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Cat 5 cat 6 or copper phone wire for barn internet

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TuxThePenguin

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why do you guys keep linking Amazon?

Buy from Monoprice or FS or something. Known good sellers of cheap-yet-good cable.
 

hector

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https://www.truecable.com/products/cat6-direct-burial-ethernet-cable

150 bucks get you 1000' which is not needed for this case.

ethernet with suppression is cheaper than fiber at every turn here. the user needs don't justify the extra expense or complexity. the risk of issues are extremely low.

I said specifically Made in the USA gel filled CAT6 direct burial
e.g. https://www.americantechsupply.com/madeinusacable.htm
This is what a licensed professional would specify if you paid for this job, since they don't want to come back for warranty work.
~$150 / 500ft. where-ever you want to order it from. If it's cheaper it's from China (monoprice has it for $184/1000ft.) and/or not gel filled.
 
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jeepxj

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I said specifically Made in the USA gel filled CAT6 direct burial
e.g. https://www.americantechsupply.com/madeinusacable.htm
This is what a licensed professional would specify if you paid for this job, since they don't want to come back for warranty work.
~$150 / 500ft. where-ever you want to order it from. If it's cheaper it's from China and/or not gel filled.


so the ethernet needs to be made in USA but the fiber you link is made in asia? lets compare apples to apples here. fiber STILL is more expensive and not needed for the use case.
:shocking:
 

hector

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so the ethernet needs to be made in USA but the fiber you link is made in asia? lets compare apples to apples here. fiber STILL is more expensive and not needed for the use case.
:shocking:

I haven't mentioned fiber since the consensus seemed to be CAT6 several posts earlier in this thread. You seem to be arguing with me on some point I'm not making.

With CAT6 there is a huge variation in quality on the market. For an underground conduit susceptible to flooding a gel filled cable from a reputable source is the recommendation for this application.
 

TuxThePenguin

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Well, honestly, those surge protectors on ethernet cable are still nowhere near as safe as fiber. It's not a case of "whack a couple surge protectors in there and you'll be fine"

They lower your chances of an issue, but it's still way more likely than with fiber.

Like see for example

Guy has ethernet cable in conduit, gets screwed by lightning, reruns with surge protectors, gets screwed by lightning again. Look at his photos of the damage.

Fiber has serious benefits in this regard. I'm not really sure why the price difference is a big deal here. That's chump change in my opinion. Some people will never have trouble with ethernet cable, with or without surge protectors. But there's still a substantial difference in how they perform if you DO happen to get a lightning strike in the wrong place.
 
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86turbodsl

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cat6 with surge protection is still FAR cheaper than fiber. FAR FAR FAR cheaper. and simpler if you're under 300' overall run length.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R20OIAY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I bought 350' of fiber on ebay for $65. Fiber to TX converters were $5 each.

Tell me again how this is FAR FAR FAR cheaper for copper?

The peace of mind in lightning country ALONE has been worth the $75. Not to mention the piles of hardware i didn't scrap over the last 20 years.

OP: If you can find fiber at an affordable price, DO IT.
 

jeepxj

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I bought 350' of fiber on ebay for $65. Fiber to TX converters were $5 each.

Tell me again how this is FAR FAR FAR cheaper for copper?

The peace of mind in lightning country ALONE has been worth the $75. Not to mention the piles of hardware i didn't scrap over the last 20 years.

OP: If you can find fiber at an affordable price, DO IT.


oh now we're doing ebay prices? i just got bitched at for using amazon for pricing.... well i found 6000' of cat6 behind the dumpster and 10mb hubs are bout 3 dollars on ebay. so yea ethernet is still cheaper.


put fiber in. put copper in as well. 3" conduit for future proofing. its not our money. we've gone full GJ on this now.
 

86turbodsl

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oh now we're doing ebay prices? i just got bitched at for using amazon for pricing.... well i found 6000' of cat6 behind the dumpster and 10mb hubs are bout 3 dollars on ebay. so yea ethernet is still cheaper.





put fiber in. put copper in as well. 3" conduit for future proofing. its not our money. we've gone full GJ on this now.
Ok, yeah if the criteria for posting is full retail bone-me business pricing then yeah he would think twice. I'm just relating what I actually did, and you don't need to be a ****. Peace out.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk
 
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TuxThePenguin

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you think monoprice is better than Amazon?

LMAO now THATS funny

monoprice is trash

Monoprice sells OK stuff, but the point is that when you buy from their site you buy a known product from a known seller that's been around for years. When you buy on Amazon you're typically buying from some third-party seller that will probably not exist for a long period of time and customer service will vary more if you hve a problem.

If you wanna go buy Belden or something and pay more, then feel free, no problems with that.

But I would take and recommend Monoprice any day over no-name Amazon third-party ****. Especially the keystone jacks I linked vs the Amazon ones the other person linked which are obviously junk even just looking at the image. And Vivo cable? Who the heck are Vivo and how do I know they'll still exist when I have a problem with the order?

It boggles my mind that I was even called out on this. Crazy. I'm not sure why some people are OK with just buying any random **** from any random seller on Amazon. I dunno about you guys but I have absolutely had problems with cables from Amazon no-name brands.
 
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wyliesdiesels

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I buy materials for customers all the time on amazon but i dont buy no-name third party ****.

Plenty of name beands sold on amazon.

Monoprice is ****. When i worked on a university job, the PM ordered monoprice jacks and we couldnt get them to pass certification. I stay away from monoprice
 

jeepxj

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amazon is convenient. for most homeowners its perfectly fine. they just want a gig connection. hell even a 100mb would work in most home uses. frankly the crappiest cable can work on home distances and complexities. is the extra quality needed is something the customer answers not us. you can try and educate but they get to pick.


for my own house i'd do vertical cable. its a good balance between cost and quality IMO.
ex:
https://www.firefold.com/pages/search-results?q=vertical+cable
 
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hector

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I buy materials for customers all the time on amazon but i dont buy no-name third party ****.

Plenty of name beands sold on amazon.

The problem is there is no guarantee it's not a knock off even if you are buying a name brand. You pretty much don't know until it's in your hands and you can compare it side by side with a known genuine article.
 
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u3b3rg33k

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I bought 350' of fiber on ebay for $65. Fiber to TX converters were $5 each.

Tell me again how this is FAR FAR FAR cheaper for copper?

The peace of mind in lightning country ALONE has been worth the $75. Not to mention the piles of hardware i didn't scrap over the last 20 years.

OP: If you can find fiber at an affordable price, DO IT.


Fiber FTW. country folks know - I left a field once when a storm rolled up and went back later to our steel-wire surveyors flag. it was a puddle of slag.

We lost at least 3 modems in the early 2000s, a few through proper surge protectors. lightning doesn't pick the single easiest path, it takes all the paths to ground, sometimes through the wood frame of your house. neighbor lost a house that way (well, technically due to water damage from the FD, but you know).
 

b-boy

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I bought fiber. I'm up on a hill at the highest point for several miles around in a metal skinned building. It seemed like a good idea. :D

I got pre-terminated outdoor-rated fiber and put it in a conduit. It was not much more expensive than equivalent CAT6. I was very surprised at how cheap it was. For a 300 ft run I paid under $200 for everything.

I've never had a lightening strike at my current location, but I had one hit a transformer near my house about 15 years ago. It fried everything. It took out half my power and completely obliterated the phone and internet system that were in place. The Verizon guy showed me what was left of the fuses they had. They were powder.
 
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