Cat5 vs 6 on long outdoor run

Randall8686

Randall8686

Randall8686

Associate
Joined
31 Jan 2011
Posts
2,313
Location
Hampshire
So i have a fairly long 35m run going around my house of Cat5e. for some reason im only getting a 10/100 connection

yet if i make a smaller cable i get 10/100/1000 (i have a box of cable and make the patch leads myself)

So i need to replace the cable with a better cable or maybe the cable has a break half way etc.

On this length would it be worth going cat6?
 
35m is fine for cat5e, it's fine up to 90/100m, sounds like dodgy cable or you haven't crimped it properly.
 
35m is short-medium length. Assume you've tried re-crimping the ends? If the ends are re-crimped and it's still 10/100 then re-running the cable is the best option. As per previous, it doesn't matter 5 or 6 at this distance.

Lesson to be learned though. If you are running a replacement cable. Run 2 so you have a spare.
 
Damaged cable or you're doing the ends incorrectly.

-Visually inspect the wall ports.
-Have you tacked it to the house? Check it's not pierced or crushed.

Gigabit will work fine to around 120 metres, guaranteed to 100.
 
It sounds like you need a cheap cable tester.

For a cable like that I'd be punching down to faceplates at both ends rather than crimping plugs on.

IMO there's no real point running redundant cables if they're external to the building. They're always going to be fairly easily replaced, and a single cable will make for a neater job. If they're within the building structure then it's a different matter.
 
hmmm cheers guys, seems the cable must be broken, I have tried re crimping and have done hundreds of crimps in my life so have no issues here. i do wonder if its been nibbled outside by an animal.
 
You've got a pair not punched down by the sounds of it.

Recrimp both ends and if that fails, re-run. Treat yourself to a cheap mod-tap :p
 
Randall8686 said:
hmmm cheers guys, seems the cable must be broken, I have tried re crimping and have done hundreds of crimps in my life so have no issues here. i do wonder if its been nibbled outside by an animal.
Click to expand...

For external runs, use external cable. If the cable ever hits ground then I won't touch it unless it's armoured or run in conduit (and even then conduit isn't a sure fire thing).
 
Are you using good quality cable? whether you buy CAT 5E or 6 there's a lot of cheap rubbish knocking around, it could just be the cable is cheap quality and the length of run is causing significant signal deterioration. For outdoor you should be aiming for solid copper with UV protected jacket.
 
You didn’t buy CCA did you? That stuff is awful, the only time i’ve had the same issue and it wasn’t a crimp/damage issue on a new run was when a mate purchased a cheap load of CCA. It was OK on short runs, but a similarly sized run to yours was stuck at 100mbit till it was replaced.
 
Anything along the run that might cause RF/EM interference? though proper cat 5/6 is pretty resilient it isn't completely immune.

For instance cross power cables at 90 degrees rather than parallel runs.
 
When you crimped the ends did you wire the colours up correctly, I only ask as I've been out to runs that CCTV companies for example have put in for people and matched the colours at either end.
 
Even on extremely long cable lengths (150m+), you'll find the network card either end will still negotiate a 1Gbps link - you just won't get the full bandwidth, as there'll be packet loss and re-transmissions occurring. The fact your card is only negotiating 100mbps (and that with a different - albeit smaller length - cable, it negotiates 1Gbps) suggests it is definitely a problem with the cable.
 
fezster said:
Use a cheap cable tester to ensure every wire is connected (and connected in the same order).
Click to expand...

Bare in mind if you've made the same mistake at both ends then a basic tester won't report it. I had an issue with a connection, it tested fine but it turned out both ends had been wired incorrectly. Reterminating correctly fixed the problem.
 
K.C. Leblanc said:
Bare in mind if you've made the same mistake at both ends then a basic tester won't report it. I had an issue with a connection, it tested fine but it turned out both ends had been wired incorrectly. Reterminating correctly fixed the problem.
Click to expand...

If you make the same mistake both ends, then every wire on one end is in the same pin as every wire on the other end (!) - therefore, it will work as intended. I don't think that's what you meant, though.

The cable tester I have has a light for each pin (i.e. 8 of them) on both sender and receiver, and they flash in sequence. If any wires are crossed, then the receiver will flash in an incorrect sequence. I believe all basic RJ45 continuity testers have this.
 
fezster said:
If you make the same mistake both ends, then every wire on one end is in the same pin as every wire on the other end (!) - therefore, it will work as intended. I don't think that's what you meant, though.

The cable tester I have has a light for each pin (i.e. 8 of them) on both sender and receiver, and they flash in sequence. If any wires are crossed, then the receiver will flash in an incorrect sequence. I believe all basic RJ45 continuity testers have this.
Click to expand...

If you wire a cable as below (which would make some sense if you don't know any better) it'll pass a continuity test but won't work over any significant distance.

CRuvG7C.png
 
bremen1874 said:
If you wire a cable as below (which would make some sense if you don't know any better) it'll pass a continuity test but won't work over any significant distance.

CRuvG7C.png
Click to expand...

Good point. You learn something new every day.

I've always used T568B and never realised the importance of following the scheme to avoid interference and cross talk. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom