A twisted pair cable is a cable that is made of twisted copper or brass wire. Can be made with or without protection. Protection is made of foil or braid. It is divided into common, covering the cable and paired.
Protection is indicated in Latin letters:
- U - without protection;
- F - foil protection;
- S - wire braid.
Commonly shielded cables (F/UTP, S/UTP, SF/UTP) are perfectly shielded from external electromagnetic fields.
Number of cores
They are divided into single-core and multi-core. Single-core cables bend poorly, but transmit signals well over long distances. An excellent material for eyeliner to the outlet. Good for pressing. To ensure a reliable Internet signal, you need to know how to properly crimp the twisted pair cable to securely fix the cable.
Multi-core cables are characterized by good flexibility, but fast signal attenuation. Poorly crimped, used mainly in areas requiring flexibility.
Category and containment
When choosing a cable category, you should take CAT 5 and higher categories.
The cable sheath material is:
- PVC;
- polyethylene.
They can be round and flat in shape, but the shape does not affect the physical and mechanical properties, therefore, when considering the question of how to compress a twisted pair, they do not specify the shape of the wires.
A twisted pair can have 2 or 4 pairs of wires. Internet speeds less than 100 Mbps require 2 pairs, for higher speeds - 4.
Tools
To crimp a twisted pair with your own hands, you need to buy a wire, connectors and stock up on special tools. Experienced electricians can get by with a screwdriver and pliers, but beginners will be more comfortable using the “right” tools. The following describes how to properly crimp a twisted pair internet cable.
Crimping tool
To compress a twisted pair, you will need:
- crimper (pliers for crimping);
- stripper (device for working with cable and insulation);
- tester (multimeter) for diagnostics.
This tool will allow you to quickly and efficiently compress the twisted pair cable.
Crimping schemes and selection of the desired
To understand how to compress a twisted pair cable for the Internet, you need to know that a twisted pair connection (pinout) can be performed according to one of two schemes:
- straight;
- cross.
The first scheme is used to connect different devices (router to computer, router to TV, etc.). With direct crimping, the wire arrangement is identical. The second scheme is used when connecting identical devices to each other (router to router, computer to computer). The second option is already dying out.
Procedure
The crimping process looks like this:
- take the wire of the desired length;
- trim the edges
- carefully cut the insulation;
- bend the wire in different directions;
- remove the insulation
- remove screen, align wires;
- lay the veins in the required order;
- connect the connector to the twisted pair;
- install the plug in the crimp connector;
- squeeze the handles until they click.
After finishing work with the tester, check the quality of the crimp. Here's how to crimp a twisted pair.
inspection
The easiest way to check is to connect the connector to a computer. This method has only one drawback - it shows that there is no connection, but it is not clear which of the wires is to blame. Those who want to understand how to properly connect a twisted pair cable should remember that professional installers use cable or LAN testers.
These devices consist of 2 blocks, so they can be used to carry out diagnostic work with a long cable stretched in various rooms. The principle of operation is simple. Connectors are installed in the ports, the included device checks each core. The test results reflect the LEDs having serial numbers. Poor-quality crimping is determined by the LEDs that are not lit.
In the absence of a diagnostic tester, you can use a multimeter by setting it to continuity or to measure low resistance (up to 200 ohms). Each wire is diagnosed. It is necessary to choose the thinnest probes.
A few tips on cabling for the Internet and twisted pair crimping
Beginning electricians can take on board a few tips:
- to straighten the strands or move them inside the connector, you can use a pencil / pen;
- the cable insulation must go inside the connector and be clamped in it to avoid breakage;
- after completing the crimping, you should make sure that the wires fit snugly, securely fix them in order to avoid the consequences of poor contact;
- during operation, the crimper is much more convenient than a knife and does not violate the insulation;
- it is important to be responsible when crimping, because a poor quality connection will cause poor signal and disconnections.
Using these little tricks, you can quickly figure out how to connect twisted pair. Crimping a twisted pair is a simple operation that you can do yourself, but it is better to entrust it to specialists.