Which punchdown tools (and related) do you like best?

pete_c said:
This related to the initial "wiring" of the main floor of the two story home using these and single keystone wall plates.  I was in a learning DIY mode at the time so I purchased the snapjacks in bulk as they were reasonably priced at the time.  It actually was the 4-5 that were initially installed then removed when I learned to be able to just crimp the ends.  I figured though that I had already spent the monies on spools of a 1000 feet of cat5e (went to color coding for a time); might as well look granularly at the work stuff.  Thinking at the time; new banks in old buildings...following around the cable guys and asked them to show me exactly the how and what they were doing with their tools et al type of stuff (sort of being a PITA for my own knowledge base)....well they were my projects anyways; so I got a bit granular with it....kind of always been like that....I sat in some classes for welders and learned a bit about using plasma welding machines from some "guru's"....I was so amazed at their skill level (also took a short class with underwater welders - kind of short lifespan with these guys)....remember asking them to build me a support structure for a piece of computer stuff that weighed in at probably over 2000 lbs ...it took some 15 minutes to build my little widget but a whole day to move it as I had to knock down masonary walls to get it where I wanted it....
It sounds like you 1. installed 4-5 snapjacks, 2. later removed all the snapjacks you had installed,  3. never used snapjacks again, and 4. preferred crimping the ends over snapjacks.  Does that sum it up?
 
The parts are due to arrive in the next few hours, and it sounds like I'll be better off crimping rather than snapjacking....
 
It sounds like you 1. installed 4-5 snapjacks, 2. later removed all the snapjacks you had installed,  3. never used snapjacks again, and 4. preferred crimping the ends over snapjacks.  Does that sum it up?
Yes
 
The parts are due to arrive in the next few hours, and it sounds like I'll be better off crimping rather than snapjacking....
 
Yes
 
Well here thinking it was because it sort of using the plastic (well with a little metal) for a sort of snap compression?  When I went to remove them; 2nd one fell apart in my hand.  I had learned the crimping thing.  After doing one or two; it got faster.
 
The newest device I purchased lets me test the pairs, length so forth and so on.  This tool works better than the older plan LED Red or Green per pair tool.  Recently went to using POE on a few network connections and found a couple of errors that I didn't notice before.  Well probably my fault cuz I would crimp the ends sometimes in poor lighting.  The easier side to punch down is the patch panel side. 
 
I recently put an XBMC box at my sister in laws house.  I had to run new network cable from the home office downstairs into the basement then to a crawl space under the family room.  It was a PITA cuz I had brought over only two little RJ-45 keystone jacks and busted them with the punch tool in a couple of minutes.  I was punching them down on the rug which was a big mistake.  When I went back I brought a small piece of wood and punched the keystone jacks on the wood.  Much easier and didn't break any.
 
I ordered one of these to strip the cable jackets:
 
 
 
51NQVDO0tmL._SL1500_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BY8BY2/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Not exactly cheap, but it claims to self adjust.
 
As for labelling, I'll try printing on the jacket with an industrial grade sharpie and see how that works out.
 
Yeah here use one of these which work OK for me.
 
31X1nLsSkOL._SY300_.jpg

Punch down tool which was a handmedown and works fine.
impact-punch-down-tool.jpg

I also have a little nipper for trimming the end off of the wires. 
 
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The cat5e I used had numbers of feet on it as I pulled it out of the box telling me where I was in the box o 1000 feet of cable which helps some.  You do not want to go over 300 feet with the run.
 
Here is a web site that looks interesting.
 
http://www.swhowto.com/CAT5_Ch1.htm
 
I have a better time of it when the colors are distinct like in the pictures above.  Some cable I have purchased the wires are sort of tinted and a bit clear which makes them difficult to tell apart.  The Keystone jacks are color coded and sometimes its hard to read the colors on these or they are so small that it makes it difficult.  This is where I use the network testing tool to make sure I did OK.  I have issues with those little hood cover ends as they can be difficult in very tight spots. 
 
