home
   webnews



   articles
   reviews
   previews
   interviews
   case modding
   how to guides
   tweaking



   about us
   links


web site






Making Your Own Networking Cable

"Buying pre-crimped, ready-made cable for a home or office can be quite expensive..."





Buying pre-crimped, ready-made cable for a home or office can be quite expensive, and hiring somebody to do the wiring will cost even more. For those of us who are on a budget (and who isn't?), there is a simple way to make your own networking cable. Requiring a little skill, and a few inexpensive tools you can be making your own cable in no time. Keep in mind that I'm talking about places that need over 100+ feet of cable, there's no sense in making just a few feet of cable and going out and buying all of these tools.

What you will need

  • Category 5 network cable
  • Category 5 RJ-45 connectors
  • RJ-45 Crimping Device
  • RJ-45 Loop Back Tester (optional)

Category 5 network cable

This cable can be bought from many different places in spindles ranging from 50-5000 feet depending on the job you are doing. At a local Radioshack one can buy a spindle of 100 feet for just about $25, you'll pay a little more than that ($30-$40) for 50 feet already crimped, so why not do it yourself to get the exact size you want?

Keep in mind that there are a number of different types of cable one can use for networking. The most common for an Ethernet network (what you'll most likely use) is cat5 cable. There are a number of different specifications of cables out there as well as classified by the Electronics Industry Association (EIA), take note:

CAT 1&2: Less than 10mbps (classic telephone wire)
CAT 3: Data speeds of up to 16 mbps
CAT 4:
Data speeds of up to 20 mbps
CAT 5:
Data speeds of up to 100 mbps (what you should use)
CAT 5 Enhanced: Data speeds of up to 200 mbps
CAT 6:
Data speeds of up to 600 mbps

Next >>



Advertisement
Latest Articles
how we grade | | link to us | reprints

© 1999-2004, Speedy 3D . All rights reserved. By using this site you agree to all of these terms, and privacy policy.
It is illegal to copy or redistribute this information in any way without the expressed written consent of Speedy 3D.