I'm ready to go 'live' with my Super Chief system and have 6 UP-5 panels to install around my layout, but I can't find the type of 6-wire modular cables that I need. The wires in the 24" piece that came with my UR-91 look like this with the plugs side-by-side, facing upward:
Radio Shack only sells the type where the wires are reversed on the plugs, like this:
Can somebody tell me who sells the regular (straight-thru) type in 15-20 foot lengths with the plugs attached?
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
Digitrax?
You can probably get the local telephone repair guy to make some up. They have the cable, and the connectors, it just needs to be assembled correctly for the loconet.
Rotor
Jake: How often does the train go by? Elwood: So often you won't even notice ...
For less than it would cost to have some custom-made, you can go to a big-box home supply store and buy the 6-conductor flat cable, a box of RJ plugs, and a decent crimper.
My advice is, Don't try to be cheap with the crimper! A decent one (not industrial quality, but decent) will be somewhat more expensive than the cheap plastic ones, but it's money well spent.
HTH,Steve
Definitely get a decent crimping tool. Good tools do make a difference!
Rotorranch wrote:Digitrax?
The crimper they are selling at Radio Shack is made of metal and cost ~ $40; does that seem about right for a 'decent' tool?
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
If you don't want to mess with crimping Litchfield Station carries these cables made up.
http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php?cat=177
They are not too bad prices either.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
CSX_road_slug wrote: Rotorranch wrote:Digitrax? LOL! Rotor, I agree, Digitrax SHOULD sell the stuff they require for their products. I tried to buy some cables at MB Klein (where I bought the UP5's) but they don't carry it.The crimper they are selling at Radio Shack is made of metal and cost ~ $40; does that seem about right for a 'decent' tool?
I think the reason Digitrax doesn't sell them is because they realize that there's a lot to be said for having exactly the right length cable, and since every installation is different, that means having to stock (or make on request) many, many different lengths. It's just too expensive of a proposition to be worthwhile.
Anyway, I see you also posted your question on the Digitrax list. The consensus there seems to be the same - Yes, you can buy them pre-made, but in the long run you're better off buying the supplies and the crimper and making your own.
Steve
simon1966 wrote:If you don't want to mess with crimping Litchfield Station carries these cables made up.http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php?cat=177They are not too bad prices either.
Wow Simon, you weren't kidding - those prices are really cheap - especially if the plugs are already installed!
Stevert wrote:... - Yes, you can buy them pre-made, but in the long run you're better off buying the supplies and the crimper and making your own.
Yeah, that's what I've decided I'm gonna do. Having the ability to replace plugs with their plastic latch broken-off is the argument that finally convinced me. Now, if I could only find a supplier within driving distance who stocks flat 6P6C cable on bulk rolls... I'll have to check out Lowes (thanx for the tip P-V)
Ken, I have had my Loconet in place for years. I have never had need to unplug the cables once they were daisy chained together between the devices (command station, booster, UP5 panels etc) the likelihood of ever breaking the plastic tabs with so little need to unplug them is very limited.
I happen to have gone the crimper route myself and to date have not replaced the connector on a single cable. For my size layout it would have been cheaper to buy the cables pre-made from Litchfield. Litchfield is a great dealer by-the-way, I have purchased a lot from them over the years.
$40 is about what I thought the "decent" crimper would run.
I thought Digitrax used to sell the cables, I guess I should have looked at the web site.
CSX_road_slug wrote: simon1966 wrote:If you don't want to mess with crimping Litchfield Station carries these cables made up.http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php?cat=177They are not too bad prices either.Wow Simon, you weren't kidding - those prices are really cheap - especially if the plugs are already installed! Stevert wrote:... - Yes, you can buy them pre-made, but in the long run you're better off buying the supplies and the crimper and making your own.Yeah, that's what I've decided I'm gonna do. Having the ability to replace plugs with their plastic latch broken-off is the argument that finally convinced me. Now, if I could only find a supplier within driving distance who stocks flat 6P6C cable on bulk rolls... I'll have to check out Lowes (thanx for the tip P-V)
I see in your profile you're an IT guy - I'm assuming software geek. Talk to some of your hardware buddies and see if they can't come up with some cables for you. What you need is nothing more than a straight-through cat 5 ethernet type cable, not a null-modem type which as you've seen swaps a few wires around.
de N2MPU Jack
Proud NRA Life Member and supporter of the 2nd. Amendment
God, guns, and rock and roll!
