Upgrading to CAT6 - Shielded or Unshielded?

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Givemema

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Hello.
I've had the same CAT5e cable running around the house, exposed to sun and rain, for around 5 years now.
I have now decided to upgrade to CAT6.
I went to the store today, and all they had was a shielded CAT6, went to another store and it was the same.
Apparently no one has an unshielded CAT6.
Asked for a CAT5e - same, only shielded cables were available.
I decided to go back home without buying them, as from what I understand, shielded cables aren't good for the home user and are used mainly in big companies.
Should I order a cable from Amazon, or should I just go ahead and get the CAT6 shielded cables they offered me?
What is the difference really, and what do I have to do in order to make it work properly?
From what I read, if installed incorrectly, they might have really high interference - how do I avoid that?
Thank you.
 
Solution
Jester Maroc
No, the grounding has nothing to do with speed/interference. The grounding simply drains out static. Getting shielded Cat6 is really overkill for a house installation.

Save yourself the hassle and get normal UV treated Cat5e. Terminating Cat6 properly is not nearly as easy as terminating Cat5e. You are bound to mess it up and then your connection will be worse than Cat5e.

EDIT: In simple terms:

Shielding - prevents interference (imagine putting food in the microwave under aluminum foil) The sheet of isolating foil around the cable prevents interference from entering the cable in the same way that aluminum foil would prevent the food from getting heated.

Grounding - Drains electrostatic from the cable preventing damage to...
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Jester Maroc

Jester Maroc

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There is nothing wrong with shielded cable. It is only a little more difficult to terminate the plugs. Shielded cable will actually be beneficial because the outside plastic is generally UV treated and of better quality than unshielded. Performance will be exactly the same. The only other downside is that the cable is a lot stiffer, so getting it to bend inside tight spaces is not as easy.

Shielded cable helps avoid interference, so not sure why people would say it increases interference. Plus it protects your gear from static electricity.

However, I agree with Joey2oo9, your speed will not increase. Cat5e and Cat6 is basically the same at the distances normally encountered in a house environment.

If you do decide to go with Shielded cable, get these: https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-TOUGHCable-RJ45-Connectors-Piece/dp/B009XE6JY0

You will thank me later, as they make terminating wires a lot easier, and they work on Shielded cable from other manufacturers as well.
 
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Givemema

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I read here that there's a problem with grounding, is that incorrect?
 
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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Shielded cables are more difficult to work with than unshielded. If you have cables "exposed to sun and rain", then you should be buying UV resistant outdoor cable anyway. I would recommend you buy outdoor rated pure copper CAt5e cable. Do not buy CCA cables. Something like this -- https://www.amazon.com/1594A-Belden-Indoor-Outdoor-Resistant/dp/B008SGAHQ0
Belden is more expensive than no name cable, but I believe that it is worth it.
 
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Jester Maroc

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Yes, shielded cables need to be grounded, but that does not have anything to do with interference. Grounding removes static electricity in order to protect electronics.

I agree with Kanewolf, unshieled Cat5e UV treated is (a lot) easier and sufficient for your needs.

 
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Givemema

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What exactly do you mean when you say "need to be grounded"? I'm trying to make sure I understand everything correctly.
Also, what happens if they aren't grounded?
 
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Jester Maroc

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Shielded cable has isolating foil under the outer UV treated plastic layer, and an extra wire between the foil and outer layer. The foil needs to be grounded to the male RJ45 plug and the extra wire needs to be soldered to the plug. If you use the plugs that I linked above by Ubiquity you do not need to solder as the plugs are specially designed to ground the wire simply by clamping it to the RJ45 connector. This video will show you how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85ZXHT8U_Zg

By doing the above you have grounded your shielded cable, and grounding basically removes static from your cable and protects your components.

I still recommend getting standard Cat5e cable if your old cable needs replacement. Shielded cable is a little more difficult to work with and shielding is only needed for high density environments like server rooms etc.

EDIT: not grounding simply means that the static drain will not be possible, so the cable will work like normal Cat5e (though still shielded).
 
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Givemema

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So if I get the shielded CAT6 and <mod edit> up the grounding completely, at the worst case I'll just get it to work as good as a CAT5e?

<Watch your language in these forums>
 
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Jester Maroc

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No, the grounding has nothing to do with speed/interference. The grounding simply drains out static. Getting shielded Cat6 is really overkill for a house installation.

Save yourself the hassle and get normal UV treated Cat5e. Terminating Cat6 properly is not nearly as easy as terminating Cat5e. You are bound to mess it up and then your connection will be worse than Cat5e.

EDIT: In simple terms:

Shielding - prevents interference (imagine putting food in the microwave under aluminum foil) The sheet of isolating foil around the cable prevents interference from entering the cable in the same way that aluminum foil would prevent the food from getting heated.

Grounding - Drains electrostatic from the cable preventing damage to equipment, has nothing to do with speed.

Cat5e - Has tighter wound (less cross-talk between strands) cables than Cat5 which facilitates higher throughput.

Cat6 - Has thicker gauge wire than Cat5e which again facilitates higher throughput (if terminated professionally) and longer distance transmission of signal.

I hope the above helps.
 
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Solution
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Givemema

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I'll get a CAT6 with OEM grounding.
Should be fine, right?
 
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Givemema

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These aren't available in retail and I can't find anything preterminated on Amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, or amazon.de.
If you can, I'll get that instead.
 
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Givemema

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1x 20meters - this will be outside, exposed to sun and rain.
1x 5meters - not exposed.
2x 2meters - not exposed.
 
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Givemema

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Thanks a lot.
The shorter in-house cables aren't an issue.
The problem is the 100ft cable - this is way too long for me, and if I want something pre-terminated then it has to be 75ft, not a 100.
Haven't seen an option for 75ft on this cable or else I'd buy it.
If you come across anything good that is 75ft, see if you have the time to post it here.
 
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