Home wired networking help

[area51_for_psx]

Hi guys

Will be trying to setup my own network in a new house im moving to and need sone advice please.

I have got a box of 4 pair utp cat5e cable made by excel 305m. So thats what ill be doing it with.

Am looking advice on the ends and the crimper tool. Is there a difference between cat5e and cat6 ends? As I want to set this up cat6, And is there a difference between cat 5 and cat 6 wall plates?

And to do with crimper tools will a cheap £20-30 one do or is it better getting a dearer one?

Any help will be appricated guys

Thanks

 

[FoxEye]

Places like ****** sell cat5e connectors and cat6 connectors. I've tried googling for the difference, but can't really find any. Anyhoo, there's only like 20p difference in price.

As for the crimping tool, all the ones I've seen at ****** or Screwfix or whatever tend to be in the £30 ball park. I don't think they're particularly complicated devices.

[edit: Hmm, would never have thought Map**n was a competitor]

 

[FoxEye]

From wiki:

If Cat-6 rated patch cables, jacks, and connectors are not used with Cat-6 wiring, overall performance is degraded to that of the cable or connector. Because the conductor sizes are generally the same, Cat-6 jacks may also be used with Cat-5e cable.

And from another site:

Are the connectors for category 5e and category 6 different? Why are they more expensive?

Although category 6 and category 5e connectors may look alike, category 6 connectors have much better transmission performance. For example, at 100 MHz, NEXT of a category 5e connector is 43 decibels (dB), while NEXT of a category 6 connector is 54 dB. This means that a cat6 connector couples about 1/12 of the power that a cat5e connector couples from one pair to another pair. Conversely, one can say that a category 6 connector is 12 times less “noisy” compared to a category 5e connector. This vast improvement in performance was achieved with new technology, new processes, better materials and significant R&D resources, leading to higher costs for manufacturers.

All I could find.

 

[wij]

So you've bought a drum of Cat5E and want to wire your house with Cat6... Well theres a fundamental problem right there, IMO don't get too worked up about it and just go with 5E as over the distances you're likely running in you will have no problems whatsoever with GigE speeds etc. and by the time 10GigE kit comes around that runs over copper and is affordable for consumers you'll probably be looking at running fibre around your place

For a small job a cheap crimp will probably do you just fine, though if you think you may end up doing a lot more cabling after this I'd go and invest in a decent one. Also you're going to need an IDC punch tool for the faceplates.

If you think you're going to do anything other than just a few ends and might need to use the tool a lot then I'd invest in a decent one. Tools such as the Paladin ones at the £60-80 range are infinitely superior to the cheapo ones IMO.

 

[stockhausen]

Spend less than £30 on a kit - unless you are a PRO!

I carry about a cheap Ethernet cable tester (about a tenner - a Fluke tester costs hundreds!), a Belkin RJ45 crimp tool (about a tenner), a Krone IDC punchdown tool (about a fiver), a box of RJ45 connectors and an ancient cable cutter / stripper - total cost less than £30; you would be amazed how many problems you can sort out with this little lot and I have never felt the need to invest in anything more expensive since I don't ever work with RJ11 or RJ12 connectors.

Incidentally, getting the wires into the right places in the RJ45 connector is a pain - I ALWAYS draw a wee diagram and use a piece of BlueTak to hold things steady.

 

[wij]

I carry about a cheap Ethernet cable tester (about a tenner - a Fluke tester costs hundreds!), a Belkin RJ45 crimp tool (about a tenner), a Krone IDC punchdown tool (about a fiver), a box of RJ45 connectors and an ancient cable cutter / stripper - total cost less than £30; you would be amazed how many problems you can sort out with this little lot and I have never felt the need to invest in anything more expensive since I don't ever work with RJ11 or RJ12 connectors.

Incidentally, getting the wires into the right places in the RJ45 connector is a pain - I ALWAYS draw a wee diagram and use a piece of BlueTak to hold things steady.

Try terminating a couple of hundred ends in a day and then see how nice a £10 crimp tool is

 

[Makhaira]

Within a house you won't really notice the difference between CAT5E and CAT6, but for cost I'd stick with CAT5E. You'll want RJ45 ends, CAT6 connectors are slightly different in the way they feed the cable out of the end of the outer sheath.

As has been implied above, for small jobs just get a cheap crimper (i.e. doing one house), but when you're doing lots and lots a nice tool is helpful.

 

[stockhausen]

Try terminating a couple of hundred ends in a day and then see how nice a £10 crimp tool is

Frankly, if area51_for_psx is installing as many as a hundred points in a "new house", he is being just a tad indecisive with where he expects people to plug in a device or three.

However, I wouldn't argue that if you are flood wiring a site and plan to spend just 30 quid on tools, in the unforgettable words of Fairfax "Man, that's just MEAN. That's MEAN, man"