Shortening RJ 45 Cat 6A network cable

Iqbal

Hello all,
I pulled network cable from my bedroom upstairs and across the loft to the lounge to connect it to my smart TV. To cut the story short the cable is too long and sitting in a coil behind the AV table.
I would like to shorten it but have no experience in doing so. Has anyone here has done it themselves? any tips please....

Markr123

Would it not be an idea to feed the excess back into the loft space neatly cooled just in case of relocation later where you perhaps need that additional? Much easier than running a new cable should you decide to move one of the end points in the future.

Iqbal

Thanks for the reply, I would have done that if it was easy. I remeber the problems in getting it down in the first instance .It is, everything but, free flowing route . I looked up the process which seems to be easy enough and equipment available but I am a little apprehensive ….

mickevh

UTP cable can be shortened pretty easily, but you are going to need the correct tool - an RJ45 crimping tool - and some new plugs (it's best to have a few in case it doesn't work first time and you need to have another go.)  The plugs are pretty cheap, the the crimper may cost a bit unless you buy one second hand and mitigate the cost a bit by selling it on afterwards.

I'll include a link below to my favourite page on how to DIY UTP, which amongst other information has diagrams of the pin outs and identifies which is pin 1 on the socket and so forth, but basically, you cut the cable back to a tad more than the required length just in case (and to leave a little slack) then strip back the sheathing, untwist the wires inside a little, cut them to length then crimp on the new plug. In a ideal world you'd run quick test on it, but for a one off, it's probably not worth buying/hiring a tester. For ethernet, just plug in and it'll either work (full speed) or it won't.

IIRC cat6A is mostly shielded, meaning each pair and possibly the whole cable are likely to have metal foil wrapped around them (and a drain wire) all of which will need to be earthed. I've never done cat6A, but IIRC cat6A plugs often have a metal chassis and earthing points on them for the shielding. It would be worthwhile finding out whether your cable is shielded or not so you can source the appropriate plugs.

An easier solution might be akin to what's been suggested already - get hold of some velcro cable ties, coil up the cable somewhere and tuck it out the way. With a bit of imagination, one can usually find somewhere to hide it. For example, you mention it goes to a TV - presumably a big flat panel these days - maybe you can find a way to hang a coil of cable on the back of the TV itself, perhaps affix one of those stick-on "towel hook" type things if you cannot find a suitable orifice or vent on the back of the panel to lash a cable tie to.

More than you ever wanted to know about UTP here... How to wire Ethernet Cables

Iqbal

Wow Thank you so much for a detailed response...and link to excellent site.
I suspect I will look into hiding option before anything else.

mickevh

HTH - incidentally, if you do go for shortening, there's a fair few videos on You Tube with people demo-ing the process.

Iqbal

Thanks I had a look...its just the question of taking the plunge.........

techquest

It really is a simple thing to do.

Put a Boot on the cable, boot is the blue item and are readily available as plug with boot.
                                                                                                                                               

Strip cable sheath long enough for wires to fit into plug

Put wires in plug as below

                                                                                                                                               


                                                                                                                                               


Crimp the plug with an RJ45/Cat5,6 crimp tool. There are loads available but a good one costs.

If you don't want to invest in a crimp tool then here's a link to a Link to a toolless product, though nowhere near as secure as a crimped type.

CAT 5/6 toolless RJ45 Plug | eBay