Cat 5 and Cat 6 cables

[hotrainlover]

Dear Board,
I have used the Cat 5 cables that came with the Walk-around companion, with no problems.  Is it OK to use Cat 6 cables in place of them?  They both use the same connectors.  Thanks for the help.

[Jim Banner]

Both CAT 5 and CAT 6 data cables are wired pin 1 on one end to pin 1 on the other end, pin 2 to pin 2, etc.  Before using either CAT 5 or 6 cables, check that the originals that came with the set are wired the same way.  They could be wired like telecom cables, or something else entirely.

The fact that CAT 6 cable and components are rated for higher speed than CAT 5 should make no difference whatsoever.  I would be more concerned about whether the CAT 6 cables have solid or stranded wire, especially if you are using the companions as walk arounds.  If you are using them as fixed throttles, then stranded or solid  are both fine.

Jim

[hotrainlover]

OK,
Thanks Jim.

[rwiseha]

 ;)From someone who worked in the phone industry, The cat 6connectorslook the same, but they are different.  As far as seed is concerned, the cat six must have all cat 6 componets or the speed will be the same as cat 5.
Good look.
Rex

[BestSnowman]

;)From someone who worked in the phone industry, The cat 6connectorslook the same, but they are different.  As far as seed is concerned, the cat six must have all cat 6 componets or the speed will be the same as cat 5.
Good look.
Rex

As an added note Cat 6 has stricter requirements, as I understand, it is backwards compatible with Cat5. So as long as the walk-around uses a Cat5 cable and not just a cable with RJ45 connectors called Cat5.