Due to numerous requests for wiring diagrams or general
information on how to build patch cables,
ComputerCableStore™ has created the following "How to Make a
Cat 5e Patch Cable". Within this "How To" article we have
included everything you will need to find the materials,
tools, and info on how to build
straight-through Cat 5 Patch Cables and Crossover Cat 5
Patch Cables.
We will discuss materials needed, cable preparation, as
well as connector termination.
Materials:
The first and most important material we will be using
is the cable. Bulk
Cat 5 cable is available in a variety of different
types:
Stranded Cat 5
Stranded is primarily used for building patch cables.
The core of the conductors is comprised of many strands
of copper so that it can be flexed repeatedly without
the copper cores of the conductors breaking.
Solid Cat 5
Solid Cat 5 is primarily used for in wall/permanent
applications. The core of a solid category 5 cable is
comprised of one single solid copper conductor. This
allows the cable to carry signals over longer distances
although it can not be flexed as much as a stranded
cable without breaking the copper.
Plenum Cat 5
Plenum is primarily used for in wall/permanent
applications where the local building codes require that
plenum cable be used. Plenum cable is essentially the
same as solid except the jacket is comprised of a PVC
Teflon mix. This plenum jacket is a low smoke/flame
retardant jacket that reduces the amount of toxic fumes
that are released into the air should the building that
it is installed in catch fire.
Stranded is best when building patch cords. The flexible
stranded cores will hold up best against the daily abuse
that these cables tend to endure. We carry Stranded
Category 5e in a variety of colors to suite your
particular needs.
Stranded Category 5e is
available in the colors shown below.
Other Materials needed:
Cat 5, 5e 8p8c RJ45 Modular Connectors
Stripping Tool
Conductor Clipping Tool
Crimping Tool
1000FT Cat5e 350Mhz Network Cable - Stranded - Orange PVC
ComputerCableStore™ 1000FT CAT5e 350Mhz Network Cable - Stranded - Orange PVC Cable is ideal for voice, data, video and security communications medium for your network installation. Wiring your home, home office, office or even a entire college campus, ComputerCableStore™ has the right cable for you. ComputerCableStore™ bulk 350Mhz cable is available in PVC and Plenum rated jackets. Our bulk 350Mhz cable is also available in various colors so you can easily identify and color-code you wiring. With our UL listed CAT5e cable exceeding 350Mhz, the ComputerCableStore™ has the bulk cabling you need! Cat 5 e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far end crosstalk. It was formally defined in 2001 as the TIA/EIA-568-B standard, which no longer recognizes the original Cat 5 specification. Although 1000BASE-T was designed for use with Cat 6 cable, the tighter specifications associated with Cat 5e cable and connectors make it an excellent choice for use with 1000BASE-T ethernet networks.
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Tool Wire Cutter
The ICACSWRCTR is a must have compact and light-weight wire cutter. Knife-like blades provides an accurate shear type cut on the cable.
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1000FT Cat5e 350Mhz Network Cable - Stranded - Red PVC
ComputerCableStore™ 1000FT CAT5e 350Mhz Network Cable - Stranded - Red PVC Cable is ideal for voice, data, video and security communications medium for your network installation. Wiring your home, home office, office or even a entire college campus, ComputerCableStore™ has the right cable for you. ComputerCableStore™ bulk 350Mhz cable is available in PVC and Plenum rated jackets. Our bulk 350Mhz cable is also available in various colors so you can easily identify and color-code you wiring. With our UL listed CAT5e cable exceeding 350Mhz, the ComputerCableStore™ has the bulk cabling you need! Cat 5 e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 that adds specifications for far end crosstalk. It was formally defined in 2001 as the TIA/EIA-568-B standard, which no longer recognizes the original Cat 5 specification. Although 1000BASE-T was designed for use with Cat 6 cable, the tighter specifications associated with Cat 5e cable and connectors make it an excellent choice for use with 1000BASE-T ethernet networks.
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Step 1: Before we start building a patch cable
you will need to cut a length of stranded Cat5e. When
cutting the length you should make sure to measure.
Nothing is worse than the patch cable you just built
being an inch too short for your application.
After cutting the desired length we will start building
our cable by stripping back approximately 1 inch of the
jacket. We use Ideal's
45-163
Coaxial Stripper for this purpose.
