Not very good with the difference between cat 6 and cat5. Does anyone know if you can use Cat6 to connect the pro 2 surface to the stage box? Midas says use cat5, but doesn't say cat 6 can not be used. Thanks in advance!
Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
- Thread starter Daniel Nickleski
- Start date
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
yes. cat6 is good for faster data rates, but is still fine for anything that would use cat5. it's like putting in better than required coax. no harm.
Jason
yes. cat6 is good for faster data rates, but is still fine for anything that would use cat5. it's like putting in better than required coax. no harm.
Jason
Silas Pradetto
Graduate Student
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
Cat 6 is stiffer, fatter, and generally more annoying and difficult to terminate. But if you don't mind it being a PITA, go for it, like Jason said.
Cat 6 is stiffer, fatter, and generally more annoying and difficult to terminate. But if you don't mind it being a PITA, go for it, like Jason said.
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
My impression is that the only difference is that Cat 6 is one gauge thicker wire.
Can anyone confirm or deny this?
My impression is that the only difference is that Cat 6 is one gauge thicker wire.
Can anyone confirm or deny this?
Silas Pradetto
Graduate Student
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
There is more to it than that, mainly manufacturing tolerances and the fact that there is a plastic separator for each pair so as the wire is bent it doesn't fall out of spec. The lay may also be tighter.
There is more to it than that, mainly manufacturing tolerances and the fact that there is a plastic separator for each pair so as the wire is bent it doesn't fall out of spec. The lay may also be tighter.
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
the wire may be thicker to help those using POE, but you can buy cat5 in thicker versions as well.
the biggest change, and the one that matters the most is the twist rate of the wires. in Cat6 they are twisted almost as tight as physically possible.
the twists are each a tiny loop that receives interference, and every second loop is backwards, which as I understand it cancels out most of the interference received by the previous loop.
also, I think I read somewhere that the twist rate of each of the pairs is slightly different so that the twists of one pair don't line up with the others in order to minimize crosstalk.
Jason
the wire may be thicker to help those using POE, but you can buy cat5 in thicker versions as well.
the biggest change, and the one that matters the most is the twist rate of the wires. in Cat6 they are twisted almost as tight as physically possible.
the twists are each a tiny loop that receives interference, and every second loop is backwards, which as I understand it cancels out most of the interference received by the previous loop.
also, I think I read somewhere that the twist rate of each of the pairs is slightly different so that the twists of one pair don't line up with the others in order to minimize crosstalk.
Jason
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
This is not an appropriate forum for advise relating to hard engineering. Nothing in this thread so far is a passable explanation and most of it is totally wrong.
This is not an appropriate forum for advise relating to hard engineering. Nothing in this thread so far is a passable explanation and most of it is totally wrong.
Silas Pradetto
Graduate Student
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
Rather than mock our stupidity perhaps you should enlighten us, oh expert of twisted pair cable.
Rather than mock our stupidity perhaps you should enlighten us, oh expert of twisted pair cable.
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
I think it's really funny when people have spelling errors in their condescending messages.
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
I don't have time to explain every difference between the two categories.
there are several parameters which change:
You cannot simply change cat 5 for cat 6 in an analog device or your device will not work anymore, especially if you are transmitting video or another high frequency signal. This is because the skew changes and the rx equipment cannot compensate for this change. Digital devices are incredibly more picky about which cable specification is used.
I don't have time to explain every difference between the two categories.
