CAT5E Cable - is it suitable for outdoors or not?

psd99 said:
reel
iirc 305 metres
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Solid copper, if it has the rubbery separator in the middle, it's probably closer to CAT6, if not it sounds like good quality 5e.

Look for CCS on the cable, that's copper coated steel, cheaper stuff but it's still good enough for home use.

If you've got a load of RJ45s and the tools, give making one a go and see how it goes before running it outside. It hits 1Gbps or better (if you have the hardware), it'll probably do just fine unless you're a datacenter or enterprise consumer.
 
I've also had several regular cat5e and cat6 cables running externally for years and never had any issues with them. No need to pay more for 'exterior grade' unless it's going to be within reach of any potential rodent or gardening damage, in which case it makes sense to use armoured cable.
 
Right so it will prob be okay

Next question… is 2.5gb worth it? Lol

My pc lan port is 2.5 but the switch I got and my router iirc is 1gb
 
The time you spent thinking and posting about this is worth more than the cost of the weather resistant stuff most likely. That's before you get out/on a ladder to repair any knackered stuff in a few years. Sure if it's in the shade you'll probably get away with it but if it's anywhere the sun is going to get to it it's a no brainer to just use the right stuff.
 
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ServerIHardlyKnowHer said:
Solid copper, if it has the rubbery separator in the middle, it's probably closer to CAT6, if not it sounds like good quality 5e.

Look for CCS on the cable, that's copper coated steel, cheaper stuff but it's still good enough for home use.

If you've got a load of RJ45s and the tools, give making one a go and see how it goes before running it outside. It hits 1Gbps or better (if you have the hardware), it'll probably do just fine unless you're a datacenter or enterprise consumer.
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Yea good point
I did a few rj45 ends today and they came out ok except one cable was missing the one pin

I am planning to run the cables loosely and then rj45 and quick test to see if they are ok before neatening the cables
 
psd99 said:
Right so it will prob be okay

Next question… is 2.5gb worth it? Lol

My pc lan port is 2.5 but the switch I got and my router iirc is 1gb
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If you have multi-gig broadband, or shift files between PCs/homelab kit, yeah. If not, no. Pays to be prepared though, your PC is ready, just upgrade as you go before faster internet is available in your area.
 
I'll move this over to networking:)

Personally if I was buying cable new I'd go with outdoor rated stuff, if I was using some existing indoor stuff I'd try and put it in conduit to protect it from the sun as much as possible.

I did run some cat5 outside for our original 10/100mbit network without any problems for about 5 years but when I wired the house up properly I ran all the cable internally.
 
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