Cat 5. Best tools, hint and tips if you'd be so kind.

[electromonkey]

Hello all,

I have a couple of re wires which I will be needing to second fix soon. In both, I have run quite a few networking cables. I'm noticing an increase for this service with customers so I'm looking for a few pointers on what you guys consider to be the best tools and materials to work with to allow for quick and easy installations. Any advice is welcome as this is something in which my experience is very limited.

Thanks in advance.

 

[johnski]

Holy thread resurrection batman!

ha ha, hasnt everyone got a tardis? ......seemed like yesterday! (Only just noted the date!)

 

[pirate]

I see this is an old thread, but old ones can be useful too.
I use a cheap continuity tester, can't justify the Fluke, but only do domestic stuff. Folks like a nice cat5 or 6 running everywhere, which is fine when the floor is up!
As for other tools, I use the Klein Tools VDV226-110

Ratcheting Cable Crimper / Stripper / Cutter, for Pass-Thru™

Klein Tools Coax Cable Crimper / Wire Stripper / Wire Cutter is a premium, long lasting tool for CAT3, CAT5e and CAT6/6A cable using RJ11/RJ12 standard and RJ45 Pass-Thru™ connectors. Pass-Thru™ technology significantly reduces prep work time; wiring diagram on the tool helps eliminate rework...

www.kleintools.com

with the pass-thru connectors, and it makes life easy.

 

[johnski]

I see this is an old thread, but old ones can be useful too.
I use a cheap continuity tester, can't justify the Fluke, but only do domestic stuff. Folks like a nice cat5 or 6 running everywhere, which is fine when the floor is up!
As for other tools, I use the Klein Tools VDV226-110

Ratcheting Cable Crimper / Stripper / Cutter, for Pass-Thru™

Klein Tools Coax Cable Crimper / Wire Stripper / Wire Cutter is a premium, long lasting tool for CAT3, CAT5e and CAT6/6A cable using RJ11/RJ12 standard and RJ45 Pass-Thru™ connectors. Pass-Thru™ technology significantly reduces prep work time; wiring diagram on the tool helps eliminate rework...

www.kleintools.com

with the pass-thru connectors, and it makes life easy.

Hi Pirate - really like the look of the Kleine pass thru tool and ends not used efore, I feel it may prompt a purchase soon! I would guess very useful and quick method especially with pass thru faceplates/patch panels.

Hope you dont mind this input: technically if an installation is not tested to perform or meet cat 5 (or 6) standard by a certified tester/method, the installation is basically an 8 wire low voltage connection - not a cat 5/6 which is an industry standard of proven tested performance. The full test invloves frequency scan/leak/cross talk, TDR (refelction), attenuation etc, and max length which is 296 ft for any single run (a bizarre imperial measurement!).

About 14 months back I found at the end of an office installation the good installation by the team was let down by a really poor /cheap qualiity cable suppied for the job - the connectivity element was fine but despite many efforts it could not pass cat 5 requirements/testing, so it could not be certified as such...

Thankfully the equpment worked over it so the client was content with a massive improvement and on basic H&S grounds but it could have been a lot worse, I dont work with cheap cable anymore!

In a direct electrical comparison, installation of a bunch of mains wiring that doesnt blow the RCD's or fuse, doesnt mean it meets BSi standards, but "cat 5" has no risk of life so less focus in the legal world - happy cabling!

 

[pirate]

Always happy to receive input, johnski!
I fully get what you mean about certification, but I also fully endorse that you must use high quality cable.
My amateur view is that if you can demonstrate continuity, use good cable, and the average domestic run is only a handful of metres long, you will get a satisfactory result...maybe not industry standard, of course...but it will perform satisfactorily and much better than a dodgy installation using the cheapest cable. I guess most folks are interested in a good download speed, and a good transfer speed, and no intermittent drop-outs.
I don't do many of these installations, but i have a few under my belt and no failures so far...however, that doesn't mean they are perfect! Sadly, I can't justify the cost of a Fluke or similar.
The Klein tool is very well made, very robust, and so easy to use with the Pass-thru system...you can untwist a good length, put the wires right through, easily check they are correctly aligned then pull the excess through so the twisted section sits hard against the "stop" before crimping. Frankly, my eyesight isn't that good, so having the excess "tails" poking through the terminal is a huge bonus.
Incidentally, I ordered the crimper through a well-known site, based in USA, and had to fill in a questionnaire as detailed as the immigration sheet you fill in when flying to America. They even phoned me, emailed me for more details of my intended use, and wanted to know exactly what I intended to use it for...i told them that I was going to use it for crimping terminals! (Tempted to say that the sole intention for my purchase was the overthrowing of the US Government, but sanity prevailed!)
The item arrived 2 days later, shipped form UK, but with a transcript of all e mails etc...and 2 separate sheets detailing the possible carcinogenic properties of the equipment...
Whatever, it's a great bit of kit.

 

[ChipFanDave]

Don't often install network cables but when I do it often for MCC communication and automation. Harting have never failed.

09458000520 | Harting Hand Ratcheting Crimp Tool for RJ Industrial Gigalink Connectors | RS

uk.rs-online.com

09456000651 | HARTING, 100m Cat7, Yellow, SF/FTPShielded, Unterminated Polyurethane Sheath | RS

uk.rs-online.com

 

[davesparks]

Hi Pirate - really like the look of the Kleine pass thru tool and ends not used efore, I feel it may prompt a purchase soon! I would guess very useful and quick method especially with pass thru faceplates/patch panels.

The Klein tool is very well made, very robust, and so easy to use with the Pass-thru system...you can untwist a good length, put the wires right through, easily check they are correctly aligned then pull the excess through so the twisted section sits hard against the "stop" before crimping. Frankly, my eyesight isn't that good, so having the excess "tails" poking through the terminal is a huge bonus.

Has something changed to make it acceptable to fit crimped rj45s onto solid core cable? Or have I misunderstood these posts?

 

[pirate]

You can get rj45s for stranded or solid cable, and some do both.

 

[Simon47]

Bear in mind that the cheap testers will only tell you that "pin 1 connects to pin 1, and so on ..." What they cannot tell you is that pins 1 & 2 are the two cores of one pair. "Split pairs" will pass fine on the cheap testers, but royally screw up any high speed signalling. At a previous job, we had no end of trouble with a Frame Relay WAN link in Italy - it was only after multiple complaints that the phone company did proper tests and found that the line was on a split pair.
A few years ago I spotted some Fluke DSP-100 sets (with smart-remote) for sale at a very nice price - one of the best purchases I've made over the years. It only certifies to Cat5, not Cat5e, but is invaluable for testing - and especially for fault-finding where it's TDR functions can pinpoint faults.
TDR = Time Domain Reflectometry. Send a pulse down a cable and measure the reflections, if you know the speed of signals in the cable, then you can convert time to distance. The DSP-100 also does Time Domain Crosstalk (TDX) which will often show you all the points in a circuit where the pairs are untwisted to fit the connectors !