12-03-2009, 01:27 AM
M A V I C wrote:
[quote=Grateful11]
I was looking at this page on How To: Run your own network wiring
http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/22/how-t...rk-wiring/
That's a bad example. It's mostly good, but if you look at the crimped end, they cut too much of the sheathing off. The crimp part should go into the sheathing, not the wires.
The author of that article seemed pretty clueless, and didn't understand what was different about Plenum rated cables, seemed to think it had to do with signal quality "the good stuff", when it's actually about how it burns in a fire.
The crimping actually compresses two areas, one is the tip where the wire contacts are and that goes through the wire insulation where the outer sheath has been removed, the other is at the base of the connector and that should have the sheathing intact and it locks the cable into the connector pretty well so that any pulling on the cord will not put strain on the contact area.
One thing that you should also get is a cable tester that tests all 8 conductors of the Ethernet cable. I think Geeks.com sells a kit with that cheap crimper tool, the cable tester and several hundred feet of Cat5 cable.
A magnifying glass is also helpful for when the cable test fails so that you can inspect the connectors at both ends to see which one has the wires in the wrong channels, and know which end needs to be re-done.