Wiring my house with CAT5

[Shmorq]

I have a question about what tools I'll need.

I bought the RJ-45 connectors and a huge roll of CAT5E cable. What else will I need to make the cables? And where can I get them?

 

[MichaelD]

You'll need a crimping tool as well as wall plates/jacks. You are intending on "doing it the right way?" I.E. running the wires thru the walls, terminating them in jacks/wallplates? Or, are you just gonna kinda drop the wire from the ceiling/tuck it under the baseboard/under carpet, etc?

There is a specific order that the individual wires must be crimped into the jack. I don't know it off the top of my head, but I'm sure hundreds of folks on this forum do. Hang out. Someone will help you.

ps
Buy the crimping tool from the same place you got the CAT5 cable/or RadioSMack.

 

[Windogg]

Also get a test tool and decent punchdown tool. If you are going to do it, you might as well do it right. Beware of flourescent light ballasts and household wiring. If possible, run twice as many wires as you thing you'll need. It's easier to do it one shot than pulling the wires again. Terminate the wires at a patch panel.

 

[Shmorq]

<< Or, are you just gonna kinda drop the wire from the ceiling/tuck it under the baseboard/under carpet, etc? >>

That was the way I was gonna do it. I guess I'll take the extra steps and do it the right away since I need to get 4 rooms wired.

So all I need is the color scheme. I think I can get that from one of the pre-made cables that I have assuming that the scheme is always the same.



<< Terminate the wires at a patch panel. >>

What exactly does this mean? I should terminate all un-used jacks? I'm not sure what a patch panel is... Also, what would I terminate it with?

I thought I knew a lot more about this stuff.:frown:

By the way, thanks Biggs for the inputs from my double post.

 

[Biggs]

&quot;<< Terminate the wires at a patch panel. >>

What exactly does this mean? I should terminate all un-used jacks? I'm not sure what a patch panel is... Also, what would I terminate it with?

I thought I knew a lot more about this stuff.:frown:&quot;


This is done to make the set-up much more cleaner and professional looking. Think of an electrical socket in your house where it is terminated by a socket where you plug in all your devices. Same holds true for CAT5E connections. The main advantage of terminating it on a patch panel is that in the future, if you ever need to use a cross-cable, you don't have to do the all the rewiring, you just need to make a cross-cable then plug it in the patch panel and lo and behold, instant cross-over cable connectivity. If you really want to know more of home networking, visit here.

 

[Windogg]

Sorry for the cryptic terms. A patch panel is basically a panels with a bunch of RJ45 jacks in it. Rather than have wires dangling from the ceiling as MichaelD has suggested against, you should all have them in jacks. Having a dozen or more RJ45 jacks is unsightly and inefficient. Terminate just means crimp the wire on a port. You can leave unused jacks for future expansion.

Here is a 24 port patch panel

They are pretty cheap. The one above is $54. A 36 port model costs about $70. Makes everything look a lot neater too.

Windogg

 

[Shmorq]

My work load just doubled but I think it'll be worth it. Thanks everyone!

 

[Windogg]

This next suggestion will raise your cost just a little but save you some time. If you are placeing two jacks per wallplate, have two cases of wire. When you run it, tape the two ends together and run them at once as they spool out of the box. Of have one box each in adjacent rooms. Get one wire to meet the other, tape them together and pull. A lot easier than pulling a single strand at a time. I've seen some network prople run 25 - 30 cases at a time on large jobs.

Also run the CAT5 perpindicular to electrical wiring if they should meet at a junction.

Windogg