Cat 6 termination, A or B?

[azebra]

Installing surveillance cams for a home owner. Could not find a spec on the instructions, wondering which is more common, A or B, any help would be appreciated.

 

[infinity]

My brother installed a Lorex system in his house and the cameras would not work with his pinning even though the pairs were correct on both ends. He called them and it turned out that he needed the proper termination protocol (568B) because the cameras would only work with the correct number of twists in the cable pairs. I would double check with the camera manufacturer or go with the 568B because that's a newer standard.

 

[hbiss]

My brother installed a Lorex system in his house and the cameras would not work with his pinning even though the pairs were correct on both ends. He called them and it turned out that he needed the proper termination protocol (568B) because the cameras would only work with the correct number of twists in the cable pairs. I would double check with the camera manufacturer or go with the 568B because that's a newer standard.

If you believe that I have a bridge I want to sell you... :lol:

568B is the most common (and oldest because it is an old WECO standard) here in the US. 568A is for compatibility with telecom especially when you punch one end down on a 66 block. Either can be used, it's just the green and orange pairs are swapped. Electricity is color blind.

Infinity- GUARANTEED he screwed up the plugs when he crimped them on.

-Hal

 

[Fulthrotl]

Installing surveillance cams for a home owner. Could not find a spec on the instructions, wondering which is more common, A or B, any help would be appreciated.

"B".

i've never terminated in "A".... ever.

 

[hbiss]

Well, you do want to use "A" when the rest of the facility is "A" and you are adding drops. That's about the only time I do it. Otherwise the next guy will be pulling his hair out.

-Hal

 

[JFletcher]

As long as both ends are the same it doesnt matter tho 568B is more commercial and A residential, I never do A.

I have a hard time believing that Lorex story because not every cable mfg twists the pairs the same, and all 4 pairs have different twist rates. I think Hal nailed it.

The pinout for 568B is white/orange, orange/white, white/green, blue/white, white/blue, green/white, white/brown, brown/white.

Also, never put on plugs in the field if you can help it - use jacks and patch cords - a beginner absolutely will hose up making the plugs.

 

[hbiss]

Also, never put on plugs in the field if you can help it - use jacks and patch cords

That is the absolute truth, I've been preaching that for a long time. I've been putting plugs on cables for probably 20 years so you would think I would have it down by now. But I still have to cut some off and re-do them not to mention trying to figure out which end is at fault.

-Hal

 

[Mgraw]

That is the absolute truth, I've been preaching that for a long time. I've been putting plugs on cables for probably 20 years so you would think I would have it down by now. But I still have to cut some off and re-do them not to mention trying to figure out which end is at fault.

-Hal

Have you tried EZ PRO rj45 connectors? Just about mistake proof.

 

[infinity]

If you believe that I have a bridge I want to sell you... :lol:

568B is the most common (and oldest because it is an old WECO standard) here in the US. 568A is for compatibility with telecom especially when you punch one end down on a 66 block. Either can be used, it's just the green and orange pairs are swapped. Electricity is color blind.

Infinity- GUARANTEED he screwed up the plugs when he crimped them on.

-Hal

Nope you're incorrect. I checked them personally with a pair tester and all of the cables tested good. We cut off the RJ45's and installed new ones using 568B and then the cameras worked.

 

[JFletcher]

Have you tried EZ PRO rj45 connectors? Just about mistake proof.

Nope you're incorrect. I checked them personally with a pair tester and all of the cables tested good. We cut off the RJ45's and installed new ones using 568B and then the cameras worked.

RJ-45 is a very specific registered jack designation that is NOT the same as 568 8p8c. Yes, I have used the plugs that the wires pass thru so miswiring is virtually impossible. But a patch cord costs a buck and it takes me about 10 minutes to wire two 8p8c plug onto a piece of cable, which, btw, patch cords should be stranded and have the appropriate 8p8c stranded plug connector on it. Putting a 8p8c plug made for stranded wire onto solid wire (of which 99% of Catx wiring is) will guarantee problems in short order.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RJ45

"RJ45 (computers), an unkeyed 8-position, 8-contact modular plug (incorrectly referred to as RJ45)..."

