I need help with choosing Cat6 cable

didithepest

didithepest

n3wb
Mar 19, 2017
21
2
Hello,

Any recommendation for a good cat6 cable. I am rewiring my house from the original cat5 cable that it came with. Should I get shielded or non shielded cable. Is burial cable better in the long run for the protection. I will be running this cable to area where they may be heat or exposed to some element of weather (cold, humidity, in the attic ). I will also be using this cable to run IP cameras that may through the soffits , Any help will be appreciated. Thank you

Links s please


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UTP cable is easier to work with and all you need.
Use burial rated cable outdoors only to keep the cursing to a minimum.
Solid copper only, no CCA.

monoprice.com is a good option.

Honestly in a typical house your existing Cat5 (even if it's not Cat5e) is probably good enough for most things assuming the runs aren't super long.
 
I have a 3300 square foot house that is 2 level with a basement. I am in the process of running cat6 cable for the Ip cameras and might as well change what is there. Some of the original cat5 cable show sign of wear hence the reasons for changing them


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didithepest,

Welcome to the forum!

didithepest said:
I am rewiring my house from the original cat5 cable that it came with.
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This rewiring, is it part of a remodel, or maybe because you're moving into a new house ( so your upgrading infrastructure?)
If so, and the walls will be opened up, go ahead and string Cat 6. Future proof when it's easy.
If instead, you have a desire to start on replacing already concealed Cat5 running where you need it, then leave it alone. Cat 5 is quit usable usable at 100Mb. Consider your ISP bandwidth. I have Comcast, and speedtest.net show my upload at 60Mb/sec, and download @ 6Mb/sec. Cat 6, capable of 1,000 Mb/sec would only help me on my home lan. Most of my devices can only support 100Mb/sec.

So changing from Cat 5 to Cat 6 for my home lan might help transfers from a NAS or for PC-to-PC transfers. But it wouldn't help Netflix speed or general internet surfing.

didithepest said:
Some of the original cat5 cable show sign of wear hence the reasons for changing them
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Huh? The installed, in the walls, lan cabling in your house shows signs wear and tear?
Short patch cables connected from devices to a wall RJ45 receptacle might show signs of getting kinked, twisted, etc. Sol'n: replace the patch cable.
And "wear and tear" to the cat 5 jacket shouldn't degrade the data transmission. Cosmetics is one thing, data transfer through the copper is another.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
But if your walls are opened up, and it's easy to pull Cat 6, do it for "future proofing"

didithepest said:
Should I get shielded or non shielded cable
Click to expand...
I agree with tangent:
tangent said:
UTP cable is easier to work with and all you need.
Click to expand...

For residential, STP is overkill. (excptions: long runs in parallel with AC wiring heading to noisy devices like AC, Motors, Heat Pumps, Well motors, welders, etc)
And terminating Cat cable to an STP RJ45 is a pain in the butt.
A1E5_1_20130418807487599.jpg


Do you really wanna terminate the cable's shield/drain wires to the shield of the connector? See pic above.

UTP is fine. If there are RF or noisy AC devices, please tell us.

Fastb
 
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The attic hold the main AC unit that feed the house. But I don't think it will be in the way. It's a semi home remodel with some walls taken down to the studs. You are right shielded cable is over kill - I just want something that will last


Thank you for the inputs guys. Is there any cable that you recommend cat6.


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didithepest said:
Is there any cable that you recommend cat6.
Click to expand...

I really like Monoprice. Quality is above avg.
I bought Cat6, 23AWG (bigger conductor than standard 24 AWG, so good for POE)
I chose solid copper. (I bet they don't sell CCA in 100' rolls)
I bought 100' patch cords to set up my cams temporarily. The cables were ggreat. Overmolded ends, good strain relief, they all worked. And Monoprice has great prices.

Fastb
 
Ha!
nada-Degrees beat me to it!

Seriously though, zero-degrees provided a link.

Nowadays, "A link is worth a Thousand Words"
 
Depending on how much cable you're running it can be useful to have 2 spools/boxes of cable that are different colors.
 
