TROOPER
10-15-2008, 01:36 PM
Part 1 Of Three The Cable
First a brief description of the CATx cable itself. CATx is a term I use to describe CAT5 and CAT5e and CAT6. CATx cables have 8 conductors grouped as four twisted pairs. It's the twisted pairs that are key to the ability of these cables to carry such high speeds digital signals (100 Mbps and 1000Mbps) over such a long distance of 100 meters. Some things common to CAT5, CAT5e and CAT6 cable are - they all have four twisted pairs and they all use the same color wires. See the CAT5 and CAT5e cables in the photo below. Notice how the pairs consist of a solid colored insulated wire paired with a white colored insulated wire that has a stripe of the same color as the solid wire. Note here too how CAT5 and CAT5e look so similar. CAT6 photos aren't shown here. In fact I'm not going to cover CAT6 cable or it's connectors and terminating procedures. I will likely be adding info on CAT6 soon.
http://i38.tinypic.com/i43axl.jpg
For a more detailed discussion on how Ethernet and twisted pair wiring works and why see my Links page
For all practical purposes you can work with these three CATx types in the same manner. When there is a difference I'll point that out. The two important 'rules' to remember are:
Do Not remove any more of the cables jacket than you absolutely have to.
The un-twisted part of the wires CANNOT exceed 1/2".
These rules are intended to limit how much you can untwist the twisted pairs. So lets move on.
The Connectors
Second here is a brief description of the RJ45 connector. The RJ45 connector is called a 'modular connector'. In the context of these connectors I don't know what the significance of the term modular is. But, whatever, the RJ45 connector looks a lot like the standard telephone connector which is called an RJ11. The RJ45 is larger than the RJ11 because the RJ45 has room for 8 conductors where the RJ11 has room for only 6 conductors. See the photos of the two plugs below. The RJ11 is on the left and the RJ45 on the right.
http://i36.tinypic.com/es2d12.jpg
The two jacks that the plugs mate with have the same conductor count and size differences. See the photos of the two jacks below. The RJ11 is on the top and the RJ45 on the bottom.
http://i36.tinypic.com/7n8x.jpg
http://i37.tinypic.com/2n1u938.jpg
The Standards
Stripping CATx cables and terminating CATx connectors is really easy but it does take some finesse, practice, time and patience. But before we get into the How To part of it lets first decide on which wiring standard to use.
You'll likely be somewhat confused by the wiring standards. The standard called EIA/TIA-568-A describes a 'Commercial Building Wiring Standard'. Within this EIA/TIA-568-A standard are two defined wiring 'patterns' for CATx cabling: T568A and T568B. The EIA/TIA-568-A is less of a concern to someone who is wiring their home with network wiring. What is of concern to the home network are the two wiring patterns T568A and T568B. You can learn more about the EIA/TIA-568-A standards (if your so inclined) by reading an excellent publication from Leviton called Strategies. If this Leviton link is broken it is because Leviton constantly moves the URL for their Strategies document. If the link fails then do an internet search for 'Leviton Strategies'.
The meat of all this for the home network are the two wiring patterns. These wiring patterns are illustrated below as they apply to RJ45 plugs.
http://i34.tinypic.com/33vj9lj.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/2z65k49.jpg
Here is an area that confused me for quite some time. Fortunately, there is a simple answer.
The EIA/TIA-568-A 'Commercial Building Wiring Standard' specifies TWO DIFFERENT wiring color pattern for 8-pin RJ45 connectors. One color pattern is T568A and the other is T568B as shown above. You will read that one is preferred for commercial applications and the other is preferred for residential applications. Whatever they say - the meat of the matter is that these two different looking wiring standards are ELECTRICALLY BOTH THE SAME IF you use the SAME color pattern on BOTH ends of a given cable! Irregardless of which of the two color pattern you choose pin 1 on one end is connected to pin 1 on the other end. Pin 2 on one end is connected to pin 2 on the other end and so forth. The difference is just in the COLOR of the wires. The important thing here is to decide on JUST ONE color pattern and DO ALL your wiring with that pattern you chose.
It really doesn't matter which you chose. Here's how I decided on which pattern to use. I went to my local Comp USA and bought a pre-made CAT5 cable. It was wired to the T568B standard so that is what I chose to use for ALL of my wiring. That's the simple solution - just pick one pattern and stay with it. Now that I have decided to use the T568B standard for all my wiring - if I were to go to say Radio Shack and buy a pre-made CAT5 that has been made to the T568A standard I CAN still use it just fine. I'll repeat - It doesn't matter which standard you use as long as both ends of a given cable use the same standard. The only thing to avoid here is using T568A on one end of a cable and T568B on the other end. This WILL NOT work.
CATx jacks, well at least the Leviton ones that I used, have printed on the side of them the color codes for both standards. See the photo below. The A and B on the side correspond to T568A and T568B.
http://i38.tinypic.com/fwho9c.jpg
So , just make your choice. I chose T568B. Let's get on to the How To.
