Where to get Ethernet cable?

[neonplanet40]

* Grrr autotype! Can't change title. It SHOULD say, 'Where to get ethernet cable?'*

Hi folks, we are getting new carpet in the living room. I am keen to put down cat cables underneath for my home network to make it neater.

Can anyone recommend where to get bulk cable and which type for future proofing? I need around 50m. Would get more if reel only sold in a longer size.

I have never made my own cables before (as in crimp the ends etc.

Do I just need the following?

Bulk ethernet cable
RJ-45 connectors
Relief boots (optional)
RJ-45 crimping tool
Wire cutters, wire strippers, or scissors

Any other advice or tips?

[ik9000]

* Grrr autotype! Can't change title. It SHOULD say, 'Where to get ethernet cable?'*

Hi folks, we are getting new carpet in the living room. I am keen to put down cat cables underneath for my home network to make it neater.

Can anyone recommend where to get bulk cable and which type for future proofing? I need around 50m. Would get more if reel only sold in a longer size.

I have never made my own cables before (as in crimp the ends etc.

Do I just need the following?

Bulk ethernet cable
RJ-45 connectors
Relief boots (optional)
RJ-45 crimping tool
Wire cutters, wire strippers, or scissors

Any other advice or tips?

hi, there was a great thread on this a while back. Look for "networking my house" or something like that (I'll fish out the link soon)

You'll want to buy drums/reels, not cut lengths of cable. Depending on what Cat you go for you might want to get radius bend cable tray too to help you not knacker it going round corners. (cat 6 upwards in particular).

It is also recommended to use an ethernet cable tester device thing. checks everything is joined up properly and performing as it should. Saves a lot of hassle (I'm told - still to install mine)

NB You can change the thread title by going into advanced edit mode.

[ik9000]

ok there are two recent threads that may be useful:

This is the one I was thinking of: https://forums.hexus.net/networking-...at6-cable.html
in searching for that I also stumbled across this one: https://forums.hexus.net/networking-...ing-house.html

[neonplanet40]

https://www.netstoredirect.com/cat6-...utp-cable.html
This okay? lol so many types....

Hmmm or pay more than double for Cat6a....

decisions decisions

[blueball]

Cat 6 is possibly overkill and is more picky about the connections you make. Personally I would go Cat 5e (more forgiving on bend radius as well).

[Giraffe]

Haven't bought any recently, but Kenable is reasonable and seems to be of decent quality - certainly the HDMI, USB and SPDIF cables look and feel good, and seem to perform well.
http://www.kenable.co.uk/

[peterb]

I tend to use www.cablemonkey.co.uk for my cables. What are you trying to achieve? If it’s a network infrastructure with a central hub with a patch panel and remote sockets, you could use one of the varieties of Cat 6, but (as others have said) it’s harder to work with, less forgiving of poor installation techniques and larger diameter.

If you are making up effectively extension cables, the stranded cat5e rj45 connectors and a good quality crimp tool are all you really need. You might want to add a cable stripper for the outer sheath of the cable (saves a huge amount of time and frustration) and strain relief boots for the rj45 plugs. The usual cabling standard is T568b in Europe.

https://speechfoodie.com/ethernet-wiring-diagram-t568b/

[DanceswithUnix]

Hmmm or pay more than double for Cat6a....

How big is your mansion? If it is a particularly long run from the west wing to the summer house then you will need really high spec cable, but for most of us the few steps from the living room to the study even cat5e can manage 10 gigabit

(waits for exclamations of "Study? Luxury, we have to work in't cardboard box in't middle 't road")

[neonplanet40]

Hi Folks, thank you for the help. My house is networked so people can watch HD movies around the house from my Synology.

I am looking to put cables in the living room under my new carpet. I would like them to cope fine with the speeds required (for the next 10 years or so) of playing HD and UHD video files etc.

This is all they will be used for. At the moment, I have a gigabyte network. I don't have any 10GB equipment. Whether I do or not at some point remains to be seen...

As for house size, not massive. Just a big detached house. Longest cable run would be 10 meters or so.

[peterb]

How big is your mansion? If it is a particularly long run from the west wing to the summer house then you will need really high spec cable, but for most of us the few steps from the living room to the study even cat5e can manage 10 gigabit

(waits for exclamations of "Study? Luxury, we have to work in't cardboard box in't middle 't road")

Well, if it's West wing to the summer house, fibre would be good - PM me and I'll give a quote! (Won't be cheap though!)

[DanceswithUnix]

Well, if it's West wing to the summer house, fibre would be good - PM me and I'll give a quote! (Won't be cheap though!)

If I could afford a west wing or a summer house I'm sure I'd be OK with that

I was really just trying to point out how capable the lower cable ratings really are.

[ik9000]

I have both. the west wing is my garage and the summer house a plastic monstrosity about 3ft high left by the old owners. I guess technically your call it a bin store but using estate agents handbook....

[peterb]

If I could afford a west wing or a summer house I'm sure I'd be OK with that

I was really just trying to point out how capable the lower cable ratings really are.

Yes - cat5e is very capable over the short ranges found in most homes. Its hard enough for most users to max out a 1 Gb/s connection, never mind a 10 Gb/s !

Of course, fibre has other advantages, noise immunity and high data rates of long distances - as well as the unit cost/metre of the fibre itself, where over long runs, that saving outweighs the higher installation costs, even on low data rate applications.

[integerspin]

The local places that flog electricians stuff, TLC-electrical near me, flog rolls[305m] of cable;screwfix probably sell it.
I use a cheap crimp tool off ebay, it came with some plugs and boots and I bought some more off ebay
when I needed them.