2 KNE100TX cards, no hub/switch, options= ?

[Eric Jorgensen]

Brian Leeper wrote:
> 
> >       And not all RJ45's are created equal. And "Ideal" crimpers are
> > less than ideal. I hear ya . . .
> 
> Not all RJ45 jacks are created equal. I helped a friend wire his house,
> his roommate had given us some no-name "made in taiwan" RJ45 jacks (they
> sell for $2 each). I had problems with two of them where the wire didn't
> fully seat in the metal teeth.
> 
> I decided to go to Home Depot and get some $6 Leviton RJ45 jacks.
> Those worked perfectly. I guess you get what you pay for..
> 
> Brian

	Heh, amazing what they'll charge for a bit of plastic with some metal
chunks. You can get no-name taiwanese rj45's for as little as 2 cents
each, and they're not much worse than the expensive, crappy rj45's :)

	The problem that caused me the most grief with noname, yellowed-plastic
type cheapo heads is the way that they gradually work their way loose in
a receptical. like something was not quite cut to the right size or
something. You'd look at a 24 port switch full of connections, they'd
all appear to show link, but stuff just isn't working right. Wiggle all
the cables and suddenly you're in business again. *sigh*

	Somewhere I've got a bookmark for a place online that sells Amphenol
rj45's for 17 cents each, in lots of 100 or something . . . 

	Panduit RJ45's are pretty good, they have three offset teeth on the
pointy side of the metal contacts so it's hard to not make contact with
the wire. The clip angles up and then back down so you won't break it
off pulling the wire through conduit, or frustratedly yanking it through
a jumble of cables behind your desk. The front of the plastic is
sufficently clear to allow you to visually inspect before crimping if
all your pairs are fully inserted. The guides for the pairs are offset
slightly, supposedly to reduce crosstalk though i don't see how (maybe
the ghost of michal faraday whispered something in their ear?) which
confuses many people at first but i find it actually makes it easier to
get things in line once you're used to it. 

	I don't actually know where our purchasing guy gets them. They are big
enough to use with outdoor cat5, tho, which is a plus if you need it.
just don't forget to squirt some dielectric silicone goo in there before
you crimp it to make it gas tight if it's actually going outside. And in
the receptical too. It's messy but you'll celebrate the sticky goop on
your fingers when you realize it's been months and none of them are
corroding. 

	One or two caviats - they're a little fatter than most and while I've
never had a problem plugging them into an rj45 receptical I've seen
people rip the wires right out of the back of them trying to yank the
cable free of the crimper. These of course were "Ideal" crimpers, so
tools that you paid actual money for probably won't have such problems. 

 - eric
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