Cat 5 plugs & cable

[Keeper_of_Tess]

I've got some cat 5 cables that need to be terminated in plugs.

I've got a bag of plugs.

I've got one of those gizmos for trimming the cable and crimping the plugs on.

My problem is that I don't seem to have the knack. It takes me ages to tease out the four twisted pairs and persuade them to lie flat. I usually end up with wires crossing each other and moving out of line as I push them into the plug...

It takes me about twenty minutes to put a plug on, there's then a 50% chance of it working, and a high chance of failure after a few weeks.


Now, this cannot be right! Surely, it must be a two-minute job to fit a plug? Otherwise professional cable installers would never finish....

What's the secret?

[jeff]

practis makes perfect the more you do the better you get

jeff

[Slime101]

No secret - its a right pain the the backside unless you do it every day, which i dont. I find on the occasional cable i do that the pairs move, or get mixed up as i put the plug on, never had a cable fail tho but it takes a while to get the plug on!

[Bigstoo]

lol yup thats the way it goes. i normally buy the plugs that come with a seperate sheath, so you can get your wires in the right order before you squeeze them into the RJ45 plug, but i guess you dont have those. like people have said, just a matter of practice im afraid.

[Keeper_of_Tess]

My cables are in. I need to terminate the ends that are up in the attic and now that I've bought all these plugs and the crimping tool, I'm loathe to buy a load of sockets and ready made-up cables!

It sounds like welding: grasp the instructions and then practice, practice, practice!

Thanks for the advice anyway. :(

[Fettler]

When you strip off the outer sleeve dont cut it too short leave a good inch to work with.
Once outer sleeve is out of the way untwist the twisted pairs and pull them out straight, lay them all nice and straight side by side in the correct order(i cant remember the order off hand).
Next i use a stanley knife with a new sharp blade and place the cable ends to be trimmed on a flat scrap piece of wood (not swmbo's coffee table):D
measure using a plug what lenghth is required then with a pressing motion cut the ends off(dont try slicing the ends off) just straight down pressure.
Then whilst holding the cut ends flat slide on the plug and crimp.
Hey presto!!
Good luck it does become easier after the first thousand or so:rolleyes:

OH DEAR FORGOT ABOUT FITTING THE ANTI-STRAIN SHROUD Before straightening the ends.

Good luck.

[Keeper_of_Tess]

Once outer sleeve is out of the way untwist the twisted pairs and pull them out straight, lay them all nice and straight side by side in the correct order(i cant remember the order off hand).

Good luck.

That's one of the problems. I can eitherget the wires nice and straight orin the correct order...