Help with CAT6 wire
- Thread starter Huffduf41
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east_tn_emc
Well-known member
Make sure you get solid copper wires, not CCA (copper clad aluminum).
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
"Options" as far as equipment on each end or more on what type of cable you need or what are you asking for ??
If you want more than one device connected in the barn you'll need a switch of some kind to "split" the Cat6 line into multiple available connection points. That can be as simple as any Netgear/Trendnet/TPLink or whatever flavor you can find at WalMart or as complicated as you want if you want to play with a managed switch from the many manufactures of those.
I guess it depends on your intended uses for having internet in the barn. WiFi ? Hardwired things only like most desktopPC's ? TV's/gaming systems ?
If you want more than one device connected in the barn you'll need a switch of some kind to "split" the Cat6 line into multiple available connection points. That can be as simple as any Netgear/Trendnet/TPLink or whatever flavor you can find at WalMart or as complicated as you want if you want to play with a managed switch from the many manufactures of those.
I guess it depends on your intended uses for having internet in the barn. WiFi ? Hardwired things only like most desktopPC's ? TV's/gaming systems ?
yatg
Well-known member
300' is pushing the limit of category cable. If the total run from the house router to the barn router is 300' or less and you do a proper installation you should be ok. Any more and you'll need a different method like fiber or wireless. Also consider surge protectors if you're in thunderstorm country.
checkthisout
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2008
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- 5,232
Fiber is surprisingly cheap. You may want to consider that.
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
put lightning protection on both sides with grounding.
or run fiber
or run fiber
If you choose to run Cat 6, you might want to use shielded cable. You have to terminate with special oytlets or connectors. I'd seriously recommend fiber and get fiber converters if you don't have switches that are fiber capable.
I've used Blackbox with great success at work. https://www.blackbox.com/en-us/prod...QGzEuQY3lV1xLo1TFLaiWl8EScNLsCWUaAgIeEALw_wcB
Barry
North Florida
I've used Blackbox with great success at work. https://www.blackbox.com/en-us/prod...QGzEuQY3lV1xLo1TFLaiWl8EScNLsCWUaAgIeEALw_wcB
Barry
North Florida
Thanks! I’ll take your advice on the conduit.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Thats including patch cords.
Its 90m for horizontal cable and 10m for patch cords.
We dont know how accurate the OPs numbers are...
Paul_The_Builder
Well-known member
Cat 5/6 will work at 400'-500' all day long, especially at 10/100 speeds like what you'll likely use it for.
Average internet speeds are somewhere in the 30-50 MBPS range (which is plenty of bandwidth to stream a 1080p video), which is 20+ times slower than gigabit ethernet speeds. Even if you get slower speed from a 350' cable run, you won't notice the speed difference unless you're regularly transferring gigabytes worth of data across it.
In short, just run your 300' of direct burial cat6 or regular cat6 in a conduit, and you'll be fine. Don't sweat it.
Average internet speeds are somewhere in the 30-50 MBPS range (which is plenty of bandwidth to stream a 1080p video), which is 20+ times slower than gigabit ethernet speeds. Even if you get slower speed from a 350' cable run, you won't notice the speed difference unless you're regularly transferring gigabytes worth of data across it.
In short, just run your 300' of direct burial cat6 or regular cat6 in a conduit, and you'll be fine. Don't sweat it.
volleyball
Well-known member
Fiber means getting a pro involved. Not newbie stuff. You could use cat 3 for that run though cat6 would be wiser. Reason being that a single cable run won't have interference. And that is the main difference between cat wires.
And planning speeds under 100 Mbs is short sighted. Speed needs/wants will continue to grow, not decrease. Remember when computer memory was in Kbs and people said that is all you would ever need?
Besides running your cable run a pull rope through that conduit. In 5 years you will be planning upgrading.
And planning speeds under 100 Mbs is short sighted. Speed needs/wants will continue to grow, not decrease. Remember when computer memory was in Kbs and people said that is all you would ever need?
Besides running your cable run a pull rope through that conduit. In 5 years you will be planning upgrading.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Dont need a pro for fiber these days.
One can order fiber at desired length with connectors already terminated on.
CAT3 will not work for ethernet wiring. Its not twisted pair.
Only thing CAT3 is good for is phone lines
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volleyball
Well-known member
Cat3 is twisted, just not as tight. And if there is no interference twists don't mean much. older phone wire was not twisted though many newer ones were.
Fiber takes skills above a newbie as OP stated.
Fiber takes skills above a newbie as OP stated.
ripperd
Well-known member
Cat3 is simply not going to work for a 100mbit+ 300' run. Don't do it, and honestly it will be hard to find and not any cheaper than cat6.
