Terminating CAT6 Into Sockets & Patch Panel

[Matt-Page]

Hi,

I'm currently building an office in my garage. I've run UTP CAT 6 Cable from socket back boxes to a central location where I'm going to put a wall mounted Comms rack/shelf.

I'm now at the stage where I need to terminate my cables into the sockets on one end and into a patch panel at the other.

I had a look at my CAT6 Sockets and they all seem to have the T568B label on them without one for the A standard. Reading online, they recommend using the A standard (particularly in Europe). Will it matter if I use the B standard? I've looked online for wiring diagrams for the A standard but all the socket terminals seem to have the wires going to different places so won't be able to match mine up.

Pretty annoyed about this as I spent extra to get the sockets/modules from a local known org.

Second, As I've never done this before I've done a dry run with a spare bit of CAT6 on one of the socket modules. It seemed particularly trickery/fiddly to line the cables up and I'm worried that I am untwisting too much cable. Do you normally line up each cable then punch down, or line one up, then punch down? I find some of the cables slip out of the module wire groove then positioning the next cable.

Also, all the wire strippers I've tried seem to be very slightly catch the twisted pair insulation despite being on the biggest setting...

Appreciate any feedback/advice.

Thanks.

 

[Matt-Page]

Thanks for the advice.

Well I've had a go. The first one didn't go great, so I chopped off and started again. The first socket was a 2 port one. The second was a 4 port.

Although I aimed to untwist the pairs as little as possible, I am a little bit worried I took off more insulation than I should have, (Particuarly on the 4 port socket) however it made it easier to manipulate the cables into the separate ports.

First one I did:

Pair done:

I then did the 4 port Socket:

The socket faces/modules I've got look a lot different to the ones I've seen online that have a cable tie slot/plenty of room for the insulated cable part.

Hopefully I've not done too bad a job. The next stage is to terminate the other ends into a CAT6 patch panel. I'll then be able to test my butchery to see if any of them worked!

 

[Matt-Page]

My next query is about terminating some of my AWG24 CAT6 cable with a RJ45 connector.

Looking online it seems doing this with solid core cable is a bit of a pain, and when I look at reviews people have said despite their spec, the standard cores are too thick.

Can anyone recommend any they've used?

 

[Matt-Page]

You appear to be using screened cable with unscreened modules. Not a great idea.

Hi, can you elaborate on why this isn't a good idea or link me to what I should be using? I purchased the cable from a friend (I thought it was just CAT 6) and purchased the modules from a local network component shop.

Why do you need to crimp plugs on?

I only need to do one as it will be going into a ceiling mounted Access Point. Does that make sense?

BTW you’d usually expect Cat6 to be 23AWG. The thinner 24AWG conductors are what you get in Cat5e.

Of right, so is what I've got/done naff? Bummer if it is as the cables ae behind plasterboard now with no easy way to swap them.

 

[Matt-Page]

OK - So when I stripped the cable it was, Outter sheath, blue foil like sheath, thin plastic sheath/wrapper, then the twisted pairs. There was a VERY fine metal cable and some string in it (I assume this is the earth point mentioned?) along with the middle separator plastic piece that I stripped away.

What issues will I get if I don't earth it? They are essentially to create a small network in my garage and all go back to a single location where I will be terminating them into a patch panel.

Crikey, I hope these will work or I have wasted time/money trying to do things properly. Maybe I should have just used Powerline Adapters like I currently am!

How frustrating!

 

[Matt-Page]

Balls!! Did some Googling and it seems you are right. Pah I wish this had come up when I was doing my research. I would have avoided the cable and got some at the same time and been advised by the shop of what type to get.

I guess I'll just have to connect everything up and see if it works. I don't think the patch panel I purchased is shielded. I have got a borrowed Fluke tester so hopefully this SHOULD tell me if it is working properly or not.

Ahh really annoyed with myself for making this error.