ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area CAT 5

WOW! What a wealth of information. Thank you very much. I've spent a few days doing punchdowns. Not my favorite thing but it beats working in an attic or crawlspace.
I bought a 12 position wall mount patch panel for the data cables. I will terminate 3 cables in a standard 3 position faceplate mounted in the wall next to the patch panel. The phone lines will be terminated 2-6 position face plates. The customer is installing a hub with CAT3 jacks so he can patchcord to that. The phone people do the rest.
Once again, thanks you all for your help.
bob
I pulled in CAT5E and I was gentle doing it.

Don, the only difference between 568A and 568B is that the wh/orange pair and wh/green pairs are swapped. The 568B standard is the old Western Electric standard used by the voice terminals that utilized 8 pin plugs (Merlin). Many older or even new unmarked jacks will be 568B if you follow the color coding on the jack. I would say that most systems are wired this way. Our standard is 568B just to avoid problems and confusion.

I don't remember why 568A was implemented or why someone would prefer it over 568B since its only a color coding issue. If that's what the customer wants it's probably because some "computer head" wanted it.

Yes, as long as you do on one end what you do on the other you will be OK but you have to decide what you are going to do and stick to it for all of your jobs.

Amen to the sticking to the scheme! I was trimming a job a couple of months ago. I was at the panel punching down while my helper was punching jacks. He told me he was done so I told him to get my LAN tester while i was finishing the video cables. I plugged in 8 remotes and they were all swapped. As soon as i said "did you use 568B or A" he got one of those funny looks on his face.

I've worked on a few existing LANs which used 568A assignment. >90% I deal / dealt with are 568B, and is the norm assignment I use (unless the equipment used requires 568A methodology).

Electbob:

How did everything turn out at the project in question?

Scott35

HBISS..... I odd time I dabble in networking when my customers request it. Its a lot of fun and very interesting to do. I too was taught to use the "B" colour scheme and is what I use 100% of the time.

Anyways, I notice you favour Leviton products. Up to now, I've only used P&S and just started using Panduit. Do you have any experiences with these other names, or is the Leviton superior?

I've used the Leviton stuff mostly because it's easier for me to get, and get what I want.
The 568B is what I use, unless directed differently.

We use the Hubbell jacks.
Don

Speaking as a junior-assistant-to-the-chief-helper datacomm trainee, 568B corresponds to the classical Bell 258A standard, which, among other things is standard in ISDN equipment. All of the ‘noninterchangeable’ fixed/surface-mount “8-postion/4-pair” blocks seem to be TIA568B.

I thoroughly detest any sort of the so-called “universal” A/B dual-coded connectors. Remember that 10baseT and 100baseT network uses two (of four) pairs.

Just if anyone is wondering / needs to know / is bored / (fill-in your own term);

Here's some info per Application-Specific Pair Assignments, as would be found on 4 Pair Cables, along with Mod. Jacks + Plugs (8-Pin / Position):

<OL TYPE=A>


[*] Analog Voice: Pins 4-5 = TX / RX, 1-2. 3-6 & 7-8 not used;


[*] ISDN: Pins 1-2 & 7-8 = Power, 3-6 = TX, 4-5 = RX;


[*] 10 BASE-T: Pins 1-2 = TX, 3-6 = RX. 4-5 & 7-8 not used;


[*] Token Ring: Pins 3-6 = TX, 4-5 = RX. 1-2 & 7-8 not used;


[*] ATM User Device: Pins 1-2 = TX, 7-8 = RX. 3-6 & 4-5 = Opt.¹;


[*] ATM Network Eq.: Pins 1-2 = RX, 7-8 = TX. 3-6 & 4-5 = Opt.¹;


[*] 100 BASE-VG: Pins 1-2, 3-6, 4-5 & 7-8 = Bi.²;


[*] 100 BASE-T4: Pins 1-2 = TX, 3-6 = RX. 4-5 & 7-8 = Bi.²;


[*] 100 BASE-TX: Pins 1-2 = TX, 3-6 = RX. 4-5 & 7-8 not used;


[*] 1000 BASE-T: Pins 1-2, 3-6, 4-5 & 7-8 = Bi.².
</OL>

Key:
"TX" = Transmit, "RX" = Receive.
"Opt.¹" = Optional Terminations on some equipment, "Bi.²" = Bidirectional.

Scott35

Sandro, I never knew that P&S made this stuff. Looks like everybody is getting into the act. We standardized on Leviton since it is quality and available. Panduit is OK and I belive it will fit a Leviton plate and vice versa. I had Hubbell jacks fall apart while punching them down and they won't fit a Leviton or Panduit plate. Enough said about Hubbell.