Cat5e, Routers, and Crimpers OH MY!!!

I set out to wire my home instead of continuing with wireless. With all the potential interference of the microwave and wireless phone, I wanted to stop the madness.

I started by getting some Cat5e cable from a co-worker/friend of mine. I then borrowed a crimping tool from another co-worker/friend of mine. Needless to say, this saved me a lot of money. I am grateful to Carl and Victor for the hook-up.

Once I had all of the materials, I proceeded to the attic to drill holes and run the cables. Needles to say, the crawlspace can get quite tight (I've now gotta fix a small crack in the ceiling where my foot slipped and caved it in).

To speed up this story, I will give a few of my shortcomings; in which I solved. Here is a list of things to remember when going through the process:

• If when you plug in your network cable and there is some resistance, ensure you have crimped the RJ45 jack flush (mine wasn't flush, thus no connection)
• When hooking up to more than one router, ensure you disable your DHCP (all except your main router)
• If you have the money, hire someone to do it for you

I think I lost about 5 pounds while running that wire to and fro in the attic.