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Buy cat 6 wire and jacks

Pghpooh

Pghpooh

Senior member
HI
Moved into a new house and need to run some cat 6 wire.
I'll probably need less then 100 feet of wire and maybe 4 jacks to terminate the runs.

Is there any place I can buy small amounts of wire. I don't need a box of 1000 feet! LOL
I think Keystone jacks have been mentioned here as good quality and easy to use.
Thanks
 
That link to amazon does not specify if it is solid or stranded copper. You want to make sure you buy solid.

Sorry, I can't comment on getting it in short lengths because I've always had access to someone with spools of it. But I will say that 100 feet isn't much cable for 4 runs...remember to account for running up/down walls, to places where you already have penetration between floors, etc.
 
I got a 1000' spool of 5e off craigslist for like ... $30, and then as a freebie a couple years ago I got a partial spool, crimper, punch down, and a couple other network tools as a freebie w\ some servers I bought.
 
I am not sure why you want to spent $25 + shipping for $100 feet when it is only $90 for 1000 feet new. He is doing a decent mark up on that.
 
Are you trying to future proof for 10GigE or something?

I also went with Cat6, but technically it's supposed to be Cat6a (which is a lot more expensive) for 10 GigE. I'm just hoping that when 10GigE actually comes out for the home mainstream - and when I actually need it - Cat6 will be sufficient for short runs, but I'm not necessarily counting on it.

I will say that working with the splined Cat6 is a pain. Not all Cat6 is splined though.
 
airdata said:
Same cable... just cut the plugs off.
Click to expand...
I've done this before, but no, it's not the same cable.

Patch cable is stranded, but people usually put solid in the walls. It can make a difference for terminations, although I must admit, I just use the same connectors for both these days. It's worked fine for me, but I'm not running a data centre, just transferring a few files back and forth in my house and streaming video.

BTW, IIRC, some of those Monoprice Cat6 patch cables may be splined, which can make termination a pain, and more so than stranded vs. solid.
 
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seepy83 said:
Not at all. It's stranded copper and you cannot terminate it on a keystone jack or patch panel.
Click to expand...

O Rly?

Why not?

What is splined cable???
Click to expand...

I think it's when it has the piece of plastic running in w\ the twisted pairs. I've only used cat 6 once though. It was cheaper to buy a 25' cable and cut off the ends to make the 12'' pieces I needed. I just cut the plastic piece out w\ a razer before crimping.
 
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airdata said:
O Rly?

Why not?



I think it's when it has the piece of plastic running in w\ the twisted pairs. I've only used cat 6 once though. It was cheaper to buy a 25' cable and cut off the ends to make the 12'' pieces I needed. I just cut the plastic piece out w\ a razer before crimping.
Click to expand...

Read the sticky.
 
Pghpooh said:
What is splined cable???
Click to expand...

Assuming he is using the same term as I do, a splined cable has an insert in the cable that holds the wire in the center with spacers that push out (like a star) that hold the jacket. It is meant to prevent kinks and help with bend radius.

Cat6(a) is often "channelized" in the sense that there is a plastic spacer in a plus shape that keeps the pairs from contacting each other. The spec says it should be there but cheap cables may be missing it.

That might be a good addition to the sticky actually.

EDIT: Splined cables are normally used for burial because they can cramp the dielectric in the gaps.
 
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imagoon said:
Assuming he is using the same term as I do, a splined cable has an insert in the cable that holds the wire in the center with spacers that push out (like a star) that hold the jacket. It is meant to prevent kinks and help with bend radius.

Cat6(a) is often "channelized" in the sense that there is a plastic spacer in a plus shape that keeps the pairs from contacting each other. The spec says it should be there but cheap cables may be missing it.

That might be a good addition to the sticky actually.

EDIT: Splined cables are normally used for burial because they can cramp the dielectric in the gaps.
Click to expand...
Is that really true re: spline?

Dunno about Cat6a, but AFAIK, there is no requirement for Cat6 to have a spline. It's just that many do, because it's easier to achieve the performance requirements. Cat6e doesn't exist, but nonetheless many sell it, and it seems to be splined to achieve greater-than-Cat6 performance.

To put it another way, theoretically one might be able to achieve short-distance 10GigE with Cat6e even when similar quality Cat6 is a problem. But ideally, you should have Cat6a.
 
Eug said:
Is that really true re: spline?

Dunno about Cat6a, but AFAIK, there is no requirement for Cat6 to have a spline. It's just that many do, because it's easier to achieve the performance requirements. Cat6e doesn't exist, but nonetheless many sell it, and it seems to be splined to achieve greater-than-Cat6 performance.

To put it another way, theoretically one might be able to achieve short-distance 10GigE with Cat6e even when similar quality Cat6 is a problem. But ideally, you should have Cat6a.
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I think you have them reversed. A spline looks like a cable inside a cable the splines force a gap between the cable and the outer jacket. I mostly see those in coax though not Ethernet. It can then be flooded to seal the cable for burial. The fill is the divider inside the cable the keeps the pairs seperated.

However, you may be correct on the spec itself. The document really doesn't say how you get to the spec just that you have to meet it. I have heard a ton of reasons why they use fill from the vendors. Reduces alien cross talk, reduces the tightness of the cables (also reduces alien crosstalk because the pairs are a bit farther from each other.), strengthen the cables, reduces stretching that may pull the twists out, etc etc
 
imagoon said:
Read the sticky.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Didn't know there was a difference.

Spline? :

photo-1.jpg
 
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Eug said:
Have what reversed?

As for spline: Everywhere I've read (as a layperson), they refer to the x-shaped centre separator as a spline. Eg. Leviton:

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibcGetAttachment.jsp?cItemId=80036&label=IBE&appName=IBE

center spline (stiff plastic separator inside CAT 6A cable)
Click to expand...

sorry, when you say "splined cable" in the coax world it looks like this:

http://www.micro-coax.com/pages/products/producttypes/CableTypes/SplineDielectricCoaxialCable.asp

We often refer to the x shaped thing as a fill.
 
airdata said:
Thanks. Didn't know there was a difference.

Spline? :

photo-1.jpg
Click to expand...

Strip back the jacket around the copper. Is it stranded? Most patch cables are. Punching stranded in to key stones can be flakey because the solid core doesnt compress (as much) and the blades contact it. Stranded can move around more so typically there is less blade to copper contact (or none at all if the jacket flexes.)

Maybe you picked up a solid patch cord...
 
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