[wplug] Good hubs and what not.

[jmh3 at linuxfreak.com]

> >connecter. It is better to buy your cables then make them due to the loss
> of >signal with the tiniest of mistakes. The cable can not be untwisted more
> than >1/4 of an inch, this makes it extremely hard to correctly make a
> "good" patch >cord. They don't have to be that expensive. Just look on the
> net. you'll find 
> >
> ><snip...>
> >
> >tips on how to install catagory cable correctly. Even so much as bending it
> too >much can cut you from Cat5 to Cat3 very quickly! 
> 
> With all due respect, where did you get your info? We have wires at work
> that are untwisted for at least 1", the blue wires have been glanced with a
> knife blade, and there's a right angle in the wire so that it fits in the
> switch. They test just as well as the ones that are untwisted so little they
> barely touch the contacts, have no bends in them, and the wires are wholey
> intact. As long as your orange, orange-white, green, and green-white wires
> are whole and any glancing wounds don't touch anything else metal, you will
> generally get 90%+ signal on 10. With 100, you have to make sure all 8 wires
> are intact, but you can untwist them for half a foot and they'll still work
> - trust me!
> 
rob he's right. and so are you. you cable will still work, but it wont
qualify for cat 5. the things he listed above are standards. if you don't
want to adhere to them thats fine, and it may be fine for home lans. 

this might be of use to the original poster:
http://www.lanshack.com/highlights/cat5notes.htm


john