Possible to rewire a crossover cable to a normal cat5?

[BLoop]

Can I do this or do I risk ruining the signal quality? I've got a 100 ft. crossover cable running through the attic connecting the NICs of our two PCs. I just bought a Router to share the cable internet connection so now I need a straight cat5 rather than a crossover. I'd just as soon not have to replace the cable, especially since it was such a pain in the a$$ to thread through the attic.

My main concern is that if I cut the end off and try to rewire it that I'll introduce line noise or the signal will degrade. What do you guys think and which two wires do I have to switch to reverse the crossover?

 

[manly]

The cable itself is fine. But you need to replace one of the RJ45 connectors:

RJ45 Connector

You'll need a crimper tool and one new connector.

 

[JackMDS]

As a temporary solution you can try the following.

Buy a short Crossover CAT5, and a female to female RJ45 coupler (Radio shack sells them for few $$).

Put the coupler at one end of the 100? CAT5, and connect the short crossover to it. The result is a 100?+ crossover cable.

It is temp. since a coupler may attenuate the signal, and or introduce noise.

 

[BLoop]

Thanks for the link manly. That takes care of the wiring. Any idea how much the crimper and connector cost? Do they sell them at Home Depot, for instance, or do I need to go to a computer store?

Jack, you've got the cables reversed but I'd been wondering if I could do that with a coupler and another crossover cable. I've got a crossover and need a standard but the principle still applies. I'm not overly concerned with having a perfect signal so that would probably work fine. If the coupler isn't too expensive though, I'll go that route, since it'll allow me to make my own cables in the future and won't degrade the signal at all.

Thanks for the quick response guys.

 

[JackMDS]

Changing the Plug:

The initial cost will be higher (Home Depot has the staff); however you will be a proud owner of a crimper and spare RJ45 connector.

Instruction for the project here:

NETWORK CABLE AND CONNECTORS.

As for my previous suggestion.

Stay with same components that I mentioned. CrossOver+CrossOver (with a coupler) will make it straight.

Or buy a very inexpensive Hub with an Uplink (they can be found for less then $20), and connect the crossover to the Uplink, and a short straight to a regular port.

 

[JustinLerner]

Do you have to use ICS with the new router and cable modem?

Just plug the 100' cable into the uplink port. Most SOHO routers have one standard Ethernet port that shares with an uplink port. You can just take the crossover cable from your PC and plug it straight into the uplink port for standard Ethernet access. Then take a short crossover cable and plug it into any Ethernet port on the Router (except the shared port) and plug the other end into your cable modem.

 

[BLoop]

Thanks for the suggestions. That should cover all of the bases.

 

[Jwyatt]

If you need to you could get a shorter crossover cable and use a coupler on it. That will inturn switch the cable back to a regular and not a crossover cable.