Hello everyone,
Today I will be showing you how to make your own Cat5e Network patch cables. Patch cables are more often used to hook up your device to connect to the internet.
Tools Needed:
2 rj45 connectors
1 cat5e cable (any length)
1 rj45 crimper tool
1. Cable tester, or tone/data generator
Wire Configuration:
Step 1. You will need to strip back 1/2 inch of the outside wire shielding of the cat5e to expose the 8 small wires inside, which is what you will use to make your connection in the rj45 connector. do this on both ends of the wire.
Step 2. Once the shielding has been stripped back on both ends, position your rj45 connector as shown to the left with the clip facing down towards the floor. This cabling technique we are going to use is referenced to as the 568B configuration. There is a 568A configuration, however for this exercise we will only use 568B as shown in the figure 1 to the left.
Step 3. Following the schematic on the left, we will ‘pair’ our wires up the same way;
orange white/orange | green white/blue | blue white/green | brown white/brown. It is important that you make sure you cut/trim the ends of these wires to ensure they are all one equal length. You should also hold the wires in between your index finger and thumb securely, and taking your other index finger and thumb, ensure you flatten them out, do this using slight pressure to ensure the wires will stay straight. Now push the wires straight into the rj45 connector with clip facing down towards the floor. You will feel the wires push in to the connector and stop.
Step 4. At this point, you now use your rj45 crimper tool to push down the plastic hold inside of the rj45 connector. (Before you use the tool, give the connector a once over look, to make sure the wires went in correctly and in the correct order). This will ensure the wires will not pull out of the connector. You may need to apply ample pressure to achieve this. Give the wires a good tug to make sure they will not come out.
Step 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4. Now if you don’t have a cable tester available, you can simply plug it in between your devices, and ensure connectivity. Cable testers can be around $100.00, but they will save your a lot of hassle with testing cables for proper working order.
Congratulations! You just made your very first cat5e cable, and hopefully if all went well it works!
Kind Regards,
The IT Advisor
