[TAG] Wiring a house with ethernet

[Brian Bilbrey]

John Karns wrote:
  ...
> AFAIK, the reason is that the physical design of the plug (by way of the
> crimped connection, I believe) is susceptible to higher signal loss than a
> punched connection on a panel (or a single jack connector).  As I write 
> this, the question occurs to me whether either type of cable - stranded 
> or solid - gives better spec for signal loss vs length, otherwise known 
> as attenuation.  At any rate, I would guess that solid wire would be 
> significantly more economical.

The varying twist ratios among the pairs and the physical orientation of 
the pairs are the primary drivers behind limiting signal loss and 
crosstalk ... However, while solid-core is *usually* cheaper, when it's 
in plenum-rated jacketing (often the case), the jacket material makes 
the whole much more expensive. yes, you can get cheaper stuff that's not 
plenum rated, but to my way of thinking, if it's good enough for 
commercial code requirements, then it's probably worth the expense. On 
the other hand, I wouldn't outfit my house with Belden's MediaTwist on a 
bet ... I'd like to eat more than ramen noodles this year.

.b


-- 
Brian Bilbrey : http://www.orbdesigns.com/
	"Kirk to Enterprise -- beam down yeoman Rand and a six-pack."