Holy Cow! I cannot for the life of me get the little wires into the Cat5 jack!

[akedm]

Hi,

Every time I try to get the wires into the Cat5 jack using either the 568A or 568B standard I cant get the wires to stay alinged as they go into the little tiny slots. From what I'm reading so far this is what I do (I have blue twisted-pair cable by the way and I'm using this tool) :

1. Cut the cable to an even end so all wires are the same length.
2. Cut the sheath from the cable exposing the four twisted pairs.
3. Untwist the pairs into the 568A or 568B standard (this is where it becomes it a pain in the rear, by the way)
4. Hold the wires in the correct order using your fingers.
5. Cut the wires to within 1/2" of the sheathed cable (while keeping the 568A or 568B standard correct, mind you!)
6. Somehow insert all 8 wires at once into a very small free-space so they can after a bit of floating along free, hit the 8 smaller, individual slots - maintaining correct order without bouncing or tangling into another slot - so they can all be pushed all the way to the front of the jack so they can be crimped tight and hold.

Yeah, no problem!

I put my big legs into my underwear on one leg at a time because trying to jump both legs through at the same time is crazy, and I'm supposed to get all 8 little tiny wires into the 8 little tiny slots at the same time maintaining the correct sequence? The problem is that I have a hard enough time trying to hold the wires in the proper order with my fingers, so when I have to release to let them travel through the jack they get out of sequence before they hit the 8 slots halfway into the jack.

This is like jumping into my underwear, pants, t-shirt and shirt all at the same time and getting it right. Can someone help? Is there some sort of pre-alignment tool to hold the wires in place while they're being inserted, especially during the time they're traveling through the open space in the jack?

Oh and this is my first time trying this, and the instructions for the tool really don't help much. For example they give you the 568A and 568B standard color-coded wire sequence in a black and white illustration without labels. I got the correct sequence from the Net.

[matt261102]

It's really a matter of practice and getting used to the technique. I would advise stripping back a fair amount of the cable when exposing the wires. This allows you to easily arrange the wires. starting at the base of the exposed wires, squeeze (not too hard though) them into a line and you should find they pretty much stay in order. Now you can cut the wires evenly to correct size and slide them into the jack.

Good luck. Sorry if this doesn't really help!

[johnwill]

FWIW, there are connectors that allow you to insert the wires through the connector for easy of assembly: http://www.smarthome.com/89210/EZ-RJ...50-Pack/p.aspx

Here's yet another CAT5 Wiring Tutorial.

I use some small plastic alignment blocks with my connectors for ease of assembly. I got them from the Verizon guy when they were installing my FiOS service, they make it easy to get the wires aligned, then you just stuff the alignment block with the wires into the connector for crimping. Don't know what they're called, but they make the job much easier.

[akedm]

I'm heading by the same place tonight that I got the cable from last night, they say they have whats called an "easy RJ45", so I'll check that out. I asked a local phone carrier about alignment blocks or some sort of jig, and they directed me there saying that's where they get their stuff.

I also spoke with our IT guy who says to try

1) unsheathing a few inches
2) align the wires in 568B standard
3) grab both ends of the aligned wires (each hand on each end of the few unsheathed inches) and work them in a circular / side-to-side motion a few seconds (he demonstrated this)
4) this will reduce the wires tension so they'll then align the same way without getting out of place
5) cut the wires to 1/2" and they should mostly stay aligned when insertion into the jack.

So, Matt, he's doing what you're doing and working them a bit too (step 3). Thanks for the help.

John, the place I'm heading to tonight looks like it'll sell a lot of the stuff like in your link. It's a warehouse with steel shelves and stuff in plastic boxes all over the place. A real electronic junkies dream. Thanks for your help.

[johnwill]

Let us know what you get. Also, if you figure out the real name for those alignment blocks, I'd like to know that too, because I want to order some more!

[oldtimer bob]

What I do when using solid copper wire is to get about three inches of the cable exposed,and then using a small screwdriver I seperate the pairs from the seath out to the ends,this straightens the wires.
I then proceed to place the wires in the 568B configuration, and yes I also stress them side to side as I place them in order.
After that I place my thumb with the first bend at the seath and cut the wires at the end of my finger,keeping them in place by not realeasing them from my thumb and trigger finger, and proceed to feed them with the flat side facing up into the RJ45 plug, (which is what you call a jack,from what I understand from your posting),insuring I see the ends at the end of the plug,insert them into my crimp tool and while keeping pressure on the cable(to make sure the ends are still at the connector end of the plug) I crimp the plug.

And yes, it does take a few times to get it down, so you want to be sure and test both ends to make sure you have connectivity and none of the wires 'jumped' are in the wrong slot (for the pin alignments)

Good Luck

[akedm]

Hi,

John, no luck on the alignment blocks as far as a name goes, but I dont know if I was describing them well. If you, knowing more about the blocks, want to call the warehouse I went to last night, it's Frigid North Electronics (800-478-4633) - huge place!. They're here in Alaska but if they can give you an item name, then you can go from there. Good luck.

I did however find the "EZ RJ45" plugs to be a real help! They're only about 20 cents more than a regular RJ45 jack. Trying to see the sequence of 8 wires clearly through the blurry, plastic jack is sometimes hard, so being able to slide the wires past the jack to confirm sequence is great.

I'm not fast, but I am successful.

[johnwill]

Glad one of the suggestions worked out. The only place I've ever seen these alignment blocks is with the phone company, so maybe they're an item they've dreamed up for their own use.

Here's one version of the connector with a "load bar". Not exactly what I have, but serves the same purpose.

http://www.computercablestore.com/10...C_PID3566.aspx

[akedm]

Hey those are nice! And a good price too. I think I got what I need for now with the EZs but I'm keeping those in mind. Yep, thats kinda what I thought you were describing. The warehouse I went to must not have had any cause that's kinda what I thought I was describing.

On a side note...I'm starting another thread in the general networking support forum here : How do I know if my LANs slow? Please check it out. I'm appreciative of your help.

See you around.