there are several parameters which change:
| Parameter | Category 5 and Class D with additional requirements TSB95 and FDAM 2 | Category 5e ('568-A-5) | Category 6 Class E (Performance at 250 MHz shown in parentheses) |
| Specified frequency range | 1-100 MHz | 1-100 MHz | 1-250 MHz |
| Attenuation | 24 dB | 24 dB | 21.7 dB (36 dB) |
| NEXT | 27.1 dB | 30.1 dB | 39.9 dB (33.1 dB) |
| Power-sum NEXT | N/A* | 27.1 dB | 37.1 dB (30.2 dB) |
| ACR | 3.1 dB | 6.1 dB | 18.2 dB (-2.9 dB) |
| Power-sum ACR | N/A | 3.1 dB | 15.4 dB (-5.8 dB) |
| ELFEXT | 17 dB (new requirement) | 17.4 dB | 23.2 dB (15.3 dB) |
| Power-sum ELFEXT | 14.4 dB (new requirement) | 14.4 dB | 20.2 dB (12.3 dB) |
| Return loss | 8 dB* (new requirement) | 10 dB | 12 dB (8 dB) |
| Propagation delay | 548 nsec | 548 nsec | 548 nsec (546 nsec) |
| Delay skew | 50 nsec | 50 nsec | 50 nsec |
You cannot simply change cat 5 for cat 6 in an analog device or your device will not work anymore, especially if you are transmitting video or another high frequency signal. This is because the skew changes and the rx equipment cannot compensate for this change. Digital devices are incredibly more picky about which cable specification is used.
Silas Pradetto
Graduate Student
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
You are now talking measured performance differences, not physical build differences, like I was. For Ethernet, over which the Midas runs AES50, there will be speed and performance advantages to running Cat6, and only the few physical annoyances associated with the fatter/stiffer cable.
For any readers, yes, analog or non-Ethernet devices want specific cable parameters so the cable best be matched to what the manufacturer of those devices requires, but this has nothing to do with the OP.
You are now talking measured performance differences, not physical build differences, like I was. For Ethernet, over which the Midas runs AES50, there will be speed and performance advantages to running Cat6, and only the few physical annoyances associated with the fatter/stiffer cable.
For any readers, yes, analog or non-Ethernet devices want specific cable parameters so the cable best be matched to what the manufacturer of those devices requires, but this has nothing to do with the OP.
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
now YOU'RE the one throwing generalizations out there...
many, MANY analog devices don't give a crap whether it is cat-5 or 6. analog audio, composite video.
the long and the short of it is: if he was talking about some sort of transceiver that was made to convert a signal onto cat-5 cable he would have been able to RTFM and figure it out for himself because they are all pretty specific, so most of us deduced that he was talking about an ethernet application.
Jason
now YOU'RE the one throwing generalizations out there...
many, MANY analog devices don't give a crap whether it is cat-5 or 6. analog audio, composite video.
the long and the short of it is: if he was talking about some sort of transceiver that was made to convert a signal onto cat-5 cable he would have been able to RTFM and figure it out for himself because they are all pretty specific, so most of us deduced that he was talking about an ethernet application.
Jason
Re: Cat 6 instead of Cat 5
Digital devices tend to be less picky than analog about cable quality, simply due to the far greater amount of error correction that can be performed on a digital signal.
The big difference between Cat 5 and Cat 6 is the maximum operating frequency. This is 100 Mhz for Cat 5 and 250 Mhz for Cat 6.
In general, higher standard cables (higher numeric categories) can be substituted for lower standard cables with no detrimental effects whatsoever. As your table shows, Cat 6 cabling has better crosstalk and signal attenuation performance than the Cat 5e and the deprecated Cat 5. This is due primarily to a slightly heavier wire gauge (typically 23 AWG vs 24 AWG) and improved twisting of the twisted pairs. Cable capacitance (not shown in your table) is typically slightly lower, leading to improved performance at higher frequencies. Skew is identical across the cable types (and will be impacted more by how the cable is terminated than anything else).
Digital devices tend to be less picky than analog about cable quality, simply due to the far greater amount of error correction that can be performed on a digital signal.
The big difference between Cat 5 and Cat 6 is the maximum operating frequency. This is 100 Mhz for Cat 5 and 250 Mhz for Cat 6.
In general, higher standard cables (higher numeric categories) can be substituted for lower standard cables with no detrimental effects whatsoever. As your table shows, Cat 6 cabling has better crosstalk and signal attenuation performance than the Cat 5e and the deprecated Cat 5. This is due primarily to a slightly heavier wire gauge (typically 23 AWG vs 24 AWG) and improved twisting of the twisted pairs. Cable capacitance (not shown in your table) is typically slightly lower, leading to improved performance at higher frequencies. Skew is identical across the cable types (and will be impacted more by how the cable is terminated than anything else).