I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.

On Fri, 4 Dec 2020 06:18:22 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.

It is better if you take it out of the box and put it on something
that acts like a spool. Then you are not putting a twist in it every
revolution coming out of the box

On Fri, 4 Dec 2020 06:18:22 -0800 (PST), TimR posted for all of us to digest...


I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.

Could be cheap cable.

Improperly unreeled. Did it actually come on a reel or in a box?

Since it is twisted cable you have to work with the twist to straighten it.

--
Tekkie

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 3:09:48 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2020 06:18:22 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:
I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.
It is better if you take it out of the box and put it on something
that acts like a spool. Then you are not putting a twist in it every
revolution coming out of the box
Wish I'd thought of that before I ran it. Oh well, I'll know for next time.

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 4 Dec 2020 12:46:10 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 3:09:48 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2020 06:18:22 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:
I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong,

I think it happens no matter what, but I ended up twisting the unhookded
end several times, probably a full revolution for every loop I'd
unwound.

but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.
It is better if you take it out of the box and put it on something
that acts like a spool. Then you are not putting a twist in it every
revolution coming out of the box
Wish I'd thought of that before I ran it. Oh well, I'll know for next time.

How many places is it attached to the wall?

On 12/4/2020 6:18 AM, TimR wrote:
I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.


The cat 5 or 6 cable I have reels off from the middle of the roll from
inside the box, and is wound so it unwinds alternatively from one side
then the other of the inside of the roll, which results in no bad curls.

My reel of outside use cat 6 is on a wooden reel.

Maybe yours is a higher grade product with whole cable twisting to
improve performance.

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 7:35:55 PM UTC-5, Bob F wrote:
On 12/4/2020 6:18 AM, TimR wrote:
I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.

The cat 5 or 6 cable I have reels off from the middle of the roll from
inside the box, and is wound so it unwinds alternatively from one side
then the other of the inside of the roll, which results in no bad curls.

My reel of outside use cat 6 is on a wooden reel.

Maybe yours is a higher grade product with whole cable twisting to
improve performance.
No, mine was a cheapie in a plastic bag from Home Depot, not even a box. Lowes had nicer looking stuff in a box, but it was all riser rated, and a few feet of mine had to run outdoors, so I went with the indoor-outdoor.

Now that I've done this once, I can replace it more easily the next time, knowing more about what I'm doing.

Tonight I patiently untwisted it from end to end a couple of times. It's lying mostly flat now. But I can see I could easily have just held the roll so I got it off straight the first time and avoided that.

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 9:50:32 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 7:35:55 PM UTC-5, Bob F wrote:
On 12/4/2020 6:18 AM, TimR wrote:
I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.

The cat 5 or 6 cable I have reels off from the middle of the roll from
inside the box, and is wound so it unwinds alternatively from one side
then the other of the inside of the roll, which results in no bad curls..

My reel of outside use cat 6 is on a wooden reel.

Maybe yours is a higher grade product with whole cable twisting to
improve performance.
No, mine was a cheapie in a plastic bag from Home Depot, not even a box. Lowes had nicer looking stuff in a box, but it was all riser rated, and a few feet of mine had to run outdoors, so I went with the indoor-outdoor.

Now that I've done this once, I can replace it more easily the next time, knowing more about what I'm doing.

Tonight I patiently untwisted it from end to end a couple of times. It's lying mostly flat now. But I can see I could easily have just held the roll so I got it off straight the first time and avoided that.

This completes my part in the Cable Wiring thread. I ran the cable through the wall where the cable TV came in, put keystone jacks on both ends, successfully got internet to the opposite end of my basement. Now I can move my telework desk next to the heater. Just in time, too.

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 5 Dec 2020 16:41:51 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 9:50:32 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 7:35:55 PM UTC-5, Bob F wrote:
On 12/4/2020 6:18 AM, TimR wrote:
I bought a roll of Cat 5e to extend my network.

Maybe I stretched it out wrong, but it's remembering those curls and is very hard to run straight anywhere.

Is there a trick to this?

I've run it from the router area (put a surface mount and a jack on it) down into the basement, but getting it neatly to where I want it is a challenge due to the curl.

The cat 5 or 6 cable I have reels off from the middle of the roll from
inside the box, and is wound so it unwinds alternatively from one side
then the other of the inside of the roll, which results in no bad curls.

My reel of outside use cat 6 is on a wooden reel.

Maybe yours is a higher grade product with whole cable twisting to
improve performance.
No, mine was a cheapie in a plastic bag from Home Depot, not even a box. Lowes had nicer looking stuff in a box, but it was all riser rated, and a few feet of mine had to run outdoors, so I went with the indoor-outdoor.

Now that I've done this once, I can replace it more easily the next time, knowing more about what I'm doing.

Tonight I patiently untwisted it from end to end a couple of times. It's lying mostly flat now. But I can see I could easily have just held the roll so I got it off straight the first time and avoided that.

This completes my part in the Cable Wiring thread. I ran the cable through the wall where the cable TV came in, put keystone jacks on both ends, successfully got internet to the opposite end of my basement. Now I can move my telework desk next to the heater. Just in time, too.

Bravo!