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Category 5 cable
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Category 5 cable is a twisted pair high
Contents
signal integrity cable type often referred to as
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Cat5 or Cat-5. Most Category-5 cables are
Current events
unshielded, relying on the twisted pair design
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for noise rejection. Category 5 has been
Interaction superseded by the Category 5e
About Wikipedia specification. This type of cable is used in
Community portal structured cabling for computer networks
Recent changes such as Ethernet and ATM, and is also used
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Contents [hide]
Toolbox Category 5 patch cable in TIA/EIA-568-B wiring
1 Cable standard
2 Connectors and other information
Print/export
2.1 Conductors required
Languages 2.2 Bending radius
Afrikaans 3 Characteristics
3.1 Dielectric
Ελληνικά 3.2 Individual twist lengths
Español 3.3 Environmental ratings
Français 4 Other issues
日本語 4.1 Copper-clad aluminium
Norsk (bokmål) 4.2 The Cat 5e "350 MHz" debacle [dubious
– discuss]
Svenska
中 5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading

Cable standard [edit] 8P8C modular plug pin positioning

The specification for Category 5 cable was defined in

ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A, with clarification in TSB-95. TIA/EIA-568-A.1-2001 T568A
These documents specified performance characteristics Wiring
and test requirements for frequencies of up to 100 MHz. Pin Pair Wire Color

Category 5 [2] cable includes 4 twisted pairs in a single 1 3 1 white/green

cable jacket. This use of balanced lines helps preserve 2 3 2 green
a high signal-to-noise ratio despite interference from 3 2 1 white/orange
both external sources and other pairs (this latter form of
4 1 2 blue
interference is called crosstalk). It is most commonly
used for 100 Mbit/s networks, such as 100BASE-TX 5 1 1 white/blue

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Ethernet, although IEEE 802.3ab defines standards for 6 2 2 orange

1000BASE-T – Gigabit Ethernet over category 5 cable. 7 4 1 white/brown
Each of the four pairs in a Cat 5 cable has differing
8 4 2 brown
precise number of twists per metre based on prime
numbers to minimize crosstalk between the pairs. On
average there are 6 twists per 5 centimetres. The pairs TIA/EIA-568-B.1-2001 T568B
are made from 24 gauge (AWG) copper wires within the Wiring[1]
cables.
Pin Pair Wire Color

Connectors and other information [edit] 1 2 1 white/orange

2 2 2 orange
The cable exists in both stranded and solid conductor
3 3 1 white/green
forms. The stranded form is more flexible and
withstands more bending without breaking and is suited 4 1 2 blue
for reliable connections with insulation piercing 5 1 1 white/blue
connectors, but makes unreliable connections in
6 3 2 green
insulation-displacement connectors. The solid form is
less expensive and makes reliable connections into 7 4 1 white/brown
insulation displacement connectors, but makes 8 4 2 brown
unreliable connections in insulation piercing connectors.
Taking these things into account, building wiring (for
USOC/RJ61 Wiring
example, the wiring inside the wall that connects a wall
socket to a central patch panel) is solid core, while Pin Pair Wire Color
patch cables (for example, the movable cable that plugs 1 4 tip white/brown
into the wall socket on one end and a computer on the 2 3 tip white/green
other) are stranded. Outer insulation is typically PVC or
3 2 tip white/orange
LSOH.
4 1 ring blue
Cable types, connector types and cabling topologies are
defined by TIA/EIA-568-B. Nearly always, 8P8C 5 1 tip white/blue
modular connectors, often incorrectly referred to as "RJ- 6 2 ring orange
45", are used for connecting category 5 cable. The 7 3 ring green
specific category of cable in use can be identified by the
8 4 ring brown
printing on the side of the cable.[3]
The cable is terminated in either the T568A scheme or
the T568B scheme. Canada and Australia use the
T568A standard, and the United States commonly uses
T568B scheme. It really doesn't make any difference
which is used as long as you use only one of the
standards so all connections are the same at your
location to avoid confusion and potential problems.
Mixed cable types should not be connected in series as
the impedance per pair differs slightly and may cause
signal degradation. The article Ethernet over twisted Partially stripped cable showing the
pair describes how the cable is used for Ethernet, twisted pairs.
including special "cross over" cables.

