Hi, over the holidays we bought a POE security camera system, mostly so my wife can keep an eye on her horses.

The CAT6 cables included were barely long enough and I had to route them in ways that do not look tidy. So I'm interested in buying a spool and running new cables that look tidier.

Two main questions - 1) I saw there is more than one style to order the strands for crimping. Should I do t568a or t568b? 2) Is anyone able to recommend their preferred cable and vendor? I need a spool of about 300ft. Otherwise, I'm looking at this spool from Amazon. trueCABLE Cat6A Direct Burial, Shielded FTP, 500ft, Waterproof, Outdoor Rated CMX, Brown, 23AWG Solid Bare Copper, 750MHz, PoE++ (4PPoE), ETL Listed, Bulk Ethernet Cable https://a.co/d/8NZnltm

Any other tidbits I should know to do or avoid?

Thanks in advance

The easiest heads are the pass through cut off crimp heads. They make tools for them and can be found on Amazon. The strand order (t568a or t568b) in the head doesn't matter as long as both ends are the same.

Example:

Hiija RJ45 Crimp Tool Pass Through Cat5 Cat5e Cat6 Crimping Tool for RJ45/RJ12 Regular and End-Pass-Through Connectors with 50PCS CAT5 CAT5e Connectors, 50PCS Covers and Mini Wire Stripper https://a.co/d/aR25Elr



As for the spool, Amazon will be your easiest way to get it.

Remember that 300' is max recommended run without a repeater to not have signal degradation.

Unlikely that you require Cat6 or shielded. Also remember that normal RJ connectors are not water or weather proof so you will likely have to mount in some type of enclosure. Don't know this specific cable but you probably can do better, and depending on your location and future use you might be better getting your specific length needed.
Like this for cat5E 1000ft even shielded would be fine for GigE
https://www.ispsupplies.com/Primus-Cable-C5CMXFS-2279BK_cloned

multiple options
https://www.ispsupplies.com/search?keywords=direct%20burial&order=relevance:asc
and even have by the foot for $0.22 ft if you really need 300ft

But this is in college station. Monoprice also usually good price but looks like out of stock there currently.

You likely don't need shielded or direct bury cable for POE cameras. You can get 1k foot box of 5e at lowes for $120. Works fine for POE cameras assuming you're running wire thru the attic or in conduit

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Southwire-1-000-ft-24-AWG-4-CAT-5E-Riser-Gray-Data-Cable-Pull-Box/3339558

It'll take some practice to get ok at putting the ends on but it's not bad. I like having a 9v tester to clip on each end to see of all the wires light up.

Most of the cable lengths will be outside, along the wall of the garage. Will I need shielded for outdoor use or is shielded more for when it'll be near other electrical items?

bearamedic99 said:

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Most of the cable lengths will be outside, along the wall of the garage. Will I need shielded for outdoor use or is shielded more for when it'll be near other electrical items?

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Tons of POE cameras are run on riser cable (like I posted) across the world.

You generally don't need shielded cable for cameras in a residential install. Are you not intending to run cable in the attic? Are you going to run it all exposed under the soffits? I wouldn't run exposed cable for cameras. What good are they if someone can sever the power easily? I would run it in conduit if you aren't going to run thru the attic

bearamedic99 said:

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Most of the cable lengths will be outside, along the wall of the garage. Will I need shielded for outdoor use or is shielded more for when it'll be near other electrical items?

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If its going to be outdoors, you should use outdoor rated cable, direct burial wouldn't necessarily even be better than outdoor rated. Direct burial is meant to be buried, so they're not necessarily going to worry as much about UV protection whereas, outdoor rated cable would require UV protection.

Shielded isn't necessary, it is for electrical interference and you have to use shielded terminations to get any benefit at all. I doubt you would need it. I would only do it if you're going to have lots of power cables running parallel to them for a good portion of the run. If you can't run them inside somehow, I would get Cat6 outdoor rated cable. Cat6 isn't going to be much more expensive than Cat5e and it has more bandwidth. You may not need it now, but you might as well spend a little more for future proofing.

I've bought from TruCable before and had a good experience. They sell on Amazon, but I usually try to go directly to retailers if I can.

Yes UV rated outdoor cable. Should be significantly cheaper than direct burial which is not appropriate for you application. My cost is $160/1000 for outdoor 5E and $225/1000 for burial.

Everything said above is pretty accurate. Outdoor rated (PVC) and have the termination in an enclosure/j-box or hidden from the elements, somehow.

Shielded cable is to protect the signal from RF of lighting/electrical/etc, so probably not necessary in your situation. Hell, even in commercial situations, few businesses use Cat6a.

Be sure to label everything accurately to save you trouble later on.

Be careful if you're pulling through tight spaces or around corners. It's easy to strip the cable and cause yourself problems.

Don't paint over the cable if you can avoid it. I also think you should route through the attic as much as possible before stubbing out to the outside

Thanks everyone!

You've got this - as others mentioned, nothing too bad.

Main 2 things I'll echo are passthrough terminals (so much easier) and a little test kit where one end transmits a signal and the other end will light up to verify all terminations are properly done.

Another source:
pimfg.com