Modeling the NYC/NYNH&H in HO and CPRail/D&H in N
A simple CAT5-cable? Wow...
Cat5 is 8 conductor with an RJ-45 connector.
Digitrax uses 6 conductor with an RJ-11 connector.
6 conductor telephone cable works fine.
Phoebe Vet wrote:Cat5 is 8 conductor with an RJ-45 connector.Digitrax uses 6 conductor with an RJ-11 connector.6 conductor telephone cable works fine.
I apologize - my bad. Got to get new glasses. I've been popping between a couple of different forums (trains and music) and got my wires crossed.
CSX_road_slug wrote: I'm ready to go 'live' with my Super Chief system and have 6 UP-5 panels to install around my layout, but I can't find the type of 6-wire modular cables that I need. The wires in the 24" piece that came with my UR-91 look like this with the plugs side-by-side, facing upward: Radio Shack only sells the type where the wires are reversed on the plugs, like this: Can somebody tell me who sells the regular (straight-thru) type in 15-20 foot lengths with the plugs attached?
Robert's right.
Digitrax formerly said that telco style was OKback in the mid 90's. Since then, some signalling boards and additional boosters depend on the cables being staright through. Things like PM42, UP5, UR90&91, DS64, etc. will function either way. One thing to do if you go the premade, Radio Shack telco style cables is to mark them for future reference. I use brown tape at each end on my reversing cables. That way if I'm adding something to the loconet, I can tell at a glance what type of cable is in use. Two wrongs can make a right as well. Two telco style cables daisy chained through a UP5 will be "straight" at each end.
Martin Myers
Phoebe Vet wrote:I have the Chief. I use the cables from Lowes. They work just fine.
I've gotten mine at Home Depot. I get a 12 or 25 foot and cut one end off. Cut it to length and then crimp new ends. Use what I cutoff, with new crimped ends, for shorter patch cables. I've also used bulk Cat5 cable (just using the first three pairs) and crimped new ends.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
The lowest cost pre-made cables that I've found are at Wal-Mart in lengths from 8-24ft. They used to be marketed under the Southwest Bell name but I'm not sure what name would be on them now. The package says that it is a modem/fax cable but the pairs are not reversed. They even come in three different colors, white, buff and black. Average cost was around $5.00 per cable. They work great for my 4 UP5 panels.
Scott Sonntag
Gentlemen,
I appreciate the continued input and suggestions, but here's what I wound up doing: I ordered a half-dozen cables of varying lengths from Litchfield Station (thanx for the link Simon!). They are priced so low that even when I paid extra for 2nd-day-air delivery, it came out about the same as I wouldv'e paid if I had bought the ones at Radio Shack. Now I'll have exactly the cables I need, already made up by a DCC professional, when I need them on Saturday morning - can't beat that! (I can always learn to crimp my own later when I'm under less time-pressure...)
I bught 50' of cable,crimper and 6P6C RJ11 jacks from Tony's Trains. It was cheap. The crimper he sells is the best I have tried. HD also sells the jacks, they have a crimper too, but it's not as good as the one Tony sells. Tony's crimper cuts and strips the cable to the perfect leingth. I just had the phone guy over here to switch back to ADSL. He looked at the jacks and said we don't use em, only 4P4C jacks?
If you look down at the Jack, like your going to plug it in, just make sure the white wire is on your left. You can't go wrong.
I have made up thousands of connections using CAT3-5-and 6 cable. It's not hard at all if you have the right crimper,cable and jacks. And you can make em however long you need them.
Jules
yeah, 4P4C is the "correct" term for RJ11/12 using standard phone cable (the 4-wire stuff with red green black and yellow wires) - has 4 pins in the jack and the cable has 4 cunductors. I've never seen phone companies use less than 4P6C connectors. Same RJ11/12 connector, just using Cat3 cabling.
Then there's the 8P8C (RJ45) wiring for data.
