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Old 08-12-2017, 07:25 PM   #1
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Cat5e Cable Question

So I will be sending a length of Cat5e cable--a 'patch cord' it's called I think. The Cat5e cable will be the internal run that connects the wifi booster antenna to the hotspot/router inside the coach. (My antenna will be on a mast attached to the rear bumper.)

I have two types of Cat5e cable sitting around. One has stranded wire and the other has solid wire. I can make my own patch cord.

Would it be better to make my cord from the stranded wire? I think solid cable would be fine but I think using a stranded cable would be a little better at resisting damage from highway shaking. Comments, please. Thanks.
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Old 08-12-2017, 07:38 PM   #2
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All the Cat5 cable I ever dealt with was solid. Did not know it even came stranded. Since the cable (solid) is already in a sheath I would not worry when using the solid option.
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Old 08-12-2017, 08:18 PM   #3
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Solid cat5e /cat6 is most commonly used due to cost and resistance to corrosion. It is also less susceptible to noise.

Stranded cat5e / cat6 is commonly used in patch cables that will be often flexed.

https://www.firefold.com/blog/solid-...pros-and-cons/

I would use the cat5e solid and make sure to support the cabling with wiring loom / tyraps to minimize movement of the cable.
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Old 08-12-2017, 11:35 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Todtman View Post
So I will be sending a length of Cat5e cable--a 'patch cord' it's called I think. The Cat5e cable will be the internal run that connects the wifi booster antenna to the hotspot/router inside the coach. (My antenna will be on a mast attached to the rear bumper.)

I have two types of Cat5e cable sitting around. One has stranded wire and the other has solid wire. I can make my own patch cord.

Would it be better to make my cord from the stranded wire? I think solid cable would be fine but I think using a stranded cable would be a little better at resisting damage from highway shaking. Comments, please. Thanks.
The difference will be negligible for a short run. In large networks we use solid core for long runs, and stranded core for short runs, patch panels, top of rack, etc. The main reason for using the solid on longer runs is it has slightly less resistance per 100 feet, and also because of cost. There are also other considerations like whether we use stp or utp, but those features are not important here.

If you have some good old patch cord cable laying around (cat 5e utp stranded) just use that.
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Old 08-13-2017, 01:46 AM   #5
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I've only encountered stranded in premade patch cords, anything I bought by the roll was solid although it's now been a few years and things change fast. I'd think as long as it passes the tester after it's made you can use whatever you want.
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Old 08-13-2017, 01:10 PM   #6
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Thank you all for the replies. I think I will use the solid wire.
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