XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-10, alt.home.repair   
   From: andrews@sdf.org   
      
   On 2022-12-26, Andy Burns  wrote:   
   > micky wrote:   
   >   
   >> I have one of these tools   
   >> that I bought for phone cords, but the place that holds the plug is wide   
   >> enough ethernet.  I just need some connectors.   
   >   
   > Most plugs are for 'solid' cable, to repair patch cables you need to get the   
   > type of plugs for 'stranded' cable, I think there is also a type of plug that   
   > copes with both ...   
      
   Most _plugs_ are for stranded cable, they are intended for loose   
   flexes (patch cables) between equipment and between equipment and   
   fixed wiring (i.e. wall socket or patch panel).  Most _sockets_   
   are for solid cable, intending for the fixed wiring through ducts,   
   walls, ceiling etc where the flexibility of stranded cable isn't   
   needed.  Solid cable is simply a bit too stiff for patch cables,   
   any bending forces translate through to the contact (even through   
   the strain relief) and I've found they work loose in short order.   
      
   More common is sockets that can accept either solid or stranded   
   cable.  Solid is to be preferred for fixed wiring that is expected   
   to make up the bulk of a run, since it has slightly lower losses   
   than stranded, although in my home network I use stranded exclusively.   
   If I had installed it all in one go I would probably have bought   
   a 100m or 305m reel of solid, but the fixed wiring has gone in over   
   time so it's a lower immediate cost to buy a 10, 20 or 30m patch   
   lead and lop the ends off for the bare cable.  But then the longest   
   run in my home is 28m, and even that follows a very circuitous   
   route, well short of the 100m limit so a little additional loss is   
   acceptable.   
      
   Also while I'm posting I'll just pick up a terminological note   
   elsethread.  It's a crossed or crossover cable in a networking   
   context, never rolled or rollover.  The latter is generally construed   
   to mean a cable wired 1-8, 2-7 etc.  Used a lot in serial (RS232)   
   over twisted pair which these days is something of a niche thing   
   in a home environment, but still very widespread in commercial and   
   industrial settings.   
      
   --   
   Andrew Smallshaw   
   andrews@sdf.org   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)