"Although commonly referred to as an RJ45 in the context of Ethernet and category 5 cables, it is incorrect to refer to a generic 8P8C connector as an RJ45.[8][9][10]"

 

[JFletcher]

apologies to infinity and mcgraw, but calling 8p8c jacks RJ-45 is as maddening to telecom guys as "ground up or down" threads are here.

 

[JFletcher]

btw, welcome to the forum azebra. curious as to why you are using cat6... did the HO buy it? do the cameras spec it? having punched down tens of thousands of pairs of cat3, cat5e, and cat6 (some 6A), cat6 is a pita to terminate. If you're doing any amount of it, you will get carpal tunnel in short order.

 

[zbang]

apologies to infinity and mcgraw, but calling 8p8c jacks RJ-45 is as maddening to telecom guys as "ground up or down" threads are here.

YES! And the same goes for an 6p4c or 6p6c (occasionally an RJ-11, but also -12, -14, and a few others).

(Add to that calling a PC serial port connector a "DB-9"; the second letter is the shell size, so the usual 9 pin one is a DE-9; 15 pins is a DA-15, 25 pins is DB-25, etc etc.)

 

[hbiss]

Nope you're incorrect. I checked them personally with a pair tester and all of the cables tested good...

Most testers won't pick up split pairs. You can wire a plug any old way and as long as the other end is wired the same the tester will say good.

-Hal

 

[hbiss]

apologies to infinity and mcgraw, but calling 8p8c jacks RJ-45 is as maddening to telecom guys as "ground up or down" threads are here.

Ahhh! Now there's a breath of fresh air!

YES! And the same goes for an 6p4c or 6p6c (occasionally an RJ-11, but also -12, -14, and a few others).

Lets not get carried away now. The USOC designations are still used although many designations like RJ-45 have no use today.

RJ-11 is your standard 1 pair phone jack or plug- 6p4c or 6p6c with T&R wired to the center pins 3&4.

RJ-14 is a 2 pair 6p4c or 6p6c jack or plug with the first pair on 3&4 as above and the second pair on 2&5. It could be used for two lines or commonly for office phones that use two pairs.

Extra credit: Does anybody know what a RJ31x jack is?

-Hal

 

[zbang]

Extra credit: Does anybody know what a RJ31x jack is?

Of course . I still have a Suttle Apparatus USOC guide (two shelves down from Reference Data for Radio Engineers and a few editions of American Electrician's Handbook).

I have a lot of old books.

 

[infinity]

Most testers won't pick up split pairs. You can wire a plug any old way and as long as the other end is wired the same the tester will say good.

-Hal

I'm not sure that I follow, you have 8 conductors (4 pairs) straight through that passed via a pair tester. The problem as I stated earlier was that the incorrect pairs had been used so the twists per inch for each pair were incorrect.

 

[MichaelGP3]

Ahhh! Now there's a breath of fresh air!


Extra credit: Does anybody know what a RJ31x jack is?

-Hal

I'm recalling a jumper across terminals 2 & 3 providing a tamper loop for a security alarm panel, otherwise the same as a RJ-38.

 

[zbang]

The problem as I stated earlier was that the incorrect pairs had been used so the twists per inch for each pair were incorrect.

At least for Ethernet, I can't see how that matters; the reason the rates differ is to reduce crosstalk between pairs but otherwise they're just twisted pairs.

I also don't see how the terminal equipment can actually tell the twist rates of the different pairs, but I'm not up on the low-level physics involved.

 

[infinity]

At least for Ethernet, I can't see how that matters; the reason the rates differ is to reduce crosstalk between pairs but otherwise they're just twisted pairs.

I also don't see how the terminal equipment can actually tell the twist rates of the different pairs, but I'm not up on the low-level physics involved.

That's what we thought too, until the cameras didn't work. When we tried one of the cable supplied with the cameras it worked. When we changed the pinning to reflect what the manufacturer specified because of the individual pair twists it worked.