▷ Rj45: what is it and what is it for?

In the world of technology and computing there are many terms that are not well known. Today we are going to treat 8P8C connectors, also known colloquially (and wrongly) as RJ45 cables.

Index of contents

What are RJ45 cables?

What some people know as RJ45 cables, they are actually making a slight name mistake.

It may be the result of a bit of ignorance or the consequences of poor learning, since these cables are really RJ45 S. RJ45s are very similar, but which are used for telephone connections (the oldest will ring you) . However, for common use and convenience, from now on we will refer to this cable as RJ45 .

Both the head and receiver are 8P8C type connectors and have this name for very clear reasons. They are so called because of their electronic circuit, which is made up of 8 Pins and 8 Connectors and is a system shared by more types of cables.

More specifically, the RJ45 connector is used to connect computers to the vast world of the Internet and has an even better name. It probably sounds more like the name of ethernet cable.

Yes, we have done a few laps, but everything was necessary to correctly define the reality of RJ45 cables. You may have come across them from 1m to even some 25m or more and they are a key part of today's world.

Admittedly, we are slowly transitioning to wireless, but until then, a good cable will always be 100% reliable. Except on rare occasions, a wired connection will always be faster than a wireless connection.

Structure and operation

As we have told you at the beginning, RJ45 cables belong to type 8P8C and this is due to the 4 pairs of pins in its head. They occupy all the spaces of the plastic piece and highlights that they are all of different colors.

It may seem a bit chaotic, but it is that each mini-cable has a different functionality, which is why they are marked. Half of them have spot colors, while the other half have zebra patterns between two colors.

And as if it wasn't enough confusion already, we also have two different models of the RJ45 cable. Each one has a unique combination of 8 pins and works a little differently. Of course, the important thing is that both are used to connect to the Internet , with the small exception that one is more popular than the other.

These two models are the T-568A and T-568B and it is these seconds that are usually seen the most.

So you can see the slight difference between these two connectors, here we show you the distribution of their pins. The ones with two colors are the zebra pigmented pins:

Cables of both types usually have a male header with that combination of pins at both ends. However, there is also a third type of cable that combines T-568A and T-568B with a male header of each type at each end.

As you can imagine, this third type is much less common and is only used in very specific cases, so it is not very relevant.

Speed

Another thing we have to talk to you about is speed "certifications" . It is possible, although not very common, that you see terms like cat5 , cat5e or cat6 , which determine certain characteristics of RJ45 cables.

The names are stipulated under the names 'category 5', 'category 5a' … and have differentiating specifications such as frequency, bandwidth or viable length.

Currently there is no real standard, so you can find almost any of these cables in a store. Of course, only some devices will support more advanced technologies and transfers such as 10Gigabit, as is the case with some new generation motherboards.

Other uses of Ethernet cable

There are a few other uses for RJ45 cables that go beyond data transmission over the Internet . Here we will show you some ways to take advantage of these cables thanks to their considerably customizable format .

Unlike other cables, the RJ45 header it can be removed very easily.

For example, if you have excess cable, it is common to cut it to the necessary height. Then, the wire is stripped to remove the 8 pins and all have to be placed on the plastic piece in the appropriate order.

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Here we leave you a video exemplifying this process:

On the other hand, not all pins serve the same purpose, so this opens up many possibilities.

Four of them send information in a generic way, while the other four are only activated if we have a Gigabit connection , for example . Taking advantage of this operation, many other functionalities can be achieved.

Here we leave you a couple of videos (in English) where they show the potential of these cables. The truth is that the less interesting the things we can exploit such as using them as USB ports or even transmitting images over long distances.

Not all the applications you have seen in these videos are really palpable or very useful, but they are curious at best. If you've ever done an experiment like these with an ethernet cable, we urge you to share them in the comment box.

Final words on RJ45 cables

RJ45 (8P8C) cables are a type of connectors that evolve with relative ease, but have a fairly good power. Other similar cases are DisplayPorts , where cables have always been a little ahead of technology.

Fortunately, RJ-45 or RJ45 cables are a fairly affordable technology for most economies. You can easily find versions of 10 or 25 meters for less than € 15 in a large number of establishments.

The bad thing is that in most cases you will have to do a bit of bricomania passing cables through the corners or along the walls.

If you are in that dilemma, we recommend using a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) to transfer the Internet via electricity. You may lose a bit of transfer speed, but you'll gain a lot in comfort.

We hope you have understood everything easily and that you have learned something new today. It is a topic that could be expanded a little more, but it would already be more related to telecommunications and electronic circuits.

And now you tell us: have you ever passed a cable through the wall? What would you expect the next step in Internet technology to be? Share your ideas in the comment box.

Source Tech TermsTechopedia8P8CVoix