CAT5 for DSL cable?

mojimax · Feb 18, 2017

hi

i have lots of noise on my DSL line and im going to change the cables
i live in the 3rd floor of an apartment and the problem is the cable that comes from the main box to my apartment i think its about 30 or 40 meters its 17 years old and very close to power lines

so based on what i saw on the internet i need cat 5 cable with shields in it
(idk if cat5's have shields or not) , i found a company that provides those near me and what they have is cat 6 not 5 but it does have shields

its called cca-sftp-cat6
and this the picture they have of it
https://v14i.imgup.net/cat6-sftp05382.png
https://g18i.imgup.net/cat6-sftp03389.jpg

it has braided aluminium shield and they say it supports power over ethernet
they also say its compatible with tyco and AMP connectors idk what those are for , but thought it may help

the main cable that comes in the building is a 2 pair solid copper cable
like this
http://www.communica.co.za/Content/Catalog/Images/I3096504107.jpg

so are all cat 6 cables 4 pair cables? can i find something with similar shields and just 1 pair?

jsmithepa · Feb 18, 2017

mojimax :

CCA=copper clad aluminum, DO NOT BUY.
SFTP=Shielded Twisted Pairs.

If you are using shielded cables, you must also make sure the RJ45 themselves are grounded, a floating shield will behave like an antenna making matter worse. All CAT cables have 4 pairs of cables, you will only be using the middle pair for DSL.

Don't get ur hopes up, DSL problem is usually the "last mile" Google this for definition.

Solandri · Feb 18, 2017

I assume you have the right equipment to replace the existing phone cable with Cat5/6 cable (usually 110 punch tool) and an RJ45 / RJ11 crimping tool? This should be pretty simple to test then. After you get permission from the landlord, just go to the phone punch block and find where the line for your apartment terminates. Temporarily disconnect that line (make sure you label it so you can find it again).

Punch a short length of Cat 5/6 in its place, and terminate that single twisted pair at the other end with a RJ11 jack (the two center holes; the outer two holes are for line 2 and are empty in this case). Bring your laptop and DSL modem down there with an extension cord, and plug the RJ11 jack into your DSL modem. See if the connection is improved.

Basically you're replacing the phone wire to your apartment with the short length of Cat 5/6. This should let you determine where the problem lies. If the noise is gone and the DSL performance is improved, then you know the problem is in the wiring to your apartment (or in your apartment walls), and replacing it with shielded Cat 3/5/6 cable may help. If the noise is still there, then you know the problem is with the phone company's wiring to the apartment.

After you've done the experiment, disconnect the temporary Cat 5/6 cable, and punch your original phone line back in place.

jsmithepa :

If the existing phone line in the building is just regular 2 pair copper cable (not twisted pair Cat 3), then that very well could be his problem. Phone lines need to be twisted to reject noise. The requirements are not as stringent as for network cable (Cat 3 instead of Cat 5/6), but the twisting is an important part of the noise rejection.

Ralston18 · Feb 18, 2017

Concurring with jsmithpa.....

Also include a look at your DSL splitter/filter.

I.e.,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSL_filter

mojimax · Feb 18, 2017

thank you guys but i still dont know what kind of cable i have to buy , i need something strong vs noise since its passing side by side with power lines , also i thought only cat 6 has noise shields , so i can find cat 3 with shield? also is there single pair cat5 or 6 ?

jsmithepa · Feb 19, 2017

If I were you (but I am not), I would buy a long extension CAT5e, and just hook things up that way temporarily for testing purposes. If it makes a difference, then I'd go into the trouble of running something through the walls. If it doesn't make a diff, then u know that's not the problem. Relatively inexpensive CAT5e at monoprice.com, no CCA

Solandri · Feb 19, 2017

mojimax :

Unless the building is very old, building regulations require power lines to be run inside metal conduit. The metal acts as a faraday cage, blocking any noise they generate. Basically it's shielding which keeps the noise in, rather than blocks noise on the outside (the shielding doesn't care about inside or outside, as long as there is no path from one to the other). There's some leakage at transitions (e.g. where the power wires leave the conduit to connect to a wall socket) but the noise along the length of power line should be minimal to nonexistent.

Cat 3, 5, and 6 all come in shielded varieties. 5 and 6 is more common (Germany in particular requires all network cables be shielded). The shielded variant of Cat 3 usually carries 6-25 twisted pairs though. Don't think I've seen a shielded variety with only a single twisted pair.

To summarize what I and the others are saying - we think you've prematurely concluded the problem is the nearby power lines. We're urging you to actually test this hypothesis before you go to the expense of replacing your in-wall phone cable with shielded cable. You can test it by hauling your laptop and modem down to the phone box as I suggested. Or by using a long Cat 5e cable as jsmithepa suggested (I was concerned about a long Cat 5 cable picking up noise). Ralston 18's suggestion to make sure you have DSL filters installed is also a good one - devices connected to your phone lines without a filter are the most common source of noise interfering with DSL, followed by the phone company's poor quality lines. We're worried you'll go through a lot of time and expense replacing the cable, only to find out it wasn't the problem in the first place.

mojimax · Feb 20, 2017

Solandri :

hi , thank you for your reply , same goes for everyone else , i live in iran and the system here is the building inspector comes and checks the building ur building and if anything is wrong with it u just bribe the inspector :pfff:

works most of the time

right now i got my answers from u guys* , the only thing that remains is buying the cable , i'll test the cable by the box , if snr improves well thats perfect , next step is getting it to my apartment ,there is a chance i can convince the building manager to let me run the cable on the wall not through it (on parking ceiling then vertically to my window)
also there is nothing connected on the way , when the job is done i'll see if connecting phone messes anything up
(dont really need the phone)

as jsmithepa said , some ppl say copper clad aluminum cbales are not good for this job , why is that?

*now the only thing i need to know is what kind of cable shound i buy?
1: its gonna be 30-40 meters
2: must be resistant to noises coming from power lines nearby

jwcrellin · Feb 20, 2017

Cat6e is great cable if you can afford it. Super Bandwidth.

Ralston18 · Feb 20, 2017

30 or 40 meters is well within the 100 meter limit for ethernet.

Will the cable be outside? If so, then the cable must be rated for exterior use. Otherwise the cable will deteriorate and degrade performance.

Agree - Cat6 if you can afford it.

However, unfortunately there is a good chance that any available products are counterfeit or just downright fake. Easy to print any kind of labeling on the cable.

Just purchase a 50 meter run of ordinary Cat 5e cable (per jsmithpa) from a local source that you trust. Someone/somewhere you can return the cable if it does not work.

First test the cable inside to ensure that the cable works. Just connect a couple of network devices for a day or two.

Then run the cable as planned making sure not to unduely kink, crimp, crush, bend, or twist it. Do not run nails or staples through it. Protect it as best you can.

As stated the poweline is probably not going to be an issue.

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CAT5 for DSL cable?

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