At Home with Category 6, part 2

The right tool for the job. That phrase is a core principle in my work and home. Sometimes I’ll explore workarounds and “creative” solutions, but when it comes to any kind of construction it is best to use the right tool. Ultimately, you will save money, time, and have better results. Recently, I have been getting a quick lesson is working with Category 6 ethernet cable. I got a good deal on 1000 ft roll of CAT6 not knowing that it’s not as easy to work with as CAT5 or CAT5e. It came down to the connectors. Of course I thought I could use my 15+ year old RJ45 crimper and connectors, but my cable failure rate was 75%. That’s very frustrating.

Continue reading “At Home with Category 6, part 2”

At Home with Category 6, part 1

Ethernet crimping

If only I had known. It had been years since I crimped my last bit of ethernet cable. I’ve pulled and crimped many feet of category 5 (Cat5) cables from trade show floor to retail store installations. I am just getting gigabit fiber internet at home and I need to spread the speed across the house. Wi-fi is fine, but hardware connections are best. The router was brought in to the basement and I wanted to run some ethernet cable upstairs to center of the house and from to a network switch and an access point will bathe the upstairs with wireless happiness.

Continue reading “At Home with Category 6, part 1”