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Wire Your Home with Ethernet Cable Step 4 - Connecting the Wires Here in Step 4, we'll install the cables into our wall jacks using special tools and install the wall jacks into the outlet boxes. First, we need to strip the outer jacket from the UTP cable. Our plastic tool is perfect for the job. As you see, the tool has several notches that get progressively smaller toward the inside. For our cable we used the outside (largest) notch and spun the tool around the wire about two or three times. Don't spin the tool around the wire more than you have to or you'll end up cutting into the individual wires underneath. If you do, cut off the entire end of the cable and start over. You'll want to trim about 1 1/2 or 2 inches of outer casing off of the end.
You may not even see where the wire stripper has cut the outer jacket, but pull on the end of the cable and the jacket should slide off. Now with the outer jacket removed, you can separate the twisted pair wires inside. Each pair will consist of a colored wire (either blue, brown, orange or green) with a white stripe and a white wire with a color stripe (the stripe is the same color as the other wire in the pair). On the back of each keystone jack is a two-sided connector that is labeled with similar colors. In the keystone jack we're using, the label has sets of colors labeled A and B. This refers to the two main wiring standards used in Ethernet, 568A and 568B. You can use either standard as long as you are consistent with that standard throughout your installation. (We discuss more about the standards in our how-to on making your own network cables.) Using the 568B standard, the left side of our keystone jack is labeled (from top to bottom) blue, white-blue, orange, white-orange, and the right side is labeled green, white-green, brown, white-brown. Working from the top, place the specified color in the corresponding slots on the top row of slots on connector. Try not to untwist the wire, since the Ethernet standard requires the wires stay twisted down to the last 1/2 inch. Once you've placed the first pair of wires in their corresponding slots, you're ready to use the punchdown part of your tool. The tool will help you push each wire into the slot to make a permanent connection. More expensive punchdown tools have a built-in blade that cuts off the excess wire after the wire is pushed onto the connector. Our plastic tool requires you to snip that off with the wire cutters. Not a big deal.
Once all four pairs are punched down onto the back of the keystone jack, most jacks come with small caps to fit over the back. This helps keep the individual wires in the slots. After you slide those in place, you're ready to install the keystone into the wallplate. Our wallplate has the top labeled on the back. Holding this side up, place the small lip of the keystone jack on the bottom of an open port on the wallplate and swing the keystone jack up until it locks into place. Obviously, you'll want to do this carefully so as not to pull off the cap or any of the wires from the connector. Do the same thing for all of the other inserts you'll be using (cable, blanks, etc) until you have everything in place. Our keystones also came with neat little flaps to place over the opening. There were three in the packet: one labeled Cat5e, one labeled with a phone and one labeled with a computer for any other network outlet. You simply snap the one you want onto the keystone jack.
When all of that's complete, you're ready to screw the wallplate into the wall box or mounting bracket. We suggest you leave a little extra cable in the wall and only partially screw the jack into the wall.
Obviously, you'll need to complete this step for each wall jack. Remember, don't finish screwing the wall jacks into the boxes until testing and completing the installation, as we'll do in Step 5.
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