When striping back the jacket make sure that the depth
of your stripper is set deep enough to cut the jacket
but not so deep that it nicks the conductors. If you do
nick the conductors while stripping the cable, the cable
may work fine at first, but after time the conductors
will break, or even worse, begin to short out.
Step 2: Now that we have the jacket stripped back
we'll want to separate and straighten the pairs. We'll
start by pulling the first pair and the last pair to
their respective sides (Orange to the left and Brown to
the right). Untwist these pairs making sure not to
untwist the cable any further than you've stripped back
the jacket. Now we'll split the green pair. Pull the
white/green conductor to the left and the green
conductor to the right. This leaves you with the blue
pair in the middle. Untwist the blue taking care
to ensure that the white/blue conductor is on the left
and the blue conductor on the right.
Note: Normally, it would be unmentionable to
untwist the Cat5e pairs, except when building patch
cables. It would be almost impossible to insert the
conductors into the proper connector locations without
untwisting. (Keep in mind you want to keep as much of
the twist of each pair intact in order to meet
performance standards.)
Step 3: Now that we've separated and straightened
the pairs we need to arrange the conductors in the
proper order according to which
wiring standard you are using. For this example we
will be wiring via the 568-B standard (most common in
patch cables). Please consult the pin-out for the proper
color codes. After you have the wires arranged, place
them tightly together as show in the picture to the
right. Once this is done, verify that the wires are
still in the proper order and continue to step 4.
Step 4: Now we need to trim the conductors down
to fit into the RJ45 connector. While trimming, make
sure you make a nice clean cut at a 90 degree angle
about 1/2 of an inch from the end of the jacket. If you
fail to make a straight cut, some of the conductors may
not reach the connector contacts. If you cut the
conductors too short, again they will not make contact.
If you leave the conductors too long, when crimping the
connector, the jacketing will not be gripped leaving the
strain on the conductors. This is not a good situation!
For proper trimming, hold the wires securely just at the
end of the jacket as shown in the picture to the left.
Be sure to keep the conductors in the proper order.
Step 5: Our Cat5e patch cable is almost done.
While still holding the cable firmly, we now need to
place the conductors into their proper location in the
RJ45
Cat5e Modular Connector. Hold the RJ45 modular
plug with the contacts facing up (towards you) and
carefully insert the conductors in their proper
locations. Apply a moderate amount of force in order to
properly seat the wires against the contacts in the
connector. When the wires have been correctly inserted
into the RJ45 modular connector, observe the tip. As
illustrated in the picture to the left you should be
able to see the end of each conductor, indicating that
the conductors were fully inserted. Also, take note of
the colors. All whites should be on the top and all the
colored conductors on the bottom. Once this is achieved,
continue to Step 6.
Update 10/03/2007:
Many customers have reported that they find
Cat5e
Connectors with load bars much easier to use during
the termination process. The load bar is used to align
the conductors into the proper order and hold them in
place during insertion.
Step 6: Carefully insert the assembly which you
have just completed into a
modular crimping tool, taking care to verify the
conductors stay fully inserted. When crimping the
connector, use the full stroke of the crimp tool so that
the contacts properly "bite" into the conductors.
After you have completed the crimp, take time to look at
the connector and make sure all the pins were crimped
and that they made good contact with the conductors.
Step 7: If you are building a straight through
(standard) Cat5e patch cable, terminate the opposite end
by repeating this process from step one. If this will be
a cat 5
crossover cable, return to step one and continue,
however, terminate the other end of the cable using the
wiring scheme that you did not use for the first end.
Terminating one end with 568-B and the other with 568-A
creates a crossover cable. If it is a straight through
cable you are making, simply use the same wiring scheme
for both ends.
Step 8: That's it! Use a tester to test for
continuity and your diy Cat 5, 5e patch cable is
complete.
Note: If the cable does not test positive for
continuity cut the connector off and start over, or buy
one of our pre-made or custom length patch cords.
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| 1 |
White/Green |
| 2 |
Green |
| 3 |
White/Orange |
| 4 |
Blue |
| 5 |
White/Blue |
| 6 |
Orange |
| 7 |
White/Brown |
| 8 |
Brown |
568-A Color Code |
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| 1 |
White/Orange |
| 2 |
Orange |
| 3 |
White/Green |
| 4 |
Blue |
| 5 |
White/Blue |
| 6 |
Green |
| 7 |
White/Brown |
| 8 |
Brown |
568-B Color Code |
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