Conductors required [edit]

10BASE-T (IEEE) and 100BASE-TX (IEEE) Ethernet
connections require two cable pairs. 1000BASE-T
(IEEE) and 1000BASE-TX (TIA/EIA-854, requiring
category 6 cabling) Ethernet connections require four

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cable pairs. Four pair cable is by far most commonly

available type.

Bending radius [edit]

Most Cat.5 cables can be bent at a radius

approximately 4 times the diameter of the cable.[4] A Cat 5E Wall outlet showing the two
wiring schemes: A for T568A, B for T568B.
Characteristics [edit]

Electrical characteristics for Cat.5e UTP

Property Nominal Value Tolerance Unit ref
Characteristic impedance @ 100 MHz 100 ± 15 Ω [5]

Nominal characteristic impedance @ 100 MHz 100 ± 5 Ω [5]

DC-Loop resistance ≤ 0.188 Ω/m [5]

Propagation speed 0.64 c [5]

Propagation delay 4.80-5.30 ns/m [5]

Delay skew < 100 MHz < 0.20 ns/m [5]

Capacitance at 800 Hz 52 pF/m [5]

Inductance 525 nH/m [6]

Cutoff frequency 50323 Hz [6]

Max tensile load, during installation 100 N [5]

Wire size AWG-24 (0.205 mm² ) [5][7]

Insulation thickness 0.245 mm [5]

Maximum current per conductor 0.577 A [7]

Temperature operating -55 to +60 °C [5]

Dielectric [edit]

Example materials used as dielectric in the

cable [8]
Acronym Material
PE Polyethylene
FP Foamed polyethylene
FEP Teflon/fluorinated ethylene propylene
FFEP Foamed Teflon/fluorinated ethylene propylene
AD/PE Air dielectric/polyethylene

Individual twist lengths [edit]

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By altering the length of each twist, crosstalk is reduced, without affecting the characteristic
impedance.[6]

Pair color [cm] per turn Turns per [m]

Green 1.53 65.2
Blue 1.54 64.8
Orange 1.78 56.2
Brown 1.94 51.7

Environmental ratings [edit]

US & Canada fire certifications [9][10]

Class Acronym Standards
CMP Plenum CSA FT7 [11] or NFPA 262 [11] (UL 910)
CMR Riser UL 1666
CMG General purpose CSA FT4
CM UL 1685 (UL 1581, Sec. 1160) Vertical-Tray
CMX Residential UL 1581, Sec. 1080 (VW-1)
CMH CSA FT1

Where a CMR can be replaced by a CMP and so on, due to better rating. CM stands for
Communications Cable. [9]
Some cables are "UV rated" or "UV stable" meaning they can be exposed to outdoor UV radiation
without significant destruction. The materials used for the mantle are usually PVC.[12]
Any cable which contains air spaces can breathe in moisture, especially if the cable runs between
indoor and outdoor spaces. Warm moist air can cause condensation inside the colder parts of the
cable outdoors. It may be necessary to take precautions such as sealing the ends of the cables.
Some cables are suitable for "direct burial", but this usually requires that the cable is gel filled in
order to hinder moisture migration into the cable.
When using a cable for a tower, attention must be given to vertical cable runs which may channel
water into sensitive indoor equipment. [13] This can often be solved by adding a drip-loop at the
bottom of the run of cable.
Plenum rated cables are slower to burn and produce less smoke than cables using a mantle of
materials like PVC. This also affects legal requirements for a fire sprinkler system. That is if a
plenum rated cable is used, sprinkler requirement may be eliminated.[14]
Shielded cables (FTP/STP) are useful for environments where proximity to power cables, RF
equipment, or high power equipment may introduce crosstalk, and can also be used where
interference with radio receivers or where eavesdropping likelihood should be minimised.

