Help recommending a Crimping tool

[PlatinumPrince]

I would like the advice of all those who have used crimping tools before. I am a newnbie at this and looking for one for use in my home network and possibly for my work use. I have done some research on the net on different crimpers and this is what I think the suggested crimpers should have.
Built in wire cutter and stripper; Straight action cut and crimp
High quality steel or other heavy duty metal (no plastic)
A crimper that doesn?t force the pins in at an angle; requires far less force
Must crimp RJ-45. Other spec like coaxial optional.
An angled head that prevents awkward bending of the wrist during operation
And probably rust resistant

I know it might be too much that I am asking for or not. Any other features that I should have in a professional crimper, please let me know. My price range is between $40 and $60. I know it might not be possible to get al those features and more in one tool. If the price is over the range, please explain why you would choose that crimper. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Agamar]

I think the brand I use is called "Ideal". It seems pretty decent.

 

[cmetz]

PlatinumPrince, Use the AMP heavy duty crimp tool. It's a lot more expensive than the others, but still cheap relative to labor (like $125 these days?). There's no point in trying to save money on tools, you just pay for it elsewhere.

 

[JackMDS]

For long runs you should use Keystones.

Short stranded patches are very very inexpensive.

So why do you want to Crimp?

 

[PlatinumPrince]

I'm trying to switch an existing crossover cable to pass through. What are keystones jackmds?

 

[PlatinumPrince]

Isn't crimping the only way to create patch/crossover cables? And isn't it not necessary to have one as a networking professional?

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: PlatinumPrince
Isn't crimping the only way to create patch/crossover cables? And isn't it not necessary to have one as a networking professional?

As a networking professional you will never, ever make your own patch cables. You will not cut an end off and re-crimp, you will follow eia/tia standards to the tee.

EVER.

I don't have the time to post just how bad of a practice this is. Follow the cabling standards or be doomed to be haunted by them.

 

[JackMDS]

There are things in the past that had reason to be in existence, and then with the advance of time become almost extinct

There was a time in the USA that every one washed his own car.

There was a time that each one had to squeeze it own Orange Juice.

There was time that junior level network workers use to be forces to be trained in crimping.

P.S. If you do want to Crimp as a profession do not forget to buy the Fluke CableIQ Qualification Tester (cost about $1000) so that you can make sure that the cables meet the standard.

 

[PlatinumPrince]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice especially from Jackmds. Spidey07, why do you make it look like crimping is bad and it doesn't follow the eia/tia standards? Aren't there cable testers that could verify it complies with it?

 

[cmetz]

Hand-made cables don't have the reliability of machine-made cables. Saving a couple of bucks on a cable can cost you man-months of lost productivity. In a business setting, hand-made cables are usually about the worst economic choice you can make. In a home setting, it's still generally not a good idea. It's not just that hand-made cables might not meet spec now, it's that they might change with time and abuse, and go out of spec when you least expect it.

I have debugged Ethernet emulation WAN circuits costing $5k/month that were having performance problems for over a week, only to find that it was because one of the junior level guys hand-made the cable from the demarc point to the router because he didn't want to drive down the street and buy some patch cables. And then debugged the same problem again a couple of weeks later when another cable made by the same junior level guy had the same failure mode.

That all said, if you do have to do something custom, use the best parts and the best tools you can. It does help.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: PlatinumPrince
Thanks for the suggestions and advice especially from Jackmds. Spidey07, why do you make it look like crimping is bad and it doesn't follow the eia/tia standards? Aren't there cable testers that could verify it complies with it?

Because they don't.

90 meters solid core into jacks. 5 meters on either end with flexible stranded patch cables on each end. That is the standard.

Yes, a scanner can verify category compliance of the link and channel. But if you think about making your own patch cables, chances are you haven't worked with suck a scanner because if you did, you'd see the results.

don't fuck with the physical layer. ever. the ten bucks you think you are saving wind up costing thousands in the end for just a single link failure. Just don't do it.

I don't mean to sound heavy handed, but if anybody doing my cabling was making cables I would immediately kick them off the job immediately (and have done so at least a 2 dozen times, the job called for category specification). no questions asked, you're done.