Looking for good online source for eia/tia certified CAT6/7 cabling

[GK59]

I've searched and couldn't quite find what I'm looking for on a good quality source for eia/tia certified CAT6/7 cabling, thanks.

 

[ColinTaylor]

And what part of the planet are you on?

 

[st3v3n]

Colin (Thanks for a chuckle). Er, Many choices on Amazon.com. Good luck.

 

[GK59]

Colin (Thanks for a chuckle). Er, Many choices on Amazon.com. Good luck.

lol indeed, when I posted it was before I started to search but just wanted to know what most around here use. I found some good CAT 6a and will see how it goes.

 

[CaptainSTX]

lol indeed, when I posted it was before I started to search but just wanted to know what most around here use. I found some good CAT 6a and will see how it goes.

While Collin might have been trying to be sarcastic in his comment ("what part of the planet") in reality and to take his remark at face value, to help someone source an item they, a responder needs to know what country the OP lives in. There are posters on the site from all over the planet.

 

[ColinTaylor]

While Collin might have been trying to be sarcastic in his comment ("what part of the planet") in reality and to take his remark at face value, to help someone source an item they, a responder needs to know what country the OP lives in. There are posters on the site from all over the planet.

Exactly. It may have sounded sarcastic but it was meant as a serious question. The OP was looking for an "online source". I could recommend a couple of suppliers here in the UK but that wouldn't help if he was located in Australia. I see he has now added his location to his profile.

 

[GK59]

lol guys, I got a kick out of the commentary here, and took no offense to Colin's post nor anyone else's for that matter. Anyhow, I found these below, hope they work out...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NPL4IU/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[st3v3n]

GK59, glad to keep the atmosphere light but helpful above all. Likely that most CAT 6 or 7 will give you everything you need. We usually catch Cat 7 when amazon and the regular vendors run coupons/percentage off sales, or during holidays. Prime day, and during the black Friday season are good to pick up almost anything. We tested a batch of no-name, el-cheapo Cat 7 against brand-name cable we've had on hand for years of all grades. Not surprisingly, there's not much difference that can be successfully measured except by 'experts' with good equipment, and they continually advise everyone to stick with Cat 5e. The newer stuff seems to be tougher and the marking people surely have done their share to help us part with a few extra bucks.. For that small additional cost we never buy below CAT 6. For video streaming purposes, perhaps bragging rights are included.. Cheers

 

[Trip]

So first off, if you're actually interested in copper TIA/EIA certification, Cat7 isn't even ratified yet (to the best of my knowledge), so that's a bit of a mute point. Shorter runs of Cat6 or medium runs of unshielded Cat6a make the most sense for 10G over copper. If you want to do longer lengths, you may be better off going multi-mode or single-mode fiber.

In terms of quality copper patch or bulk, there are really 2 camps. The first would the cheap-as-possible and does the job level - ie. Monoprice, Cable Matters, most stuff on Amazon. The second would be pre-tested patch from makers like Panduit, Hubbel, Leviton, Belden, certified bulk from CommScope, Mohawk, Berk-Tek, etc. I've also heard good things about Blue Jeans Cable (available on Amazon) for one-off SOHO needs. The latter group is most likely overkill and too pricey for your average Joe to think it's worth it. There's more back and forth about this in this thread.

End of the day, I think something like Monoprice or whatever bulk cable, as long as it's all-copper and not copper-clad aluminum, ought to be just fine.

Best of luck.

 

[ARAMP1]

I’ve had success with Cable Matters bulk rolls of Cat6A shielded. The white paired cables aren’t marked with the associated pairs color stripe, but each twisted pair is in their own shielding foil, so it’s not too difficult to tell which line is which. I’ve gone through two bulk rolls of it so far and the first roll had an additional flexible hard wire in it which helped push it through walls, but my second roll didn’t have it. As a result, it gets bunched up every once in a while.

 

[st3v3n]

Over 30 years, we've bought and installed miles of various brands of Ethernet cable; good experiences with CAT 5/6/7, ratified or not. Beldon, wanted a defective cable back before shipping a replacement, but after calling Amazon a replacement was shipped/received in two days, no charge or return necessary. 99.9% of the time, not counting the cheapest, bottom-barrel variety, cable today is made to the proper specs, and will pass any test you wish to conduct before installing; if not, it gets replaced regardless of brand/cost. There's no measurable or discernible difference between mid-range store/regional vendor brand and top name-brand, which wasn't the case years ago. Unless you know where the cable is actually made, you have to go with how it tests and works on delivery. The miracle of Amazon fulfillment beats the pants off of any purchase/replacement method, whether you build the cable or it comes with connectors from the factory.

Obviously, a 100-foot coil of 'no-brand' CAT 6/7 for $3.00 with a lifetime warranty should raise the question if 'lifetime' i.e., does that mean for the life of the product after installation with the original owner, or how long the product is in the carton until delivery. As with all purchases, the too-good-to-be-true rule applies to whatever brand of cable you buy. If the connector is laying in the bottom of the box, that's not a good sign.

Try before committing to large quantities, get samples from several vendors; some will still send out free samples so you can be sure it meets your rigorous requirements/needs. The cable will likely work as long as there is a service to hook it into. Cheers.

 

[spenceclair]

Just get some stuff from fs.com. Wonderful prices and good quality.
https://www.fs.com/c/cat5e-cat6-cat7-904

 

[st3v3n]

Grabbed a truckload of this kind of treasure when a local hospital remodeled; CAT 6 with some old 5e in the mix. saved tons of money