Other issues [edit]

Copper-clad aluminium [edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources.

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

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This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's

quality standards. Please improve this section if you can.
(September 2009)

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily

with the United States and do not represent a
worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article
and discuss the issue on the talk page.

The American market was flooded with copper clad cable imported mostly from China and falsely
presented in the market as being a 100% copper Cat 5e cable. With less copper involved in the
manufacturing process, the cost to the consumer is lower, yet the consumer is not getting a true
100% copper Cat 5e cable.
Installation of copper clad aluminium Cat 5e wire was proven — by low-voltage contractors in the
Southern California market, where this cable first arrived — to have poor test results and often did
not pass the Category 5e transmission standard. Since copper conducts electricity better than
aluminium, signal strength has shown to be very weak over long runs using this substandard cable.
Additionally, some manufacturers falsely represented their Cat 5e cable conductors as being 24
AWG. In actuality, a 26 AWG conductor is being sold and is hard to detect unless further
examination beneath the sheath of the conductor is performed. A 26 AWG Cat 5e cable will not
make proper contact on Cat 5e jack modules as most jack modules require 22 or 24 AWG per the
specification and qualified connectors. [15]
The United States Federal Government will not accept bids from China for Cat 5e cable due to China
being absent from the Trade Agreements Act of 1979. In general, a product is only "TAA compliant" if
it is made in the United States or a "Designated Country".

The Cat 5e "350 MHz" debacle[dubious – discuss] [edit]

The 350 MHz term started a couple of years before the arrival of Category 6 cable by the Belden
Electronics Division and promised better performance. Although the performance of this new
350 MHz cable was slightly better it was an easy way to sell the consumer on future proofing their
needs while charging around 15% more and leading to a higher margin on the 350 MHz cable than
the standard 5e cable. Soon after many other manufactures also offered a 350 MHz cable and
followed the trend of an easy way to add to a higher margin. Some low-end cable manufacturers
have the term "tested to 350 MHz" printed on the jacket as a way to appear to the consumer that
they are receiving a better quality of 5e cable, but the cable was only "tested to 350
MHz" [clarification needed] and no promise of a performance guarantee is ever mentioned.
As the 350 cable and term gained momentum, many manufacturers began offering a 400 MHz 5e
cable [16] , a 550 MHz 5e cable, and so on. This led to the consumer and communications contractor
assuming and leaving them confused that the higher a MHz rating meant for a better performing
cable. The arrival of the Category 6 cable standard which specified a delivered performance at
250 MHz left many people confused.
Electronic Industries Alliance/Telecommunications Industry Association (EIA/TIA) only recognize the
Category 5e standard TIA/EIA-568-B.2-2001 as guaranteeing performance of attenuation, NEXT,
power-sum NEXT, ACR, power-sum ACR, ELFEXT, power-sum ELFEXT, return loss, propagation
delay and delay skew at 100 MHz. No standard is issued for 350 MHz cable and review of
manufacturer specification sheets such as General Cable, [17] Superior Essex, [18] and Berktek [19]
show us different performance numbers for 350 MHz. With no standard for 350 MHz cable, promised
performance, if any, will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and leave the consumer and
contractor to continue to be confused.

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See also [edit]

American wire gauge (AWG)

Category 3 cable
Category 4 cable
Category 6 cable
Category 7 cable
Ethernet over twisted pair (10/100/1000Base-T)
Power over Ethernet (PoE)

References [edit]

1. ^ "ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1-2001 Approved: April 12, 2001 ; Commercial Building

