[Tfug] CAT5 Cables, The Sequel

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Jim,

--- Jim Secan <jim at nwra.com> wrote:

> Nth lesson learned - let someone else do it, or buy
> cable that's a bit too long and coil it (and tell
> the customer "damn it, if you don't like the
> coil make the %^*#*@^! cable yourself").

*Exactly* -- *I* am "The Customer"  :>  (which is why
I made the %^*#*@^! cable myself  ;-)

> I would think that since this is
> something that is done fairly regularly by people
> for whom time is money
> that there is a spiffy little machine that will do

The crimper is that machine.  They aren't particularly
cheap, either.  The problem, IMO, is there really is
no *cheap* way of fabricating cables off an assembly
line.  It's a case of the connector shell defining
(and *creating*!) the problem.  The only easier way
to do it would be if the shell was split like the
slices of bread in a sandwich -- so you could *lay*
the individual conductors side by side, one at a time
instead of having to arrange them and jam them in
with one motion (hoping they don't criss-cross on
the way in!).

Another potential remedy would be if the latch was
a separate piece so the connector shell was *smooth*.
This would help with the visibility of the wires
inside the shell (difficult when there are all these
layers of plastic obscuring the image)

> this for you.  Or maybe
> it is that such a machine does exist but it costs
> big bucks.
> 
> All I can say is that I'm glad I've not tried this. 
> Thanks for the warnings.

It was worth the experience.  Though, I will keep
it as a "last resort" in the future (or, if I
need a really long cable and don't feel inclined
to shell out huge bucks for a "length of wire")

--don


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