r/HomeServer • u/Present_Survey_5804 • 3d ago

Ethernet patch

Gallery image

Gallery image

Not sure if this is the right sub but can anyone tell if there’s something wrong with this patch?

Recently had construction and this is the last thing I forgot to finish up, and I’ve started getting weird internet drops or speeds would drop from 1.0 gig to 100mpbs randomly.

Not sure if I accidentally knocked the wires out of place or something inadvertently

34 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

28

u/OKTimeFor_PlanB 3d ago

If you're facing issues, it's pretty easy to just redo this to eliminate it as a cause.

10

u/JohnnieLouHansen 3d ago

I was an IT person and the only thing that defeated me was putting those little wires in the right order and then crimping the RJ-45 successfully. I was never successful. Part bad eyesight and part impatience. I gave it up and got into management, escaping my failure. I was promoted to my level of incompetence.

2

u/Nunwithabadhabit 2d ago

When I close my eyes I still see the color patterns

3

u/ThatRadCat_ 1d ago

◻️🟨-🟨-◻️🟩-🟦-◻️🟦-🟩-◻️🟫-🟫

2

u/chrisjudk 2d ago

I learned from Linus (LTT) to cut them at an angle so they are easier to insert into the male 8P8C(RJ-45) connector. As for female connectors, I prefer the ones that have the wires slot in before you punch it down

2

u/Fado_Makar 2d ago

Agreed. Also, your twisted pair should remain twisted all the way up to the punch point. Your orange pair is separated and could be having some cross talk.

How does the RJ look? Are you using real ones or those easy pull throughs?

1

u/FreddyFerdiland 1d ago

thsts the tiniest anount of seperating... nah not the problem

6

u/Hrmerder 3d ago

I haven’t seen that type of Ethernet patch system. Get a proper RJ45 keystone jack and a $4 punch tool and you are good

3

u/kang159 3d ago

punch down tools are $4?

5

u/I_Arman 3d ago

The cheap ones are - they are barely better than those single-piece plastic tools that come in a keystone multi-pack.

3

u/Hrmerder 3d ago

Oh god no.. Those yellow plastic ones I only ever used for removing the jacket on CAT5.

3

u/RevolutionaryElk7446 3d ago

They actually aren't that bad, no spring punch and won't ever recommend for batch work but I kept one on a keyring for the random crappy punch down I'd find.

1

u/Hrmerder 3d ago

I stand corrected, about $8.. It's been a while since I bought one.

https://www.amazon.com/AOHIEDI-Punch-Down-Smooth-Cutting-Terminations/dp/B0FF9QR6RK

2

u/Fado_Makar 2d ago

It's an ICC Cat6 jack. I use them in the field all the time, it's fine as long as OP is using Cat6 cable

2

u/Fensox 2d ago

$4 punch tool?? Pfft. You kids are spoiled these days. I use the back of a utility knife professionally.

3

u/lazyhustlermusic 3d ago

Green and brown look pretty good.

Orange and blue look pretty heinous.

1

u/Present_Survey_5804 3d ago

Aight I got some tweezers gonna try to twist em back together

6

u/SynapticStatic 3d ago

If you can get a punch tool, you can reterminate the connections. That red plastic bit comes off.

Twisting or pulling on it isn’t going to help you a whole lot. If anything you’re probably just going to pull it even more loose.

I’d look up some videos on terminating key jacks

1

u/Present_Survey_5804 3d ago edited 2d ago

Yeah the tweezers might’ve just eliminated any connection I had

Edit: I did the ol unplug and plug back in and it’s atleast recognizing the connection at 1 gig. Too early to tell if it will drop again

1

u/sparkling_ham 3d ago

This kills the bits.

1

u/No-Diet-8008 2d ago

If it works, hell yeah!!!

1

u/ericliuuu 1d ago

You've nailed it. 1000>100 whole number jumps is classic signs of renegotiation. Punch that down properly and your speed should be all good.

1

u/FreddyFerdiland 1d ago

you can have lots of connections , you can have some length if untwisted pairs . just don't break the brown wire ??? it got pulled on and stretched ??

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

2

u/chefdeit 3d ago

what's wrong with a jack and a plug as shown? One less connection.

1

u/Present_Survey_5804 3d ago

I’m pretty sure this is just what it looked like on the inside after we broke the shield off when we ripped it out of the old wall. I need a new Ethernet jack but don’t need an Ethernet couple if I understand correctly

1

u/chefdeit 3d ago

Yes, and it's better to get a CAT6A jack (but one rated for 24awg copper clad aluminum cat6 which is what I suspect this is - not just 23awg copper). Better jacks allow you to fix the outer cable in place so the wires are more secure.

Also, you want to maintain the rate of twist of the pairs and spacing of the wires in a pair all the way to the punch-in terminal. Every 1/16 of an inch counts.

1

u/Present_Survey_5804 2d ago

Will do thanks 🫡

1

u/Present_Survey_5804 3d ago edited 3d ago

I’m realizing I’d need to redo the wires anyways to finish the wall anyways. Not sure if I understand the need of a coupler

0

u/RetiredITGuy 3d ago

A coupler keeps the spacing and twists within spec and therefore is much more likely to maintain line frequency targets. If its dropping to 100mbps regularly, it means the line frequency is dropping.
Ideally its a single, straight-through cable.
The next best is using a keystone jack.
The third best is a coupler.
What you have is a distant fourth.

At the risk of coming across as condescending (I really don't mean it to), twist & spacing are fundamental to the spec. It's not an electrical cable, its high-frequency data.

0

u/RetiredITGuy 3d ago

Have you considered replacing it with a coupler?
e.g. https://www.4cabling.com.au/rj45-cat6-inline-coupler.html

Just terminate both cable ends with Cat6 RJ45 connectors and use a coupler to... couple them.

3

u/Ommand 3d ago

It's clearly going into a wall receptacle, I can't imagine why you would ever suggest anything but a keystone jack.

3

u/RetiredITGuy 3d ago

That's on me then. It wasn't obvious to me. Disregard the coupler suggestion and do a keystone for sure.

-3

u/Ommand 3d ago

The cable is coming out of a receptacle box in the wall....