is actually for phone only(uverse isn't going through it). What the tech did was connect the line coming from outside to the line going into the room with the modem. Wonder if it is worth it to change those caps while I am at it?
 
Ehren8879 said:
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A lot of the wires were cut and left in the open. Since it looks like the house builders used rj-45 wires for some rooms while the others are just rj-11 why the lines everywhere. Thanks for that link.. just reminded me of something.

Since I want to run the ethernet for my room upstairs... any good power lines that can handle gigabit?(or not recommended?) Thanks!
 
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k1pp3r said:
Why, it is acceptable to use these in a voice install
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Voice will quite literally run over barbed wire. Data will not (not more than 10Mb). Unshielded Twisted Pair. Introduces to much EMI and is simply too prone to failure. Scotch locks are a sign that a voice guy was working in the data closet.
 
SpaceHonkey said:
Voice will quite literally run over barbed wire. Data will not (not more than 10Mb). Unshielded Twisted Pair. Introduces to much EMI and is simply too prone to failure. Scotch locks are a sign that a voice guy was working in the data closet.
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Yup. That's what I meant, the guy has a strictly phone background and is from the "wire is wire" camp. Which is great for phones, but not so great for data. Voice is nothing - you can rig up a 66 or 110-block with any assortment of random connectors coming off of it and it will work fine.. I have seen everything from two wires twisted together and then "sealed" with hot glue, to wire nuts, to binder clips (yeah, like the little binder clips for paper) - it all works for voice.

Data wiring, especially if he is looking to do gigabit, is not as forgiving.
 
Hmm thanks for the info. Yea currently running 18/1.5 so far so good no downtime yet. Might change if I upgrade to 24/3 in a month or two though. Dad might just change those caps and I'll get a 300 or 450 Mbps router/adapters and be done with it for a few years. Not for sure yet.
 
j-sta said:
looks like a 66-block, which is designed for POTS.
not exactly the type of "patch panel" for data runs.
and yeah, scotch-loks are for POTS. Definitely wouldn't pass for data. Although I have seen it work fine, most definitely not recommended.
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Actually, I think that is a 110 block. They do make 110 and 66 blocks that are rated for data. Usually the are stamped somewhere as 5E.
 
I'd pull that out and run new cable, but that's me. I've seen phone techs use 66 blocks to patch together data lines. Any installation where a phone tech is allowed to butcher wire is usually cheap enough to rip it out and do it right.
Following correct wire standards aids in troubleshooting and allows you to quickly eliminate wiring as the cause of any problems. I personally do not like mid-cable patches- looking for partially or disconnected cables along their length is never fun.
 
1) whoever did that install should be shot
2) that is a 110 block
3) there is no such thing as ' rj-45 wires' or 'rj-11 wires', those are USOC standards for voice jacks. The wire is irrespective of how the jack is terminated. Cat 5e cable can be terminated to 8 pin jacks, 6 pin jacks, 4 pin jacks, etc. depending on if they are using it for voice or data.
4) the 'caps' are 3M scotchloks. I use them for voice but only if I HAVE to.
 
Update: Well a year later and my dad and I finally got the uverse off of gel caps and onto a patch panel. Then traced the cables from the rooms and connected to the panel as well. Next up is to get rid of the rest of the gel caps all together and connect the remaining rooms to the panel and clean up the wires. Thanks to everyone for recommendations. :)
after.jpg


Changed the keystone to 568A wiring
keystone.jpg
 
Not to nitpick, but that's a lot of extra insulation off the end. It won't affect anything, but it just looks prettier :p
 
Thanks for coming back and letting us know how it turned out. Most of the time we don't hear the end result!
 
/usr/home said:
Not to nitpick, but that's a lot of extra insulation off the end. It won't affect anything, but it just looks prettier :p
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Should of taken a picture of the one in my room before. There were just about 5 inches of wire without insulation :eek:, lazy home builders. :)
 
hafnium911 said:
Should of taken a picture of the one in my room before. There were just about 5 inches of wire without insulation :eek:, lazy home builders. :)
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Yeah, a lot of electricians just don't care or don't know when it comes to data cabling.
 
But it's wire...and they are the only ones who are allowed to run it (said tongue in cheek!)
 
just an fyi, 3m does make "inline" connectors that are rated for ethernet connections over solid cat5e.
 
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