Most of the wiring is done, or at least in so much that the drops are pulled and everything is working. From the start this was always meant to be a work in progress, so things like wall fishing, jacks, and redundant lines will come. Also I have yet to pull any lines into the living room, so at the moment everything there is still wireless.
Still much to do, including some updates to allow a final move away from using WEP anywhere on the network, and hopefully moving 802.11b onto a second router for the occasional PSP or DS usage.
Pulling the drops wasn't so bad. Experience form many years of pulling coax helped. Been a while since I'd crimped a RJ45 connector, but only messed up one. Must make note which way I'm holding the connector when I insert the cable. My bad.
More to come...
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Must admit I have never made an rj45 connection- did the theory on my net+ course though, so will have to get the tools and have a few practice runs - any handy hints to speed up the process or forestall cockups?
ReplyDeleteIt's not that hard, really. Just requires that you take your time. Don't rush thought it.
ReplyDeleteAs for tips. Use a good prep tool. The ones that are built into crimpers are usually decent, but you need a sharp blade. A dull blade will require you squeeze harder, and that risks that you cut into the jackets on the individual wires, scoring them, and then you have to start over. Even the smallest nick in the copper will affect performance, and make the wire weaker.
Also decide which wiring method you want to use, and stick with it. It doesn't really matter if you use T568A or T568B, as the pairs match up end to end electricly; having the same colours all the way through, though, helps a lot when you need to fix things later.
Make sure you get the right kind of cable for your application. Use solid cable for running room to room, and braided for making patch cables. Especially ones that may get moved around a lot. The more you move a solid cable the sooner it will fail. Braided cable handles the movement better.
Along with that, get the right kind of connectors for your cable. The teeth inside the connectors are different for solid and braided cables. The package should say what kind it's for, just make sure you get what you need.
Don't untwist more wire than you need to push it flush into the connector, and never have more than 1" of untwitsed cable on a finished connection. The more untwisted cable you have the more likely you are to suffer from interference.
Once you start your crimp you're commited, so make sure you're right before you put it in the crimper. I find it best to always align things the same way, cable in the left hand, connector in the right. That way at a glace I can see that the colours are in the right order and the connector is facing the right way without having to think about it.
One last thing, always pull more cable than you think you'll need. You WILL mess up a crimp. Connectors WILL fail, and need to be replaced. Slack is your friend. An extra foot of cable on the pull is cheaper than a 50 foot repull because you don't have enough extra to make a repair.