[TF1216]

Hey Guys,

I intend on using a wired audio PC allowing me to retrieve music from a NAS.  I can't figure out why the wired connection is only <10 Mbps (at the wall) when I see +20Mbps going wireless or wired straight into the switch (network closet).

I re-terminated the keystone jack (the wall's RJ45) and the RJ45 at the switch with no luck.  The previous owners had the house wired in a strange way leaving the four twisted pairs exposed for a solid 12" (in the network closet) which caused the cable to lose its unique twist pattern.

I twisted the pairs before re-terminating the cable but I am thinking unique twist pattern is critical to perfect internet operation.  Does anyone know?

(I don't have anymore RJ45 connectors here to make a patch cable to test the theory that the unique twist pattern is critical.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[Phil A]

Don't know but found this as an example - https://askleo.com/why-might-wifi-be-faster-than-wired-ethernet/

[TF1216]

Don't know but found this as an example - https://askleo.com/why-might-wifi-be-faster-than-wired-ethernet/

Thank you for the link.  There are some new posts on there so hopefully the conversation keeps up.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I can mail you some jacks if you need some, but they're very cheap in buck on Amazon.
I just re-wired my house for 'net and have a bunch left over.

I also have a tester that proved invaluable. About 25% of the terminations I made didn't pass the "sniff" test when I plugged them into the tester. A couple because the wires fell into the cavity 'crossed', but mostly because there wasn't sufficient electrical contact after crimping.

I can't believe that a foot of "exposed" wire would cause that much of a drop, but I say that based on assumption, not knowledge.

Bob

[TF1216]

I can mail you some jacks if you need some, but they're very cheap in buck on Amazon.
I just re-wired my house for 'net and have a bunch left over.

I also have a tester that proved invaluable. About 25% of the terminations I made didn't pass the "sniff" test when I plugged them into the tester. A couple because the wires fell into the cavity 'crossed', but mostly because there wasn't sufficient electrical contact after crimping.

I can't believe that a foot of "exposed" wire would cause that much of a drop, but I say that based on assumption, not knowledge.

Bob

Bob, dude...thank you for the offer.  I can go buy more jacks.  I was hoping someone had encountered the same problem as me plus I was too lazy to head back to Home Depot before they closed.  I will try to make a 'horrible' patch cable today to see if I can replicate the problem.

Does your tester work like a continuity check on a DMM?  Yes for a short, and no for an open?  Will it tell you if there lots of crosstalk.  While reading last night I learned that there is Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk (NEXT & FEXT).  Pretty interesting stuff.

[Bob in St. Louis]

>> Here's the Amazon "kit' I bought. It was amazingly cheap.
The crimper is actually a pretty nice piece of equipment. The tester works as designed, and the jacks are good quality. I highly recommend this kit.

The tester shows all eight wires. You do have to check both ends, as you can't see both from one "unit". But it'll tell you if one (or more) wire is open circuit, or if they're in the wrong hole.

Bob

EDITED for clarification.

[Don_S]

>> Here's the Amazon "kit' I bought. It was amazingly cheap.
The crimper is actually a pretty nice piece of equipment. The tester works as designed, and the jacks are good quality. I highly recommend this kit.

The tester shows all eight wires. You do have to check both ends, as you can't see both from one "unit". But it'll tell you if one (or more) wire is open circuit, or if they're in the wrong hole.

Bob

EDITED for clarification.

Way cool and affordable.  Thanks Bob

[Bob in St. Louis]

My pleasure Don. 

[jea48]

Hey Guys,

I intend on using a wired audio PC allowing me to retrieve music from a NAS.  I can't figure out why the wired connection is only <10 Mbps (at the wall) when I see +20Mbps going wireless or wired straight into the switch (network closet).

I re-terminated the keystone jack (the wall's RJ45) and the RJ45 at the switch with no luck.  The previous owners had the house wired in a strange way leaving the four twisted pairs exposed for a solid 12" (in the network closet) which caused the cable to lose its unique twist pattern.

I twisted the pairs before re-terminating the cable but I am thinking unique twist pattern is critical to perfect internet operation.  Does anyone know?

(I don't have anymore RJ45 connectors here to make a patch cable to test the theory that the unique twist pattern is critical.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I can't figure out why the wired connection is only <10 Mbps (at the wall) when I see +20Mbps going wireless or wired straight into the switch (network closet).

