Where to buy RJ45 crimper and plugs?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
N

NoodleTech

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2006
1,266
0
0
I just bought 2000 ft of bulk CAT6 cable to help my friend wire up a building.

Now I need the jack and tools to assemble the cables.

Where is the best place to buy jacks and the crimper I need to make the cables?

Also, do I need a cable tester? If so, where should I buy it?

Any other tools I should consider?

Thanks.
 
C

cmetz

Platinum Member
Nov 13, 2001
2,296
0
0
You don't use a crimper and plugs to wire a building.

You use jacks with 110 punch-down block on the back (sometimes called keystone jacks) and a punch-down tool. The Harris/Dracon tool is the one most everyone gets, the Ideal one is similar (the same?). You can get that tool at Home Depot and probably Lowes. It's like $65 or so, it's well worth it, don't mess around with cheaper tools.

You can get generic jacks and plates there, too, though they're expensive - Monoprice is cheaper, there are other online stores I'm sure folks will suggest.

If you want to buy professional-grade stuff, talk with Anixter and Greybar. Look at Ortronics jacks and plates, they make good stuff.

You can get a tester at Lowes/Home Depot that will tell you if the wires are connected right. That's about $50, and an absolute minimum for any job. A cable tester that tests signal quality will cost upwards of $1,000, but they can be rented for reasonable enough rates. You don't have to test your installations if you don't mind it not working properly. Otherwise, yes, you need a cable tester.
 
RebateMonger

RebateMonger

Elite Member
Dec 24, 2005
11,586
0
0
Chiming in with cmetz. There's no reason you should ever have to "assemble" a cable. Use keystone jacks at both ends of the fixed cables. Buy factory-built patch cables for the short runs from the walls to switches, routers, and computers. Factory-built ten-foot patch cables are around $1 at Monoprice.com.

Hand-crimped cables won't save you any money but WILL waste a lot of time. Plus, they are a primary cause of network problems.
 
N

NoodleTech

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2006
1,266
0
0
okay thanks for the advice. So I can keep the bulk cable correct? Just use those keystone jacks with them instead of hand crimping them with regular rj45 jacks?
 
S

ScottMac

Moderator<br>Networking<br>Elite member
Mar 19, 2001
5,471
2
0
AND, to add to the others ...it *IS* solid core cable, right?

Stranded has too much loss, and can't be punched down (worth a wet fart, it sucks, it doesn't work well, you shouldn't do it under ANY circumstance)
 
S

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Originally posted by: NoodleTech
okay thanks for the advice. So I can keep the bulk cable correct? Just use those keystone jacks with them instead of hand crimping them with regular rj45 jacks?
Click to expand...

Yes. And read up on category 6 installation. You have to keep the twist VERY close to the punchdown on the jack. Modern jacks help with this but many don't pay attention to this and lose any benefit of cat6 cabling. You'll also need to make sure the jacks match the gauge of solid core cabling you're using - they are not all the same.
 
I

imagoon

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2003
5,199
0
0
It is to your advantage to get the same brand of keystones as the cable you bought. Most companies sell an end to end product. They test and certify the cable based on keystone <-> cable <-> keystone. Using Belkin cable with Mohawk keystones can cause strange things when nearing the max lengths, not limited to cable size differences. Many times there are small variations in the keystone design that is done to correct variations in the cable itself.
 
E

Emulex

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2001
9,759
1
71
you know alot of government agencies; say military have banned DIY cable. pre-made or not.

as i said in a recent thread most modern ethernet cards of decent quality (intel) even laptops have signal tests built in. they are like a fluke for ethernet. Free. they can do some pretty damn good debugging.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom