Page 4 - Ethernet

The term splitter gets thrown around pretty often when it comes to cables. The average splitter works by taking an input signal and dividing it into multiple output signals. For example, on a two-way splitter each output will have half the normal strength since the signal is divided by two. However, this is not how ethernet signals work.

Simply put, ethernet signals cannot be divided the way audio/video signals can. There are devices called ethernet splitters, but they work differently from other kinds of signal splitters. However, a different device called a network switch can be used with ethernet cables for the same effect.

Ethernet Splitters

Ethernet splitters allow users to run one cable instead of two through walls, floors, and ceilings. But in the rooms your equipment is in, users will still need two cables. To facilitate this, ethernet splitters must be used in pairs.

For example, say you have an Internet router in Room A and need to connect hard lines to a computer plus

The ability to just click a button and connect to WiFi on almost any modern device is hard to pass up. On the other hand, ethernet is still around after years of WiFi so surely it has its advantages. The truth is that both options have ups and downs. Your priorities as a user will be the ultimate deciding factor for determining which is better.

Wired Connections - Ethernet

Ethernet is older and better tested than WiFi, maintaining a number of benefits. Physical connections are faster and provide greater reliability, control, and security.

• A signal with a cable to guide it will always be faster than the wireless equivalent, making tasks like file sharing quicker.
• Ethernet signals are much less prone to becoming unstable and/or dropping.
• It is easier to control who is connected to a network, ensuring a network will not be bogged down by too many users.
• Wired networks cannot be seen by anyone with a wireless device, making hacking much harder.

Being older may make ethernet more of a tamed

“Pinout” is a term describing how an electrical cable is wired. Some cables do not have pinouts because they only contain a single internal wire, like coax cables. But if a cable has multiple pins on the end of the cable, it will have a pinout.

Each type of multi-pin cable has a standard pinout or two, but these layouts are not set in stone. Some machines will require non-standard pinouts; this will require users to use a custom cable.

Pinouts also come into play when using a cable with two different ends. For example, going from DB9 (9 pins) to DB25 (25 pins) will mean the DB25 side has 16 unused, “dead” pins.

If you need to know what pinout a cable needs, ideally there will be a spec sheet handy showing it. The next best option is contacting the manufacturer of the equipment the cable will be used with to see if they have a spec sheet available. If you have a cable tester available, that can be used to see how the pins line up. As a last resort, a cable can also be cut open to verify

Cable switches are used to connect multiple signal inputs (computers, DVD players, video game consoles, etc.) to a single output (televisions, computer monitors, etc.). Switches all work on the same general principle and most are purely mechanical. A switch only goes from multiple inputs to one output; if you need to go from one input to multiple outputs, you will need a splitter instead.

Switches are used when you have a screen, such as a TV or computer monitor, that does not have enough ports. For example, say you have a TV with one HDMI port but you want to connect a DVD player, a laptop, and a video game console. One option would be to constantly reach behind the TV and switch the cables, but that gets old fast. The simpler solution would be using a switch that connects all three devices to the TV and lets you change between them at the push of a button.

Most switches are mechanical and do not require a power cable to work. The inside of a switch works similar to switching the rails

Coax splitters for Internet and TV are used to connect multiple TVs, computer monitors, or other devices to a single signal source. There are differences between the various types of splitters, but a few general rules apply to them all. Coax splitters only go from one input to multiple outputs; if you need to go from multiple inputs to one output, you need a switch instead.

When a signal goes through a splitter, it is divided and becomes weaker. Imagine an HDMI splitter as an example. Modern HDMI cables are capable of a 4k signal, which works fine if you are using a single HDMI cable by itself. However, say you use a 4-way HDMI splitter to run four cables to four TVs. Each signal would only have half the normal strength so none of the TVs will have 4k quality.

Because the signal is evenly divided, the signal will become weaker for bigger splitters. A 2-way splitter will have signals with ½ the normal strength, a 3-way splitter will have ⅓ the normal strength, etc. This is true even if

Ethernet is one of the most important types of cables today, being used to connect all manner of technology around the world to the Internet. While many stores today have pre-made ethernet cables available, sometimes another option is needed. Users may need a cable in an unusual size or just need to replace a broken connector. This guide will show users how to put an RJ45 connector onto the end of bare ethernet cable.

Before jumping into the main guide, there is an easy fix if you have a connector where the release tab broke off. When the tab breaks, the cable will not lock into place and have trouble maintaining a connection. This can be easily fixed with a Quick Snap Latch, which is a much easier repair than replacing the whole connector. If a broken latch is the only issue, grab one of those for a simple repair that will only take a few seconds.

A video guide detailing the below steps can be found at the bottom of the article.

Step 1: Gathering the Supplies

There are a few simple supplies

Ethernet is one of the most common types of cables, used to connect devices like computers and routers to the Internet. The end of an ethernet cable, an RJ45 connector, looks similar to the end of a phone cable, an RJ12 modem cable, but bigger. While phone cables have four to six wires on the inside, ethernet cables use eight. Ethernet cables come in both solid and stranded variants.

Ethernet Categories

There are a few different variations of ethernet, the foremost being the cable category. This type of cable is abbreviated as “Cat#”, with higher numbers being newer versions of ethernet capable of faster signal speeds. These categories are defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Cat5e

Cat5e is an upgraded version of the original Cat5 cable and the current standard version of ethernet. It is capable of data speeds up to 1 Gbps (gigabyte per second) with a bandwidth of 350 MHz (MegaHertz).

Cat6

Cat6 is the next step up and will become the new standard