Platinum Tools EZ-RJ45® CAT6 Cable Compatibility Guide

Compatibility guide for Platinum Tools EZ-RJ45® CAT6 cable and connectors — how to determine whether your CAT6 cable is compatible with EZ-RJ45® CAT6 connectors before purchasing.

Overview

Before purchasing CAT6 cable and CAT6 connectors, it's important to confirm they're a good fit together. There are two critical dimensions to check: cable jacket outer diameter (OD) and individual conductor OD.

Cable Jacket OD

Ultimate CAT6 performance with the EZ-RJ45® CAT6 connector comes from being able to push the twists almost flush to the back of the contacts — meaning the end of the cable jacket can be pushed all the way inside the connector, stopping at the back of the contacts. On a properly prepped, ready-to-terminate connector, you can barely see the individual conductors. To achieve this, your CAT6 cable jacket OD cannot exceed 0.275 inches — that's the maximum. The smaller the cable jacket OD, the easier it is to prep the cable.

To determine your cable's jacket OD, check the manufacturer's spec sheet — a good source for this information is typically available online.

Individual Conductor OD

This dimension matters because the EZ-RJ45® CAT6 connector is designed for conductors to be inserted through holes at the front end. If conductor OD is oversized, conductors won't fit through the holes. The maximum individual conductor OD is 0.041 inches.

Determining conductor OD is trickier because many cable manufacturers don't list this dimension directly. You do get the wire gauge (e.g., 23 AWG = 0.0226 inches) as part of the equation. If the insulation thickness is listed, multiply it by two and add that to the wire gauge dimension to get the conductor OD.

Summary

• Max cable jacket OD: 0.275 inches
• Max individual conductor OD: 0.041 inches

Notes of Interest

• Printed specs carry a plus/minus tolerance, and cable is often produced at the minus end of that spec — so a printed spec may differ from a real-world measured dimension.
• Many cable manufacturers don't list actual conductor OD or insulation thickness, since some treat it as proprietary information.
• When cutting conductors prior to inserting them into the EZ connector, use a good, sharp cutter or scissor. A clean cutting edge maintains concentricity and prevents burrs — squashed ends with burrs will NOT pass through the holes on the other end of the connector.

Manufacturer

Platinum Tools — 668 Flinn Avenue, Unit 21, Moorpark, CA 93021. Phone: 805-532-0145. Fax: 805-532-0125.