Terminating Cat6 cables

[Sonic007]

Morning all,

 

As part of my job I obviously need to run cables and then terminate them. This is the most anonying part of my job. I find it fidly, can never get it right first time, and its a pain in the ass.

 

Do you have any tips or tools that you use that you find just works for you? I find it so fidly getting all the wires sorted, fed through, and then keeping them in the right order.

 

What do you use and works best for you when terminating ethernet cables?

 

 

thankyou.

[synaesthesia]

As cables get thicker, the worse they get to terminate! For Cat6/6a, only use keystone patch panels and for RJ45 the pass/crimp through connectors are the easiest. Still fiddly, but that's always part and parcel.

Run each cable through your finger and something smooth like a pen to straighten them before getting them in the right order.

[Davit2005]

+1 for Keystone Jacks not only does it allow replacement of the individual jack rather than the whole panel if one jack goes faulty, it is a lot easier to work with (and if you do muck up the panel you can easily move a keystone) , I used to jus use a marker when pulling cables from the box having more than one box of cable when running more than one cable is very handy :-) Cat6a you should not use cable ties otherwise you can compromise the CAT6A standard.

 

And yep using pass/though plugs is a lot easier :-)

 

I used to do quite a bit 10 years ago, I'm glad I don't need to do it anymore, hot attics, drilling walls, crawling under raised flooring, dealing with ceiling tiles, sitting awkwardly doing 30+ wall outlets, etc.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Davit2005

[smurfomatic]

For terminating cables definitely use keystone jacks or patch panels.

 

If you're putting plugs on the end, we've got these recently and it's much easier as the individual wires feed through the plug and you can see if they're in the wrong order! Also helps that you don't have to worry about making the stripped section the right length: https://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/cat6-rj45-easy-plugs/98141-cat6-utp-rj45-easy-plugs.html

[rossibIT]

I feel your pain.... External cable is the worse!

 

It's amazing how one can take 5 mins then another takes half hour plus cause the wire went in fine then got bent in the connector. I am another one to use pass through connectors (think it will be different to everyone at the end of the day) but with these you can make sure all the wires have gone through correctly. Just need to make sure you pull them back enough once done.

[howartp]

For straightening the individual wires, I saw a video last year where someone used the outer sheath (that they'd just stripped off) as a finger protector - thread it over each wire in turn, squeeze and pull.

 

I've been doing it ever since and my fingers are much happier for it!

[E_G_R2]

Don't forget your tester so that you can log test results as per DFE guidelines

[CHiLL]

A colleague in a school I was consulting at previously was using specific passthrough RJ45 adapters and crimping tool. Instead of cutting the wires to the right length and hoping they're not too long or they'll reach the end of the RJ45 connector, you just cut off more than enough sheeth, straighten the wires, put them in the right order and feed them in. They'll just pop out of the end of the RJ45 connector, you crimp and it just cuts off the excess. It was basically this tool, though the only downside is that you need to buy speific RJ45 connectors, which are slightly more expensive than normal.

[Sonic007]

I used to do quite a bit 10 years ago, I'm glad I don't need to do it anymore, hot attics, drilling walls, crawling under raised flooring, dealing with ceiling tiles, sitting awkwardly doing 30+ wall outlets, etc.

 

Not to forget the strange things that fall on to your head when you take down the ceiling tiles! Dead mouse anyone?

[pete]

I use a bloke called Gavin.

 

On the odd occasion I need to reterminate something or it's a one-off, Keystone jacks (as mentioned above) are well worth the cost. The Klein Tools pass-through crimper (for rj45 plugs) is brilliant.

[Sonic007]

Thanks everyone, I've just ordered some Keystone Jacks.

[ITGuyNW]

Not to forget the strange things that fall on to your head when you take down the ceiling tiles! Dead mouse anyone?

 

about a thousand fruit flies not long ago..

[E_G_R2]

about a thousand fruit flies not long ago..

 

cheap gold sovereign ring!!!

[Chris_Cook]

A sandwich (age unknown)

 

100 Fluorescent tubes and starters (it looks like it took them a while to notice the fitting was broken - burn marks didn't give it away).

 

 

Pass through connectors and keystones are the way forward. Most other panels these days are rubbish and break in use. Its twice the cost, but half the time.

 

You can also use the outer cat6 cover to un-twist the pairs as well. Separate the last twist, then get the wall of the tube between the 2 wires and spin it in your fingers while siding it down each pair.

 

Its also worth getting quality tools. CK do some good wire strippers, as do Knippex. The last lot of passthrough connectors I got of Amazon had some pretty good wire strippers as well.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solsop-Through-Ethernet-Crimper-Connectors/dp/B0B519WGWK/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1KBNIN884FMK3&keywords=passthrough%2Brj45%2Bconnectors&qid=1702471976&sprefix=passthrou%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

I hear good things about the Knippex Ergo strip, but I've not used one yet. The other tools I've used from them have been top notch.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KNIPEX-16-95-01-ErgoStrip/dp/B01BPW2C6Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=11Z3BW12W3ASH&keywords=knipex%2Bergostrip%2Bcat6&qid=1702472050&sprefix=knippex%2Bergostrip%2Bcat6%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-1&th=1