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Comment by somat | Hacker News Reader

So the 8 pin modular connector(rj-45) may not be the best connector in the world(the 8088 sas connector is a serious contender for that honor), but it does one thing better than any most connectors, it is designed to be field terminated, and as such is easy to fix. the crimping dies are ubiquitous, the process is simple. because of this single fact, I think it is better than just about any other connector in widespread use. because you can fix the infernal thing.

As such the article left me a bit confused, why not just cut off the end and putting a new plug on? with an 8 pin connector this is very easy. But I am in the industry and tend to have a crimper close to hand. perhaps some are not as fortunate.

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Your comment is right above someone saying RJ-45 may be the worst connector! That’s just the internet I guess.

I think both opinions are right. If you’re a professional working in the field, RJ-45/8P8C is awesome because you can do large runs of cable and crimp on connectors after which is a lifesaver. The longevity of the connector is less important than ease of installation/replacement. I’ve done a little work with marine ethernet and CAN which uses M8/M12 circular connectors and those are pretty painful in contrast.

For consumers, it’s exactly the opposite. They’re unlikely to have the tools to crimp connectors. Most cables off Amazon come with lots of plastic that makes the cables rigid so it’s a pain to route and use in a home.

Yes, field termination is mostly for permanent installations, but luckily, there are also proper "industrial" connectors that are field terminable. Such as Harting's PreLink M12 connector: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35DKv6bhadI

When I say "industrial", I mean for home use, of course. There is obviously a lot of potential for a more robust yet cost effective and practical connector for home use. Field termination being no excuse. First off, even metal 8P8C connectors have plastic tabs. If single-pair ethernet ever takes off, the "industrial" M8 push-pull connector seems a good one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_over_twisted_pair#Con...

The pictured cable has that built-up end which is supposed to prevent cable strain; re-terminating requires discarding it.

I am not sure how important the strain relief is, I never bother, but if you really want strain relief there are connectors with it. sometimes they have a metal band you have to crimp around the cable.

The strain relief is for machine made cables where they glue or melt the relief into the plastic plug. Almost all manual crimp connectors have a strain relief built into them that's meant to grab the jacket and hold the cable right at the entry to the plug.

All my RJ45 and RJ45-EZ connectors in my bag have this locking strain relief tab at the back.

> the best connector in the world(the 8088 sas connector is a serious contender for that honor)

Overly complex. BNC bayonet FTW! It's main fault is the lack of good strain relief.

you can probably 3D print one

It also gets points for being the only connector that I can pretty reliably plug into the back of a PC by feel!

I can plug usb without flipping it 2 times

> the 8088 sas connector is a serious contender for that honor

No connector with tiny springy bit in the socket instead of in cable is worth being called "good". But I do like the big pull tab

The adapter actually looks easier to use than the tab on some Ethernet cables.

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