Update: thank you all for your detailed and kind input! I finally tried crimping on an 8P8C connector onto an Ethernet cable. I failed. Miserably. But at least I finally learned what’s actually happening - or what’s supposed to happen: the teeth of the connector actually puncture the individual wires in order to make contact with the conductors inside. Sic. But omg is it a game of patience. 🤣
I actually just want to shorten one that I’m already using. 😊
Practice makes progress. Unless you’re doing a lot, just buy one made to your needs. It’ll be more reliable. I usually just spool mine up unless it’s egregiously long.
I’ve heard that the pass through terminations are suboptimal for PoE applications and outdoor use, but they’re certainly easier to use.
You really should buy outdoor cable if you’re using it outdoors, and don’t be an idiot like me and buy a spool of direct burial unshielded cable and then use it up towers. (So far so good, but it irks me that it’s the “wrong” cable and I worry about lightning).
You need to get the right connectors for the cable you’re using - cat6 connectors are not the same as cat5.
When you can’t get it to sync faster than 100mbps then it’s your bad termination.