Into the switch, how about a port out of the switch. Check an output RJ45 port at the switch.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 The previous owners had the house wired in a strange way leaving the four twisted pairs exposed for a solid 12" (in the network closet) which caused the cable to lose its unique twist pattern.

I would be willing to bet he did it himself. No certified Ethernet cable installer would do that. A finished termination of the cable to the jack punch down contacts of the jack should not exceed 1/2". Better is less than 1/2". Panduit RJ45 CAT5e, and CAT6 modular jacks keep the  twisted pairs length exiting the jacket of the cable to about a 1/4" when installed correctly.

The lay of the 4 twisted pairs of the cable is very important for its' performance.
 If a sweep test was performed on your cable I have no doubt it would fail. An Ethernet cable is more fragile than you might think.

 A sharp kink in an Ethernet cable can effect the performance of the cable. Even if the kink is straightened back out by hand the damage to the twist and the lay of the 4 pairs in the jacket is still changed forever.
 
Walking on an Ethernet 4 pair cable while installing it can/will change the lay of the 4 twisted 4 pairs inside the jacket of the cable.

Sharp bends must be avoided.

Any type supports used on the cable must be loose as to not crush the jacket of the cable as this will change the lay of the pairs as well could change the twist of the pairs.

Excessive amounts of cable should not be tightly coiled up at either end of the finished installed cable. This too can effect the performance of the cable.

The RJ45 ends you use is important as well. Like I said I prefer Panduit but the ones you used are ok. Important thing to remember is to maintain the twist of the pairs right up to the punch down connection point. Do not untwist the pairs clear down to the jacket as shown in the video of the link below. The guy should have only untwisted a pair one half turn if needed for proper color to color punch down on the jack.
Finish product not more than 1/2" of exposed wire should exit the jacket of the cable.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=105&cp_id=10513&cs_id=1051308&p_id=5376&seq=1&format=2

Here are a few Links and videos for you to read and watch.

Do's and don'ts of installing CAT5e and CAT6, CAT6a cables.
(Beats me why, but you may have to copy and paste this Link to get it to come up.)
http://www.cablesondemand.com/InfoID/320/RedirectPath/Add1/FolderID/668/
InfoGroup/Main/InfoType/Article/PageVars/Library/InfoManage/Zoom.htm


Testing the terminated cable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn-EsoD-FnQ

You may have to wait a few seconds for this one to load. It's well worth the wait.
Copper Cabling Troubleshooting Handbook - Fluke Networks.
http://download.flukenetworks.com/Download/Asset/3346303_0000_ENG_A_W.PDF

Panduit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr5wWsem0ws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhrCo5ceuBk

[TF1216]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I can't figure out why the wired connection is only <10 Mbps (at the wall) when I see +20Mbps going wireless or wired straight into the switch (network closet).

Into the switch, how about a port out of the switch. Check an output RJ45 port at the switch.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thank you for the write-up.  This is good stuff!

I used a patch cable out of the switch and wireless router.  The speed quickly jumped above 20Mbps.  It's the ethernet cable where I would like to install the audio PC that is the problem.  I will report back after I construct a patch cable to mimic what I have at home and wire my laptop straight to the switch.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Uhm yea, from now on....take that guys word over mine.
I think he's smarter than I am. 

[JRace]

What cat cable?

And what length?

[*Scotty*]

He might want to look at Belden CAT 6+ Mediatwist cable. This cable features bonded twisted pairs and it is a little harder to damage the relationship between the conductor pairs due to their bonded construction.
http://www.belden.com/products/connectivity/copper/mediatwist-utp-cable.cfm
Scotty

[TF1216]

I can't do much about the Cat 5e cable running from the switch to the audio PC because it's in the wall.

I have a Cat 6 patch cable with the jacket removed.  I am going to see if I can untwist the pairs to generate crosstalk to witness the results.  It's about 4 feet long.

[jea48]

I can't do much about the Cat 5e cable running from the switch to the audio PC because it's in the wall.

I have a Cat 6 patch cable with the jacket removed.  I am going to see if I can untwist the pairs to generate crosstalk to witness the results.  It's about 4 feet long.

I can't do much about the Cat 5e cable running from the switch to the audio PC because it's in the wall.


Sure you can. Granted you may be screwed if the cable is damaged somewhere between the closet and the wall jack but it may be fine. The only way to know for sure is to re-terminate the two ends of the cable.

