Question on making lan/cat lines

[Jamson]

Is there a easy way and a good tool to make my own cat lines to make the ends vs buying complete made ones. I want to run a few lines for some cameras that i will be buying. Thanks

 

[cyberwolf_uk]

Take a look at the video above. I have been using one of these crimp tools for years, I wouldn't recommend any other. You need to use the EZ RJ45 connectors when using this tool but it makes cabling so much easier.
They are more expensive than just a $10 crimp tool but you pay for what you get.

 

[Jamson]

Thanks, this looks like a good one. I figured the cheap ones didnt work well or would not last.

 

[VorlonFrog]

You would be exactly correct.

 

[Fastb]

Janson

Pre-fabricated cables, with injection molded plastic on the back end of the RJ45, are more robust than self-made cables.
I use both, especially on long runs. Pulling round un-terminated Cat cable is easier than snaking an RJ45, especially through holes.
Monoprice makes inexpensive terminated cables, and in long lengths (such as 100 ft) Solid or stranded 100% copper (avoid copper clad steel or aluminum conductors). Even beefier 23AWG, for carrying the extra POE current over long distances w less voltage drop.

Fastb

 

[Jamson]

Janson

Pre-fabricated cables, with injection molded plastic on the back end of the RJ45, are more robust than self-made cables.
I use both, especially on long runs. Pulling round un-terminated Cat cable is easier than snaking an RJ45, especially through holes.
Monoprice makes inexpensive terminated cables, and in long lengths (such as 100 ft) Solid or stranded 100% copper (avoid copper clad steel or aluminum conductors). Even beefier 23AWG, for carrying the extra POE current over long distances w less voltage drop.

Fastb

Do you know I'f the monoprice cables are ok for outdoor use. There prices seem good. Thanks

 

[tangent]

Do you know I'f the monoprice cables are ok for outdoor use. There prices seem good. Thanks

Outdoor use is a bit of a sliding scale. Running along tucked against your soffit where there no water and minimal uv, most anything will work but paint will make it look good longer. Running in conduit or buried under ground is a bit different. Their are outdoor rated cables you can buy, but without more details on how your using it it's hard to offer specific advice.

 

[PSPCommOp]

Honestly, get a piece of say 10' cable, buy the regular crimp tool and some RJ45 connectors. Practice making them and I guarantee you'll be confident and comfortable by the time you run out of cable. I was good to go buy the 7-8th one that I made, its very simple as long as you watch some videos on line on how to do it. Seriously its so easy a Caveman can do it

I really can't see justifying the price for the EZ crimper and connector. The cheapest EZ Crimper I've found on Amazon is $29, plus the special EZRJ45 connectors are about $11 for 15. You can get a regular crimper, 100 of RJ45 connectors, wire cutter/stripper AND a line tester in a packaged kit for $12-15 bucks. The extra expense doesn't guarantee its better then a cheaper one in this case.

 

[nayr]

yeah the cheap ones work fine if you know what your doing..

I perfer to use punchdown blocks wherever possible, like terminating inside at the NVR.. then using prefab stranded jumpers.. but on the camera end use normal crimps and self sealing tape.

whatever you do source components online, local hardware stores are a total ripoff.. like $30 for a pack of 10 crimps @ lowes, blah.. luckily I have a microcenter nearby, but monoprice is the next best thing.

 

[erkme73]

Another vote for the cheapies. I ran over 2000', with about 140 terminations when building my vacation home late last year. I didn't skimp on the wire... Cat 6, 22ga, pure copper. Most of the cables terminated at keystone jacks at each destination, but the standard cat 5 (FIVE) ends at the switches. I didn't go with Cat 6 RJ45 ends because they stagger the pairs, making it that much more difficult to maintain the proper sequence. Cat 5 ends have all 8 wires on the same plain, so it's much easier to feed the flattened conductors in on the first attempt.

I was tempted to go with the pull-thru ends and special crimpers. If I'd only have had to do a few, I may well have gone that route. But given how many I had to do, the process was going to be tedious, repetitive, and time consuming either way. I figured it was good practice to learn how to do it properly. I can literally do a patch cable now, both ends, in under 2 min.

FWIW, make sure you also get a cheap tester to verify that both ends are properly terminated. They'll verify you have the correct order, and that each conductor is properly seated. They'll run about $40. That is especially important if you intend on running PoE over the cables - as some cameras cannot tolerate power on the data pair if you get it wrong.

 

[PSPCommOp]

FWIW, make sure you also get a cheap tester to verify that both ends are properly terminated. They'll verify you have the correct order, and that each conductor is properly seated. They'll run about $40. That is especially important if you intend on running PoE over the cables - as some cameras cannot tolerate power on the data pair if you get it wrong.

