IDC tool: cheapo alternatives

you can get plastic punch down tools for about £1-2 which should last just about long enough to make the connections to one socket if you are careful.

Some extension packs include them.

Don't use a screwdriver because there is a high risk that you will bend the contacts or dent/nick the wire

You really need a tool with the correct cross-sectional profile - a screwdriver won't do.

You can get cheap plastic tools which are *just about* ok for occasional use - but still not as good as a metal one. If you're *ever* likely to use it again, I'd recommend investing 8 quid in one of these - it'll last you for ever!

A pair of pliers can work - if it has a flat end, and smooth jaws. You push the wire in, using the pliers jaws clamped loosely on the IDC blade.

This is probably better than a screwdriver, but even a plastic tool is better.

I assume a telephone extension in which case you can get cheap plastic tools that do the job.

Alternatively I have seen extension sockets that have screw terminals. I forget where but they were more expensive.

sPonIX

You _MUST_ use a special tool. None of us have the dexterity to do it with a screwdriver more than twice without screwing up at least one connection, popular though this is. You can "make" the connector with any amount of bodging, but it won't run 100baseT, it won't run ADSL and it won't even be long-term reliable for voice phone.

A real(ish) Krone tool is a tenner. A cheap plastic one is 50p / quid. So long as you don't bend or mis-align it while it's in the connector, the plastic one will last through a job.

The plastic tools may just last for one socket. A small standard (not jewellers) screwdriver with a flat end can be used - but you need to hacksaw (standard hacksaw not Junior type) a slot in the blade so it looks a bit like this where l is the slot:-

x x x x x l x x l x xxxlxxx

The slot goes over the IDC connector and the blade either side pushes the cable down. Doing this (carefully) doesn't splay the IDC blades at all.

Get a proper tool and punch down each termination twice. It will save you hours wondering why your connection is intemittent, your phone line noisy or why your modem/ADSL connection is really slow.

A genuine Krone tool is around £14, a far eastern look-a-like around half that. A genuine tool is rated for about 100,000 terminations, more than a lifetime for most of us here, but maybe no more than a month or two for a professional data installer. Given that your extension is unlikely to have genuine Krone IDCs, even the cheapo tool from the Lucky Golden Chicken Company of Taiwan will last you a lifetime and not be too unreliable, as long as you punch down twice.

I've actually made IDC connections with nothing more than a small screwdriver, pressing down each side alternately.

I don't recommend it, sometimes it takes a couple of goes, and it always takes minutes not seconds. But Necessity is a Mother...