Never use cca cat5e again! Changed some cca for high quality 100% copper

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
Had some cca cat5e in my house. Couple of cameras giving me issues probably related with packet losses.
Changed a couple with exterior 100% copper cat5e and what a difference!

Lesson learned for sure. Now how to replace the cables in the walls? Was such a mission to install them.
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
Attach new cables to old cables.
Pull through new cables while pulling out old cables.
Yep thanks. Sometimes I add washing up liquid to lubricate them. Got a difficult portion about 15 mts with varios curves. Took me about 2 days initially to get that lan through with the fish eye cable
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
I wish we had plasterboard walls! All very solid brick (double skin) and reinforced concrete buildings here!
I tried drilling a hole for a camera cable connection box last night just 15cm from the ceiling to the outside. My hammer drill got stuck on a reinforced beam just inches in, Gave up, and had to put it lower down!!
 

tech_junkie

Getting comfortable
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
412
Reaction score
417
Location
South Dakota
copper clad aluminum wire was an il concept for cheaper data wire. The only thing I can see it being possibly useful for is POE lighting. Real 100% copper wire doesn't cost that much more. What is a pain is the zon (amazon) because their items sometimes hide the fact the wire is CCA. Buy from a real cable source: monoprice, truecable, cablewholesale, cablestogo are a few vendors I get stuff from.
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
copper clad aluminum wire was an il concept for cheaper data wire. The only thing I can see it being possibly useful for is POE lighting. Real 100% copper wire doesn't cost that much more. What is a pain is the zon (amazon) because their items sometimes hide the fact the wire is CCA. Buy from a real cable source: monoprice, truecable, cablewholesale, cablestogo are a few vendors I get stuff from.
yep I am sure I've been scammed with a few of my lengths. They don't even state on the cable what they are sometimes. cat5e verified with the awg.
If it states CMR does that mean it is 100% copper?
 

SpacemanSpiff

Known around here
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
1,456
Reaction score
2,431
Location
USA
yep I am sure I've been scammed with a few of my lengths. They don't even state on the cable what they are sometimes. cat5e verified with the awg.
If it states CMR does that mean it is 100% copper?
A CMR rating means the cable can be used in the risers of commercial buildings because they limit the spread of flames better than cables in the CL/CM family.

 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
I have a length of cat6 that I want to verify if it is cca or copper.
Without taking off a section and visibly looking at it :
says on it:
'netconnect category utp E138034 1300 23awg verified to cat6'

Is the only way to verify by stripping a length and inspecting it if it looks silver on the inside?
 

sebastiantombs

Known around here
Joined
Dec 28, 2019
Messages
11,511
Reaction score
27,690
Location
New Jersey
If you look at the end of the cable, assuming it has an exposed end of course, you should be able to see if the conductors are solid copper or have that bright, silvery, shine that says aluminum. A magnifier can help with that. You can even use that technique on a terminated cable by carefully inspecting the end of the RJ45 connector.
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
If you look at the end of the cable, assuming it has an exposed end of course, you should be able to see if the conductors are solid copper or have that bright, silvery, shine that says aluminum. A magnifier can help with that. You can even use that technique on a terminated cable by carefully inspecting the end of the RJ45 connector.
I have enough spare at the end to strip a bit and put a new rj45 on after if I can't visibly see.
Wish they would print it on the exterior of the cable!
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
I have a feeling I'll be stripping a lot of my cables out of the walls!! I was a bit ignorant when I first started networking when we moved in and inadvertently purchased some cca most likely.
Some tricky routes through the house. At least and can use the existing ones to pull through new ones.
Soldering the 8 cables together with some strong tape so they don't come apart through the tighter turns.

Just as I have accumulated more cameras over the years I'm pretty sure some areas are lagging.
 

mat200

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Jan 17, 2017
Messages
13,649
Reaction score
22,741
CCA often printed on the box the cable came with ..
CCA can be printed on the cable itself ..

you can cut a small section off and try to scrap the coper wire and see if it is solid copper or not.

also you can check resistance .. CCA higher resistance

some also use a fire test .. CCA burns differently than copper ..
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
Yep looks like all but the latest section added is all CCA even the cat6!! Just stripped all the off cuts I found

I just installed a 35m section of exterior cat5e yesterday, which is 100% copper luckily.

Now got many other long sections throughout many interior walls with inferior cca.

As I have 700 download and 66 upload fibre to house, 10 cameras, 4k TV, ps4, Blue iris, proxmox with homeassistant and work from home with an azure vpn connecting to EU I think I have a house remodelling job on my hands!!
70 online devices most of the time (includes all the smart switches etc)
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
ok looking at 305m rolls. Prices even for copper vary a lot.

What do I need to look for? Thanks
 

Pentagano

Getting comfortable
Joined
Dec 11, 2020
Messages
573
Reaction score
269
Location
Uruguay
iperf3.exe -c 192.168.1.206 -P 8 -t 30 -w 32768 -i 5 -f g

SUM 0-30 sec.
3.25 GBytes
0.93 Gbits/sec
sender and receiver. What do I make of that?

Between the 8 port switch downstairs through a 40m cat6 cca to my main gateway router upstairs in my office.
 

tech_junkie

Getting comfortable
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
412
Reaction score
417
Location
South Dakota
iperf3.exe -c 192.168.1.206 -P 8 -t 30 -w 32768 -i 5 -f g

SUM 0-30 sec.
3.25 GBytes
0.93 Gbits/sec
sender and receiver. What do I make of that?

Between the 8 port switch downstairs through a 40m cat6 cca to my main gateway router upstairs in my office.
one channel is half- duplex while another channel is full duplex.
It might be normal if other tcp traffic is going down the wire.

UDP tests is what you need to test, and iperf2 is more accurate for UDP measurements.
 
Top