Much cheaper then that, they are going for 7.99, 8.99 and 9.99 on Amazon. They also have everything you need in combo kits like this one...

UbiGear Cable Tester +Crimp Crimper +100 RJ45 CAT5 CAT5e Connector Plug Network Tool Kits (Crimper568R) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018YIM56G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_hXsaybNZVVJDR

The yellow stripping/cutting tool is nice too once u get the setting dialed in.

There are also tons of video tutorials on YouTube like this one...


Seriously spare yourself the cash and practice a bit and you'll be totally fine. The money you save on the crimped and RJ45 connectors alone will be worth it just spend about 15-20 minutes practicing on a small piece of cable and you'll have it in no time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[erkme73]

That's true. I was using this one. It will provide cable length and identify which end of the cable is incorrect - and if there's a short or break in the line - it'll tell you how far down the line it is. For just a handful of cables, it's probably overkill.

 

[Fastb]

Jamson,

Welcome to the forum!

You asked: "Do you know if the monoprice cables are ok for outdoor use. There prices seem good. Thanks"
My two cents:
I've had 5 or 6 cables strung outside for 6 or 7 months. This was a temporary setup, since I was planning on moving the system to a construction site, for another temporary installation while the construction project was active.

My cables were;
- strung across the top of the roof. Full sun, on top of hot asphalt roof shingles.
- through the air, to cameras mounted on poles.
- across the ground, to cameras on poles in shrubbery, aimed at the house.
- connections inside plastic bags, upside down, to keep water out. One leaked, and shorted POE power, and blackened several pins/contacts.

All in all, a rugged application. Less than ideal, admittedly. But it mimicked the real world situation the system would face, given the realities of construction sites and the "git 'er done" mindset.

That said, the Monprice cables performed admirably. In my application, replacing a cable would be trivial. (Not so for permanent installations, with service life expectation of many years)

I might argue my usage was "accelerated life testing", if I put on my engineering product development hat.

In summary, I've been very pleased with the Monprice cables, in terms of quality, construction, conductors & post-molded connectors. And price.

Note: I have no affiliation or professional association with Monoprice.

Fastb

 

[nayr]

the biggest killer of cables outside is UV, it'll just crumble all the protective jackets on the wires with enough time.. if your cables are exposed to direct sunlight, like on a roof.. then you'll want outdoor cable, and its usually black as they can put the most UV protection in black plastics.

if its running inside conduit, under siding, or anywhere protecting it from sunlight (not including direct burial) then you can use it outside without issue.

 

[patrocle]

I Just got me some tools,wires,etc to build my own cable and hopefully will do some this weekend, kind raining outside for the next few days...

Here what i got:

Platinum Tools 15015 Cat 5 Cable Jacket Stripper $13> Link Here.

Klein Tools VDV226-107 Compact Ratcheting Modular Crimper $32> Link Here.

200 Pcs Color Coded Strain Relief Boots,JACKYLED Network Cover,Black $8> Link Here.

Ideal IDI86396 8 Position 8 Contact Round Mod Plug, Bag Of 100 $31> Link Here.

Shireen DC-1021 Outdoor CAT5e FTP - Shielded - Outdoor UV rated- 1000ft Spool $185> Link Here.

All @ $270 plus tax. Need to replace some of the cables i have.

Was also looking for some water proof connectors,but found none...

All wires,tools should do the job,some maybe easier to do it, i am a beginner on this too, never done it before but i guess is time to put some good
wire up and use some good tools

 

[PSPCommOp]

Just remember with the jacket stripper, you wanna have it shallow enough so it doesn't go all the way thru, u wanna have to bend the cable and hear the snap. Otherwise theres a good chance you knicked the inner wires (or cut them outright which will weaken them). I had some issues with the signal dropping on the first camera I wired and it was caused by them being almost severed.

 

[Jamson]

I want to thank everyone for there help. It was very helpfull, I will buy some and try to make a few test cables. I will probably buy some prebuilt from monoprice. Now I need to decide which cameras to buy.

 

[BarkityBark]

All of these strippers sold on the market 'for-cheap' nick the copper conductors almost every single time, which is a big no-no vs. cable performance. Anyone here using a thermal stripper they bought at a good price? Of course, thermal strippers won't work if you have a premium grade cable with Teflon coated conductors.

 

[nayr]

These self adjusting ones work perfectly fine w/out nicking the interior cables.. if your damaging the cable then you have the tension set too high

IRWIN VISE-GRIP Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper, 8", 2078300 - Wire Stripping Tool - Amazon.com

 

[tangent]

Self adjusting ones work pretty well.
You can also get adjustable strippers like this: Adjustable Cable Jacket Stripper - Monoprice.com.

Sometimes you have to adjust a tool so it doesn't quite go all the way through the jacket then you just twist and pull to finish the job.