-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
NeO6874 wrote: yeah, 4P4C is the "correct" term for RJ11/12 using standard phone cable (the 4-wire stuff with red green black and yellow wires) - has 4 pins in the jack and the cable has 4 cunductors. I've never seen phone companies use less than 4P6C connectors. Same RJ11/12 connector, just using Cat3 cabling. Then there's the 8P8C (RJ45) wiring for data.
That is incorrect. 4P4C is the smaller RJ9 jack that connects the telephone to the handset.
8P8C (RJ45) is larger than a telephone jack and is used in computer networks.
RJ11 and RJ12 are 6P4C and 6P6C.
Digitrax requires 6P6C. It is the telco jack and cable that can accommodate up to 3 lines.
I got some RJ11 jacks from Tony's. I also found some RJ11 (6p6c) from HD. The phisicle measurements for RJ11 and RJ12 are the same according to IEEE.
The ones sold at HD are labled RJ11. Who cares, as long as there 6p6c. A fellow modeler I know bought a crimper with 4 tines. Would not work, look closeley. Just because the RJ11 fits the crimper it wont press all the conductors unless it 6 tines, you end up with two wires un-secured, no good, duh.
HD has a crimper called "Data Shark", it works but is not as good as the one Tony's Trains sells, IMHO.
The cable Tony sells is stranded, bends easy etc. Some stuff is solid, not as good IMHO!
Phoebe Vet wrote: NeO6874 wrote: yeah, 4P4C is the "correct" term for RJ11/12 using standard phone cable (the 4-wire stuff with red green black and yellow wires) - has 4 pins in the jack and the cable has 4 cunductors. I've never seen phone companies use less than 4P6C connectors. Same RJ11/12 connector, just using Cat3 cabling. Then there's the 8P8C (RJ45) wiring for data. That is incorrect. 4P4C is the smaller RJ9 jack that connects the telephone to the handset.8P8C (RJ45) is larger than a telephone jack and is used in computer networks.RJ11 and RJ12 are 6P4C and 6P6C.Digitrax requires 6P6C. It is the telco jack and cable that can accommodate up to 3 lines.
whoops. I *meant* 6p4c and 6p6c was rj11/12. sorry for any confusion there folks ;)
Tim Fahey
Musconetcong Branch of the Lehigh Valley RR
JulesB wrote: I got some RJ11 jacks from Tony's. I also found some RJ11 (6p6c) from HD. The phisicle measurements for RJ11 and RJ12 are the same according to IEEE.The ones sold at HD are labled RJ11. Who cares, as long as there 6p6c. A fellow modeler I know bought a crimper with 4 tines. Would not work, look closeley. Just because the RJ11 fits the crimper it wont press all the conductors unless it 6 tines, you end up with two wires un-secured, no good, duh.HD has a crimper called "Data Shark", it works but is not as good as the one Tony's Trains sells, IMHO.The cable Tony sells is stranded, bends easy etc. Some stuff is solid, not as good IMHO!Jules
The IEEE does not set the standards for telephone and data jacks. They are set by the TIA.
http://www.tiaonline.org/
http://www.part68.org/documents_order_disclaimer.aspx?ID=5 Page 107
jbinkley60 wrote: JulesB wrote: I got some RJ11 jacks from Tony's. I also found some RJ11 (6p6c) from HD. The phisicle measurements for RJ11 and RJ12 are the same according to IEEE.The ones sold at HD are labled RJ11. Who cares, as long as there 6p6c. A fellow modeler I know bought a crimper with 4 tines. Would not work, look closeley. Just because the RJ11 fits the crimper it wont press all the conductors unless it 6 tines, you end up with two wires un-secured, no good, duh.HD has a crimper called "Data Shark", it works but is not as good as the one Tony's Trains sells, IMHO.The cable Tony sells is stranded, bends easy etc. Some stuff is solid, not as good IMHO!Jules The IEEE does not set the standards for telephone and data jacks. They are set by the TIA. http://www.tiaonline.org/http://www.part68.org/documents_order_disclaimer.aspx?ID=5 Page 107
Sorry, your right.
I found the sales slip from Tony's
50' mc6 6 Conductor Flat Phone Cable @.12' = $6.00
12 mpg RJ12 Crimp Plug @.30ea = $3.60
1 mcp Crimp Tool 4/6 Conductor = $17.95
So, for $27.55 I can make 50' worth of various size cables. Don't seem too bad to me.