Splicing ethernet cable

[Alii]

I'm about to install two Zeus Touch 8's. Cannot run the ethernet cables with the Navico connector in place, so have ordered two 25' cables and will need to cut them, run from each end of the chase, and splice. According to Panbo the proper way to splice is with RJ45 connectors and female-to-female couplers.

1 -- Does anyone disagree with Panbo and advise a different way to make these splices?

2 -- If I go with the RJ45 system, what specifications should I be looking for when purchasing the connectors and couplers. I believe I need to ensure the contacts are gold-plated and the connectors designed for round cable. Other specs? Particular manufacturers to look for?

This is part of an all-new B&G system with 4G radar.

Thanks for the help,
Laura

[xeon_tsd]

Why not make the run end to end and put the rj45's on Why do you need the coupler in between?

[Alii]

The displays require the proprietary Navico connector, which is nice and solid and reasonably watertight. I don't want to monkey with these, especially with the display outdoors at the steering station. I can put the RJ45 splice in a protected compartment inside the boat, away from weather and vibration.

[Ziggy]

RJ45 coupler seems a good way to go if you make the connection in a protected environment.

[Dockhead]

I had the same problem and simply used an Ethernet terminal block. Cheap and works fine.

[lakedipper]

going to assume that you have cat 5 ethernet cable where you actually only use four conductors of the eight. google to find which ones. this is a non shielded cable and you can splice any which way you want. id use a screw wire clamp style terminal block if you don't care about the estetics. they sell female female connectors that you simply plug into. a straight run is always recommend and will give you the least trouble. if you decide to go that route, buy the pre-made cable. not terribly expensive. good luck.

[Cap Erict3]

EuroStrip

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Alii

I'm about to install two Zeus Touch 8's. Cannot run the ethernet cables with the Navico connector in place, so have ordered two 25' cables and will need to cut them, run from each end of the chase, and splice. According to Panbo the proper way to splice is with RJ45 connectors and female-to-female couplers.

1 -- Does anyone disagree with Panbo and advise a different way to make these splices?

Not me. That's how I would to it (if I understand your question).

[Zeb]

Cat 5e Junction punch down. Similar to this:

Ethernet CAT 5E Junction Box, 110 Punch-Down Style; White

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by lakedipper

going to assume that you have cat 5 ethernet cable where you actually only use four conductors of the eight. google to find which ones. this is a non shielded cable and you can splice any which way you want. id use a screw wire clamp style terminal block if you don't care about the estetics. they sell female female connectors that you simply plug into. a straight run is always recommend and will give you the least trouble. if you decide to go that route, buy the pre-made cable. not terribly expensive. good luck.

The advantage of terminating with RJ45s and using a coupler at the join point is that you have ability to easily troubleshoot by plugging the RJ45 into other devices. If your splicing's good and you'll never need to reconfigure, or put a router/switch at the splice, this will matter less.

Also be warned that some ethernet cable for marine use IS shielded and harder than garden variety CAT5 to work with.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by rwidman

Not me. That's how I would to it (if I understand your question).

Not worth stranded , you are using stranded right ?

Dace


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Time2Go]

Having done a fair amount of Cat 5 wiring
you should try and do a home run if at all possible.
That said if you cant, splices should be done using
"Insulation Displacement Connectors"
Lots of suppliers just do a google search
I would definitly not use three connectors instead of a good splice

[Alii]

I've reviewed all my B&G manuals and Googled to the extent my Internet connection here will allow, and haven't been able to find any detailed specs on the Navico (or B&G or Lowrance) ethernet cable. I'm assuming it's Cat 5, but shielded/unshielded, or stranded/solid??? There are the Panbo and other blog entries showing that others have successfully installed RJ45 connectors when cutting the cable, and Navico does offer adapter cable with its proprietary plug on one end and RJ45 on the other.

[JayH]

Navico ethernet cable is shielded and has solid conductors.

Shielded RJ-45s and couplers are available, and this would make a nice shielded connection end-to-end, but is probably overkill. You'll have to buy a bunch of stuff you only need once and crimping RJ-45s can be a real pain. With that proprietary Navico connector you can't plug it into a proper tester either.

I went the RJ-45 route, but I already had all the stuff and some experience using it. The IDCs (3M Scotchloks) are way simpler.

[dsteinfeld]

All twisted pair ethernet wiring schemes rely on the twists for noise immunity. Using connectors or splicing schemes not rated at least as highly (in CATegory terms) as your wire will degrade the signal and noise immunity to some degree. While shielded twisted pair is usually specified to reduce susceptibility to outside RF interference, when I was in the marine electronics industry we had a problem with radiation from ethernet into VHF radios. I would guess, though, that a small gap in shielding (if your coupling solution doesn't fully shield the connection) won't have an impact.

Any insulation displacement connector you use needs to be designed for the wire you're using. At least RJ45 connectors are specified for solid or stranded (or sometimes both) wire. The shape of the contact that pierces the insulation is different for the two, and using the wrong one can cause intermittent problems which manifest themselves as either bit errors or degraded speed.

The junction box mentioned earlier looks to be a good choice if you're not going to be disconnecting this cable frequently. The terminal design allows you to maintain the twists just like a typical punched down RJ45 jack. They also have a shielded variant if you want to maintain the shielding end-to-end, and it's surprisingly cheaper!