IE: my PFSense firewall Intel NICs are hard to get to and a cover over the end of an RJ-45 makes it a bit harder and a real pita to connect and disconnect network cables.  (6 NICs today expanding to 8 NICs on a new box and build).
 
There are a lot of gimmicks out there - but the pros don't use them.  They use tools that, when mastered, let you knock out hundreds of terminations quickly and without failures.  Often, after they've come through to wire a space, someone else entirely (or one man from the team) comes back and does the certifications - anything that doesn't pass has to be diagnosed, and that single diagnosis/correction takes more time to deal with than a whole drop does to initially terminate so you need it kept to an absolute minimum.  So, these gimmicks appeal to the grievances of someone who's either afraid to take on terminating wires, or who has tried a couple times with improper tools/training and wants an easier way.
 
If you are willing to learn to do it the right way and with the right tools, you'll understand why it's the only way an experienced person would do it.  
 
Of course after all that, I'll admit that my own home was wired with RJ45 ends originally in a structured wiring enclosure (not by me; done during construction) - I did relocate them to a wall-mount enclosure and wanted them in a traditional patch panel, so I did use the pass-through keystone jacks - but only because I was being lazy, and when I sell the house I plan to feed them back into the enclosure - so this means never re-terminating the wires - but I'd certainly never set out to do this from the start - I'd terminate directly to keystones on both ends - for residential, it'd be leviton guaranteed. 
 
NeverDie said:
I ordered one of these to strip the cable jackets:
 
Not exactly cheap, but it claims to self adjust.
 
As for labelling, I'll try printing on the jacket with an industrial grade sharpie and see how that works out.
Lose this and get cable with a nylon rip cord. A misused toggle stripper or clothespin causes more issues than if you just used the ripcord most cables have.
 
DELInstallations said:
Lose this and get cable with a nylon rip cord. A misused toggle stripper or clothespin causes more issues than if you just used the ripcord most cables have.
 
What am I missing here?
 
The quote you provided mentioned a self-adjusting stripper (to remove the outer jacket) and labeling with a sharpie... I don't follow how either of those connect with cable with a nylon rip cord...
 
I'm on the fence here...  but generally CatX cables have a rip-cord string that can be used to strip away the sheath - then you can trim off with d snips.  With strippers it's WAY too easy to cut the individual conductors inside and most novices *will*.  however, that's part of what you learn with experience and also the types of cabling you use.  I use cables that let you score them then snap the casing ensuring that I never damage the wires inside. 
 
drvnbysound said:
What am I missing here?
 
The quote you provided mentioned a self-adjusting stripper (to remove the outer jacket) and labeling with a sharpie... I don't follow how either of those connect with cable with a nylon rip cord...
I never mentioned a self adjusting stripper.
 
My preferred method is to use a sharp pair of T-strippers or snips and score the jacket and snap it off, as mentioned by others. In the case of a cable that won't facilitate that, I use the rip cord method a lot. Absolute last resort would be a toggle or clothespin tool....as stated, far too easy to have a misadjusted unit and nick conductors...not to mention if there's a variance in cable or construction in the drops (it happens).

In one enterprise customer that I deal with, all that we're allowed to use is Siemon Zmax rated components....so not even standard leviton or what have you keystones.
 
DELInstallations said:
I never mentioned a self adjusting stripper.
 
My preferred method is to use a sharp pair of T-strippers or snips and score the jacket and snap it off, as mentioned by others. In the case of a cable that won't facilitate that, I use the rip cord method a lot. Absolute last resort would be a toggle or clothespin tool....as stated, far too easy to have a misadjusted unit and nick conductors...not to mention if there's a variance in cable or construction in the drops (it happens).

In one enterprise customer that I deal with, all that we're allowed to use is Siemon Zmax rated components....so not even standard leviton or what have you keystones.
 
You didn't, but the person you quoted did.
 
Nonetheless, I follow now...
 
