The Right Way Of Making A Cat 5 RJ45 Cable Connection
All Cat 5 cables are compatible with the RJ45 connector. In fact, a very important
part of making the cable yourself is to connect the RJ45 plug in the right manner
to the cable.
First it is ideal to understand the structures of the Cat 5 cable and the RJ45
connector. The Cat 5 cable contains eight individual copper wires that are twisted
pair wise, to make totally four twisted pairs. These are sheathed in an outer
jacket, while an internal core (which could be stranded or solid core) holds
them in place inside the jacket, and also helps in nullifying the electromagnetic
field that they produce around them. The RJ45 plug is a small plug with a jack
on one end to hold the plug in place when it is connected to the port, and eight
metallic contacts inside corresponding to the eight wires that the Cat 5 cable
contains. Since the eight wires in the Cat 5 cable are color coded, it is very
essential that the plug should be seen carefully while making the eight wire
connections.
The primary thing you have to do is to unsheathe the Cat 5 cable. With a blade,
you must cut open the top ¾ inch of the Cat 5 cable's outer sheath, taking
care that the inside wires are safe. After that, roll the twisted wires back,
so that the middle plastic core is exposed. Then with a sharp clipper, cut off
this core too. Then, untwist the wire pairs, and lay them flat in your hand.
Follow the coloring order depending upon the type of connection you are trying
to make. When all the wires are laid flat in your hand, neatly cut their top
ends in a single file so that you get about ½ to ¾ inches of uniformly
cut wires arranged in their proper order of color.
Now you have to crimp the cable onto the RJ45 connector. The following is the
right way to do it:-
- Position the RJ45 connector in such a way that its jack is facing downwards,
and the opening for receiving the wires is pointing downwards.
- Align the wires of the Cat 5 cable properly into the RJ45 plug's opening.
You might have to squeeze the cable a bit, but make sure that the outer jacket
does not slip and move over the wires.
- The wires must individually enter into the metallic contact points provided
within the connector. There will be some kind of pulling back, but don't stop
till the wire has entered the contact properly.
- You will be able to see from the flat end of the RJ45 plug if all the wires
have entered the contact points, and in the right color combination. Make
sure the contacts are proper, using a lens. When you are sure they are in
contact, push the wires more deeply into the connector. From the other end
of the RJ45 connector, you should be able to see a line of eight exposed copper
ends. Count properly. If one is missing, you will know that one of the wires
did not come in when you were pushing. If that happens, you will have to pull
the wires out and then put them back in again.
- When the wires are in the right place, push the jacket in as far as it goes.
Ideally, about ¼ inch of the jacket must be in the RJ45 connector,
allowable for crimping.
- Now place the RJ45 on the slot provided on the crimping tool. Make sure
that the jacket of the cable has entered the connector. Then with a swift
action, complete the crimping action. When it is done, the wires will all
be in a single line, and in the correct order in the RJ45 connector, and the
outer jacket of the cable must enter the connector along the line in which
the crimping is done.
These above steps are the right way to make a Cat 5 RJ45 cable connection.
There are three ways in which this can go wrong. These are as follows:-
- The Cat 5 RJ45 cable connection goes wrong if the outer jacket ends way
before the connector, which causes the eight wires to be exposed outside the
RJ45 connector.
- The Cat 5 RJ45 cable connection goes wrong if you have cut the wires too
short, due to which they are not able to properly reach the metallic contact
points within the RJ45 connector.
- Another way for the Cat 5 RJ45 cable connection to go wrong is when you
have long wires exposed, but you have forced the jacket into the connector
so that the wires have all huddled up inside the connector. Due to this, some
of the wires might not properly communicate with the metal plates, or the
wires might lose their right color combination inside the plug.
Hence, the length of the exposed wires is a very important parameter in deciding
how perfect your Cat 5 RJ45 cable connection turns out to be.
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