I came across these EZ pass thru crimp connectors and I am curious if anyone has ever used this system to terminate category cable. Seems cool to me and easy to use. But I am a little old school. Not sure if it is worth it. Anyone have experience with it? Looks like the connectors are much more expensive then traditional ones. Any feedback is much appreicated!
Erin,
I have used these connectors quite a bit. They are a great tool for mass installs by people who do not make cables on a daily basis. The connectors are quite a bit more expensive but you need to weigh the time savings vs. cost benefit.
One thing to remember with these tools is that you need to cut the cable so that at least 2" is going to stick out the other end of the connector so that you can cut it off properly. Without the excess cable out the front, I found that the cable just kind of bent. Also, make sure you keep a couple extra blades on hand as they tend to get dull. I also wish the quality of the crimper was a little bit better.
Like Keith said, they are great for people who have not made many cables and time is a factor.
They are also great when making to length cable for a customer that wants as little slack as possible, can't always afford to redo a head when you only have a few inches of cable left.
However if you have experience making them the more traditional way I would say just stick to that, they arn't worth the extra cost for if your team isn't going through a few bad heads per cable, and they really don't save any time if you are good with the normal heads and crimps.
Oh and for some reason the crimpers I had always left the very outside wires (white/orange and brown) uncut, so I would have to bust out my snips anyway. Though I didn't find having the extra cable coming out the end had any effect on the cut