I have a new skill - I can now make Ethernet cables

Happy New Year!

Last month I started building my Kubernetes cluster made from Raspberry Pis (I promise there will be a blog post on it soon). At first it was connected with Wi-Fi, but I wanted to switch it to Ethernet, and eventually power it over PoE (Power over Ethernet). I did not not have cables of the right length, so I went browsing through the usual online shops. And then, I had a revelation: I might make the cables myself!

I watched a few Youtube videos on the matter, as one would, and it did not seem to be too complicated. I enjoy doing manual stuff, DIY is important for me, and having a new skill under my belt is always cool, so why not try it? With Christmas approaching fast, and my parents wanting to buy me a present, I asked Santa Dad to get me an Ethernet cable toolkit.

And Santa delivered, I was now the proud owner of a set of tools that allow me to make my own Internet: an RJ45 crimping tool, a wire stripper, a cable connection tester, and a weird grey knifey tool that I am still not sure what it does.

Here’s the toolkit

On my own, I bought 20 meters of cat 5e cable, and a 50 piece pack of RJ45 connectors and connector rubber covers.

Everything was surprisingly cheap, the toolkit was 70PLN (17EUR), and the cables and connectors were 80PLN (19EUR). The price for the toolkit and the materials was close to the cost of a few ready-made cables.

I used this Youtube video as the tutorial on crimping cables. It’s in Polish, but it shows very clearly what to do. And there’s a ton of such videos everywhere, surely there will be one in your language :)

Looks like “beginner’s luck” is actually a thing, because the first cable I made worked on the first try, whereas the second one I had to correct twice. The cable tester is a very useful thing, it shows right away whether the cable was done correctly.

My Pi K3s cluster, connected with the cables I made.

So far I made two cables from scratch, and fixed another one that had a broken connector. If not for this possibility to fix it, I would throw it out, so one less thing going to the heap.

And that’s it, I have a new skill. In my future home I will be making the cabling myself. And if I ever meet a fellow nerd in real life and not over the intertubes, I might give them a home-made Ethernet cable as a present :3

Thanks for reading!

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