RJ45 crimping and connectors

nry

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 10, 2008
Messages
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I recently did a fair few cat6 runs to various rooms around the house. Did it all on the cheap using CCA cat6 cable (before I knew what this really was :rolleyes:) and cheap RJ45 connectors and a crimp tool which cost me £3

Now for some reason I don't learn the saying 'you get what you pay for'. After getting poor network speeds on some of the runs and trying to use the runs for HDMI over Cat5 and getting all sorts of issues I have decided it may be time to start again!

This time I have chosen Excel Category 6A Cat6a U/UTP Cable LSOH cable

Where I am a little stuck is buying decent connectors and hopefully a ratchet crimping tool for a reasonable price. Please bear in mind this is for home use only but I have some fairly high end requirements (soon to be installing 10GbaseT on some servers and my workstation)
I have seen the EZ-RJ45 crimping tool recommended on here a few times, but here in the UK they are quite fairly pricy
Have also seen AMP connectors which I can't quite work out how these are different to any other cheap ones.

One thing I am looking for in the connectors is the two part connectors with loading bar.

Any recommendations on this subject would be brilliant
 
ICC gaurantees their products for 15 years if you use their infrastructure products end-to-end. They have everything you've mentioned.
 
Don't just put rj45 ends on a cable.

You want to properly terminate the cable to a keystone connector and use a patch cable to connect your device.

Something like this:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10513&cs_id=1051309&p_id=5379&seq=1&format=2

You can also find surface mount boxes with the keystone jack built in. Some keystone jacks are toolless, they use plastic piecse to snap the wires in place.

Even the keystone jacks that require a punch down tool, which is cheaper than a rj45 crimp tool
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10509&cs_id=1050903&p_id=7042&seq=1&format=2

No idea where you'd shop for this in the UK, but this is the standard way network cabling is done.
 
Yeah, don't crimp just ends on. Put a keystone jack on the ends and just use a short patch cable. You will have far less issues. The ones from Monoprice are cheap and work great.
 
For the HDMI cat 6 runs I think its best having less connections within the run hence the crimping.

Also my main reason for crimping is due to most of these connectors being behind a TV where room is very limited.

At my rack end I have 2x 24 Cat6 patch panels.

Sometimes like to be able to build up my own patch leads too or replace broken connectors.
 
Don't make patch cables, just buy machined ones.
Cat6 is a PITA to terminate because of the center plastic core and the added bulk; doesn't matter what you're terminating it to.

Unless you're doing a lot of drops just buy cables. Save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.
 
I have an Ideal 30-496 I like; it is small and light. I also have the more expensive monoprice crimp and use it more often. Also, in my experience the ratchet gets in the way.

Also, to echo zero2dash, I buy premade cables when I can.
 
Don't make patch cables, just buy machined ones.
Cat6 is a PITA to terminate because of the center plastic core and the added bulk; doesn't matter what you're terminating it to.

Unless you're doing a lot of drops just buy cables. Save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.

Not ALL Cat6 has the center plastic core. ;)
 
No cat6 should have it, only cat6a.

Some Category 6 cable designs have a spline to increase the separation between pairs and also to maintain the pair geometry. This additional separation improves NEXT performance and allows Category 6 compliance to be achieved. With advances in technology, manufacturers have found other ways of meeting Category 6 requirements. The bottom line is the internal construction of the cable does not matter, so long as it meets all the transmission and physical requirements of Category 6. The standard does not dictate any particular method of cable construction.
TIA CAT6 FAQ
 
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