Add ethernet socket in Cat5 circuit

I need to break into a Cat5 cable to install ethernet socket; I have about 6" of slack in the cable.

Would this be enough to connect to the socket and allow the Cat5 cable to continue on to operate the original socket at the end of the cable; will this socket, in the circuit, degrade the performance of the device connected to the original socket at the end of the cable?

Any tips on how to do the installation; will be using surface mount box besides the plastic trunking which is behind a small cabinet?

Any advice appreciated.

What's operating over this cable?
For networking, I don't think you can drop another computer connection in the middle of cat5 as you propose, these cables are one-to-one / direct from device to router/hub (I think).

What do you mean by "break into the cable"?

Six inches is plenty (nurse!) to cut, strip back and terminate onto a jack (outlet). For a data connection you really should be terminating all four pairs in the cable.

Although voice is typically carried on pair 1 (blue, wh-blue) on pins 4,5 on an RJ45 and up to 10/100 BaseT use the orange and green pairs - these days on a modern network connection, all 4 pairs get used for 1000BaseT ethernet. So its not a wise move to mix voice and data on the same cable.

Again you're going have to spell out in a bit more detail what you are trying to do.

Broadband is Virgin Hub3 (100Gb) to unmanaged Netgear eight port switch, via 6M Cat5 cable, to Cat5 socket, via 7M Cat5, to which is connected a ChromeCast Audio dongle.

About 3M from the switch I want an inline socket to connect a WAP to run a Ring doorbell.

Righto. So very simply one ethernet connection requires one full 4-pair cable, end to end, from active equipment port to active equipment port.

There is no concept of inline or splitting, paralleling or breaking in. Its a dedicated end-to-end cable link. You cannot an must not break into the cable. This is not like a 'bus' phone connection with secondary sockets all hanging off a master.

If you want another connection from the switch, you need to run another 4-pair cable.

4-pair data cabling is a star-wired topology. Makes sense?

You could break the cable and terminate it onto two sockets, then install an AP that also has a switch port on (such as a UniFi InWall HD).

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Righto. So very simply one ethernet connection requires one full 4-pair cable, end to end, from active equipment port to active equipment port.

There is no concept of inline or splitting, paralleling or breaking in. Its a dedicated end-to-end cable link. You cannot an must not break into the cable. This is not like a 'bus' phone connection with secondary sockets all hanging off a master.

If you want another connection from the switch, you need to run another 4-pair cable.

4-pair data cabling is a star-wired topology. Makes sense?

OK Understand. So back to the switch and run a cable from a spare port to the doorbell. If you hear lots of swearing it's me trying to get the addional cable to the doorbell, socket position; lots of heavy furniture moving and hole drilling!!

My ring doorbell just has a wired connection for power - runs back to a doorbell transformer. The data connection is just WiFi. Picks up the house WiFi. Why are you running a cable back to the switch for the ring doorbell?

Wifi rather weak at Ring doorbell location Solid walls; ask my builder when he installed a ventilator.

So it is the Ring Video Doorbell Elite that you have?

In which case you will need full 4-pair cable and PoE capable switch to power it.

Edit - see it comes with an injector, but you’ll still need all 4 pairs from the injector to the doorbell.

Edited by Pheasant (Fri 20-Aug-21 21:40:32)