Wherever you call home, it probably didn't come wired up for that most precious of home utilities: internet access. Sometimes wireless networking can only take you so far. Guerrilla network wiring might sound a little strong, but sometimes it ends up feeling like an episode of MacGyver, without the bombs. (Unless you count flaming laptops.) In today's How-To, we'll show you how to make your own cables and teach you a few tricks for getting them where you need 'em most around the house.
The supplies for making network cable are simple. We'll need:
- RJ-45 connectors
- RJ-45 crimping tool
- Category 5 cable (Our 1000 foot spool is seven years old)
- Wire strippers
These used to be pretty esoteric, but these days you can get crimpers and connectors at most computer stores. (The cable is usually cheaper at the hardware store.)
To crimp your own RJ-45, you'll first need understand the pinouts. A regular ethernet cable consists of four pairs of twisted wires. Each pair needs to be connected in the proper order for the network connection to work. For a normal cable, both ends are connected in the same order.
Pinouts.ru is handy, but we've found that
color graphics are easier to keep track of.
There are a couple of standards for ethernet wiring. They're generally the same, but they like to use different colors. Just make sure you use the same standard for each end of a cable and everything will be fine.
Cut the sheath off of the cable about an inch or so from the end. of the wires. Be careful not to nick the wires in the process.
You don't need to strip any of the wires. Just spread the wires apart, un-twist them down to the sheath and put them in the order they'll go in the the connector.
Straighten each of the wires and pull them together so they're flat and in the right order.
Cut the wires across the tips so that they are flat across the end. Use a smaller wire cutter so that each wire will stay in the right shape. (If they get distorted, they might not fit into the connector very well)
Slide them into the plug until the ends of the wires are touching the far end of the connector. You might want to compare the end to a pre-made cable to double check everything before crimping.
Insert the connector and wire into your crimping tool. Crimp the connector and use plenty of force to get solid connections. Repeat the process for the opposite end, and you've made your own network cable. (If you can get/borrow them, we recommend ratcheting crimpers over the cheapies.)
Now that you can make your own cables, it's far easier to run Cat 5 anywhere you want it.
One of our favorite tricks is to run cables through the A/C vents. Unfinished basements are fantastic for running wires. Here we've slipped it in between the actual duct and the hole it runs through.
Up top, we ran the wire through one of the slits in the air vent. When we move out, we'll just cut the end off the wire and remove it.
To get our TiVo networked, we took advantage of the pre-existing monster hole in the floor.
For easy removal and wiring containment, a few zip ties go a long way.
That's all there is to it. Don't be afraid to get out your drill, but there's usually an easier to run your network wiring. It's often noted that one should use plenum rated cable for runs through air conditioning ducts. We've found that basic Cat 5 is pretty tough stuff. (We had a piece strung between two houses for over a year and never had a problem with the network connection.) You can probably get away with non rated Cat-5 for short term use, but you probably know as well as we that one gets what one pays for -- so use the good stuff, and go nuts!
posted August 22nd 2006 9:44PM
Snorkle256, if you ran cable for a living, you'd know it to be true. Plenum is fire safe, period, and it's required when the cable will be placed in duct work.
I use solid cable at work, and it is fine. As long as you aren't plugging and unplugging it, and moving it around, the stress is minimal on the cable. For a wall-to-laptop connection, just pay the extra money for an injection molded cable. It will stand up better. For patch panels and long runs, solid core is fine.
Plenum is probably only useful in dense environments. Running 10 cables around your house isn't a big deal. Running a few hundred, now you have a lot of potential for toxicity.
I rent, so I find it easiest and cleanest looking to pull up the edge of a carpet, put the cable there, and push the carpet back down.
Standard NIC's only use 2 of the 4 pairs, so with some creative and careful wiring, you can get 2 NIC cables out of one run. This doesn't work for power over ethernet, and I think it doesn't work for gigabit, but I'm not sure.
I have also heard of using a single Cat5e wire to get two data jacks, but I have not been able find a pinout or wiring confiuration. Would you happen to know how to wire this up? I wired all the telephone jacks in my house when it was built, and all use Cat5e wire. It would be great to split some of these jacks into both telephone and data. My "data" jacks are all on Cat6 wire because I was hoping to eventually have Gigabit equipment, but I am currently needing a data jack where only a telephone jack was installed.
Thanks for the info.
I've used store bought Cat5e cables so far, being too cheap to buy a really good crimping tool ($60?). Plus to really maximize your savings you better buy that $49 box of 1,000'.
But to buy pre-made cables (really any type, not just Cat5)don't even think about going anywhere but Ebay. A fancy 75' Cat5e in my choice of color was around $13.
