Terminating network cable properly — do not let workmanship become the fault
A large share of intermittent and night-time dropout problems in surveillance systems begins with poorly crimped RJ45 plugs.
- Pin order: use T568B (white-orange, orange, white-green, blue, white-blue, green, white-brown, brown) at both ends. Using only pins 1, 2, 3 and 6 will carry data but reduces noise immunity and gigabit capability.
- Strip length: remove about 13 mm of jacket and leave roughly 1.5 mm of conductor protruding at the front of the plug. The jacket must be captured by the strain relief so pulling the cable does not load the conductors.
- Crimp quality: crimp once, firmly. The cable should not move when pulled, and all contacts must be fully seated and straight, with none cutting through the conductors.
- Cable choice: outdoors use water-blocking cable, preferably oxygen-free copper. Copper-clad aluminium drops too much voltage on long PoE runs and causes night-time reboots.
- Verify: test every run with a cable tester, checking all eight conductors and the pin order. Where available, use a Fluke-class tester for return loss and crosstalk to catch problems early.
Make 'every plug tested with a cable tester' part of the workmanship standard — it is the lowest-cost, highest-return quality step in the whole installation.
