Stripping, crimping, and testing your own Ethernet cable is not as difficult as it sounds, in fact I would go as far as to say after a little bit of practice it can be pretty easy. there are many reasons why you might want to build your own Ethernet cable is opposed to buying per-made cables from the store:
Samer Sultan put together a tutorial video giving you a close up look of the process of stripping, crimping, and testing a networking cable.
You will need a couple of tools to get started, most of these can be found at monoprice.com, their prices will be significantly lower and reading the user reviews will help you make a better decision.
I have included a link to the tools I’m using in the video below, you can follow the link by clicking each item and it will take you to the corresponding product page on monoprice.com
The following is a list of the essentials to making Network Cables, be sure to invest in quality tools as they will last you longer and help you achieve consistent results.
A good pair of side cutters will make cutting cables a lot easier, essential to any networking job.
Its important to invest in a nice crimper, it will make the job easier. The ones I am using in the video can be found here
When picking Ethernet cable be sure to get the correct rated cable for your application, you can select from cat 5, cat 5e, and cat 6 as well as sheiled and unsheilded (rated for in wall, in riser tube, or standard in room use). The cable I am using in the video can be found here
Quality RJ45 fittings will be vital to making long lasting cables, I use these ones in the video.
Having a cable tester will let you know if there are shorts in your cable.I use this one in the video,it works great for both testing cables and tracing cables.
In the tutorial video I went over how to wire a T568B Ethernet patch cable, and then mentioned a crossover cable. Before we dig deeper into what these mean I’ve included the wiring diagrams for these standards.
T568A can be used to connect devices together throughout a local network, for example your wireless router, Roku box, and Xbox 360 would use a T568A standard Ethernet cable to connect to your local area network.
T568B reverses the green and orange pairs, besides this it serves the same function as a T568A Ethernet cable.
A crossover cable has one side crimped to the T568B and the other side to the T568A standard or vice versa. A crossover cable would be used when there is no local area network and to devices need to be linked together to transfer packets.
With the tutorial you just completed and your new tools you’re ready to start making your own Ethernet cables. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to practice and learn so that you can learn and come to build your own best practices.
Future networking tutorials will be going over setting up managed switches and routers, as well as other networking topologies not commonly seen in residential installations however still prevalent in some industries.
Seriously, go get these tools and try it out. Comment below to tell us what you think of the tutorial, or ask for help. Once you’ve made a couple of cables, it becomes easy. And make sure you subscribe to the Sultan Solutions Tech Blog!
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