Make Your Own Cat5 Cable

More and more home networks are switching to wireless connections with the proliferation of cheap Wi-Fi hubs and routers, but this doesn’t mean that you should ignore the advantages of a physical Ethernet connection. Despite the strengths and flexibility of wireless Internet, it has been shown that a considerable loss of speed can be experience between your router and your computer.

While a wireless link might be suitable for laptops, tablets and phones, if you have any desktop computers or home theater systems with Internet connectivity, the use of an Ethernet cable is recommended for the best performance.

Of course, finding a suitable Cat5 cable for this could be tricky. In electrical stores, network cables are usually available at a specific length, often 1m, 5m, 10m, 20m, etc. While these can in theory be coupled together with connectors, there is the chance of disconnection or signal loss from these devices.

Instead, your best option is to purchase a single length of cable with a few extra inches at either end to cover mistakes and attach your own connectors.

Assembling a Standard Cat5 Cable

In order to assemble your own Cat5 cable, you will need two connectors in addition to a crimp tool, and of course the length of cable. (Crimp tools are largely inexpensive, and some come with small blades for trimming the cable jacket.)

Begin by making a small incision into one end of the cable in order to pull back the cable jacket. You will need an inch or so of the wires to be visible so that they can be correctly arranged. Each pair of wires will need to be arranged as shown in the accompanying diagram, in this order from left to right:

1                     White-Green

2                     Green

3                     White-Orange

4                     Blue

5                     White-Blue

6                     Orange

7                     White-Brown

8                     Brown

With the wires arranged, place them flat on a table or desk to double-check and then cut them back to about 1/2 an inch in length. Next, insert the wires into a connector; these small devices are designed to feed the wires into place, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The jacket should also go in around ¼ inch, enough to be fixed in place.

The final step is to use the crimp tool. This clamps both sides of the connector together, pushing a small piece of plastic into place against the able to secure it in place. A Cat5 cable with the jacket secured within the connector with result in a better cable that is less likely to fail or break.

Once you’re done, repeat for the other end of the cable, and then proceed with connecting your “static” network devices to benefit from a faster Internet connection!