Start first at the wall jack end. Make sure that no more than a 1/2" of exposed wire shows outside the outer jacket of the cable. Keep the cable jacket as tight as possible against the first termination connections on the RJ45 jack. Keep the twisted pairs twisted right up to the point of termination on the RJ45 jack. If you have enough CAT5e cable at the wall RJ45 jack end to do this, then move onto the closet end.
 (Note, if a box was used at the wall instead of  a cut in low voltage bracket, use care when installing the jack and face plate to the wall. Do not kink the CAT5e cable inside the box.)
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Betts-SC100RR-Carlon-Voltage/dp/B000W09PQI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427317278&sr=8-3&keywords=low+voltage+mounting+bracket

At the closet are you using a small patch panel with RJ45 jacks installed at the patch panel? If so is there enough CAT5e to re-terminate the cable at the patch panel as described above at the wall jack? If so do so. Also if the in wall cable is CAT5e, use a CAT5e patch cable from the patch panel to the switch.

If the existing CAT5e cable will be too short if it is re-terminated correctly then I would suggest the excess exposed 4 pairs of the CAT5e cable be cut off and a modular RJ45 jack be re-terminated on the end of the CAT5e cable. From the newly terminated CAT5e RJ45 jack install a CAT5e patch cable to the switch. Test for speed at the wall jack.

 

[TF1216]

I can't do much about the Cat 5e cable running from the switch to the audio PC because it's in the wall.


Sure you can. Granted you may be screwed if the cable is damaged somewhere between the closet and the wall jack but it may be fine. The only way to know for sure is to re-terminate the two ends of the cable.

Start first at the wall jack end. Make sure that no more than a 1/2" of exposed wire shows outside the outer jacket of the cable. Keep the cable jacket as tight as possible against the first termination connections on the RJ45 jack. Keep the twisted pairs twisted right up to the point of termination on the RJ45 jack. If you have enough CAT5e cable at the wall RJ45 jack end to do this, then move onto the closet end.
 (Note, if a box was used at the wall instead of  a cut in low voltage bracket, use care when installing the jack and face plate to the wall. Do not kink the CAT5e cable inside the box.)
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Betts-SC100RR-Carlon-Voltage/dp/B000W09PQI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427317278&sr=8-3&keywords=low+voltage+mounting+bracket

At the closet are you using a small patch panel with RJ45 jacks installed at the patch panel? If so is there enough CAT5e to re-terminate the cable at the patch panel as described above at the wall jack? If so do so. Also if the in wall cable is CAT5e, use a CAT5e patch cable from the patch panel to the switch.

If the existing CAT5e cable will be too short if it is re-terminated correctly then I would suggest the excess exposed 4 pairs of the CAT5e cable be cut off and a modular RJ45 jack be re-terminated on the end of the CAT5e cable. From the newly terminated CAT5e RJ45 jack install a CAT5e patch cable to the switch. Test for speed at the wall jack.

Gotcha!  I replaced both ends of the Cat 5e twice.  The ethernet cable now has brand new ends (one has a keystone jack and the other a standard RJ45 jack).  I will measure the cable in the closet tonight to see if it will reach the switch after I remove the exposed wire leftover from the previous owner's installation.

Stay tuned y'all.

P.S.  This site has taught me a lot during this project.
http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.aspx

[TF1216]

I give up!  I have nothing else to try but other rooms.  That is on the plate for tonight.

Here is what I started with.


Here is my fix.


The patch cable I used to test crosstalk.  I was getting nearly 30Mbps with this cable.


Finally, the keystone jack which I installed.  I borrowed a punch down tool to get the wires in there.  It's ugly so I will revisit this if my other rooms are seeing more than 10Mbps.

[TF1216]

Just wired up another room and it was screaming at 25Mbps.  It appears something is goofy with the ONE jack I want to use.  What are the odds?

Any ideas out there that I haven't tried?

[*Scotty*]

This may sound silly but if you don't have pets that chew and children who pull you might think about running a Cat 5 or 6 cable from the switch box along the baseboard to the NAS location. When cable for the TV is installed by the cable man it is attached to the wall just above the baseboard. This wouldn't be the prettiest solution but it would solve your speed problems without pulling another run of cable.
Scotty

[Odal3]

Great info. After I read Jea48's reply I checked the cable between my router and modem, and yes it had multiple bad sharp bends (since it was probably packed that way in the small router box when I got it.) I have been struggling with slow speed at times, so I did a speed test and then replaced it with another cable and had a huge boost in speed! Didn't think it would make that much of an impact. So even if you run wireless at home you should probably double check the modem- router connection if you haven't already. Many thanks!