Why is it so hard to find a cat5e extension cable?

Pew said:
Wow everybody is making this harder than it seems. Not everybody cares about RF interference or the perfect setup, he's not using it for a data center. I googled up Cat5e male to female extensions and got virtually unlimited results. Here's the google results for you.
Click to expand...
This is BITOG where many of the members are OCD (maybe even most!) and half-assing stuff generally isn't well received. Ergo, you should in no way be surprised by the responses given.

I'm in the middle of having a medical building re-wired with CAT6A because the existing is a mix of CAT3, CAT5 and CAT5e in varying qualities and there are all sorts of weird and wild performance and connectivity issues as a result. Couplings in the ceiling? Check. CAT3 cable and wall jacks trying to push Gig-E? Check, CAT5 cable and wall jacks trying to push Gig-E? Check. $20 d-link unmanaged switches also in the ceiling? Check. Departments daisy-chained instead of home runs? Also Check! A complete ****-show because somebody was fine with it being done in that manner or totally oblivious to the potential issues allowing it to be half-assed introduces.

A coupling introduces a point of failure in what should be a home run. Cars and trucks are exposed to a myriad of temperatures and levels of humidity that can cause corrosion in these sorts of connectors, which is why couplings on surveillance cameras have weatherproofing and seals to prevent moisture ingress and, if one was forced to use a coupling, should be the minimum standard (using a weatherproof junction).

This thread went the expected direction.
 
Pew said:
Wow everybody is making this harder than it seems. Not everybody cares about RF interference or the perfect setup, he's not using it for a data center. I googled up Cat5e male to female extensions and got virtually unlimited results. Here's the google results for you.
Click to expand...
You know what? I had lost connection continuously (think video call disconnected or download restart mid way from beginning due to bad connection) once due to a bad cable, even if I am only using very little traffic. The carrier signals between 2 ethernet device is still going at high speed unless you manually set it to low speed in your device driver or OS, not easy to do between 2 devices without a user interface for that.

If you really want to do that kind of rigging, make sure at least one end of the connection has device / computer with a user interface, that let you set it to 10mbps, not even 100mbps. 10 is very tolerant of bad cabling but 100+ and certainly 1G will have problem. They will auto negotiate well and get to 1G then fail once in a while.
 
OVERKILL said:
Couplings in the ceiling? Check. CAT3 cable and wall jacks trying to push Gig-E? Check, CAT5 cable and wall jacks trying to push Gig-E? Check. $20 d-link unmanaged switches also in the ceiling? Check. Departments daisy-chained instead of home runs? Also Check!
Click to expand...
When I was a recent hire years ago, I found a rats nest of three small Linksys hubs all daisy-chained together and stuffed above a ceiling tile once. The older guy I worked with was a hack and he just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something dismissive like, 'They all have connectivity, right? What's the problem?' and walked away. I hated that guy. Still do.
 
Bottom_Feeder said:
When I was a recent hire years ago, I found a rats nest of three small Linksys hubs all daisy-chained together and stuffed above a ceiling tile once. The older guy I worked with was a hack and he just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something dismissive like, 'They all have connectivity, right? What's the problem?' and walked away. I hated that guy. Still do.
Click to expand...

I'm curious to know. Since drop ceilings usually do NOT have power outlets in them, how were these hubs getting power?
 
Meh, a coupler does fine if it is well built with shielding, good trace routing, not just a hack job of two RJ45 phone sockets with wires between the pins.

I've used these before, as a permanent installation, long-term, working fine to achieve full GbE speeds over a few dozen feet (don't recall any over 100ft) runs:


Unfortunately they've now doubled in price, might be cheaper on ebay...
 
brianl703 said:
I'm curious to know. Since drop ceilings usually do NOT have power outlets in them, how were these hubs getting power?
Click to expand...
IIRC, it was a looong extension cord that was fished through the drop ceiling and down into the network closet behind the rack, hidden from view. I think he even had it plugged into the UPS.

Amazing the amount of effort that was involved in doing such a dumb thing in such a clever yet crappy way. Kinda impressive in its own way. lol
 
LDM said:
No, you would run a new cable to replace it to the length you need or a little more if you think you may move it again. While patch cables come in standard lengths they are generally just used for patching at a switch from panel or if you have wall jacks and need to plug in a device. If the current cable you have isn't long enough, cut the male RJ45 end off, terminate it to a female plug, put it in a box, and then use a patch cable of the appropriate size.

While there are couplers available to join the male ends of RJ45, they are generally not recommended due to the noise and interference they can introduce. If you really want to use them, however, they are readily available at just about any site online.

Click to expand...
A premade RJ45 patch cable is almost certainly stranded wire and difficult to crimp a RJ-45 plug.
 
Bottom_Feeder said:
IIRC, it was a looong extension cord that was fished through the drop ceiling and down into the network closet behind the rack, hidden from view. I think he even had it plugged into the UPS.

Amazing the amount of effort that was involved in doing such a dumb thing in such a clever yet crappy way. Kinda impressive in its own way. lol
Click to expand...
I see the same thing on the parts counter. Like had they just put all of that effort into doing the job the right way, the car would have been fixed and down the road weeks ago.
 
So thanks to this thread I am getting these suggested emails from Amazon. *Puts on tinfoil hat and sits in the corner*

IMG_3578.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Why are cables not included? Is this a new thing?
2 3
Replies
50
Views
3K
CarLuver
GON
Costly mistake in time and money- chasing down a cut radio antenna wire
Replies
7
Views
441
GON
y_p_w
Why is USB-C cabling a mess?
2 3
Replies
50
Views
2K
racer12306
SwampSurvivor
2001 Grand Marquis / CrownVic / Parking Brake Issues - way too much slack in the cable?
Replies
5
Views
628
Fordiesel69
BeerCan
Winter is coming, time for new jumper cables
Replies
16
Views
1K
BeerCan
Back
Top