Making your own network cables is awesome :)

[Paulson]

Nothing like taking as long as you need of cable, cut it, strip the ends, line up the order in white/orange, orange, white/green, blue, white/blue, green, white/brown, and brown...



I think the best part is crimping... (this isn't the first time I've made cat5 cables, but I just did it and am now using it for one of my comps, instead of that radioshack cable...

 

[KeyserSoze]

That's weird that you say this, cuz I just made my own cables yesterday for the first time, so I know exactly what you are talking about.

Question: We made crossover cables, I think? Are those the ones that you can hook directly from one computer to another without a hub or anything?




KeyserSoze

 

[N8Magic]

And easy too!

But those damn connectors are pretty spendy.

 

[Beau]

Yeah, those are crossovers.

I love making myown cable.... I have a patch panel with like 300+ ports. Had to use 3' cables to patch the switches to the panels... HUGE mess... so I went and bought 1000' of cat5 300 6" cables later, much nicer.

 

[morkinva]

you don't have to actually strip the ends of each wire, do you ? I never did with the connectors I used.

 

[Bluga]

easy too

 

[BigJohnKC]

Gosh it's been a long time since I've made one of those.....I don't remember that being the sequence we used though. I vaguely recall it being orange/white, orange, green, blue, blue/white, green/white, brown, brown/white........like I said, it's been a long time, I can't really remember the sequence, and I never really learned the significance of one sequence over another.

 

[Beau]

No you don't have to strip the ends. The crimp-on plugs penetrate the insulation

 

[Jzero]

It used to be PROFITABLE to make your own cables.....just a few years ago, schools were selling 15' cables for like $30-$40 or more! You could by a 1000' cable for a fwe hundred bucks and some connectors and sell them to your classmates at half that and STILL turn a few hundred dollars' profit for a fairly quick job...

 

[notfred]

Well, yeah making your own cables has definite advantages, but I'd hardly call it "awesome".

BTW: when making patch cable, it doesn't matter what order the wires are in, as long as they're the same on both ends.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Correct. You don't have to strip the wires since the connectors actually pinch the wire through the insulation.

 

[Sir Fredrick]

It can get old kinda fast. Last year I set up the network for my dad's business, they were moving to a new location...they bought the spool, crimping tool and the connectors, I ran the cables through the ceiling and walls (what a pain), and made the cables. Amazingly enough, the network still works.

 

[Cyberian]

<< It can get old kinda fast. >>

Yup!
I had to rewire quite a few State Farm Insurance offices in Brooklyn and Queens, NY and the thrill wore off after a while.

 

[Dougster]

<< BTW: when making patch cable, it doesn't matter what order the wires are in, as long as they're the same on both ends. >>

Not strictly true, as I understand it CAT5 cables have the "twists" in each of the pairs especially designed so that if you follow one of the TIA A/B standards for wiring, you're are likely to get less interference on the cable due to better noise cancellation.

 

[Tripleshot]

Jzero


Geeze,i want to sell you cat5 cable. A few hundred bucks? I 've been buying cat5 cable 1000' for 35 for 2 years. You got ripped.

 

[illusion88]

I just made a bunch of cable yesterday. Only i have one side patched into the wall so i only need to put the heads on one side.

 

[Thrillhou]

<<

<< BTW: when making patch cable, it doesn't matter what order the wires are in, as long as they're the same on both ends. >>

Not strictly true, as I understand it CAT5 cables have the "twists" in each of the pairs especially designed so that if you follow one of the TIA A/B standards for wiring, you're are likely to get less interference on the cable due to better noise cancellation. >>



You are correct Dougster. The main thing to remember is to get pins 3 and 6 as one pair of the color code. Then put the same color on pins 1+2, 4+5, and 7+8. I once had to troubleshoot a nasty problem where somebody had made a CAT5 cable without separating any pairs. I was getting all kinds of collisions and I don't think you could even ping the device. I tried everything and eventually I connected a bunch of premade 10' cables end to end for about 100ft and it worked. So that is when I turned my attention to the cable and found that the color code was incorrect.

 

[Geekbabe]

It was fun the 1st dozen times, now I prefer pre-cut and crimped.I have really small hands and a lot of crimping tools are
really bulky and hard to work with for me.

 

[RC5Bri]

I have made a some, but have found that mine aren't always reliable. Sometimes you can just "jiggle" the connector, and lose continuity. So, if my network ever goes down(computer -> switch), I just jiggle the connector But, the ones that I have made most recently, are more reliable.

 

[Dougster]

<< So, if my network ever goes down(computer -> switch), I just jiggle the connector >>

Funnily enough I know someone who runs a 1000+ client network who said the exact same thing to me, except he was talking about an old router with a dodgy S0 connector.

 

[Bozo Galora]

all the "odds" are the multicolors ('x'white) 1,3,5,7
1,2 3,6 both ends are the only cables used (RX+- receive, TX+- transmit)
lots of premade cables dont even bring 4578 into the connector

 

[DanFungus]

man....my crimper is 1337! I made some cables a month ago, and I have a spool of 1000' of Cat. 5e cable in my garage. I hate how those connectors are so damn expensive though, comparably speaking....

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Used to make cables all the time, but now I only make the cables for the backbone, the wall socket to PC cables are actually cheaper to buy (taking into account cable, connectors, time to make em, etc).

 

[NetworkDad]

Much easier, when you go to fry's and buy bulk. Once you get the 568-A / 568-B colors down, it's a cinch!

 

[FrustratedUser]

<< Making your own network cables is awesome >>



Would you like to work with that 8 hours a day?

Making cables sucx$!