Telecommunications Cabling Standard Part 1: General Requirements" . 090917 nag.ru
2. ^ "Category 5 - TIA's Glossary of Telecommunication Terms" . 090524 tiaonline.org
3. ^ Ethernet Cable Identification and Use
4. ^ "Selecting coax and twisted-pair cable - Electronic Products" . 081216
www2.electronicproducts.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "SuperCat OUTDOOR CAT 5e U/UTP" . 080319 draka.com
6. ^ a b c "Transmission Line Zo" . 090113 prc68.com
7. ^ a b "American Wire Gauge table and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits" . 081220
powerstream.com
8. ^ "UL Listed / ISO 9001 Compliant" . 090127 unioncopper.com
9. ^ a b "CSA Flame Test Ratings" . 090126 74.125.77.132
10. ^ "22Technical Information" (PDF).[dead link] 090126 belden.com
11. ^ a b http://cat6wiring.com/cat6-plenum-cable.php
12. ^ "CAT5e CMR/CMX mean it's uv rated ? - dslreports.com" . 090126 broadbandreports.com
13. ^ "A dumb mistake a green WISP operator once made. - dslreports.com" . 090126
broadbandreports.com
14. ^ "What are the differences between PVC, riser and plenum rated cables? - Ask or Answer
Questions on Computers & Technology, Ask & Read old Answers on Computers & Technology
- ibibo sawaal" . 090126 sawaal.ibibo.com
15. ^ "Cat5E 90 deg HD Data Jack Module" . 090901 lib.store.yahoo.net TIA/EIA-568-B.2
compliant data jack
16. ^ Tested to 400 MHz
17. ^ 350 General Spec Sheet
18. ^ Superior Essex 350 spec sheet
19. ^ Berktek 350 Spec sheet

Further reading [edit]

DIY Step-by-Step Instructions on making Cat5e Cables - Pictures and Video

Discount-Low-Voltage.com Blog - How Cat5e Cable is Made
cat5ecables.co.uk - CAT5e cable information, colour codes and pinouts, learn how to make patch
leads
mikestechblog.com - How to make your own Cat5 cable
unioncopper.com - Cable exploded view and which materials used
computercablestore.com - How to make Cat5e patch cables - Detailed step by step

v• d • e Unshielded and shielded twisted pair cabling standards [hide]

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Category 5 cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cat 1: Currently unrecognized by TIA/EIA. Previously used for POTS telephone communications, ISDN and
doorbell wiring.
Cat 2: Currently unrecognized by TIA/EIA. Previously was frequently used on 4 Mbit/s token ring networks.
Cat 3: Currently defined in TIA/EIA-568-B, used for data networks using frequencies up to 16 MHz. Historically
popular for 10 Mbit/s Ethernet networks.
Cat 4: Currently unrecognized by TIA/EIA. Defined up to 20 MHz, and was frequently used on 16 Mbit/s token
ring networks.
Cat 5: Currently unrecognized by TIA/EIA. Defined up to 100 MHz, and was frequently used on 100 Mbit/s
Ethernet networks. May be unsuitable for 1000BASE-T gigabit ethernet.
Cat 5e: Currently defined in TIA/EIA-568-B. Defined up to 100 MHz, and is frequently used for both 100 Mbit/s
and 1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet networks.
Cat 6: Currently defined in TIA/EIA-568-B. Defined up to 250 MHz, more than double category 5 and 5e.
Cat 6a: Currently defined in ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-10 and Amendment 1 and 2 of ISO/IEC 11801. Defined up to
500 MHz, nearly double that of category 6. Suitable for 10GBASE-T.
Cat 7: Currently defined in ISO/IEC 11801 Class F cabling. Defined up to 600 MHz. This standard specifies four
individually-shielded pairs (S/FTP) inside an overall shield.
Cat 7a: Currently defined in Amendment 1 and 2 of ISO/IEC 11801 Class FA cabling. Defined up to 1,000 MHz.
Cable constructions is S/FTP.

See also: TIA/EIA-568-B • Ethernet • 8P8C • Ethernet crossover cable • Twisted pair

Categories: Ethernet | Networking hardware | Signal cables

This page was last modified on 26 August 2010 at 06:06.

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