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Crimping hell


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Right !

 

Builder has left cat5 cable with not much length . So for example 30cm hanging down from ceiling - so everything is up a ladder and awkward .

I hate crimping ! So fiddly !

Anyway managed with a tester to know i’ve Got 2 ends of the same wire .

Redone both ends - get missing lights on tester . Is there anyway to know which end is wrong ? . Otherwise I could be here forever ! 

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4 minutes ago, pocster said:

Right !

 

Builder has left cat5 cable with not much length . So for example 30cm hanging down from ceiling - so everything is up a ladder and awkward .

I hate crimping ! So fiddly !

Anyway managed with a tester to know i’ve Got 2 ends of the same wire .

Redone both ends - get missing lights on tester . Is there anyway to know which end is wrong ? . Otherwise I could be here forever ! 

 

All I'm reading is you have a length problem! :)

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9 minutes ago, scottishjohn said:

simple answer is one end is wrong --don,t matter which you alter,so long as both are wired same way ,so if you got an end you can get at easier alter that one

 

Erm yeah but going round in circles 

Just re crimped one end and now no lights on tester ! Seems unlikely not 1 wire made contact . So now going back to other end to redo !!! Aarrgggh !

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Aaaarrggghhhh !

I did crimping many years ago on bnc .

This is impossible! . Every time I do it a different ‘error’ on the tester !

i’ve been here since 11 am and haven’t got 1 working connection. It’s like some form of torture !!!!

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It takes a while to perfect crimping, but before you crimp down always have a look at the connector end on - you should see all the ends of the wires pushed up against the plastic (or very close) and flip it over, look side on also, you can see how far wires are pushed in - its flippin' fiddly but you can always pull it back out and try again as many times as you want before committing (sorry I know this advice is stating the obvious)

 

Also for general reference always wire to EIA/TIA 586B (just incase people aren't aware)

Orange/White

Orange

Green/White

Blue

Blue/White

Green

Brown/White

Brown

 

image.png.1952216287b38486332b3c2cb8494e75.png

 

 

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5 minutes ago, MrMagic said:

It takes a while to perfect crimping, but before you crimp down always have a look at the connector end on - you should see all the ends of the wires pushed up against the plastic (or very close) and flip it over, look side on also, you can see how far wires are pushed in - its flippin' fiddly but you can always pull it back out and try again as many times as you want before committing (sorry I know this advice is stating the obvious)

 

Also for general reference always wire to EIA/TIA 586B (just incase people aren't aware)

Orange/White

Orange

Green/White

Blue

Blue/White

Green

Brown/White

Brown

 

image.png.1952216287b38486332b3c2cb8494e75.png

 

 

Too be honest ‘seeing’ them in the plug before crimping is a nightmare . Admittedly I’m in bad light as I’m in the corner of a room up a ladder - I think torch required !!! . Going to hang myself with the cat5 cable soon !!

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There's a definite knack to getting all the wires dead straight, in the right order, and of exactly equal length before you push them into the connector.  I have a tool that I acquired years ago from a telephone engineer, that has a pair of narrow flat jaws with grooves in, that grips the eight wires tightly at exactly the right pitch to slide into the connector.  It makes fitting connectors a lot easier, as once you've sorted all the wires into order and got them in the tool, you can just trim them dead square, then push them home.

 

There's another potential gotcha with the connectors, too.  Some have IDC terminals that seem designed for the multicore flexible Ethernet cable, others have narrower IDC terminals that work better on solid core cable.  I've yet to find an easy way to tell the two apart, other than the fact the the ones designed for multicore cable don't work reliably on solid core cable.

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It can’t be done it’s impossible!

like one of those ‘horror’ movies where you can’t leave the room unless you complete a task ...

 

”You must crimp an rj45 cable within 3 hours or face certain death “

 

I’d be dead ! 

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6 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

There's a definite knack to getting all the wires dead straight, in the right order, and of exactly equal length before you push them into the connector.  I have a tool that I acquired years ago from a telephone engineer, that has a pair of narrow flat jaws with grooves in, that grips the eight wires tightly at exactly the right pitch to slide into the connector.  It makes fitting connectors a lot easier, as once you've sorted all the wires into order and got them in the tool, you can just trim them dead square, then push them home.

