To be or not to be
T568B

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My fingers are burning
My patience is gone
Is this the price of learning
Network engineering on my own?

capl2Vo5vb8S75m.jpg

Had I instead chosen T568A
Would it have been a child’s play?
Nay, ended up with a crossover cable, I would have
Becoming crazy, becoming mad
Suitable for patching similar devices
Unfit for my goals, unrewarding of my sacrifices

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Okay I’m done. Fuck this I’m gonna munch a bunch now.🍔🍟🍕🌭🥪🌮🌯🍿🍪

  • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    241·
    5 days ago

    One of the best pieces of advice that was never conveyed to me when I learned Ethernet termination: if it’s a huge pain in the ass to get the wires seated correctly, try a different brand of plug.

    I’ve had some take 15 min just to do one termination, and others where I can get 4 in the same time. Minor design tweaks make a world of difference.

    Good luck, soldier.

    • cheesebob8@lemmy.zipEnglish
      12·
      5 days ago

      Not to mention the quality of the wire or whether or not it is stranded vs solid. Stranded is generally always harder imo.

      • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        61·
        5 days ago

        This too. Solid core is infinitely easier to work with than stranded. Also, take the time to get the kinks and curls out of the wire. They make little combs for doing this, but I always just use the side of a pen or something similar.

    • printf("%s", name);@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      8·
      5 days ago

      I swear to God, that did cross my mind, since all of these YouTube videos make it look so easy it’s just not funny.

      Thanks! I’ll check out some other brands! 😊

  • Romkslrqusz@lemmy.zipEnglish
    11·
    5 days ago

    Few potential pointers:

    Initially, expose more length than you’ll need. I usually do 1 inch / 2cm

    Untwist your pairs and get them loosely arranged

    Pinch all the wires flat and arranged between the side of your forefinger and your thumb. Bend them back and forth, up and down, side to side, and generally “massage” them - being sure to keep them arranged - to get the kinks out. They’ll straighten out and you’ll form a new wire “memory” in your intended arrangement.

    You can then cut the ends flush with one another at the intended length and you’ll have a much easier time threading them into the connector.

    • otacon239@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      5 days ago

      Yep, I always put in the whole set of wires at once pinched flat and I managed to pull it off first try.

      The more I hear people complain about roughing it with Ethernet wiring, the more I realize I was lucky to learn the easy way first.

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      5 days ago

      That’s the pro way which is great after you have the skill and finger strength built up from doing dozens.

    • printf("%s", name);@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      2·
      5 days ago

      Thanks for the advice! I think I need to cut out more of the plastic inner guide/insulation, because no matter how hard I massage the wires and pinch down on them, they won’t stay put, and I’m guessing that the + shapes inner guide/separator or whatever is not allowing me to form them to my liking.

      • osaerisxero@fedia.io
        2·
        5 days ago

        If they’re consistently getting caught on the guides inside the rj45, that’s an indication that your cutting tool may be dull and you’re smushing the wires.

        • printf("%s", name);@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
          1·
          4 days ago

          Are there supposed to be rail-like guides/indentations inside the rj45 that help the individual wires stay in place while they are being crimped/pierced by the contacts?

  • blueduck@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    5 days ago

    I had about a dozen Cat 6 terminations fail to work in a row before I realized I’d grabbed the box of Cat5e tips.

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 @pawb.socialEnglish
    3·
    5 days ago

    The only part of making patch cables I reguarly have trouble with is actually getting the strands into the end before crimping. Sometimes they just wanna bend and bounce off the hole without actually going in deep enough for the thing to crimp onto. 🫩

    I did this pretty much daily when working as an installer for a wireless ISP service. Usually it’d take no time at all. Other times I’d fight the damn thing for 20 minutes just getting it into the end cap.

  • AnarchoEngineer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    3·
    5 days ago

    Honestly just the worst when you end up not crimping down hard enough on some so they slowly come loose during use, so then you randomly start getting up but no down or vice versa