For a run like that I'd put in 2 or 3 shielded direct burial cat6. Or a conduit that you can run a new one through later. In the amount of time you plan to use this you probably WILL get it fried by lightning. Hence the bare spares not attached to anything (or a conduit you can pull a new one through).
Honestly though fiber is the better bet for this link. Safer, more future proof, and probably very little cost difference overall. And like another poster said, once you know the length you can get preterminated cable that is no harder to install than cat6.
yatg
Well-known member
au contraire.
CAT3 was the standard for 10BaseT wiring in the 80s/90s.
Not that anybody wants to use that anymore.
There were a few other 100BaseT variants that used Cat3 but never took hold.
Good riddance.
Joelfke
Well-known member
Im confused, or maybe i missed something. Either fiber or cat6, cant your just run normal cable in conduit? why does it have to be direct burial?
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
because underground conduits leak.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Underground conduits are a wet location
Joelfke
Well-known member
I never knew they made direct burial cat6! Thank you guys! Now i wont waste money when I do mine in conduit
rjacobs
Well-known member
Get some Ubiquiti Air Max stuff and beam it... Some of their equipment can send the signal like 30km...
Hook up one side to your in house ethernet and the other side to a switch at the shop side...
Hook up one side to your in house ethernet and the other side to a switch at the shop side...
ripperd
Well-known member
Honestly, you could probably get away with regular cable as long as you are 100% prepared to pull a new one through the conduit when it fails. It probably would last for years. I've direct buried regular cat5e cable before for "temporary" purposes and it has held up well for over a year.
dcg9381
Well-known member
May leak, but burial grade wire inside of conduit is the go-to for those of us in crappy soil...
dcg9381
Well-known member
I've done this and it works great for line-of-site applications.
collmorgen
Well-known member
I just did this for my shop. I used direct buriable cat 6 and a used router to serve as a wireless access point. Gave an IT friend some beer to configure it and it works great.
Bad Habit
Well-known member
Letter of the law - bring it onto protectors (yes there are Cat 6 rated protectors) and then from there transition to a CM, CMX, or higher UL indoor rated cable depending on the environment that would go through
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
he's right!
dave*99
Well-known member
Fiber will offer better lightning and surge immunity. Lots of stories about connecting two buildings like yours with Cat5/6. Bad outcomes occur when a lightning strike happens in the area. A direct hit is not required for your sensitive electronics to get fried.
Bad Habit
Well-known member
Been doing this stuff for better than 35 years. Before Cat ** was Level **. TwinSx, coax, thicknet, thinnet, DecNet. Things are so simple these days...
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Joelfke
Well-known member
Bad Habit
Well-known member
Yes, although for standards based install ( world I live in) it would have to be punch down in/out connections. Very few applications where you can field install a mod end. Do it all the time but again, technically...
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Joelfke
Well-known member
Im not a genius so I have no idea what most of that meant.
02chuck
Well-known member
I just did this to my shop. I ran Cat 6 direct burial cable in a conduit. We use the Google mesh network in the house and I was able to set it up in the shop. The only issue was I had to set up the unit for the shop while hooked up to the wireless network ( in the middle of the driveway) then took it to the shop and plugged it in to the cable.
Loving it!!!
Loving it!!!
like2wheel
Well-known member
Haha, thanks for posting, I thought it was just me.
At least there wasn't a string of acronyms and initialisms that I had to look up.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
The cable for POE microwave radios (excluding APs for wifi) are the only thing i will put a mod end on regardless of standard because they need shielded connectors and it would be a waste to buy a shielded patch panel for 1 or 2 devices.
Haha, thanks for posting, I thought it was just me.
At least there wasn't a string of acronyms and initialisms that I had to look up.
He is just referring to the standardization of punching all cables down onto a patch panel 110 block or 110 jack in a biscuit INSTEAD of putting an RJ45 mod end on the cable.
larry4406
Well-known member
What does "Mod End" mean to the lay person, a simple RJ45 modular connection end?
Bad Habit
Well-known member
Correct, the "RJ45" end - MODular end. Also called ice cubes at one point (clear plastic). Use to be that they were only meant for stranded wire, like what is used for cords. Now pretty much all of them are designed for solid wire too. As long as you get the color code and positioning/pairing right, they can easily be installed in the field. Typical caveats, quality tool, good cable prep, etc.
Bad Habit
Well-known member
Yeah, we've fought with having to put on mod end on 6A Shielded for POE radios, they wouldn't let us use a shielded jack with a short cord, so had to direct connect the cable into the radio. Belden and a couple of others have developed field installed 6A plugs for shielded cable. Bulky and expensive, but they do work. Question is whether it will fit into the device.
https://www.belden.com/products/enterprise/copper/connectors/cat-6a-plugs