Easy/dumb question: CMX/CAT 5 Cable

[farnsworth]

I need to make an ethernet cable to run to a computer 50-100 feet away from a router. We have CMX cable, which looks identical to CAT 5. Same shield, same number of wires, etc. Anyone know if it will work? If there's a definite "No". I won't waste the cable trying it, but if we can save some money, I'd rather use what we have. We're a non-profit House, so pinching pennies wherever we can is a plus.

Thanks!

[imax]

CMX cable is ethernet cable. I've seen it in both cat5e and cat6 varieties, so as long as you plumb it correctly at the ends, you should be fine.

[farnsworth]

Thank you! This is older stuff, so I'm pretty certain it isn't cat 6(cat 6 was super expensive when this stuff was bought, so I really doubt that we payed out for the better stuff). If you know of a place that sells ethernet connectors cheaper than Radioshack, let me know, as that's the only place that sells them around me..

Again, Thank you very very much!

[imax]

Check Lowes/Home Depot. They usually have a section of stuff for home networking which includes the RJ45 ends, coax adapters, wall plates, all sorts of goodies.

[simplesdmny]

Being a computer tech i have found that u can get the RJ45 connecters online at http://cables.cablesunlimited.com/cables

[The Mad Hatter]

The CMX cable should work fine, as long as the wires are the same size if not bigger than the CAT5 cable, IF they are smaller you can have problems with the data being sent over the long distance, it can get scrambled. Also make sure the material of the cable match up, copper, fiber optics, etc. All wires are basically the same what makes them different are the sizes and where they are plugged in. Hope this helps.

-Frank Balzer
FrankWillisBalzer@yahoo.com

[Brandon_K]

The CMX cable should work fine, as long as the wires are the same size if not bigger than the CAT5 cable, IF they are smaller you can have problems with the data being sent over the long distance, it can get scrambled. All wires are basically the same what makes them different are the sizes and where they are plugged in. Hope this helps.

I realize this is a 2 month old post, but I thought I would add some corrections.

While wire gauge does matter, it's not exactly true that if it's the same size or bigger you're fine.

CMX cable is still sold in CAT3/5/5e/6 variants. I've even seen some dealers sell "silver satin" phone cable (office PBX) as CMX.

CAT3 doesn't follow the same specs as CAT5, 5e, etc. The twist patterns are different for example. CAT5 has more twist to help reduce crosstalk, it's definitely more than "all wires are basically the same".

CAT3 is generally good up to 100mbit including old token ring, ATM and 10B-T networks. CAT5/5e/6 is good for 1000B-T. UTP CAT6 is offically rated for up to 37m on 10GigE, where STP variants of 6/6a/7 are rated for 100m.

Long story short, read the printing on the jacket, 99% of the time the cable type or manufacture model is printed on the cable. If it's CAT5/5e you can run just about anything on it. If it's CAT3, I personally wouldn't put it on a gigabit node, especially if it's spanning any kind of distance. Weird network errors that you might normally blame on a machine or Windows can easily be caused by a crappy cable.

[derekatronic]

Just want to point out that Farnsworth is on here discussing various types of wire. If you're a Futurama fan like me, you'll appreciate that.

[soultrkr]

if you don't feel comfortable making your own cable check best buy they alot of times will have some premade or some even are willing to make you the cable for a fee of course.

[farnsworth]

I realize this is a 2 month old post, but I thought I would add some corrections.

While wire gauge does matter, it's not exactly true that if it's the same size or bigger you're fine.

CMX cable is still sold in CAT3/5/5e/6 variants. I've even seen some dealers sell "silver satin" phone cable (office PBX) as CMX.

CAT3 doesn't follow the same specs as CAT5, 5e, etc. The twist patterns are different for example. CAT5 has more twist to help reduce crosstalk, it's definitely more than "all wires are basically the same".

CAT3 is generally good up to 100mbit including old token ring, ATM and 10B-T networks. CAT5/5e/6 is good for 1000B-T. UTP CAT6 is offically rated for up to 37m on 10GigE, where STP variants of 6/6a/7 are rated for 100m.

Long story short, read the printing on the jacket, 99% of the time the cable type or manufacture model is printed on the cable. If it's CAT5/5e you can run just about anything on it. If it's CAT3, I personally wouldn't put it on a gigabit node, especially if it's spanning any kind of distance. Weird network errors that you might normally blame on a machine or Windows can easily be caused by a crappy cable.

Thanks for all the extra info, it's actually gonna come in handy again, real soon. I'm looking into a "homebrew" Ride Camera system for selling pictures to our customers, and I'm gonna need to run some data wire a ways out from the exit.