Where has my thread gone?

Don't know. Meant to reply to your thread earlier.  You need a crimping tool and the un crimped rj45 ends that come with it. And of course some cat 5 or 6 Ethernet cable.  Cables are relatively easy to do, a bit fiddly and you need to know the colour coding which you can find out on the net easily enough

However the cost of this although not high is a bit pointless if you are only ever going to do one cable.

You can get ready made cables of various lengths easily enough at  the big stores or the local corner PC shops.  Some of the small shops will make custom cable length for you.

I replied as well. IMHO it is much easier to run unterminated Ethernet UTP cable and terminate with modular RJ45 sockets. You then use standard preterminated patch cords between the sockets and the equipment. This is the way commerical Ethernet installations are done. You don't need an expensive crimping tool.The modular sockets are not expensive and are avaialble from the likes of Maplin, Screwfix, etc.

Hi Guys, Thanks for your comments.

It's a difficult one for me mainly because I don't want to start drilling larger holes for a relatively thin cable so I'll go for my preferred option of making my own cable. Also SHMBO has a say in this too 

the easiest job would be to just buy a pre terminated cable and drill bigger holes but I know the holes wil have to be around 12mm and that's too big for me.

I'll go go for Cat 6 just because it seems to be what 'others' use. As for a crimping tool I'll just buy one and keep hold of it and I'll probably get some use out of it when I install some Ethernet sockets next year. This is turning into a bigger job now but I know I'm going to rearrange some electrical sockets install some combined USB/13amp  sockets etc. 

I've already watched some videos on guys crimping and some are quite a laugh to watch but I've got the genaral idea on how to assemble these leads now.

Where did that thread go ?? 

Mike..

Mr Paws; I replied to the original thread too but the thread disappeared shortly after my posting so you may not have seen it. I was faced with a similar problem to yourself and having looked at YouTube videos and making sure I understood the colour sequence, purchased a cheap crimping set of the well-known rainforest site. It came complete with plugs and also a tester. It's a fairly crappy bit of kit but suitable for occasional use which is all that I needed. Practiced on a spare Cat5 cable and was good to go. The tester is invaluable just to make sure everything is working and the wires have gone in the right place but it was very straightforward. Sorted out the modem connections at the same time with the spare RJ11 plugs and the home network is now free of Powerlines and wi-fi repeaters and works well for all the connected devices. Incidentally the router feeds the same switch that you have, which in turn is connected to the music server and the Uniti2. It was no big deal to do and quite satisfying at the end of the day!

I might buy a couple of boxes but my thinking was too many breaks in the cable. 

As as I explained in an earlier post my intention is to install a few sockets as part of a partial re-wire/ 13amp socket upgrade early next year so for now I'll get the cable fitted and consider my options.

Mike.

Good advice Gary! I made the mistake of running CAT6 solid core from one downstairs end of the house to the other upstairs end. Across ceilings, through umpteen holes in walls, under carpets...took me ages. Put plugs on either end, then discovered the damn cable had broken internally somewhere.

You can put plugs on the multistrand stuff, but it is a real pain in the bum.

The thread was removed for review after a couple of posts that broke forum rules.

FWIW, doing DIY terminations on CAT cable is a very bad idea - and a sure fire recipe for network problems down the line.  Always buy it ready-terminated.  If you need longer than you have then join lengths with a proper junction.