Networking tools and supplies, where to get cheap?

Off topic chat and stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere.
Post Reply
User avatar
His Royal Majesty King V
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2001 4:06 pm
Location: New Jersey

Networking tools and supplies, where to get cheap?

Post by His Royal Majesty King V »

All,

I'm looking to set up my LAN at my new place. Heck of a nuisance when the house is 2 stories+basement and walls don't all line up...

This was so much easier with a ranch/attic setup....

Anyway, enough griping.

I basically want to get a kit of crimping tool, cable, RJ45 connectors, and wire.

I've seen 'em go for about $100 from Tigerdirect or something, but I don't really need 500 to 1000 feet of cable (though I think theirs comes with a cable-tester, which seems nice)

Is that my best bet, economically, or can I get such a kit less expensive elsewhere? Tried CDW, but their categories and searches aren't all that fun, and it doesn't seem they have such a kit anyway.

Thanks in advance.
FIC PA-2103 E-O036, K6-2+ 450 2.0V @ 500 1.9V
FIC PA-2013 E-O036, K6-III 450 2.2V @ 500
Acer quasi-proprietary Mid-tower, P-II 266
User avatar
Wiggy
Senior K6'er
Posts: 173
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2003 9:39 am
Location: Surrey, England

Post by Wiggy »

Personally I would buy the components seperately. The mark-up on such kits is in the region of 100%+.

You won't need a crimp tool, you can improvise :wink:

A cable tester won't be necessary as the connectors are see-thru and it's quite obvious if you have a dodgy connection.

I would suggest some suppliers, but I'm in the UK.
mulvihill
Senior K6'er
Posts: 107
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2002 1:33 pm

Post by mulvihill »

I'm sure that your local big box hardware and building supply store will have cat5e in stock and will cut you any length and possibly any colour for about 12 cents per foot. They probably have RJ45 connectors as well.
I decided to buy a crimping tool from a nearby wholesaler for about $25 US. By the time you buy enough patch and/or crossover cables to hook up 2 or 3 computers, a printer and a hub or switch it will have paid for itself. It also allows you to make changes on the fly. The other advantage of having a crimping tool is you can simply crimp you RJ45 connector directly onto the solid core cat5 cable that sticks out of the wall and thus avoid buying a lot of expensive keystone sockets and patch cables that connect to them.
I also bought a plastic punchdown tool for $3.99 for making quiuck connects to wall plates, etc. The nice thing about this cheap little tool is it has a built in sheathing stripper that works real slick.
Cablestogo.com
To test my patch cords and connections I use a duplex surface mount outlet. I plug both ends of the cable into it and test across the terminals with a $10 voltmeter.
User avatar
jonwest
Newbie K6'er
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2003 6:57 am

I second the idea of getting your own supplies...

Post by jonwest »

I went ahead and paid the 100% markup for my own tools at the local compUSA, also got a big spool of Cat 5E at the local Home Depot....easily worthit if your a tinkerer it WILL pay for itself in no time.
User avatar
Wiggy
Senior K6'er
Posts: 173
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2003 9:39 am
Location: Surrey, England

Post by Wiggy »

Yeah, you bought the bits seperate. The complete kits are the ripoff. Mabey I'm just spoilt, cos I work for a cabling company. *shrug*
User avatar
His Royal Majesty King V
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2001 4:06 pm
Location: New Jersey

My final decision....

Post by His Royal Majesty King V »

Well, I went to yesmicro.com and got a fairly basic crimper (Belkin F4F198) as well as a pack of 50 RJ 45 plug ends.

In total, shipped came less to the tool alone from Home Depot. Granted, Home Depot had a different brand, and better versions, but even their "low-end" crimp tool was more than what I paid for the tool and the plugs plus shipping.

Used it already, as I have SOME cable of my own, maybe nearly 100 feet worth, and it's even marked as Cat 5e! Woohoo!

Now I just gotta get me a 10/100 hub or switch. This old 10Mbit repeater's a bit dated. Oh, and I guess I'll put those 3Com 10/100 PCI ethernet cards to use!

Thanks all for the pointers, advice, etc
FIC PA-2103 E-O036, K6-2+ 450 2.0V @ 500 1.9V
FIC PA-2013 E-O036, K6-III 450 2.2V @ 500
Acer quasi-proprietary Mid-tower, P-II 266
mulvihill
Senior K6'er
Posts: 107
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2002 1:33 pm

Post by mulvihill »

You can get a switch for the price of a hub these days. I just bought a 5 port switch refurbished from Belkin for $11.49 that works great. It sure beats the $50 retail price.
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSectionV ... _Id=201520
The content of this page changes often so you never know what you're going to find.
Super_Relay
Site Admin
Posts: 215
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2001 5:53 pm
Location: Australia

Post by Super_Relay »

yep im going to go with mulvihill on this one, a switch new or refurb is the only way to go

you know its worth the extra $$$ to not have to share the 100mbps between all the pc's

might not seem too important now but it provides an extra level of future proofing.

my $0.02 anyway :P
Post Reply