Connecting CAt5 to patch panel

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	Question by Steve Nelson posted 08 Mar 2004
	Connecting CAt5 to patch panel
I recently had someone connect our CAT 5 network cables to a patch panel and he stripped the blue cable cover back about 3 inches seperating the pairs from each other. He did maintain the twist of each cable pair but I was told that all pair had stay twisted together all the way up to the connection. Is this true and how important is it ?
	Answer by Dmitri Abaimov posted 08 Mar 2004
Dear Steve, It is important to keep the jacket until the edge of the IDC connector the cable is terminated onto. This way the twist of the pairs is controlled by the jacket, which, in turn helps to control cross-talk between the pairs. This installation requirement is in effect with most manufacturers' panels since as early as 1996. However, before that time the cable was handled exactly the way your installer did: the jacket was to be stripped as far back as the side of the panel, and then bare pairs were brought to the respective IDC connector. So, maybe he just did not receive an update training for 7 years... Sincerely, Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
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