PC Hardware Servicing: Ethernet Cable Making

Computers are one of the highest breeds of technology nowadays. t allows

you to accomplish your tasks faster! making you more e"cient and reliable than
before. t was invented by the late Charles #abbage! also known as the $%ather of
Computer.&
' computer mainly operates through its $System unit&! which is usually
referred to by the layman as the $CP(&. )his is technically incorrect! for the CP(
*Central Processing (nit+ is only one piece amongst many to compose the System
(nit. )he latter consists of the chassis! the motherboard where the CP( is located!
the power supply! the drivers! and the fan. ' computer is not a computer if it is
without a system unit.
,owadays! computer users cannot escape the need to be connected.
nnovations in the -eld of technology have established a trend! i.e. wireless
connection! or .i/%i! and so far it appears to be more convenient in all aspects. )his
is especially true to those who tend to work outside a lot! with a large group of
people. ,evertheless! wired0Ethernet connection can be 1ust as ideal as the wireless
variety.
.ired0Ethernet connection is 1ust as good as the wireless when it comes to
peer/to/peer *P2P+ connections. P2P manifests two or more computers connected
together to share resources. 3ne advantage of Ethernet connection users is that
Ethernet cable is cheaper than .i/%i routers. .ired connection is also faster! so
much so that wireless technologies cannot even compete at all. .ired users
e4perience considerably less downtime due to connection issues than users of
wireless computers. 5astly! Ethernet connection users are more secured from
hackers.
.hat most people don6t know is that! making your own Ethernet cable can be
as easy as pie. 3ne only needs a C')7e or C')8 cable of any length! side cutting
pliers! two *2+ 9:;7 1acks *though it6s better to have spares for if crimped it wrongly!
a new one has to be used+! and an 9:;7 crimping tool.
)he process:
<. Cut into the outer 1acket of your C')7e or C')8 cable at about </ < <02
inch from both ends. *)he crimping tool has a ra=or blade that will help
you do the trick.+
2. Carefully remove the outer 1acket of the cable. 5ocate the string inside
with the wires! or if no string is found! use the wires themselves to un=ip
the sheath of the cable by holding the sheath in one hand and pulling
sideways with the string or wire. >ou will notice ? wires twisted in ; pairs.
Each pair will have one wire of a certain color and another wire that is
white with a colored stripe matching its partner *this wire is called a
tracer+.
@. nspect the newly revealed wires for any cuts or scrapes that e4pose the
copper wire inside. f you have breached the protective sheath of any wire!
you will need to cut the entire segment of wires oA and start over at step
one. E4posed copper wire will lead to cross/talk! poor performance or no
connectivity at all. t is important that the 1acket for all network cables
remains intact.
;. (ntwist the pairs so they will lay Bat between your -ngers.
7. 'rrange the wires based on the wiring speci-cations you are following.
)here are two methods set by the )'! 78?' and 78?#. .hichever you use
will depend on what is being connected. ' straight/through cable is used
to connect two diAerent/layer devices *e.g. a hub and a PC+. )wo like
devices normally reCuire a cross/over cable. )he diAerence between the
two is that a straight/through cable has both ends wired identically with
78?#! while a cross/over cable has one end wired 78?' and the other end
wired 78?#.
78?# / Put the wires in the following order! from left to right:
o .hite0orange! orange! white0green! blue! white0blue! green!
whit0 brown! and brown.
78?' / from left to right:
o white0green! green! white0orange! blue! white0blue! orange!
white0brown! and brown.
8. Press all the wires Bat and parallel between your thumb and fore-nger.
Derify that the colors have remained in the correct order. Make sure that
the top of the wires are cut even with one another so that they are <02E
*<2.7 mm+ long from the base of the 1acket! as the 1acket needs to go into
the ?P?C connector by about <0?E! meaning that you only have a <02E of
room for the individual cables. 5eaving more than <02E untwisted can
1eopardi=e connectivity and Cuality. Ensure that the cut leaves the wires
even and cleanF failure to do so may cause the wire not to make contact
inside the 1ack and could lead to wrongly guided cores inside the plug.
G. Heep the wires Bat and in order as you push them into the 9:/;7 plug with
the Bat surface of the plug on top. )he white0orange wire should be on the
left if youIre looking down at the 1ack. >ou can tell if all the wires made it
into the 1ack and maintain their positions by looking head/on at the plug.
>ou should be able to see a wire located in each hole. >ou may have to use
a little eAort to push the pairs -rmly into the plug. )he cabling 1acket
should also enter the rear of the 1ack about <0;E *8 mm+ to help secure the
cable once the plug is crimped. >ou may need to stretch the sleeve to the
proper length. Derify that the seCuence is still correct before crimping.
?. Place the wired plug into the crimping tool. Jive the handle a -rm
sCuee=e. >ou should hear a ratcheting noise as you continue. 3nce you
have completed the crimp! the handle will reset to the open position.
*Some prefer to double/crimp by repeating this step to ensure all pins are
set+.
K. 9epeat all of the above steps with the other end of the cable. )he way you
wire the other end *78?' or 78?#+ will depend on whether youIre making
a straight/through! rollover! or cross/over cable
<L.)est the cable to ensure that it will function in the -eld. Miswired and
incomplete network cables could lead to headaches down the road. '
simple cable tester can Cuickly verify that for you.
.ired0Ethernet connection might not be as convenient as wireless connection
when it comes to distance! but it sure is way more advantageous in cost! speed! and
security.
9E%E9E,CES:
Jrundy! :eA. Ethernet Cables M #ene-ts to .ired Ds .ireless (sers. )ech Channel.
9etrieved from
http:00techchannel.radioshack.com0ethernet/cables/bene-ts/wired/vs/wireless/users/
<<L;.html
Hamilton! :. 9ubenstein! #. et al. How to Make a ,etwork Cable. .ikiHow. 9etrieved
from http:00www.wikihow.com0Make/a/,etwork/Cable