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How to compress a twisted pair

 

Sometimes many of us have to deal with the problem of a breakdown or accidental breakage of the connector from the Internet cable. As such a cable, a twisted pair cable is used today, consisting, as a rule, of four pairs of twisted copper conductors having an individual color marking of insulation.

Twisted pair cable

A twisted pair cable is traditionally used to transfer signals between a router or modem and a computer, or simply between computers, since it is ideal for this, and to a sufficient extent allows you to prevent interference from various external sources to the transmitted signal. Let’s talk about how to squeeze a couple correctly, how to properly attach a new connector to it.

How to compress a twisted pair

Violation of the health of the connector is a frequent phenomenon. We transfer modems and routers, make a rearrangement in the apartment, rearrange the computer, accidentally touch the loose cable with our foot. Even a cat can effortlessly bite the cable, which we just did not manage to lay in time and how to fix it.

It is not particularly difficult to crimp the cable on your own again, especially since it will come out much cheaper than calling a wizard with a set of tools. It’s enough to have stripper - a tool for neat stripping of insulation and cable trimming, as well as crimper - pliers with the ability to crimp the RJ-45 connector (8P8C). In extreme cases, the stripper can be replaced with a knife, and the crimper with pliers and a flat screwdriver.

Connector

The crimping process involves installing a connector at the end of the cable, laying the cores in this connector in compliance with a certain sequence in accordance with the color coding and the required crimping circuit (special grooves are provided inside the connector for wires).

At the first stage, it is important to observe the arrangement of the cores relative to the numbering of the contacts. The contacts are numbered 1 to 8 from right to left, if you hold the connector with the contacts up, pointing them toward you.

Location of wires relative to the numbering of contacts

The cable can be crimped in one of two ways: patch cord - straight cable, or cross-over - cross cable. A direct cable (patch cord) is used to connect a computer to a switch / hub, and a cross-over cable is used to connect two computers directly to each other. The difference between these cables is the pinout of the connector at one end of the cable.

Before crimping a twisted pair, you must first cut off the excess part of the cable and remove a piece of its outer insulation using a stripper or knife (if you decide to act with a knife, work carefully so as not to damage the insulation of the cores themselves). After this, you need to sort the veins, put them in the correct sequence by color. To do this, dissolve the pairs, straighten the cores, straighten them and fold them in the order corresponding to the desired crimp pattern of the connector.

Cut the veins evenly, leaving about a centimeter to the edge of the main cable insulation, so that after the installation is completed, part of the main insulation is inside the connector housing.

Carefully put the connector on the wires, making sure that each wire lies in its groove and is inserted all the way (to see this, look at the end of the connector).

Twisted-pair connector crimp

Having fixed the cable in the connector, feel free to proceed to crimping. Insert the connector into the corresponding slot of the crimper and smoothly squeeze its handles several times. If you are doing this for the first time, then the first time it may not work, and you will have to take a new connector. Get a few in advance.

And if there is no crimper on the farm, then take pliers. Looking at the connector on the side, you will see that the contacts are slightly protruding. First you need to push them all together with the help of pliers.

Connector before and after crimping

Next, with a flat screwdriver, it is necessary to press in turn all the contacts to the end so that they cut through the insulation of the cores and form a good conductive contact with the copper conductors inside.

Finally, to fix the cable tightly in the connector, press the screwdriver into the clamp at the base of the connector inward so that the cable will not hang back and forth. The fixing of the RJ-45 connector is completed. Twisted pair crimping from one end is completed.

See also at i.electricianexp.com:

  • Information sockets - types and features of installation
  • How to quickly remove insulation from a cable or wire
  • Stripper - a tool for removing insulation from wires, which are and how to ...
  • How to extend the heating cable connection
  • Marking electrical wires and cables

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