Flexible Cat 6, maybe flat ethernet cable?

[resistorman]

I bought some inexpensive but decent quality 4 channel analog breakout boxes along with a 100' outdoor rated Cat 6 cable. Everything works surprisingly well, but it will not be easy to get the cable to lay flat. Any advice on a more flexible cable? I've seen flat cables advertised, wondering about them.

[sonics]

What's the reason for Cat6? Shielded Cat5e can be much more flexible, and will be fine for audio runs.

[Wonks]

I bought some Cat 6 that said it was flexible, but it turned out it could only do Thursday afternoons.

[Wonks]

Flat ethernet seems to use thinner wires than round ethernet cables, from 28AWG to 32AWG (the thinnest for short patch cables) as opposed to the more normal 22AWG to 26 AWG (and maybe 28AWG for some patch cables). There's also far less insulation on the wires. I'm wondering how much more prone to breakage and damage the cable is likely to be compared to the standard cable, especially when constantly being reeled and unreeled.

Have you seen an outdoor rated flat cable?

[sonics]

Have you seen an outdoor rated flat cable?

Something like THIS?
But Cat5e is the most affordable solution here.

[Wonks]

Have you seen an outdoor rated flat cable?

Something like THIS?

That looks reasonable.

[sonics]

That looks reasonable.

Hard to please, aren't you?

But yes, I've seen some very bad flat ethernet cable...

[resistorman]

What's the reason for Cat6? Shielded Cat5e can be much more flexible, and will be fine for audio runs.

The manufacturer of the breakout box specified Cat6, also isn't Cat6 better shielded?

[sonics]

Are you gigging this extender, or is it a permanent install?

The manufacturer of the breakout box specified Cat6, also isn't Cat6 better shielded?

Yes, they are specifying Cat6 for the shielding, but I don't believe it's part of either the Cat5e or Cat6 spec, so is not guaranteed. Cat6a spec includes shielding. Since the shielding is optional you have to be careful what you get. Cat5 or Cat5e can be shielded, as well.

S/FTP stranded ("patch") cable should will be the most flexible, I think, and over only 100 feet Cat5e should work very well. That's foil-shielded twisted pairs, with an overall braided screen and stranded copper.

Caveat: I'm not a qualified network engineer, just someone with quite a lot of real-world experience.

[ef37a]

CAT 6 'patch' cable is never going to be very flexible IF it is going to meet its specifications.
However, there are inferior cables about. I recall the firm I worked for buying in samples of the competition's products and testing them on 50 grands worth of gear including a 3x3x3 mtr Faraday cage. Many fell well short of the crosstalk and other specifications. The boss was not happy!

The problem was and still is that most punters will rarely have a system that needs the high data rates of these cables and so will never know they have been conned. For audio purposes you don't even need CAT5e. The individual pair shielding of CAT 6 looks good but I doubt in fact it is really necessary? If you are putting just mic signals down 5 ftp I suspect the crosstalk will be minimal. A feeble mic signal plus a line level kick might not be such a good idea! All line level signals again I don't think would be a problem.

There is a tremendous growth now in the audio use of these cables and it would be very nice if some manufacturer did some tests (are you listening Cranbourne?) to establish just what the capabilities of the various cable types were.

Dave.

[resistorman]

Thanks all, I'm likely going to be using it just for line level. I bought outdoor rated direct burial cable, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's a bit inflexible I tested it using a mic rolled up on my bench with a 12v switching power laying on top and there wasn't any noise at all, though I did feel like the signal lost a very small amount of level and HF definition. I suppose I could buy a few different types and just try them, Amazon is great about returns.

[ef37a]

Thanks all, I'm likely going to be using it just for line level. I bought outdoor rated direct burial cable, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's a bit inflexible I tested it using a mic rolled up on my bench with a 12v switching power laying on top and there wasn't any noise at all, though I did feel like the signal lost a very small amount of level and HF definition. I suppose I could buy a few different types and just try them, Amazon is great about returns.

Any HF losses Mr R are going to be due to cable capacitance and the effect of that will depend upon the source resistance of the driving amplifier. Source R for many modern devices is now usually around 100 Ohms but if you build your own line send amps it is very simple to make them virtually 'zero source resistance' amplifiers with one low value capacitor. Duggy Self shows how.

Dave.

[resistorman]

This company makes serious cable:

https://www.quabbin.com/products/harsh- ... at-6a/5919

[ef37a]

This company makes serious cable:

https://www.quabbin.com/products/harsh- ... at-6a/5919

I don't doubt that is excellent network cable but I cannot see it being that flexible having both a foil and braided screen.
That does not matter in a network since there are strict limits on how small a radius the cable can be bent into and still meet the specification.

Dave.