I used to spec Siemon components only for my facilities when I was on the other side of the table - the little slide-in inserts that lock the jack into place are handy and let you designate how any particular jack is patched in the closet.  I dropped that when I went 100% voip because now a drop is a drop period.
 
I use a stripper 100% of the time but I'll definitely admit that 1) it took time to master, and 2) it took experience to realize that the cable matters.  Belden is the brand I pick up most often - I also do way too much work with Ubiquiti toughcable lately (had to designate a stripper just for that stuff since the braiding and shielding is hell on razors).  I can also pick up stuff from Home Depot or Frys if in a pinch - basically if the sheath is soft and you can see the twists of the wire, then avoid that wire.  I go for the stuff that's a tad more rigid and firm - because you can just score it then bend/snap it off so there's zero chance of scoring the individual conductors.  It also goes a lot faster.
 
Work2Play said:
I used to spec Siemon components only for my facilities when I was on the other side of the table - the little slide-in inserts that lock the jack into place are handy and let you designate how any particular jack is patched in the closet.  I dropped that when I went 100% voip because now a drop is a drop period.
 
I use a stripper 100% of the time but I'll definitely admit that 1) it took time to master, and 2) it took experience to realize that the cable matters.  Belden is the brand I pick up most often - I also do way too much work with Ubiquiti toughcable lately (had to designate a stripper just for that stuff since the braiding and shielding is hell on razors).  I can also pick up stuff from Home Depot or Frys if in a pinch - basically if the sheath is soft and you can see the twists of the wire, then avoid that wire.  I go for the stuff that's a tad more rigid and firm - because you can just score it then bend/snap it off so there's zero chance of scoring the individual conductors.  It also goes a lot faster.
 
Thanks for the good info.  It turns out Belden is the one who manufactured the cable used in the BlueJeans 50 foot CMR Cat6a patch cable I purchased (http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/26534-do-i-need-special-ethernet-cable-for-running-through-a-hot-attic/) and have already pulled, without incident, through the attic.  Not sure how it compares to Siemon, but BlueJeans used Sentinel brand RJ-45 connectors (http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/data-cables/index.htm?PHPSESSID=8bce3f33667f669fd9a755bb33bc6341) on both ends of the patch cable.  I covered the connectors with non-adhesive wrap and then taped around that to protect them during the pull.  BlueJeans included a report of how their patch cable tested out with their connectors installed, which is nice because I don't have the test gear to do that.
 
That said, the other cable runs (where performance isn't as important) won't be as fancy as that one, and I'll have to do the stripping and crimping myself.  I'll try the score-and-snap strategy with the Monoprice cable.  Maybe I'll get lucky.  If not, maybe I can find something scissor-like that will remove the casing without running the risk of nicking the wire insulation.  Only about 1/2 inch of casing is supposed to be removed, so I'm hopeful that maybe something as simple as cutical scissors might do the necessary, especially if I pre-scored it.
 
I suppose it's obvious (at least in retrospect), but what I learned so far is that when pulling a patch cable, make sure it's the first cable you pull through.  That way the big head on it can fit through the holes and avoid the congestion that would otherwise happen.
 
I hate to tell you this but testing and certification of cabling is worthless until after it's installed. Almost any cable will perform to spec (barring distance issues) before it's installed. What causes issues is when the cable is pulled in. While it's nice to know the patch cable is compliant in the intended use, but when you pull it through framing, staple or secure otherwise, flex and the like, that's going to cause major performance changes.
 
To put ends on bulk cable, you strip off the last couple of inches, straighten the conductors and then align in the appropriate pinout, then trim to about 1/2" to be inserted into the RJ45. What is important is to maintain the twists to only be 1" total for the entire cable.
 
Can anyone suggest/recommend a good software tool for ghetto testing the performance of their ethernet after you've installed it and terminated it?  Something that would measure throughput and maybe packet error rates between both ends of the cable, but software-only and not dependent on actual large file transfers
 
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