looking for custom Cat5e cable

leonWHAT

Hi,

I am after a 3” cat5e cable to tidy up this mess that the internet provider has left me with
Can anyone advise me where I might be able to get one made up?
Maplins no longer exists near me so I’m struggling to find anywhere - even online.

I also need x2 17” ones to reach the panel box to the side.

Can anyone advise? Many thanks

P.s I tried making my own up, 3 of them didn’t work and the only one that connect effect the internet speed for some reason.

leonWHAT

mickevh

17 inch is pretty close to half a meter and 0.5m patch-cords are a standard size readily available pre-made.

For 3 inch, I'd be making my own. If you've already got the tools in hand, (crimper, plugs,) I'd keep trying. You only need to get it right once.

It might be worth checking you are using the correct type of cable: Patch-cords with a plug on either end should be crimped onto "stranded" (AKA "patch") UTP, not the "solid core" UTP used for permanent cable runs (solid core should be punched onto IDC connectors.)

You can sometimes "get away" with crimping plugs onto solid core cable, but the failure rate tends to be higher - esp. for newbies - and of course, it's out of spec.

My favourite page on DIY UTP cabling....   How to wire Ethernet Cables

leonWHAT

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Yeah I have the crimps, I was shortening down a longer cable - but it’s also good to know failure rate on these attempts is a thing and not just me.

I will have to invest in some more connectors I think. Cheers again

leonWHAT

In addition to this. I’m not sure of the rules on this forum topic and hope I don’t break them by asking the question, hopefully a Mod could assist.

As my failure rate has been proven, If someone could make me them up for payment that would be great.

Abacus

Have another search and you should find a local computer repair company within a suitable distance that will make one up for you.

mickevh

That strikes me as a good idea - when you've been "In the business" for long enough, we tend to not think twice about crimping plugs on cables after you've done the first hundred or so, but newbies can find it a bit of a learning curve (albeit usually a short one.)

When I'm teaching it to people, the most common issues I find are (in no particular order)

1) The wires jump around as you insert the into the plug making the sequence wrong, so check three times, crimp once.
2) The wires are not pushed in far enough, they need to go right down to the end of the plug otherwise the tangs on the connectors can "miss" when you crimp. Some of the newer plugs enable the wires to pass right through, thence you clip them off to length after crimping which alleviates this issue.
3) Didn't crimp hard enough, so the tangs on the connectors don't penetrate the insulation and hit the conductors therein. Crimp harder!

The plug design I've seen most have a little "C" shaped piece (you can see it from the side if you have a look at a new unused one) which is designed to pierce the insulation and nestle amongst the strands of the conductor. This is why you need "stranded/patch" cable as this "C" piece doesn't contact so well with solid core cable. If you are shortening a pre-made patch-cord, then you can be fairly confident this has stranded cable.

It would be worth checking the pin-out of the original plug you leave on: There's two pinouts commonly used known colloquially as "A" an "B." There days nearly everything is "B," but it's worth checking as if you've got an cable "A" and make it "B" on one end, you'll have made a "crossover" cable which isn't what you need - it should be "straight." If you have got an "A" pin out, then crimp your new plug the same. Basically, for ethernet over UTP the pin outs need to be the same both ends of the cable whether they use "A" or "B" pinout.