Types of Cat6 cable recommend for surveillance runs

J

jkajfes

Young grasshopper
Nov 12, 2014
36
2
I'm getting ready to order some cable and I remember Fenderman saying it's really important.

I've only used CAT5 or CAT6 for inside installs with regular computer stuff. So before I go ordering a 1k spool and then find it's not appropriate for the job could I get some feedback please.

My runs are such that none of them will be outside exposed to the elements with the exception of one and that's down a wall and then into the basement and I can deal with that one.

I've tried to read through the coding or listing for CAT but I get thoroughly confused... with the coverings, sheathings, grounds, foils, thicknesses, mhz's... ie 550 strings and fiber also running through the cable in some cases?

I do know CAT 6 is 4 pairs, each two twisted, that the wire should be solid copper for camera installs and generally 23/24 gauge....
I'm in Canada so we get nothing cheap price wise here...

here's a page http://www.infinitecables.com/bulk_cat6-cable.html listing some cable...

Do I go with BK-C6SL-4RDS which is 1000 foot 4 pair Cat6 550MHZ solid shielded (STP) FT4 bulk cable 24 AWG its fire rated and also says FT-4/CMR what ever that means.

or

BK-C6SL-4RD 4 pair Cat6 550 Mhz solid FT6 bulk cable

or BK-C6SL 6BL 4 pair Cat6 550 Mhz soildFT6 bulk cable with (Plenum) what's plenum? the covering?


There is another (and you'll probably say it's this one) BK-C6SL-6BLS 4 pair CAt6 550Mhz solid Shielded FT6 bulk cable (has some kind of white fiber down the middle) for 1k it's a whopping 423.20 It's outta stock... so to me that means everybody's using it for installs, right? :peaceful: I kinda don't want to spring for that price once they get it back in or special order it.

This is a home install, which doesn't necessarily mean I'd like to do it cheap... just that I don't think I'm facing a lot of complication as in industrial runs.

I'd like to get this part cable part right as I agree I think it's important and not any old cable necessarily works.
jk
 
Here you go:

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Netw...qid=1417016734&sr=8-2&keywords=ubiquiti+cable

They make a heavier duty version, but the basic pro cable is really a great cable for the price. At times it has been hard to get so I have used Shireen cable too.

http://www.amazon.com/Shireen-DC-10...&qid=1417016900&sr=8-1&keywords=shireen+cable

Both of those will be just fine. I just ordered 20,000 more feet yesterday actually. I'm going to try and figure out how much CAT5 and Siamese we ran this year as I'm sure the number is astounding. I am only running cable for a private business too, we are not installers for other people. We do have a lot of cameras though, and we have ran thousands and thousands of feet of those two with very good results. There is no need for CAT6 as cameras are only 100mbit virtually always so CAT5 will work perfectly fine for your needs now and in the future.
 
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wow I didn't know this... so thank you kindly for replying. I'll have a look at the cable you've mention. 20,000 feet my gosh I can't remember the last time I walked over 3+ miles. That's a lotta cable man.
 
Plenum?

Plenum cable /ˈplɛnəm/ is cable that is laid in the plenum spaces of buildings. In the United States, plastics used in the construction of plenum cable are regulated under the National Fire Protection Association standard NFPA 90A: Standard for the Installation of Air Conditioning and Ventilating Systems. All materials intended for use on wire and cables to be placed in plenum spaces are designed to meet rigorous fire safety test standards in accordance with NFPA 262 and outlined in NFPA 90A.

Mostly used in commercial buildings, in my state it is required for buildings like Hospitals & Hotels/Motels, to prevent fire from burning down the cable and causing the fire to spread to other rooms.

Plenum-rated and riser-rated cables are restricted to only allow certain chemicals for manufacture of the wire insulation and cable sheath. Typically this results in reduced flexibility of plastic cables, making it stiff and hard to bend. The bend radius may also be increased, and tight bends can potentially crack or tear the insulation and sheathing. A kink in the cable will cause failure and it costs too much for normal uses IMHO.
 
I just unloaded my 20,000 feet of the Shireen cable, that is a lot of cable! It would have been better if I'd have had a place to park a pallet and not have to schlep it to the cable room two at a time lol. Now hopefully that with what I had in stock will last until January at the least.
 
I disagree; cat5 may be adequate for 100Mbit; however throughput isn't the only consideration. When dealing with PoE devices you will experience less of a voltage drop with the heavier gauge of CAT6. You will get more power further with less noise opting for CAT6.. If you decide to install/upgrade to a PoE+ PTZ camera you will need the CAT6 to push 25W any distance.. most outdoor cat5 however is same gauge as cat6 and take cat6 connectors fine.

