extra shielding for cat5

[thejaybird]

is there anything (foil or whatever)I can put between my cat5 and a large 60amp wire (they are about 2 incheesapart) to give it extra shielding? Is it even necessary?

 

[youcandoit]

buy a shielded patch cable or station cable..if you're having problems with errors yes it is neccessary. if it was professionally installed it shouldnt be that close to the power cable.

 

[skip555]

I would re-route the cable and try to get about 12" separtion

.

 

[thejaybird]

Thanks for your help. I discovered it in a basement ceiling right near an exterior wall - I am finishing out the space. the cat5 goes on up into the wall to a set of kitchen jack outlets so I would prefer to wrap it or the electrical wire if it will work. I don't think I can get a patch cable to work since it is so close to the wall.

 

[Kwick18]

I would try to pull it out and run it thru a conduit or at least some flex. You could also slit smerf tube and insert the line.

 

[youcandoit]

i didnt realize smurf tube was emi resistant.

Is this line being used for voice or data...It probably wont make much difference if it's just used for voice

 

[Auger282]

plenum cat5? that has foil sheilding

 

[thejaybird]

the line is a dsl line being used for voice but presumably a computer could be plugged in (there are actually two cat5 - one is a backup line). I haven't experience interference with the voice usage but would like to shield it as best as possible before I seal up the ceiling. I'll look into the smurf tube.

 

[franklin97355]

Smurf tube isn't a shielded product and neither is plenum cat5 (which is still "UNSHIELDED Twisted Pair")

 

[naturl]

I have used a fine mesh "chicken wire" (actually made a little chicken coup) to shield Comms in an welding shops' Electricial/Mechanical room. Bonded it and it worked to remove noise spikes from of the system. Maybe a fitted grid as such to act as a screen. 60 Hz is a pretty long wave length and should be easy to trap and drain.

Why is there never a phone in any of the phone closets?

 

[whit3rd]

It's awkward to have high current power line near a data wire (can
cause some interference in the case of current surges), but
unless it's a LONG parallel run, you're probably OK. Good
procedure is to maintain 12" separation (but other posters
have already mentioned that). This 'good procedure' is routinely
violated at the back of a computer with AC wires an inch or five
from the network; it doesn't really matter much for only a foot
or four of close proximity. Ethernet and telephone wiring are
both intended for electrically noisy environments (not including
factory floors full of welders and motors).

Alas, best shielding should be MAGNETIC shielding not just foil (it
isn't electrostatic coupling that you worry about, that's all
at 60 Hz; it's the magnetic field due to motor noise that might
get into the high-enough-frequency-to-cause-trouble range).
The voltage induced from a 60A cable is no more than that from a 2A
cable (light cord), but the CURRENT can be a bigger issue.

The easiest plan would be to twist the power wire (to reduce the
radiation); the data cables in the Cat5 wire are already twisted, of
course, but the same principle holds for the Hot1/Hot2 of a 220V
pair, or the Hot/Neutral pair of a 120V power wire. Less easy, run a strip of
soft iron (a scrap of galvanized sheet would do) and wire-tie the Cat5
wire so it hides behind that strip. Hardest, get a steel wiring channel
(like Wiremold makes) and house some or most of the Cat5 wire in that.

 

[Sympology]

Just as a note,
replace the CAT5 UTP with STP.

UTP = as pointed out
Unshielded Twisted Pair

STP = Shielded Twisted Pair.

You can tell (apart from the markings!), STP is a LOT stiffer.

Stu..


Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[Dante808]

Do you ONLY use the line for DSL? And if so are you happy with the speeds?

If your happy do nothing until you have a problem IMO. If you use the line for file transfers also and are plagued with CRC errors, collisions and dropped connections reroute the wire, it will mostlikely be easier to find a new route than it will be to shield the wire, depends on situation though. Even with sheilding you might get errors so use that as a last resort.