how long for cat 5 cable?

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Ballvalve

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Amazoon has some 200' cat6 and 5 cable with good reviews for 10 bucks. How far can I go? Some say 500'?

whats the dif with the 5 and 6?
 

LLigetfa

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CAT5e or CAT6 is certified for gig. The official distance is 90 meters for cable plant and another 10 meters for jumpers for a total of 100 meters. If running at lower speeds you could probably double it as long as you are not running CSMA/CD.
 

DonL

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Amazoon has some 200' cat6 and 5 cable with good reviews for 10 bucks. How far can I go? Some say 500'?

whats the dif with the 5 and 6?

Cat6 has about 2X the bandwidth as cat5, Crosstalk and noise is better using Cat6, it has a slightly larger conductor.

Depending on it use, Cat5e or Cat 6 can be used up to expected MAX of 1000 feet.

But to stay in the intended Spec for Cat6 100 meters if you want 1Gig rating.

Cat5 will do fine for most uses, But Cat6 is rated better - about 2X Bandwidth. (I find that hard to believe)


Enjoy your purchase. That sounds like a good price, If shipping is free.


DonL
 
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Ballvalve

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NEXT: Running cable for a little security camera - outputs are rca connectors. Can I go 250'? Seems I read that cable is only good for 100'.

Wireless does not want to work here. Any ideas?
 

DonL

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NEXT: Running cable for a little security camera - outputs are rca connectors. Can I go 250'? Seems I read that cable is only good for 100'.

Wireless does not want to work here. Any ideas?

You can use Cat5/6 and a Video Balun like this one.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/50-7710

they are 7.99 if you use the correct Discount Code. You would need 2, One on each end.

If you need audio also, they make a balun with audio also for a lot more money.

400 feet should be no problem. They claim 1000 feet max. Seems a stretch.
 

LLigetfa

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Coax distance limits are based on size and spec. You don't say what coax you plan to use.

Baseband or component video is pretty old school. We have miles of old coax strung throughout the plant. All our new cameras are IP and we plan to convert some of the old cameras to IP as well.

IP camera pricing has really come down and companies like Ubiquiti have really shaken up the market.

http://ubnt.com/airvision
 

DonL

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Nice Link LLigetfa.

NTSC Composite Video is a pretty low frequency system 6 MHZ in design.

The Distance problem is more with powering a device from the other end, Then Video Loss at 6 MHZ.

It is best to power the Camera near its closest source, Then just use the coax for the Video.

If the Coax is large enough, then running 500ma or so should not be a problem.

Depends on the cameras and system.


Video Over IP is the way to go, But does cost good money. Maybe Money well spent...
 

Jimbo

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A lot of cameras I have looked at spec 250' or 300' max. Besides the power issue, I think the video image starts to suffer on long cables.
 

DonL

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Around here I RF Modulate everything, and keep it contained in a Coax versus Wireless.

The only drawback is that you have to Demodulate to view it.

With Old School TVs it works fine, The can Demodulate Analog, and also keeps NTSC TVs out of the landfill.

If you tap into the Tuner Out IF, after Demod you can feed other Video Devices. (Should not be used for PPV)


If an off the shelf Video Camera has a built in Cable then that is the Length it is designed to operate with.

Adding any extra will just Make Video smear worse.

If your equipment uses BNC connectors then you can use a good Quality RG6 or RG11 and make it as long as you can afford.


Now that wire is so expensive it makes more sense to uses Baluns and Cheap wire. If you don't really need the shielding that Coax provides. Use Shield Cat cable if needed.

Making your own Balun's is a lot cheaper than buying them.


Its about Whatever Floats Your Boat.
 

Ballvalve

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You can use Cat5/6 and a Video Balun like this one.

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/50-7710

they are 7.99 if you use the correct Discount Code. You would need 2, One on each end.

If you need audio also, they make a balun with audio also for a lot more money.

400 feet should be no problem. They claim 1000 feet max. Seems a stretch.

Looks like a great solution for cheap. Thanks all for the info
 
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