How to make a network cable step-by-step
For LAN and telephone installations, no cable type is currently more ubiquitous than twisted-pair copper cabling, particularly UTP cabling. The main method to put connectors on twisted-pair cables is crimping You use a tool called a crimper to push the metal contacts inside the connector onto the individual conductors in the cable, thus making the connection.
Types of Connectors.
Two main types of connectors (often called plugs) are used for connect twisted-pair cable in voice and data communications installations: the RJ-11 and RJ-45 connectors.
Conductor Arrangement.
When making solid-conductor UTP patch cords with crimped ends, you can make many different configurations, determined by the order in which their color-coded wires are arranged. Inside a normal UTP cable with RJ-45 ends are four pairs of conductors (eight conductors total). Each pair is color coded blue, orange, green, or brown. Each wire will either be the solid color or a white wire with a mark of its pair’s solid color.
Color-Coding.
Installing the Connector.
You should ensure that the job was done correctly by testing the cable with a cable tester.
A straight-through patch cord for data applications has both ends wired the same, i.e., both ends T568-A or both ends T568-B. Straight-through patch cords connect PCs to wall outlets and patch panels to network equipment such as hubs, switches, and routers. A crossover patch cord is wired with one end T568-A and one end T568-B.
For Ethernet networking, crossover cords can connect two PCs directly together without any intermediate network equipment. To connect hubs, routers, or switches to each other, either a straight-through or crossover cable will be required, depending on device-type combination. Check the equipment documentation to determine what type of patch cord you require.
Requisite.
As with any project, you must first gather all the items you will need. These items include the following:
1.Cable.
2.Connectors.
3.Stripping and crimping tools.
By now, you know about the cable and connectors, so we’ll discuss the tools you’ll need for RJ-connector installation. The first tool you’re going to need is a cable-jacket stripper, as shown in “Pic-01”. It will only cut through the outer jacket of the cable, not through the conductors inside. Many different kinds of cable strippers exist, but the most common are the small, plastic ones (as in Pic-01) that easily fit into a shirt pocket. They are cheap to produce and purchase.
Another tool you’re going to need when installing connectors on UTP or STP cable is a cable-connector crimper. Many different styles of crimpers can crimp connectors on UTP or STP cables. “Pic-02” shows an example of a crimper that can crimp both RJ-11 and RJ-45 connectors. Notice the two holes for the different connectors and the cutting bar.
The last tool you’re going to use is a cable tester. This device tests not only for a continuous signal from the source connector to the destination but also the quality of that connection.
Installing the Connector.
1. Measure the cable you want to put ends on and trim it to the proper length using your cable cutters (as shown here). Cut the cable about 3 inches longer than the final patch-cable length. For example, if you want a 10-foot patch cable, cut the cable to 10 feet, 3 inches.
2. Using your cable stripper, strip about 1.5 inches of the jacket from the end of the cable. To do this, insert the cable into the stripper so that the cutter bar in the stripper is 1.5 inches from the end of the cable (as shown in the graphic). Then, rotate the stripper around the cable twice. This will cut through the jacket. Remove the stripper from the cable and pull the trimmed jacket from the cable
3. Untwist all the inner conductor pairs and spread them apart so that you can see each individual conductor, as shown here.
4. Line up the individual conductors so that the color code matches the color-coding standard you are using (see color-coding, shown previously). The alignment in the graphic shown here is for 568B, with number 8 at the top.
5. Trim the conductors so that the ends are even with each other, making sure that the jacket of the cable will be inside the connector (as shown here). The total length of exposed connectors after trimming should be no longer than 1/2˝ to 5/8˝
6. Insert the conductors in the connector, ensuring that all conductors line up properly with the pins as they were aligned in the last step. If they don’t line up, pull them out and line them up. Do this carefully, as it’s the last step before crimping on the connector.
7. Carefully insert the connector and cable into the crimping tool (as shown in the following graphic). Squeeze the handle firmly as far as it will go and hold it with pressure for three seconds. As you will see in the second graphic, the crimping tool has two dies that will press into the connector and push the pins in the connector into the conductors inside the connector. A die in the crimping tool will also push a plastic retainer into the cable jacket of the cable to hold it securely inside the connector.
Now that you’ve crimped the connector, remove it from the crimping tool and examine it (as shown in the next graphic). Check to ensure all conductors are making contact and that all pins have been crimped into their respective conductors.If the connector didn’t crimp properly, cut off the connector and redo it.
You should ensure that the job was done correctly by testing the cable with a cable tester.
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