TRENDnet RJ-11/RJ-45 Crimp/Cut/Strip Tool TC-CT68 (Blue)
by TRENDnet
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List Price: Our Price: $13.27 You Save: $18.72 (59%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of TRENDnet RJ-11/RJ-45 Crimp/Cut/Strip Tool TC-CT68 (Blue)
Customer Review: Great tool, has no instructions
Summary: 4 Stars
Summary: I needed a "does all" tool for making custom length CAT6 cables at home. This does it all, but it would still have been nice to have instructions.
I would normally not try to make my own ethernet patch cables, but for my home network I got tired of having a bunch of cable coils in my office. Additionally, since upgrading the family's computers, we are all able to run 1000BT. So, I thought this is the time to upgrade all the cabling to CAT6 for the speed and also get rid of the rat's nests of cables. My old crimper just didn't seem like it was up to the job, so I went for the Trendnet.
Pros:
It does all the necessary operations:
1. Cuts the end of the cable with a nice sharp blade which looks like it is both sharpenable and replaceable.
a. Note that this section of the tool is used for both cutting and stripping to bare wire. The action depends on whether you insert the cable from one side or the other.
2. Strips off the outer jacket wit a not-so-obvious indent and blade close to the blue rubber grip end.
3. As above, strips the conductor wires of their individual insulation if necessary.
4. Crimps both RJ11 (phone) and RJ45 (network) connectors.
5. Not too big.
6. Steel construction.
Cons:
1. OK, so I did figure it out, and it didn't take long (few minutes), but really - would it kill them to put a few instructions into the package?
2. There is a ratchet mechanism that helps keep the handles close to the closed position in order to save room in the toolbox. However, it is not well placed and I think a latch would have been better. This one tends to let the handles pop open for anything.
Conclusion:
I would get this again and I would recommend it to a friend who had home use of one of these.
Customer Review: Decent crimper for a great price!
Summary: 4 Stars
Crimpers are an amazing tool to have, especially when you work in a call center. We're constantly fixing cables and by doing so we keep our repair costs down. Why spend $15 on a new cable when we can spend $0.10 on parts to put a new end on the cable we already have?
This crimper in particular is a ratcheting crimper, which is the best kind in my opinion. As you crimp, the tool ratchets until you complete the crimp. Once you completely crimp the connector, the tool releases. This ensures you get a complete, full crimp every time. Non-ratcheting crimpers do not always produce full crimps because they will release the connector before the crimp is complete.
This tool is intended for RJ-11 (phone) and RJ-45 (data) but will work for any 8 position or 6 position connectors. In technical terms, it will work for: 8P8C, 8P6C, 8P4C, 6P6C, 6P4C, 6P2C, etc.
NOTE: Some crimpers will also crimp 4P4C and 4P2C, but this one does not! This crimper will only crimp 8 and 6 position connectors, not 4 position. 4 position connectors are what you would find on handset cords for office telephones. This crimper will not work for those. For a crimper which can crimp 8, 6, and 4 pin connectors, see this item: Paladin Tools 1556 All-in-One Crimper for WE/SS-Style Data & Phone Cable.
Customer Review: Not made in China.
Summary: 5 Stars
This crimper is high in quality, very far from the typical "made in China" crimpers that just end up in landfills after a couple uses.
The package says "Designed in USA. Made in Taiwan." Backed by a 2 year warranty so Trendnet certainly believes this to be of high quality. The one that comes directly from Amazon is hardware version 1.1R which seems to be the latest as of this review according to the Trendnet website.
The stripper does not work on all cables as pointed out by other users but this is a problem across all crimpers not just this one so do not bypass this product because it can't strip all cables perfectly. This problem occurs because the thickness of the outer insulation varies so it is hard to get it perfect for every possible cable diameter.
The ratchet mechanism seems rather useless or maybe mine is faulty because the knob to turn to release it is stuck and I usually have to close in the handles for it to automatically release. It only seems to lock the handles when they are about half way closed in but I don't know if that is how it's supposed to work or if mine is faulty. I think it should have been made to lock the handles closer to the fully closed-in position instead of half way. Either way, the ratchet handle-locking is not significant to me, as a crimper this tool does a fine job.
Customer Review: Turned me into a wiring DIVA!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a home network with network cable going from the upstairs dsl router to downstairs bedrooms. The clip had broken off the end of the longest cable that connects to my web server years ago. I could continue to push it into the network card and get a connection, but in the past week or two it would not make a connection any more. The wire is run down through the house so I could not just take the wire to my local computer store geek to have the connector replaced. The last time I had to have a local call the service call was a minimum call of $80.00 + time. I have been a computer programmer for 12 years and have repaired and built my own computers for over 20 years but network wiring has always been out of my realm of expertise. I purchased this tool from Amazon with free shipping (along with the Belkin RJ45 plugs). I followed the easy to follow instructions on the package, carefully took my time to get the wiring correct (mine was A) and fixed it myself for a total of $21.00! I also fixed another couple cables I had retired due to broken plugs. Saved me $59.00 right out of the package.
The tool seems sturdy, I did not try the wire stripping part, I used my precision wire cutters. It was just what I needed to get my web server back online with 100 mb instead of wifi. Thanks Amazon for fast shipping as usual!
Customer Review: Great crimper, poor stripper
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first attempt at crimping CAT5 connectors. I bought this item because of good reviews as well as because of its affordable price. As a crimper, the tool is excellent. It could not have made the process easier. Within 5 minutes, I already had my first cable complete. However, I cannot say the same of the wire stripping feature. The wire stripper was poor at best. When I used the stripping feature just as described on the packaging, I found that it would completely cut some of the wires, particularly those toward the edge of the casing. As a result, I found myself putting the cable toward the back end of the blade and manually rotating in to cut the casing, this worked wonders, but wasn't nearly as easy as it should have been if the wire stripper had actually worked correctly.
Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase. The price was great, and now I'm crimping cables like a pro. My only complaints were that the stripper did not work very well and it would have been nice if it included a diagram of the standard color ordering of a CAT5 cable, though I found a diagram very easily on the Internet.