[Tfug] Patch cords

[Bender]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bexley Hall" <bexley401 at yahoo.com>
To: "Tucson Free Unix Group" <tfug at tfug.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2012 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Tfug] Patch cords


Hi Tyler,

--- On Sun, 9/30/12, Tyler Kilian <vaca at grazeland.com> wrote:

> I think you are over complicating this. I wouldn't worry about
> "abuse" on any cable scenario you mentioned. You can make a custom
> cable without worry if better suits your needs.

I have been *regularly* admonished against making cables!  Hence
my hesitance to rush into making 70+ of them without some confidence
that this approach *won't* give me headaches down the road!  I
figure that's got to be AT LEAST a full day's work (measure,
cut, strip, feather, trim, crimp, strip, feather, trim, crimp,
install -- times 70)

(It's one thing to spend extra time/effort/money to *reduce*
downstream problems; quite another to "spend" and get *worse*
results!)

So, my question is:  What is the source of these admonitions
against rolling your own cables?  "Urban legend"?  "It's not
worth your time"?  "It's more expensive than store-bought"?
"Mistakenly using solid core wire in lieu of stranded"?  "They
fail due to inadequate strain-relief/crimp contacts"? etc.

--don


Have you seen the kind of cables people make by hand? Some people lack the 
dexterity and patience it takes to:

Strip the outer jacket without nicking inner wire insulation

Get all of the wires crammed into the connector fully
*while*
maintaining the proper order of the color code
*and*
making sure the outer jacket is sufficiently shoved into the connnector so 
the jacket crimp can hold.

I have seen more than a few cables terminated with 1-3 inches of outer 
jacket removed - conductors 1-2 & 3-6 inserted and either the rest of the 
conductors remaining, or cut off entirely. And, the conductors used had no 
twist for that 1-3 inches of exposure.

A ratcheting crimping tool is preferred especially when you are going to be 
doing that many. Otherwise when you get tired, you might not be so inclined 
to press the handles down fully.

If you prepare, assemble and crimp with appropriate conectors for the type 
of cable you are using, it's not rocket science. (especially if you use a 
cable tester to verify pairing and continuity (at minimum))

However, people have been burned often enough so they avoid home-made cables 
for good reason.

It's not for everybody, especially when you can get pre-built cables with 
strain relief boots in 0.5', 1', 2', 3', 5', lengths for around a buck and 
7', 10', 14', 20', lengths for $2-$3 (plus shipping)

see the link Harry posted...

Bender