The price difference is usually negligible, so just default with CAT6 and it also makes it easier if thats the only connectors floating about, lessens chance of installing the wrong ends and having a bad connection.. Ubiquiti Toughcable is about the best you can use for outdoor cabling, there are vendors on ebay whom sell shorter lengths if you dont need a full spool's worth.. Otherwords for indoor or conduit ran cable I perfer the cheaper in-wall stuff with a ground shield and internal separator: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10234&cs_id=1023404&p_id=8093&seq=1&format=2
 
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Nayr when your installing something like a PTZ I'm curious to what distances your doing it. I would assume you've installed quite a few of them. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I think of where a PTZ would be used is on a pole, some where high up, or a large area that needs watching with the ability to zoom in on something interesting. So the cable runs I'm thinking they would be longer. And if the unit has a wiper, a blower for unfogging and possibly a heater I begin to wonder if there will actually be enough power to drive the unit 24/7 if necessary.

I just received a ptz but unfortunately it's not a POE type device though the ad said IP camera. It comes with a separate power supply 12 volts rated at 0-4amp in use... I'm putting it in a location at the front of the house. I haven't done the survey yet as to exactly where. I definitely plan on doing this including a temp install and hookup to a camera to see exactly what I'm getting. I might even leave it there a few days to help with the decision. My cable run for the date part won't be long. Figuring out how the H I'm going to get power to the unit is the problem. I don't plan on running 120v ac. I have no idea outside of a table I saw for running 12 dc to a possibly power hungry PTZ... There are so many finicky things if you don't do this stuff on a regular basis. Right now I'm faced with finding a damn 12 volt dc male plug... the one I got even took the power unit into a store doesn't work. when I try to plug it into the camera just a tiny difference but enough to screw things up. It has a yellow tip on the end. I'm trying to find one. and it went something like this 5 bucks for the part... and extra 7 dollars because the order was small and then 19 dollars flat fee to ship it... and it weighs what an ounce or two...
 
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Ive only installed the one PTZ and mine is currently running off 24VAC, which can go much further on lighter wire than you can get with DC power.. If you have really long power runs to remote PTZ's then 24VAC is the way to go.. You can find power supplies that convert 24VAC to 12VDC specifically for powering very remote cameras.

Ive done alot of PoE WiFi however, they tend to take more power than regular cameras but a PTZ can exceed most Access points in power requirements pretty quick.. You'll have all sorts of weird issues that are very difficult to diagnose when a PoE device dont get enough power.. random resets, overheating, hardlocking.. you think the hardware is bad until you put it back on the bench and it works perfectly fine.. I am having to replace alot of old cat5 cable to install 802.11AC access points that run off high current PoE+

If you were to just try to push 12v @ 5A down a solid pair with max 0.36v drop you'd be using 8AWG cable by the time you reached 80ft away..
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/amps-wire-gauge-d_730.html
In comparison you can get 80ft off 24VAC with roughly same current with only an 22AWG cable
 
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EZ Jacks are nice, but costly for the tool and ends.. If I can get away with it I use punchdowns on both ends, either in a patch panel, keystone jack or a surface mount box.. Then keep bulk prefab short cables for jumping between device and outlet.. Ive made enough cables the old fashioned way the EZ-Jacks provide almost no benefit, I havent had a bad crimp in ages.

Security Cameras are about the only things that get a male rj45 connector on the end of a long run.. and then only on the camera end... at the switch they all go into a patch panel and then a bunch of short jumpers connect to the switches.

This makes it handy if a camera resets and it needs its network configured, I patch it right into the spare ethernet port on my desktop and I am wired directly to it from my office with a few quick patches.
 
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Ubiquiti Toughcable is definitely my favorite. We seem to go through about 1000ft of network cable in a year, sometimes less, so one spool goes a long way. Still have half the box of toughcable RJ45 connectors we bought years ago. I prefer the slightly more expensive version of the cable (Carrier I think they call it), since we go through it so slowly the added cost isn't really a factor in the decision.
 
Razer said:
Here you go:

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Netw...qid=1417016734&sr=8-2&keywords=ubiquiti+cable

They make a heavier duty version, but the basic pro cable is really a great cable for the price. At times it has been hard to get so I have used Shireen cable too.

http://www.amazon.com/Shireen-DC-10...&qid=1417016900&sr=8-1&keywords=shireen+cable

Both of those will be just fine. I just ordered 20,000 more feet yesterday actually. I'm going to try and figure out how much CAT5 and Siamese we ran this year as I'm sure the number is astounding. I am only running cable for a private business too, we are not installers for other people. We do have a lot of cameras though, and we have ran thousands and thousands of feet of those two with very good results. There is no need for CAT6 as cameras are only 100mbit virtually always so CAT5 will work perfectly fine for your needs now and in the future.
Click to expand...

