Cat6a Cables and Power Cables

S

Samee

Getting the hang of it
Apr 18, 2015
159
2
im in the process of having a shed built at the back of my house, there will be power put in at some pont. i am deciding to run 2 cat6a cables. i believe ethernet cables and power cables don't mix very well if there sit next to each other.

what options have i got? will placing bricks between the cat6a cable and power help?
 
They should be run in separate conduit. They can be run in the same trench.

However, if you are burying these, be aware of the potential for a nearby lightning strike to send a power surge up the Cat6 cable, potentially damaging any equipment attached. You might want to consider a surge protector at each end of the Cat6 cable.

You might also want to consider using fiber optic instead of Cat6, with a media converter at each end. Fiber does not transmit electrical energy.
 
i will be running them in a separate conduit. i believe that there has to be a set distance between the two power and ethernet, some places i have read 2 inches and other 12 inches. the surge protector i would only require one for a single cable or 2 for both ends?

as for fibre i am considering this, i have never done fibre in the past i might be after a 50 meter run, trying to understand cores and connectors as well as bend radius :-(
 
I replaced my underground Cat6 with fiber and the result was great. Modern fiber has a very tight bend radius -- just inches in fact. Just make sure you are consistent in type of fiber and connector. Are you connecting to switches at either end?
 
i have a hikvision ds7608ni-e2/8p poe nvr and a ds23032 camera i will be connecting. so no switch only the built in poe switch on the NVR
 
You are correct -- there is no power transmitted down the fiber cable. A typical installation would be connect to a POE switch at the far end and run the cameras via Cat5/6 from the switch. If you are only powering one camera, it may be easier to run Cat6 directly, provided you are under 100 meters.

If you go with fiber, I suggest you stick with LC connectors. You could use OM1 (62.5um core) or OM2 (50um core) cable.
 
Technically this is not outdoor cable but if you put it in conduit it should be fine. One thought -- if you are going to lay the cable, consider a second one as backup. Fiber cable connectors can be delicate.

And, yes, you'd need a POE injector or a power supply for the camera.

Good luck!
 
@mjb i have connected an ethernet cable from my NVR to the SFP media converter, at the other end i connected the other media converter, inserted an ethernet cable on the other end to a POE injector, then connected an IP POE CCTV camera to the other end. i am unable to get anything to view for this camera. i am unable to ping it as well.

any ideas what i may be doing wrong
 
First question — is your camera getting power? I assume so...

When you say media converter, I assume you are referring to a optical fiber connection between two media converters. What type fiber cable are you using? What type of media converters? Are the media converters compatible with that fiber? Do you get an indication of a signal connection between the two media converters?

We can figure this out.

MJB
 
@mjb yes it is as i have inserted the poe directly into the camera and the other end to a computer to configure it. so the POE injector is working fine. i have a fibre cable and 2 ethernet cables as backup. it works fine of the ethernet cables to the NVR.

below is what i am using:
TP-LINK MC200L - media converter
TP-LINK TL-PoE150S - POE injector
Hikvision DS-2CD2032-i
Hikvison DS7608-NE2/8P
SPF modules: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...sfl_title_13?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ADD8GDUWB40L7
C2G 50m LC-LC 10Gb 50/125 OM3 Duplex Multimode PVC Fibre Optic Cable
 
@mjb
with just the power adapter connected the PWR light is lit
with both ends powered up and the modules with the Fibre cables, the Link LED above FX is lit with PWR light. if i disconnect one end the light goes off FX link. so there is connection between the two end points.
above TP the lights RX and Link are off
 
Did you put one of the converters into FORCE mode instead of AUTO mode? I am not familiar with this media converter but the manual says if you are using two of them (as opposed to connecting through a switch) at least one of them might have to be set to FORCE mode. You also need to restart (power off/on) after making that switch.
 
have tried that as well does not seem to work, the lights are just not lighting up
 
underground conduit still requires an outdoor rated cable!! you want a cable with a hard jacket, and "flooded" with silicon. All underground conduit will eventually fill with water. even if it is PVC with glued joints. conduit "breathes" from heat cycles. air expands and contracts. when it contracts inside the conduit, water molecules condense and collect.
 
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Trax95008 said:
underground conduit still requires an outdoor rated cable!! you want a cable with a hard jacket, and "flooded" with silicon. All underground conduit will eventually fill with water. even if it is PVC with glued joints. conduit "breathes" from heat cycles. air expands and contracts. when it contracts inside the conduit, water molecules condense and collect.
Click to expand...

Amen to that.

And on any Ethernet CAT-5e, 6 or 6a, no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum), use all copper.

I totally agree with @Trax95008 in that I also suggest you use outdoor-rated cable in underground conduit, because after over 31 years of pulling or replacing cable in buried conduit of all type (RGS, PVC, etc.) at NO time were conductors I pulled out or the bottom of the conduit dry. Some moisture gets into all conduits, oftentimes through the above ground fittings: the earth warms up & cools off as the sun rises and sets; as the earth (and the conduit) cools it draws in air from above-ground fittings and the moisture in the air condenses into water. This heat-cycling causes moisture to collect over time as it never gets hot enough to vaporize, expand and leave the conduit. It collects at the low points and, over time, your conductors are submerged in water 24/7. Conductors that have non-outdoor rated jackets will have water intrusion over time that will affect their performance, whether they be for data or voltage. It may not happen in a month, a year or even 2 or 3 but trust me...it will happen and you'll have down time and will be replacing some conductors after a lot of intermittent issues and troubleshooting.
I know, the jacket of outdoor-rated cable is stiffer and harder to work with above ground but it's easier to pull through conduit than the soft indoor-rated jackets. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra for outdoor-rated cable even in conduit. It's cheaper than you think initially than it would be later.
 
if i connect to say a computer at the other end it works fine. now for the POE injector it does not seem to like.
the TP link on one end is lit and the Rx light flashes.
 
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