USE IT.

PUTTING YOUR 5-IN- 1 CABLE TO WORK

THE FIVE DIFFERENT SETUPS

Straight-Through Ethernet Cable:

No adapters needed

Crossover Ethernet Cable:

Ethernet + coupler + crossover

Modem Cable:

DB9/RJ45 + Ethernet +

DB9/RJ45

Null Modem Cable: DB9/RJ45 + Ethernet + coupler + crossover + DB9/RJ45

Cisco Console Cable: DB9/RJ45 + Ethernet + coupler + Cisco adapter

Remember that the Cisco adapter is not reversible.

NEED A DIFFERENT PINOUT? If you need a DB9/RJ45 serial cable with different pinouts than the Cisco one, all you have to do is make another little CAT5 adapter. Cable ends are cheap and plentiful.

FAKING FLOW CONTROL When used as a serial cable, this is a hardware flow control (CTS/RTS) cable. If you are using devices that both require hardware flow control, it should work. If neither of your devices requires hardware flow control, it should still work. However, if one of your devices requires hardware flow control and the other does not support hardware flow control, then you need a cable that fakes flow control. This could be done with an additional DB9/RJ45 adapter or with another CAT5 adapter and some creative crimping (my preference), both of which are left as exercises for the reader.

EXTRA ADAPTERS

Many additional adapters could easily be added to this set. A few that leap to mind would be for other kinds of serial ports such as DB25 and various DIN and miniDIN ports for Macin-toshes and other things. For the pinouts for these adapters, please visit my website: www.ossmann.com/5-in- 1. html.

CHECK YOUR CONDUCTORS If you grab a random Ethernet cable to use with your serial adapters, remember to make sure that it has all eight conductors. Also keep in mind that most Ethernet cables have only been tested for connectivity on four conductors ( 1, 2, 3, and 6) if they have been tested at all. I used those conductors for the most important serial signals (Transmit, Receive, and Ground) just in case, but some serial devices won’t talk without all eight working.

Make: 105