Can Cat6 Patch Cables Really Be As Thin As 30AWG?

[jpswede]

Cat6 Patch Cables

 

[Mousemonkey]

Do they have a separator core?

 

[bill001g]

Very technically no. The standard requires that the cables be 22awg- 24awg. So it does not meet the definition of a cat6 cable in ANSI/TIA 568-C.2

Now that does not necessary mean it won't work but I would be very careful who you buy cables from.

Found these installed a while back at a location and figured they were not valid but they do work and since it is from panduit we left them and they have given us no trouble. Reading the details though it appears you have to be very careful about terminating them also. This is for 28awg wire I have no idea about 30awg

http://www.panduit.com/heiler/InstallInstructions/N-COPN-562--REVB--ENG.pdf

 

[jpswede]

Do they have a separator core?

I don't know for sure but I doubt it. The company's description doesn't mention anything of the kind and the cable itself is easily bendable into a 2" diameter if that helps at all.

 

[jpswede]

Very technically no. The standard requires that the cables be 22awg- 24awg. So it does not meet the definition of a cat6 cable in ANSI/TIA 568-C.2

Now that does not necessary mean it won't work but I would be very careful who you buy cables from.

Found these installed a while back at a location and figured they were not valid but they do work and since it is from panduit we left them and they have given us no trouble. Reading the details though it appears you have to be very careful about terminating them also. This is for 28awg wire I have no idea about 30awg

http://www.panduit.com/heiler/InstallInstructions/N-COPN-562--REVB--ENG.pdf

Thank you. That's what I had thought as well but wanted confirmation.

However, with that being decided, would 24awg patch cables work "better" (more reliable, longer life, etc) than these 30awg patch cables or would it make that much difference? Right now, I will be using these cables for POE IP cameras. I'm just trying decide if I should send them back. They seem to work fine for now (after just a few days) but I'm wondering just how long they will. Thanks again for your insight.

 

[Karadjgne]

30awg is barely larger diameter than course hair, and most definitely if a core is not mentioned I'd be wary, its one of the biggest differences between cat5e and cat6. Being 30awg, its biggest worry is over-Amperage, 30awg has such high resistance that any decent usable length is gonna jack the amperage high just degrading the wire that much faster, if not burning it out completely if it gets attached to something like an iPad. I'd bail personally, get real honest cat6, 22-24awg with a core.

 

[jpswede]

30awg is barely larger diameter than course hair, and most definitely if a core is not mentioned I'd be wary, its one of the biggest differences between cat5e and cat6. Being 30awg, its biggest worry is over-Amperage, 30awg has such high resistance that any decent usable length is gonna jack the amperage high just degrading the wire that much faster, if not burning it out completely if it gets attached to something like an iPad. I'd bail personally, get real honest cat6, 22-24awg with a core.

Thank you. That's what I was thinking. So even though these 30AWG cables are only supposed to be drawing about 0.5A via POE, they are 50' long. I also wasn't sure if the amp carrying capabilities of wire gauges still applied to stranded patch cables via POE. If they do, then 30AWG stranded cable has a max of 0.142A for power transmission (if that even applies to POE) vs 0.577A for 24AWG. For just chassis wiring, the numbers are 0.86A and 3.5A respectively. So I'm thinking I should go with the 24AWG cables just for longevity's sake.

 

[bill001g]

PoE 802.3at is at max 30watts . Most PoE is 802.3af which is only 15 watts. This is at 48 volts so the amperage is actually pretty low. It is also carried over pairs of wires so the load is even more distributed. Now if you are using things that call themselves PoE but are not using the standard 48volts or using different pair combinations that would change things.

I suspect it isn't the amperage that will cause the issue I suspect the voltage drop per foot due to resistance may make it not possible to provide the voltage to the end equipment. This really depends on how long you want to go. Short cable will likely work.

Still unless you really need that small wire to get it though some tight space I would buy normal cable. I would guess normal cable would be cheaper because even though there is less copper in the 30awg stuff the engineering to certify the cable would be much higher. I would be very suspect that the cable even meets the standards if it is cheaper than normal 24awg wire.

 

[jpswede]

PoE 802.3at is at max 30watts . Most PoE is 802.3af which is only 15 watts. This is at 48 volts so the amperage is actually pretty low. It is also carried over pairs of wires so the load is even more distributed. Now if you are using things that call themselves PoE but are not using the standard 48volts or using different pair combinations that would change things.

I suspect it isn't the amperage that will cause the issue I suspect the voltage drop per foot due to resistance may make it not possible to provide the voltage to the end equipment. This really depends on how long you want to go. Short cable will likely work.

Still unless you really need that small wire to get it though some tight space I would buy normal cable. I would guess normal cable would be cheaper because even though there is less copper in the 30awg stuff the engineering to certify the cable would be much higher. I would be very suspect that the cable even meets the standards if it is cheaper than normal 24awg wire.

Oh ok. Thanks.