RE: DIY CAT 5

["Hawes,Timothy Edward \(GEG\)" <haweste@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have made my own patch leads but it's not a particularly effective use
of time ;-)

For the in-wall cables I've bought from TLC (www.tlc-direct.co.uk) and
from Screwfix - both types of cable were "Cat 5e" and both brands
have
been fine. One thing to watch for, that I've seen on some types of
cable, is that in most good cables you get COLOUR and stripe, some other
cables, the "stripe" is actually just plain white but twisted
with the
COLOUR. This is fine until you start to unravel the cores to crimp on
the plugs and then it's hard to identify what's what.

Traditionally you'd use solid cable for fixed (in wall) wiring and
stranded for patch leads. Solid is (much) cheaper, but less flexible.
There's no real reason no to do it with pre-made stranded patch leads
however, although but you will be limited to the pre-made lengths
available and it will be harder to thread through the walls etc if the
RJ45 plugs are already attached.

RS do crimping tools and supplies etc., as do quite a few other places,
even B&Q etc. I've got use of a very nice AMP crimp tool, but it's
waaaay over-spec'd for 'hobby' use :-)

To comply with the regs you also shouldn't run LV and mains within 50mm
of each other unless separated by a physical barrier e.g. separate
lengths of trucking in the wall, or an internally-partitioned dado rail
conduit thing. Also, make sure you properly identify each cable before
you pull it. It make things much easier when it comes to terminations.
One favoured scheme is to use bands of coloured electrical tape:
http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=
6 I used this method and can recommend it.

One final point - make sure you also run plenty of Cat 5 to the kitchen,
even if you think you'll *never* use it . . .
;-)

HTH,

Tim.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ho Yin Ng
>
> Do you guys make your own CAT 5 cable? Or do you buy pre made
> off the shelf?
>
> I have got to start running some cable around the house for
> all the usual things I assume CAT 5 can handle 1000mbit networking?
>
> Where is the best place to get the crimping tools and cabling?
>
> Do you have any tips or recommendations or things I should be
> aware of before I start?
>
> I know the general HA rule .. decide how much you want then triple it.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ho yin