All About Cat 5 Connectors
"I'm Just a Beginner -- Give Me a Bit of the Basics"
First of all, begin by using the correct terminology. Cat 5 connectors come in two types -- male and female. What is normally installed in a wall panel, or in the side of your computer is called a "jack" -- this is the female end. The cat 5 connector that plugs into it -- the male and -- is called a "plug." You will often times hear cat 5 connectors referred to as "RJ45" connectors -- but that is actually incorrect. The proper name for the type used in computer installations is called an 8P8C modular connector.
Okay, I'll Bite -- What Does 8P8C Stand for?"
Cat 5 connectors are called 8P8C connectors -- "8P" stands for eight position, "8C" stands for eight conductors. If you look at any typical cat 5 connector with the little hook towards the ground, you will notice there are eight little slots -- these are the positions, and the number of a conductor is the same as the number of the position it's in, in a cat 5 connector. "Isn't a Cat 5 Connector the Same Thing As a Phone Connector?" Unfortunately, it is not true that a cat 5 connector is the same as a modular phone connector. They look somewhat similar, but they are not the same -- and you can verify this for yourself if you try and plug your phone plug into your computer cat 5 connector (jack) -- you'll find it won't fit. "When I Install a Cat 5 Connector Jack with a Wall Plate, Should the Hook Notch Point up or down?" When you install a wall mounting plate for your cat 5 connector, make sure the jack (the female end, which will receive the plug) has the hook notch pointing down. Why do you do it that way? Well, picture this in your mind: someone unplugs a male cat 5 connector from the wall plate. To do that, they grab the plug with their thumb on top of it and they press the hook in with their finger, so the hook side of the cat 5 connector should be pointing downwards. "I've Noticed That Most Cat 5 Connector Cables Have Male Plugs on Both Ends -- so How Can I Attach Two of Them Together to Get a Longer Length?" Yes, you're correct -- most cat 5 connector cables have male plugs on each end. The female ends are reserved for use as the receiving jack -- if you look at the side of your computer, where the cat 5 connector cable male end would plug in, you will notice they are all female-type connectors. If you want to, you can make your own cable with a male cat 5 connector on one end and a female connector on the other. But really, this isn't necessary. Instead, go to your local electrical parts distributor and get a female-to-female coupler. These special couplers will allow you to connect one cat 5 connector cable to another, and the additional free (male) end will then plug into your PC.
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