Cat 5 Cable

The Cat 5 Network Cables are used to connect two or more networks and can be used to form small and simple home or office LANs. The best feature of Cat 5 Network Cable is its low inductance. It is used as a high-end speaker cable. The low inductance is one of the required quality for high-end speaker cable. The lower the inductance, the higher the signal rise time.

Twisted pair cables are used as they help in maintaining a low inductance as each wire in the pair has opposite polarity. A single cable jacket consists of four twisted pair cable. The four basic colors of these wires are blue, orange, green and brown. Each pair contains of two wires, of which, one is of solid color while the other contains stripes of the same color on a background of white. The cables are terminated with CAT 5 RJ-45 modular plug.

This braided or twisted structure reduces the asymmetrical interactions. A cheap and pure copper wire is used to make the speaker cable which, at the same time, is oxygen free. The cable is insulated with Teflon, which is one of the best dielectrics available.

Making a Cat 5 Cable Network

In this section we are going to discuss how to make Cat 5 network cables while constructing your home or office Local Area Network (LAN). The emphasis is more on making a fast and simple LAN following two Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) network standards, 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX. If you are about to start a small LAN network for your home or office, the 100BASE-TX standards should be used.

Stranded copper cables are not oxygen free as oxidation normally builds up in between the strands forming copper oxide and thus can not be used for making these cables. Copper oxide is a semi-conductor effecting the signal quality. Low inductance is one of the best quality of Cat 5 Network Cable. High capacitance is one of the worst quality as it effects the amplifier's stability. This can be avoided by using longer cables.

The stranded cables are more flexible as compared to solid core wire but at the same time it is prone to degradation by moisture infiltration. They should not be used for cable having a length of more than three meters. Solid core cable is normally used for home network and if you are using a notebook computer, stranded wire patch cables are recommended.

Try not to bend the cable too much and check that they should not run along with or parallel to power cables. If you club them together into a bundle, try not to bind them very tightly. You should always try to keep them away from noise and do not overstretch them.