Key Takeaways
The subject, stated early
This piece is about terminating four black-and-white multi-pair cables onto a numbered terminal strip, with a fast position formula and a one-day finish.
The fixed work order
The cables run in this order: 42-2, 42-1, 23-2, 23-1.
The simplest safety net
Black goes to odd-numbered positions. White goes to even-numbered positions.
The math that keeps hands moving
White position = (cable number − 1) × 32 + (pair number × 2).
Black position = white position − 1.
The one technical fork
Some terminals take insulated wire by force. Others need bare copper. The procedure splits cleanly at that point.
Story & Details
A workbench where every pair looks the same
In December 2025, a wiring day set out with a blunt constraint: four cables had to be finished in one day, and every pair looked identical. Each cable carried thirty-two conductors arranged as sixteen pairs. Two cables were meant to land on one terminal strip. One quick phrase even called that “sixty-four pairs,” but the stated cable makeup makes it thirty-two pairs per two-cable strip, which still means sixty-four individual conductors. In the real world, the numbers on the strip matter more than the slip of language.
At first, the obvious tricks hovered in the air. A color chart. Tiny printed conductor numbers read with a magnifier. Little tags. Then the reality tightened: only black and white were available, and nothing else could be trusted at speed. The job stopped being about spotting colors and became a job of placing conductors into the right numbered homes.
A single example that fixed the whole scheme
One example did the heavy lifting. Cable 2, pair 16 landed at positions 63 for black and 64 for white. That single pairing quietly reveals a powerful rhythm: white is the even number, black is the odd number just before it.
From there, the mapping became simple arithmetic. Each cable takes a block of thirty-two positions. Each pair takes two positions. The cable blocks stack in clean ranges: cable 1 sits on positions 1–32, cable 2 on 33–64, cable 3 on 65–96, and cable 4 on 97–128. With that, a formula replaces hesitation.
White position = (cable number − 1) × 32 + (pair number × 2).
Black position = white position − 1.
Two quick checks gave it teeth. Cable 2, pair 10 becomes white 52 and black 51. Cable 2, pair 16 becomes white 64 and black 63. A full 1–128 table could be built, but the formula already behaves like a table you can carry in your head.
The day plan that had to respect real breaks
Time mattered because the finish line was the same day. Breaks were not vague. They were fixed blocks: 09:00–10:00 local / 09:00–10:00 Netherlands (Europe), and 12:00–13:30 local / 12:00–13:30 Netherlands (Europe). A work window was framed from 08:00 to 15:30 local / 08:00 to 15:30 Netherlands (Europe).
With three hundred usable minutes, the pace could be turned into a small, calming number. Sixty-four pairs across the four cables makes about four minutes and forty seconds per pair. In practice, the target was rounded into something a tired brain can follow: one pair every five minutes, with six minutes as the hard edge.
The schedule that satisfied the order and the finish looked like this in plain language: 42-2 closed before the first break, 42-1 closed before midday, 23-2 closed before lunch, and 23-1 closed in the afternoon, leaving a final buffer for re-checks.
The routine, kept simple, but technically safe
The physical rhythm stayed steady from cable to cable. The outer jacket had to come off cleanly. Ends had to be trimmed and kept neat. Pairs had to be separated without turning into a knot. Service loops had to be left so terminations were not pulled tight. Black was placed first, then white, because black anchors the odd position and white follows as the even partner. A final mark or label note kept the count honest, pair by pair. The whole flow was shaped so it could be pasted as a single block into Google Tasks and followed without rewriting.
Then came the single detail that decides whether “strip the wire” is right or wrong: the terminal type.
Some terminal strips use insulation-displacement contact. The metal slot is designed to pierce insulation and bite the conductor, so individual conductors should not be stripped first. A punchdown tool seats the wire, cuts the excess, and leaves a clean termination with minimal fuss. Other terminal strips use a screw or clamp. Those do need bare copper, but only a short length—just enough to sit under the clamp without exposed copper showing outside. Stranded conductors may need extra care so the strands stay together when tightened.
The day’s logic stays the same in both cases. Only the preparation of the last few millimeters changes. The numbers still guide the hand. The odd-even rule still catches mistakes at a glance.
A small Dutch lesson that fits the workday
Dutch can be practical and compact, much like a good wiring plan. Two short phrases fit this kind of day.
Van negen tot tien uur pauze.
Simple meaning: a break from nine to ten.
Word-by-word: van = from; negen = nine; tot = until; tien = ten; uur = hour; pauze = break.
Tone: neutral, everyday.
Natural variants: Van negen tot tien heb ik pauze. Pauze van negen tot tien.
Werkdag.
Simple meaning: a working day.
Word-by-word: werk = work; dag = day.
Tone: neutral, common.
Natural variants: lange werkdag; korte werkdag.
Conclusions
Calm work is often just clean structure
When every pair is black and white, confidence does not come from memory alone. It comes from structure. A fixed work order. A single number map. An odd-even habit that catches slips before they spread. Add one honest fork for terminal type—insulation-displacement contact or screw clamp—and the day can end with four finished cables, tidy loops, and a quiet final check.
Selected References
[1] https://www.phoenixcontact.com/en-pc/technologies/connection-technologies/insulation-displacement-connection-technology
[2] https://www.flukenetworks.com/knowledge-base/applicationstandards-articles-copper/terminating-category-6-5e-and-5-connector
[3] https://www.kleintools.com/videos/tradesman-tv-vdv-cushion-grip-punchdown-tool
[4] https://www.digikey.cz/en/articles/use-direct-plug-in-insulation-displacement-connectors
[5] https://www.assemblymag.com/articles/92935-insulation-displacement-connectors-are-reliable-alternative-to-crimping
[6] https://youtu.be/RvUirjMjhas
Appendix
Black wire
The conductor that lands on odd-numbered terminal positions in this work plan.
Cable
A bundled set of conductors under one outer jacket, treated here as thirty-two conductors per cable.
Clamp terminal
A terminal that holds bare copper under a screw or pressure plate.
Conductor
A single insulated wire inside the cable, terminated to one numbered position.
Google Tasks
A task manager where a single pasted text block can guide step-by-step work without rewriting.
Insulation-displacement contact
A termination method where a metal slot cuts through insulation and grips the conductor without pre-stripping.
Pair
Two conductors treated as one unit of work, here always one black and one white.
Punchdown tool
A hand tool that presses a conductor into an insulation-displacement slot and often trims the excess wire.
Service loop
A small, controlled slack loop left so the termination is not under tension and rework stays possible.
Terminal strip
A numbered connection block where conductors are landed into fixed positions.
White wire
The conductor that lands on even-numbered terminal positions in this work plan.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 