Recommended CAT6 cable brands

[phatboy]

Hi all,

Those who are 'in the know' can you recommend decent brands of CAT6 data cable (Solid core).

I will be using it throughout the house for network devices, and also separatly HDMI distribution.

At work we have Systimax (Hard to get hold of to the public and very expensive), and HellermannTyton.

I have previously used Excel which is cheaper, but this time want to 'do it right'

Also the same question for wall plates....

Many thanks
Tim

 

[Monkeh]

As long as it meets spec (and therefore isn't CCA), does it really matter who puts their name on it?

 

[phatboy]

Yes this is what I want to be sure of - a cheap brand may not meet spec. but it's not unknown for a distributor to not know that it doesn't (CCA foe example), or may have other issues like being harder to crimp down or poor flexibility etc.. I am looking for a recommendation of a known good brand to buy.

 

[Sam Gangee]

As for wall plates, Triax should be OK.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/wallplates/triax_304274.jpg
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page15b.htm

I, personally, would give the contacts a smear of silicone grease to minimise the risk of corroded contacts. I've seen some that have gone black because of dampness in the wall.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/silicone2.htm

The problem with all such sockets, for Ethernet and telephone, is that the contacts are simply given a 0.5 micron "flash" of gold. It looks pretty but it's porous and disappears rapidly in the presence of moisture as the base metal corrodes. The manufacturers ought to lay down at least an 8 micron layer of nickel before applying the gold - but they don't because it costs. So the best you can do to ensure reliability is to apply silicone grease. (I got this tip many years ago from a switch manufacturer in Plymouth.)

 

[Blagard]

Sam,
Just to clarify, would you apply that grease after having made the connections?

 

[Sam Gangee]

Click on the link. Read the page. How could you get it between the contacts after connecting?

 

[Blagard]

My bad, I did not read the page linked. I had been thinking silicone grease would be an insulator and possibly would interfere with the contacts. I have not tried it so no idea how hard it would be after doing the connecting.

It seems an interesting idea. Pushing in the conductor would partially wipe away the top side silicone as the wire and insulation rub down the sides of the connector.