Shielded Cable Assemblies, Unshielded Cable Assemblies, Manufacturing and Wholesale

Types of Un-Shielded Cable

CAT-5e: Commonly used UTP, designed for broad LAN application

+ Very flexible
+ Easy to connectorize with common RJ-45 connectors

– While fully spec'ed, limited to 100MHz rated performance

CAT-6: Twisted Pair provided in 100 Ohm with 4 twisted pairs surrounded by a metallized foil wrapper.

+ Less rigid… almost as flexible as traditional UTP
+ Easily connectorized
+ Can be spec'ed to the appropriate frequency to accommodate 10GBASE-T

Types of Shielded Cable

IBM TYPE 1: Traditional 150 Ohm cable includes twisted pairs wrapped in foil and completed with a metal braid around all conductors and then wrapped with an insulator. However there are a number of negatives about this type of cable:

– Very rigid
– Difficult to connectorize
– Not compatible with 100Ω UTP LAN technologies due to size and impedance

CAT-6e FTP: Foil Twisted Pair provided in 100 Ohm with 4 twisted pairs surrounded by a metallized foil wrapper. The pluses and minuses are:

+ Less rigid… almost as flexible as traditional UTP
+ Easily connectorized
+ Can be specified to support 10GBASE-T

– Requires careful shield attention during connectorization
– Requires careful ground management to prevent loops

Advantages of CAT 6e Bulk Cable and Category 6e Assemblies

CAT 6e FTP: Foil Twisted Pair provided in 100 Ohm with 4 twisted pairs surrounded by a metallized foil wrapper.

+ Less rigid… almost as flexible as traditional UTP
+ Enhanced Shield termination makes it easily connectorized
+ Enhanced Shield termination provides isolation between devices
+ Enhanced Shield termination eliminates "ground loops"
+ With FTP, alien next can be reduced to almost zero
+ With FTP, RJ-45 and field termination can be used