 

There's another potential gotcha with the connectors, too.  Some have IDC terminals that seem designed for the multicore flexible Ethernet cable, others have narrower IDC terminals that work better on solid core cable.  I've yet to find an easy way to tell the two apart, other than the fact the the ones designed for multicore cable don't work reliably on solid core cable.

Show me this mega save my sanity tool !!!

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3 minutes ago, pocster said:

 

 

Looks very similar, but mine is ancient, at least 20 years old.  The neat thing is that it holds all the wires tightly in the right order and alignment to slide them into the connector.  I've found that it's pretty foolproof, as it's easier to feed the wires into the tool than it is to try and hold them between your fingers whilst pushing them home.

 

2 minutes ago, pocster said:

https://cctvdirect.co.uk/products/cctv-accessories/cctv-tools/crimping-tools/ideal-rj45-crimping-tool/

 

This one has feed thru !!! So you can wires and order ! . Praise god !

I might live long enough to order one !

 

Not sure about that one, looks like it may only work with their connectors.

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1 minute ago, JSHarris said:

 

 

Looks very similar, but mine is ancient, at least 20 years old.  The neat thing is that it holds all the wires tightly in the right order and alignment to slide them into the connector.  I've found that it's pretty foolproof, as it's easier to feed the wires into the tool than it is to try and hold them between your fingers whilst pushing them home.

 

 

Not sure about that one, looks like it may only work with their connectors.

I know ! Don’t care ! 

Sanity more important!

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1 hour ago, scottishjohn said:

simple answer is one end is wrong --don,t matter which you alter,so long as both are wired same way ,so if you got an end you can get at easier alter that one

You really need to keep the pairs paired, at least.

 

Personally, I've never bothered with crimping plugs on the end of cables. Rather, in the few places where I've wanted fixed cables I've always put a socket on the end then plugged in a short pre-made lead as required. A lot less stressful, I think.

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3 minutes ago, Ed Davies said:

You really need to keep the pairs paired, at least.

 

The snag is they don't go into the connector in pairs, the green and green/white pair have to be split either side of the blue and blue/white pair, which is what creates much of the problem in trying to hold the eight wires flat and in the right orientation to slide into the connector, IMHO.

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At the risk of insulting you, you are using a crimping tool aren't you?

 

I have seen people try and crimp them just with a pair of pliers, but that won't push the pins in far enough.

 

Before you shorten your cables any more, I suggest you just find a short length of cable and practice making some patch leads until you perfect the art of crimping reliably.   I concur what @Onoff says the bag of 100 from screweys are cheap and reliable

 

The 3 things that will make it fail are wrong order at one end or the other, not pushed in  far enough before you crimp, and wrong crimping tool not pushing the pins far enough.

 

And yes it is a job I hate and can only tolerate in short bursts. 

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43 minutes ago, ProDave said:

At the risk of insulting you, you are using a crimping tool aren't you?

 

I have seen people try and crimp them just with a pair of pliers, but that won't push the pins in far enough.

 

Before you shorten your cables any more, I suggest you just find a short length of cable and practice making some patch leads until you perfect the art of crimping reliably.   I concur what @Onoff says the bag of 100 from screweys are cheap and reliable

 

The 3 things that will make it fail are wrong order at one end or the other, not pushed in  far enough before you crimp, and wrong crimping tool not pushing the pins far enough.

 

And yes it is a job I hate and can only tolerate in short bursts. 

LOL! You can insult me I don't mind.

 

Yes I'm using a crimping tool. I should point out it's one of those ebay kits: crimper, rj45 heads, tester, cutter etc. all for 8 quid!

What through me is the first attempt only 2 pins didn't light up on the tester - so I thought that's not bad for the 1st attempt

2nd attempt zero lights! ; not one ! - I'm thinking but surely you would expect at least 1 pin to make contact!

 

So I'm going to go against the moto and blame the tool. There's just no way (I did 15 today!) that I'm going to get it so wrong that many times!

 

Push thru crimper will be ordered!

Will report back with hopefully 100% success rate. But agree with @JSHarris that as a few wires have to 'cross' over others must cause some issues.

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2 hours ago, pocster said:

Too be honest ‘seeing’ them in the plug before crimping is a nightmare . Admittedly I’m in bad light as I’m in the corner of a room up a ladder - I think torch required !!! . Going to hang myself with the cat5 cable soon !!

 

Helmet light, not torch.

 

Or an anglepoise.

 

Drew Pritchard will sell you one for £1234.

 

F

Edited by Ferdinand
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