07-21-10 | Blog Post

A Better Way to End Cables

Blog Posts

I’ve run a lot of cable in my day and had my methods to near perfection. But last year a co-worker taught me an easier way to install the RJ45 end onto a piece of CAT5 or CAT6 cable.

Installing the RJ45 end on a piece of cable involves:

  1. Trimming off the end of the cable to make sure you have a flat clean end.
  2. Remove 1 inch of the outer sleeve.
  3. Untwist all of the wires and arrange the wires into the correct order
  4. Trimming the ends flat and inserting them into the RJ45 modular end
  5. Crimp the end with a crimp tool
  6. Testing and certifying the cable

Step 3 takes the most time and is the easiest place to make a mistake, most often arranging the wires in the wrong order.

Normally the how to guides say to untwist all of the wires and arrange them in the following order (TI 568B):

  1. White Orange
  2. Orange
  3. White Green
  4. Blue
  5. White Blue
  6. Green
  7. White Brown
  8. Brown

This means starting from left and moving to the right.

But I find it easier to start from the center and work out.

I assembled a step by step photo guide to show how to make it a little simpler:

Step 1 to End Cables
Step 1: Eyeball about 1 inch from the end of the wire.

Step 2 to End Cables
Step 2: Cut 1 inch of the outer sleeve exposing the 8 wires underneath.

Step 3 to End Cables
Step 3: If you have CAT6 cable, snip off the nylon thread and plastic spline
Step 4 to End Cables
Step 4: With the nylon thread and plastic spline gone, you should now be able to separate 4 groups of wire.
Step 5 to End Cables
Step 5: Untwist and arrange the blue/white pair. Solid blue of the left, white blue on the right.

Step 6 to End Cables
Step 6: Untwist and arrange the green/white pair, white green on the far left and green on the far right.

Step 7 to End Cables
Step 7: Pull them together so that the green white pair surrounds the blue white pair.
Step 8 to End Cables
Step 8: Untwist and arrange the white orange pair as shown above.
Step 9 to End Cables
Step 9: Place the white orange pair on the left. White orange will be left most followed by orange. At this point the wires are white orange, orange, white green, blue, white blue, green, from top to bottom.

 

Step 10 to End Cables
Step 10: Untwist and arrange the last pair (white brown).
Step 11 to End Cables
Step 11: Lastly, place the brown white pair on the right. Brown will be right most followed by white brown on its left.

By starting from the center you don’t have to bend the wires as much to get them flat and smooth. And if you have lots of ends to put on, this saves wear and tear on your hands. Also, this method is a little quicker once you get the hang of it.

This method works equally well for TI 568A or TI 568B pinouts.

Trim the wires and insert them into the RJ45 plug. Crimp the end and you’re ready to test and certify the cable.

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