I actually use a site called sfcable.com for pre-made stuff. 75ft UTP cable is $10.50 on there. Why go ebay when you can go to the same site and they have good deals? Shipping is pretty quick too.
They have all kinds of cable, and lots of parts. That's where I picked up the boots and RJ-45 plugs that I use.
I spent about $15 on my crimping tool. It has done well. We got another one at work that I like better. It has a spot you can put the cable and it only slices the outer jacket. The one I have has a 2 parallel blade system, where one has more clearance than the other, so you can cut the cable all the way through on one side, and only the jacket on the other, but I think that only works well on flat cable. Twisted pair tends to be a little more round, and I end up cutting into one of the pairs. The tools look identical, one just has a longer blade with a little trough to hold the cable so it only cuts the outer jacket. I think they spent closer to $35 though. http://www.sfcable.com/store/68tl-d1.html
That's what mine looks like, except blue grips. The one with the extra cutter has orange grips. Worst-case scenario you just keep a pocket knife around to do the jacket-cut, but that sucks if you have to cut a lot of cable.
Try using solid core wire to pull 100's of feet of cable... I have to completely rewire a place that made that mistake... They were not happy to have to replace so much faulty cable...
Well, you may think that article offers bad advice, but I have a couple of points, neither advisable:
1. I networked my house with wires a few months back. It was _seriously_ easy- I used solid core cable evrywhere, and generic RJ45 cable crimps and a crimping tool that I got from a car boot sale. One of the wires was too short, so I snipped off the connector, made a new wire witna crimp on one end, and twisted the wires together, in the right order, and sellotaped them together. I may have a picture somehwere. However, 7 months on, This connection still works, So Don't be too prudish with solid core.
2. I used standard cat5 (100mbit) cable, and having stripped a bit off the end, I burnt it. (Nothing else to do, I'm a pyro at heart anyway) and it wouldn't burn. *Most/all 94-0v rated cable is fire retardent. Try it.*
So if a 15 year old kid can wire a house and make his own cables from solid core UTP cat5e cable, crimp them, run them under carpets, floorboards and the like, and it still work, then I think that anyone who is seriously considering wiring their house can do it. Just get some extra research in.
One important point about violating code that you guys failed to consider: if you have a fire in that house and that cable is found, then your insurance company is not oblgated to pay (at least in the states I've lived in).
Wireless ? I'm pumping video, sound and data through my house and wireless G doesn't cut it an peak times (me, the missus and three teenagers).
Gigabit wiring and NICs have future proofed the house for a few months anyway.
Stranded is only standard for using as a patch cable from the patch panel to another device on the 'rack'. The idea is that on a rack the cable is going to be plugged and unplugged and twisted or bent etc.. and if a solid cable is used on a rack and is continually plugged, unplugged, moved, and plugged again it has a better tendoncy to break. And Yes, Plenum rated cabling should/must be used in any airspace (air returns, vents, etc...) for the reason of when it burns, it doesn't release toxions like PVC cabling does.
Seriously, have any of you actually put a thermometer in the duct to see how hot it actually gets? Unless you have your router sitting next to your furnace, chances are heat isn't much of a worry. I remember I couldn't get shrink tubing to shrink with a hair dryer (I imagine that shrink tubing and Cat5e insulation is much of the same), and a hairdryer is hotter than the air blowing thru the ductwork.
To the poster that said you need CAT5e for gigabit- nope- the spec is specific, (and in the title of the spec) you only need CAT5 for gigabit. However, you do need to run all four pairs to get gigabit. Most NICs today are pretty smart- they don't care if you have a crossover cable or not- but one of the downsides is that they will often silently downgrade to 100mbit if it can't get it to run as gigabit. I used to work for one of the major OEM's (rhymes with 'Hell') and I was the primary hardware guy verifying that the on-board network ports on servers met the spec.
My house has a Linksys router and PCs that operate just fine at 100Mbs. I moved some of the PCs and built some Cat5E cables for them and they both work at only 10Mbs. When I select Auto Negotiate or 100Mbs the network connection fails. I also tried to build a Cat6 cable it has the same problem. I followed the procedures I found on the internet and the construction looks good to my visiual inspection.
So, can you suggest where my cable construction process is failing me? What's happening such that 10Mbs works but 100Mbs fails?
Thanks
Most consumer-grade routers that allow tx/rx power adjustments top out at 250+/- milliwatts. Considering that we've all been holding 200-600 milliwatt cellular phones to our heads for years, without any adverse effects so far, I'd say you're pretty safe around a high-power consumer-grade router.
i have a 25foot cable that was damaged by a door which closed on it. Is it repairable? I dont want to just throw it away....