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tangent said:
it can be useful to have 2 spools/boxes of cable that are different colors.
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If the purpose of two colors is to easily differentiate the two cables, you have another option. A cable tone detector.
Cable Tracker
Triplett Fox & Hound 3399 Premium Wire and Cable Tracing Kit with Tone Generator and Probe with Adjustable Sensitivity: Circuit Testers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

During a remodel, I pulled lotsa home runs in the evenings, after the contractors left. I was in a rush, I couldn't slow down the sheetrockers, insulation guys, etc.
I ended up with ~30 cat5 cables at my demarcation point. Ethernet, intercom, phone. In my rush, I hadn't labeled them.
The tone generator would be clipped onto the cable at the far end. Then I went to demarcation, and found the right cable in the bundle

Having two boxes of Cat5 (even if same color) makes it easy to pull two lines at once, instead of one after another.
If pulling two cables at same time, and with only one box or cable, means you have to measure and cut a piece of cable. And hope it's long enough.

On jobs, we sometimes pulled 8 or more cables at once, from 8 or more boxes of cable.

Fastb
 
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I would also recommend the Monoprice bulk cable if you are looking for the best value.

Otherwise, I would take a look at the Berk-Tek catalog (here) to see their options, and then call a local electrical/data supply to see what they stock. You may be able to get Berk-Tek cheaper locally than shipped from a supplier like Graybar or Anixter online. It's very likely that a commercial installer would be using Berk-Tek if they did the job for you, since overall the cost of the cable is minimal compared to the labor to run, terminate, and test. LANmark-1000 is similar to the Monoprice cable, and probably around 2x the price once you pay Monoprice's shipping.

Either way, I would recommend planning for terminating both ends of the runs with punch-down connections (a patch panel in your wiring closet, and punch-down keystone jacks in the boxes at the destinations).
 
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didithepest said:
Thanks guys for all the support. Bought the cable stated above. Bought two boxes, and holy caramba - the shipping charge is crazy - end up using the hey15 code for 15% off but still holy fxcxk


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Click to expand...
well you are shipping about 92 lbs of cable
 
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didithepest said:
the shipping charge is crazy
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Yep, as @tangent said your shipping some serious weight. Not really a way around it, sometimes people are like "Amazon Prime"... For "High Quality, Reputable" cable on Amazon it's going to be listed for $110-$149 to account for that "free prime shipping". Best thing to do is try and make nice with a local supply warehouse if you have one in your area and use a lot of cable. If not two boxes should last you a few years :)
 
I usually get my "regular" cable from the local electronics supply shop. They supply everybody from the local phone company to contractors to the Joe off the street. They get fussier people than I am checking the quality of what they sell so it's all good stuff. I order my direct burial stuff from the 'net though. For some reason they have a crazy markup on the direct burial where the indoor UTP is very competitive.
 
didithepest said:
Thanks guys for all the support. Bought the cable stated above. Bought two boxes, and holy caramba - the shipping charge is crazy - end up using the hey15 code for 15% off but still holy fxcxk


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Click to expand...

Remember to keep an eye on the contractors... have known some to cut data cables when they are in their way....
 
could i also jump into this thread, trying to wire a hikvision camera to a POE switch.
Im living in Ireland so started to look for good quality cable in Ireland or England.
You guys have it lucky with monoprice , i actually spent the last few hours looking online - every time i find something promising i read a review on amazon and it always turns out to be CCA.
everything ive come across seems to be CCA.

i then found this now and i was wondering what ye thought of it :
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/97244.pdf?_ga=1.43755361.558519202.1491664581
2170143 - LAPP KABEL - Shielded Networking Cable, Unitronic, Per M, Cat6e, 4 Pair, 23 AWG, 0.255 mm² | Farnell element14 Ireland

i can order my the metre ,so it suits also for this purpose.
Any thoughts or anyone in Ireland or UK who knows to get real Cat6 cable ?

thanks
 
Cat6 for cameras is overkill given that cameras operate at 100Mbps link speed - Cat5e will also handle Gigabit link speed, though strictly not certified for that.
This is Cat5e solid copper, decently priced, pre-made so just spool up any excess : Cable Sourcing - 30m CAT5e, 100% SOLID COPPER CORE: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
*edit* Just noticed it's now twice the price it was when I bought some a few weeks back, so not so decently priced ...

Absolutely no shortage of choice on Amazon.co.uk for bulk and pre-made when searching for cat5e solid copper
 
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Ya that was the other cable I came across on Amazon , there seems to be very poor options in UK from what I see.
Most cable even the expensive stuff is actually CCA .

Cables on Amazon UK seem very poor
 
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