Recommend me a RJ45 Crimp Tool

[schemieradge]

Hi,
Looking for someone to recommend a RJ45 crimping tool. Only going to be doing a few crimps, but the tool I have bought just doesn't seem to work.
This is pretty much the one I have: http://static.yourspares.co.uk/media/p/ev/y_jpegs/l/Y026CE.jpg
The teeth don't seem to line up properly with the contacts and the cable tester is never happy with the results.
Is there a more reliable type of tool? I don't want to buy an expensive tool but do need one that actually works!
Any pointers?

 

[bill001g]

Looks like the one I use all the time and mine has no issues. The only real difference is that you the installer needs to know how hard to crimp the cable mostly people do not crimp enough. It also does not ratchet so it is harder for people with small hands.

The heads are replaceable but I have never wore one out. Try crimping a couple ends with no cable in them and see if all the pins are nice and flat after. If you cannot feel any of them it is working properly

In most cases the problem with bad cables is not pushing the wires all the way to the end and that will happen no matter the tool. It takes practice put after you do it enough you can tell. Take a piece of cable and strip a long part out and untwist 3 or so inches. You can now practice aligning the wires and cutting them perfectly straight and sliding them in. You do not need to actually crimp it the purpose is to learn to feel when the wires hit the end and how smoothly they slide in. It is much easier to practice when the wires are much longer than needed so that when you cut them to the proper length you will know if they actually went in correctly. This is a skill that you can only learn by doing.

 

[schemieradge]

Looks like the one I use all the time and mine has no issues. The only real difference is that you the installer needs to know how hard to crimp the cable mostly people do not crimp enough. It also does not ratchet so it is harder for people with small hands.

Thanks for the reply.. I'm fairly sure it's not that I'm not crimping hard enough- I thought it might be the opposite if anything. The handles will not physically go any closer together becuase the cutting blade is making contact with its cutting surface.

The heads are replaceable but I have never wore one out. Try crimping a couple ends with no cable in them and see if all the pins are nice and flat after. If you cannot feel any of them it is working properly

It missed one pin when I did this but with a bit of fiddling it got it.. the pins on the crimped empty plug are a lot lower than on the crimped wired plugs...
Could it be I'm not penetrating the wire properly.. ? I've heard you get stranded cat5e cable.. mine isn't, it's solid.. could this be it issue?

In most cases the problem with bad cables is not pushing the wires all the way to the end and that will happen no matter the tool. It takes practice put after you do it enough you can tell. Take a piece of cable and strip a long part out and untwist 3 or so inches. You can now practice aligning the wires and cutting them perfectly straight and sliding them in. You do not need to actually crimp it the purpose is to learn to feel when the wires hit the end and how smoothly they slide in. It is much easier to practice when the wires are much longer than needed so that when you cut them to the proper length you will know if they actually went in correctly. This is a skill that you can only learn by doing.

Just how close to the end do the cables have to be? I was quite confident all the cables ran past the bottom of the 2 prong contact.. but they may not have all reached the end of the plastic run.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

 

[bill001g]

You need to match the rj45 ends to the cable. The solid ones are different than the ones for stranded.

You want them as close to the end as possible. Mostly if you get past the prongs things it will be fine but the deeper the better.

 

[schemieradge]

You need to match the rj45 ends to the cable. The solid ones are different than the ones for stranded.

Any idea how you tell the difference?

 

[schemieradge]

I found this.. according to the contact pictures mine are for stranded or solid.. hmm
https://www.brucetambling.com/wiki/Studio1100:Cat_5

 

[bill001g]

Not sure then. Generally if you do not get them crimped deep enough the RJ45 plug will stick a bit as you plug it in. You almost can't insert one that you have not crimped...do not try it on a good piece of equipment they easily get stuck. Generally the pins are just a tiny bit below the plastic. When you get them right the pins feel like they are in little groves. I do have some commercial ones that are smooth with the top. If you think it is not crimping deep enough not much you can do they are not adjustable but you could put a thin piece of tape on the sides of the bottom of the crimp jack to raise the plug a bit.

If the tool appears to crimp all the pins to the same depth then all that is left is the wires did not go deep enough. Depends on the ends some you can actually with a bright light the wires extend just past the end of the gold pin.

 

[schemieradge]

If the tool appears to crimp all the pins to the same depth then all that is left is the wires did not go deep enough. Depends on the ends some you can actually with a bright light the wires extend just past the end of the gold pin.

I agree... will try again.. the other possibility is my very cheap tester is lying to me. But it does always agree that commercial patch cables are OK, and my cables aren't.. so that does sounds like it knows what it's talking about.

Thanks again for your time

 

[dbhosttexas]

Just FWIW, I tend to buy RJ-45 ends that are labelled for both stranded and solid. I also do NOT like the type of crimper you show. I have had poor results with them on the pins furthest away from the jaw hinge. I like the ones with a ratcheting mechanism like the TrendNET (which honestly is just a generic rebranding of a common ratcheting RJ45 / RJ11 crimper). I got mine on Amazon for about $15.00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AZK4G/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The ratcheting ones won't release until the handle has gone through the full cycle, so it more or less forces you to crimp all the way, not just part way... I have been using crimpers like these for over a decade now with great results.

 

[schemieradge]

I had another go now that I know exactly what I was trying to acheive and I could see the pin closest to the hinge wasn't going down properly.. so I removed the cutting blade which felt like it was what was causing the handles to stop moving any closer together, and true enough, the next cable I made tested good.
So think that's what it was... cheers for the help folk.

 

[dbhosttexas]

Are the cutting blades adjustable? Or better question, do you use them? I never used the blades on my crimper prior to buying the TrendNET I use now. I would cut / strip with a Palladin cutter / stripper tool, and crimp with a crimper, but I use the heck out of my TrendNET for cutting / stripping now. Honestly the Palladin doesn't come out of my bag all that often any more...

 

[schemieradge]

Are the cutting blades adjustable? Or better question, do you use them? I never used the blades on my crimper prior to buying the TrendNET I use now. I would cut / strip with a Palladin cutter / stripper tool, and crimp with a crimper, but I use the heck out of my TrendNET for cutting / stripping now. Honestly the Palladin doesn't come out of my bag all that often any more...

I definitely don't HAVE to use them so I've just removed them and will use something else for cutting..