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Straight crimp vs. staggered pinout on Cat6 keystones - which is faster really? | Cable Installers - Librear

Straight crimp vs. staggered pinout on Cat6 keystones - which is faster really?

I been doing cable installs for about 6 years now and always used the straight crimp method on keystones, lining up all the wires flat before punching them down. Last week on a big office job in Denver I had to do 40 keystones in a day and tried the staggered method where you trim each wire at a different length. Figured it'd be quicker but honestly I spent more time untwisting pairs and making sure the colors lined up right. My success rate was about the same both ways but the straight method felt more consistent to me. What do you all find works best for tight deadlines? Anyone else test both side by side?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaron1973mo ago

Man that staggered method is a trap for sure, I've seen guys swear by it but when you're cranking out 40 keystones in a day the extra time trimming each wire different lengths kills the whole point. But here's what I gotta ask you - did you actually test those keystones with a certifier or just a continuity tester? Because I've noticed straight crimps sometimes leave more untwisted pair right at the contact point, and on a 10Gb run that extra millimeter can mess with your return loss even if the link tests fine. Curious if you saw any real speed difference on the wiremap results or if it was just a feel thing.

richard_west53mo ago

Oh man I gotta push back on this a little. I actually switched to staggered lengths about two years ago and I swear my fluke pass rate went up. It might take a few extra seconds per keystone but you get way better pair untwist control because you're not fighting to keep all eight wires perfectly flat while pushing them into the slots. That millimeter of untwisted pair aaron197 mentioned is exactly what staggered helps with since each wire has its own path to the contact point. On a long 10Gb run that difference can push your near end crosstalk numbers over the edge, especially if you're using solid core cable that doesn't bend as easy.