Those both look great but the OP (and myself) are in Canada. Shipping to Canada for the Ubiquiti cable is +$100 and our dollar is not good right now so tag another 14% on the total.

Anybody using unshielded cat6? I am finding it a lot easier to find unshielded cable locally.
 
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unshielded should work fine indoors/attics/walls, just avoid stringing it across or parallel to any AC lines.. and if you can ground your camera chassis (through a emt conduit run) all the better.
 
I would go with something like Superior Essex series 77. The 23awg could make all the difference in the future with POE. It's reasonable and it's a company with a reputation. A lot of these online no name type brands wouldn't pass certification if you put a Fluke DTX to it or they have false UL labels. I wouldn't buy anything made in China. Use a brand like Essex, Berk-Tek, Commscope, General Cable, Belden.

You do not need to use CMR or CMP for a single family dwelling in most places. Regular PVC is fine. They make UV rated jackets, but regular PVC is probably fine for a short outside run. They also make OSP which will have dielectric gel inside to prevent water from getting into the cable if it will be anywhere that might get wet.
 
Razer said:
Here you go:

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Netw...qid=1417016734&sr=8-2&keywords=ubiquiti+cable

They make a heavier duty version, but the basic pro cable is really a great cable for the price. At times it has been hard to get so I have used Shireen cable too.

http://www.amazon.com/Shireen-DC-10...&qid=1417016900&sr=8-1&keywords=shireen+cable

Both of those will be just fine. I just ordered 20,000 more feet yesterday actually. I'm going to try and figure out how much CAT5 and Siamese we ran this year as I'm sure the number is astounding. I am only running cable for a private business too, we are not installers for other people. We do have a lot of cameras though, and we have ran thousands and thousands of feet of those two with very good results. There is no need for CAT6 as cameras are only 100mbit virtually always so CAT5 will work perfectly fine for your needs now and in the future.
Click to expand...

Didn't Ubiquiti cables had a bad rep a couple of years ago by cracking up due to sun exposure then letting water in when it rain which causes lots of POE devices to fried?

Bill
 
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TechBill said:
Didn't Ubiquiti cables had a bad rep a couple of years ago by cracking up due to sun exposure then letting water in when it rain which causes lots of POE devices to fried?

Bill
Click to expand...

There are loads of complaints about the Ubiquiti Tough Cable. Ubiquiti is completely aware of the defective product and offer to replace the cable, but the product was never officially recalled, distributors were not formally notified and end users were still receiving the cable many months after the defects were discovered. Ubiquiti claim the problem has been sorted out, and newer productions don't suffer the same defect. However, there are also claims this is not the case and that cable still deteriorating in less than a year.

Personally, I avoid having any exposed cable by using Corrugated Split Sleeve Tubing - like the product below...

http://amzn.com/B005V9UU1O

There is a video somebody uploaded showing the Ubiquiti Tough Cable deterioration here:



Important considerations with exposed sections of cable are any opportunities for water to enter the cable and the build quality of the sheath, with UV protection a must. Some causes of damage to the cable which will allow moisture in include:
- Nicking the cable during installation (even scuffing the jacket can cause it to blister over a short time)
- Bird pecks / rodent gnaws after installation
- Atmospheric heating / cooling that draws humid air into the cable through unsealed RJ-45 connectors which condense (this can compound the problem caused by the first two points as well)

A tried and tested best practice to deal with water infiltration is a 'Drip Loop and Slit'. Where a loop in the cable at a lowered end is made and a slit cut into the bottom of the cable draws away any moisture build up to protect any POE devices.
 
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I have had to climb many towers, replace several radios and revisit several customers due to the ubiquiti cable (i own a WISP), they offered to replace my cable but who did we know we would not be back in the same boat in another 1 to 2 years, it cost us a lot of man hours for that reason we only use shireen cable now.

that said they say issue has been corrected and I have used the cable in a few indoor only installs and it does appear to be made different
 
One thing for certain I've learned in the use of outdoor cable or attachments is White anything loves to soak up the UV and deteriorate itself.

Plus it can become even more confusing with the Riser, Plenum, Direct Bury, Shielded, Non Shielded, Indoor, Outdoor..... Then add in color choices...

I'll add one last consideration to the mix... The darker the outside jacket is and if it is exposed to direct sunlight thereby holding more heat becomes more lossy (is that a real word) as it becomes warmer. Normally not a residential consideration but if you push a run out there to the ~300' mark when it's cool environmentally and then 3 months later when it's really located in a hot environment (attic, factory ceiling, etc.) the loss over the same run of wire with the difference in temperature can be fairly significant.
 
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