Making LAN Cables....

[Donny John]

What tool do I need for fixing RJ45's to the ends of Cat5 Cable? Where can I get it? Do I need a tool at all?

[Jiff Lemon]

Yes you need a tool. RJ45 crimping tool. Maplins do a starter kit for around £30, which comes with crimpers, punch down tool, some ends and cable.

[Agent]

I got one from ebuyer for about a tenner.
Not the best thing in the world, but it does the job. If it only lasts me a year, for £10, im not too bothered

[Donny John]

Okay I'll try ebuyer, as I've been donated a few miles of cable thanks guys

[Donny John]

I'm gonna buy the CRIMP TOOL and the MILLIONS OF CONNECTORS I WILL NEVER USE

But what's THIS? Do I need one? or are they only for patching sockets?

Sorry for more noob questions

Thanks

DJ

[Raz316]

only for patching sockets

[TeePee]

It's for connecting cable to sockets.
These:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=54899

would work out better.. believe me, you WILL make more than 5 cables!

[Donny John]

Okay, thanks for all the help Guys. I will buy the 100 Pack of RJ45's (not sure I will make more than 5 tho )

[Allen]

I got a crimping tool, hundreds of connectors and a cable tester from eGay for about £13 plus £8 delivery (from Far East).

My brother is giving me 600m of cable too...

[Jiff Lemon]

you may only make 5 cables, but you'll definately need more crimps - you WILL end up making a mess of at least one cable. Staring at tiny wires inside plastic connectors sends your eyes funny!

[scottyman]

lol - true Jiff... one of the guys who used to work for me just couldn't get his head around why they had to be in the exact same order every time. he wasted about 20 quid worth of connectors one weekend when he was trying to make up a single cable. in the end I made it for him, as it was just too painful to watch.
it's worth warming up the cable between your fingers and thumb so it's easier to work with, and make sure the connectors you're getting are suitable for both solid and stranded core cable. you'll get a lot less grief and they make for much more durable cables.

[turkster]

You can actually do it without the crimping tool with a lot of care. Using a screwdriver to drive down the sleeve crimp, a thin sliver of hardened steel which should be the same thickness as the conectors (back of a scalpel blade or something like that) and a hammer to knock in the contacts. You will also need a wooden jig to hold the rj45 plug securely during the process as it require a lot of force. To start you push in the wires in the right order just like normal then push in the sleeve crimp with the screwdriver and then get the blade/hardened steel and hold in on top of one of the contacts parallel with the contact and give it a good clean whack with the hammer. The contact needs to be driven inslightly below the level of the plastic seperators between contacts. Hence the need for the thin balde to dirve the contacts down. Then do the same with the other 7 contacts

Very tricky but with a bit of practise I was able to do about ten with only two mistakes (and one was out of order wires anyway). They work fine aswell

This was all because i couldnt source a crimping tool in time for what I wanted