changed:
-
Cat5, or "Category 5", is a type of cable used for networking.

  Some advice regarding Cat5 cabling:

    Regarding End-Connectors (Plugs):

      (Adapted from a post by Sol Schumer)

      Plugs that have the piercing contacts "in-line" (look at the side of the plug, and with good eyesight, you'll notice this) are made for Stranded wire cables only.  It is easier to stamp these out, and so they are cheaper.  The inline points can push down between the strands of copper.

      Plugs for Solid wire can be used for either Stranded or Solid wire cables, and have "offset" piercing contacts, that "straddle" solid wire.  Making the contacts offset is more expensive, and so are these plugs.

      Making cables should only be done in desperation.  The molded strain-relief and tang protectors on pre-made cables are superior to any hand-made cables.

      The ones I used in the Hickman lab have the strain-relief no larger than the plug body, allowing them to fit into adjacent, tightly spaced jacks in network switches and hubs.  While you can include "boots" on hand-made cables, they are too wide for such tightly spaced jacks, as they extend beyond the width of the plug body.

      Using pre-made cables of different colors makes it easy to administer, move, and troubleshoot cables, compared to hand-made cables all of the same jacket color.

      While the point was correctly made to use stranded wire cables, they are about 10-times harder to get the wires in the plugs correctly in hand-made cables, since the stranded wires are no where near as stiff as solid wire cables, and invariably switch their position while inserting them into the plug.  So you end up redoing them over and over, until you get them right, generally at the expense of many wasted plugs and time.

      For all these reasons, and the fact that pre-made cables perform better and are so cheap, there is no reason to hand-make cables, except as a temporary solution.

    Another Point of View

      (Adapted from a post by Lan Barnes)

      1. Cable crimpers aren't cheap, and made cables are now abundant and inexpensive, so don't go home-made unless there is a compelling reason.

      2. That said, in many home networking situations, either the lengths of the cable runs (through crawl spaces, attics, along baseboards, etc) or the realities of fishing the cable through holes just big enough for the cable (the ends frequently hang up) really demand a custom run from a spool.

      3. Since a spool will last a home user a long damn time, _always_ buy stranded. It works as well for the long, static runs, and is essential for anything going around even moderate curves or that will be manipulated (patch cables). The extra cost is worth it. Buy the white cable -- it blends best along baseboards.

      4. RJ-45 ends can be fragile, especially the plastic lock tab. Having a crimping tool is worth it for the convenience of just clipping off a busted end and putting a new one on.

      5. There is no better continuity test tool than a laptop running Linux.  Use a known-good cable to get it on the network at the main hub/switch, and then it can be taken around to number labels to mark each end of each cable.

      6. A punch down pad for female connections is almost unnecessary unless you insist upon setting wall-jack drops into your walls. But for cables run along, or drilled through a wall, just leave a long enough pigtail on it to reach your CPU.

      7. While Sol is right that getting the knack for poking the wires into the RJ-45 in the right order can be difficult, it's all technique, and not that hard to get right for a few cables a day (home network, right?). I might have a different opinion if I were doing it all day every day ...  or maybe I'd just get real good at it.

      As an added benefit, my crimper also does RJ-11, so I do or modify my own phone lines.

      So I say, don't be afraid, young people; have at it.