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Question by Trevor Adams posted 06 Feb 2003 | | Making Cat-6 Cable | I just got broadband and am going to use a router to hook up a couple of computers. I would like to use Cat-6 cable but that could get expensive buying it already made... I have found some online helps for making Cat-5 cable, is Cat-6 basically the same way?
Thanks for a lot for your time,
Trevor |  |
Answer by Dmitri Abaimov posted 24 Feb 2003 | Dear Trevor,
As long as termination of the cable is concerned, CAT5E and CAT6 will really be the same. CAT6 provides more potential bandwidth, but in your case (100Mbit/s Ethernet, short cable runs) you will most likely see no difference.
Speaking about making cables, you probably mean making patch cords (relatively short 3-10 feet flexible cables with 8-position RJ plugs on both ends). I would advise you purchase those factory-made instead. It's been proven that patch cords are pretty much the weakest link in the cable run. They also take a lot of user abuse over their lifetime, so the better they are from the beginning, the better. You can check factory-made patch cords prices at 
TigerDirect.com (click here). I guess, these guys will be the cheapest (or close to) source of networking/cabling equipment available to end-user when only small retail quantities are needed.
When people refer to field terminations in the industry, they usually mean terminating twisted pair cables with jacks, specifically designed for field terminations.
Sincerely,
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
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