First a brief description of the CATx cable itself. CATx is a term I use to describe CAT5 and CAT5e and CAT6. CATx cables have 8 conductors grouped as four twisted pairs. It's the twisted pairs that are key to the ability of these cables to carry such high speeds digital signals (100 Mbps and 1000Mbps) over such a long distance of 100 meters. Some things common to CAT5, CAT5e and CAT6 cable are - they all have four twisted pairs and they all use the same color wires. See the CAT5 and CAT5e cables in the photo below. Notice how the pairs consist of a solid colored insulated wire paired with a white colored insulated wire that has a stripe of the same color as the solid wire. Note here too how CAT5 and CAT5e look so similar. CAT6 photos aren't shown here. In fact I'm not going to cover CAT6 cable or it's connectors and terminating procedures. I will likely be adding info on CAT6 soon.
http://i38.tinypic.com/i43axl.jpg
For a more detailed discussion on how Ethernet and twisted pair wiring works and why see my Links page
For all practical purposes you can work with these three CATx types in the same manner. When there is a difference I'll point that out. The two important 'rules' to remember are:
Do Not remove any more of the cables jacket than you absolutely have to.
The un-twisted part of the wires CANNOT exceed 1/2".
These rules are intended to limit how much you can untwist the twisted pairs. So lets move on.
The Connectors
Second here is a brief description of the RJ45 connector. The RJ45 connector is called a 'modular connector'. In the context of these connectors I don't know what the significance of the term modular is. But, whatever, the RJ45 connector looks a lot like the standard telephone connector which is called an RJ11. The RJ45 is larger than the RJ11 because the RJ45 has room for 8 conductors where the RJ11 has room for only 6 conductors. See the photos of the two plugs below. The RJ11 is on the left and the RJ45 on the right.
http://i36.tinypic.com/es2d12.jpg
The two jacks that the plugs mate with have the same conductor count and size differences. See the photos of the two jacks below. The RJ11 is on the top and the RJ45 on the bottom.
http://i36.tinypic.com/7n8x.jpg
http://i37.tinypic.com/2n1u938.jpg
The Standards
Stripping CATx cables and terminating CATx connectors is really easy but it does take some finesse, practice, time and patience. But before we get into the How To part of it lets first decide on which wiring standard to use.
You'll likely be somewhat confused by the wiring standards. The standard called EIA/TIA-568-A describes a 'Commercial Building Wiring Standard'. Within this EIA/TIA-568-A standard are two defined wiring 'patterns' for CATx cabling: T568A and T568B. The EIA/TIA-568-A is less of a concern to someone who is wiring their home with network wiring. What is of concern to the home network are the two wiring patterns T568A and T568B. You can learn more about the EIA/TIA-568-A standards (if your so inclined) by reading an excellent publication from Leviton called Strategies. If this Leviton link is broken it is because Leviton constantly moves the URL for their Strategies document. If the link fails then do an internet search for 'Leviton Strategies'.
The meat of all this for the home network are the two wiring patterns. These wiring patterns are illustrated below as they apply to RJ45 plugs.
http://i34.tinypic.com/33vj9lj.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/2z65k49.jpg
Here is an area that confused me for quite some time. Fortunately, there is a simple answer.
The EIA/TIA-568-A 'Commercial Building Wiring Standard' specifies TWO DIFFERENT wiring color pattern for 8-pin RJ45 connectors. One color pattern is T568A and the other is T568B as shown above. You will read that one is preferred for commercial applications and the other is preferred for residential applications. Whatever they say - the meat of the matter is that these two different looking wiring standards are ELECTRICALLY BOTH THE SAME IF you use the SAME color pattern on BOTH ends of a given cable! Irregardless of which of the two color pattern you choose pin 1 on one end is connected to pin 1 on the other end. Pin 2 on one end is connected to pin 2 on the other end and so forth. The difference is just in the COLOR of the wires. The important thing here is to decide on JUST ONE color pattern and DO ALL your wiring with that pattern you chose.
It really doesn't matter which you chose. Here's how I decided on which pattern to use. I went to my local Comp USA and bought a pre-made CAT5 cable. It was wired to the T568B standard so that is what I chose to use for ALL of my wiring. That's the simple solution - just pick one pattern and stay with it. Now that I have decided to use the T568B standard for all my wiring - if I were to go to say Radio Shack and buy a pre-made CAT5 that has been made to the T568A standard I CAN still use it just fine. I'll repeat - It doesn't matter which standard you use as long as both ends of a given cable use the same standard. The only thing to avoid here is using T568A on one end of a cable and T568B on the other end. This WILL NOT work.
CATx jacks, well at least the Leviton ones that I used, have printed on the side of them the color codes for both standards. See the photo below. The A and B on the side correspond to T568A and T568B.
http://i38.tinypic.com/fwho9c.jpg
So , just make your choice. I chose T568B. Let's get on to the How To.