Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: CAT5e cable
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2025 10:53:25 -0700
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Les,

> 1)    The Durometer of the plastic coating on the wire and the sheath.
>      Range is 0 -100 and the higher the number the harder the
>      material.  I doubt that you will find that in the specs, but.

This (the "more desirable") seems to be *thicker* than the other.
The inferior product almost looks/feels like "shrink wrap over 4 pairs".
I.e., you can FEEL the pairs under the jacket.

The nicer (in terms of routing) cable has a more substantial
feel to it (though not as if the jacket was a *tube* with loose
conductors within).

> 2)    CCA  Copper Coated or Clad Aluminum  I was always careful
>      when buying CAT-5 or CAT-6 cable.  Always wanted Solid Copper!
>      Look for that on the cable box or on the cable itself.

Yes.  I am also wondering if stranded would have been a better
choice (too late now) despite being "premises wiring" (not
patch cables).

> 3)    Cable Gauge. 22 AWG vs 24 AWG vs 26 AWG vs 28 AWG  The higher
>      the number the thinner the wire.

I've always used #24AWG.

> Hope that help with your challenge!!

My concern is mainly to know how to specify the type of cable
that should be used in future installations (in which I won't
likely be involved).  Other than naming a specific vendor
and model number (whose manufacture could also change, over
time)

Both (all?) cables seem electrically similar and have the same
stated pull strength.  But, I noticed feeding several cables
through the EMT, conduit bodies, els, etc. there was a definite
difference in how the "flimsier" one handled the bends that
you encounter in those situations.

As I suspect "paid help" would be less meticulous than I, it
would be wise to specify materials that they would be less
likely to abuse.  <frown>

Thanks!