What are some good online sources for Cat 6 cable and pass thru connectors?

[Grumpycat]

People I know running a lot of UTP suggest https://truecable.com as having top quality and competitive prices. Direct price often better than Amazon.

Was also cautioned against ”CCA” copper clad aluminum which is dominant on eBay, Amazon, and box stores due to being nearly half the cost of solid copper. Told not all connectors make a good connection with CCA and that a connection that works today may not tomorrow. The small aluminum wire can break internally when pulled, especially if it gets pulled around a corner.

Was told CCA can not actually meet the claimed CAT specs. Too much resistance. Could bite you on POE.

If running any distance outdoors when power is available both ends I would consider Ubiquiti wireless extenders.

Over the years I have had a lot of trouble with unreliable WiFi until I bought an Apple AirPort Extreme 8 years ago. Darn thing is still running like a tank. Isn’t quite as fast as The Latest And Greatest these days (it has gigabit Ethernet ports 1 WAN, 3 LAN) but much faster than my 200 Mbps internet. The great thing is additional AirPort Extremes configure with 1 mouse click and magically become mesh extensions before anyone knew to use that term. These are 2013 models, discontinued in 2018. Can be found on shopgoodwill.com for about $30. Gen6 2013 model, rectangular tower is the latest and best. Or Gen5 of Time Capsule which includes a HD inside. Be sure to double check shipping costs because some Goodwills are reasonable, others excessive.

Currently have one AirPort in computer/radio room with cable modem. Another behind the TV in living room with the Roku, BD player, Dish, TV, and even garage door opener connected via Ethernet. Thought that was cool to be able to go in via Ethernet at one AirPort, WiFi to another AirPort, then back out Ethernet again. It magically worked by itself. So then I put yet another AirPort on a laser printer in another room. And some have hard drives inside, others USB hard drives, for Time Machine backups.

 

[RalphVa]

Lowes, Home Depot, our local Crutchfields, Bestbuy all have Cat 6/5e/7 cables. We lucked out with the intercom guy who came out. He had a cable. It seems that the only place that had the actual cables in stock was Crutchfields. They only had 50 and 100 ft. We needed about 55 to 60 ft. The guy gave us a 75 footer with the ends on it.

We have Comcast with 110 Mbps but the wife was having troubles with send/receive errors on Outlook over the Wifi. She's connected by wire now like my computer.

 

[newbury]

Followup on cable buy -
Ordered 500' of Lowes Superior-Essex Cat 6. Originally due in Monday, 24 Jan, arrived 23 Jan.
Immediately hooked up a Klein Cat 6 pass thru connector. Of note the individual strands are all solid color, so ther is a dark brown, light brown, dark green, light green etc. instead of solid color and striped in the pair.

 

[BravoXray]

Putting those connectors on wouldn't be a job for someone that's color blind.

 

[newbury]

That could be the same problem for either style of connector (solid light color or striped).
But:

I found the light green and light blue difficult to tell apart under my lighting conditions.

 

[k0ua]

That could be the same problem for either style of connector (solid light color or striped).
But:
View attachment 730709
I found the light green and light blue difficult to tell apart under my lighting conditions.

You always untwist just enough to get into the crimp plug. So you will never have that problem. I have never seen or used these "passthru" connectors. I have always used the dead ended connector plug. I have crimped thousands of these plugs on. Like anything else, when you have done it a few hundred times, it becomes extremely easy and fast.

 

[newbury]

Like anything else, when you have done it a few hundred times, it becomes extremely easy and fast.

But like anything else if you are only doing it a few times it's not.
And my foreseeable planned projects will probably only require about 20 more wire runs (40 ends) for my entire lifetime.
I spent about 20 years before 2005 having to do the rare end replacement/make a new cable/make a crossover cable. Load bars for my big fingers were a relief. Passthrough are a step up.
And thanks again for the wire recommendation.

 

[k0ua]

But like anything else if you are only doing it a few times it's not.
And my foreseeable planned projects will probably only require about 20 more wire runs (40 ends) for my entire lifetime.
I spent about 20 years before 2005 having to do the rare end replacement/make a new cable/make a crossover cable. Load bars for my big fingers were a relief. Passthrough are a step up.
And thanks again for the wire recommendation.

Rgr that. I understand. My first few connector crimps were difficult, time consuming, and many failed. Your welcome on the wire...

 

[plowhog]

My first few connector crimps were difficult, time consuming, and many failed.

Two suggestions on crimping-

- make sure the untwisted wires are cut at exactly a 90 degree flush angle. Don't allow even a minor variation in length of the wires.
- before crimping, make double sure the wires are pushed hard enough into the connector so every wire is completely seated. Use glasses or magnification if needed to make sure of this.

I was having about 25% of my crimped cables inexplicably fail. Close examination of the connectors revealed nothing unusual. Then I bought some extra-strong reading glasses and ... presto ... I could see strand(s) in the failed cables that had not pushed all the way to the end of the connector. It was very, very frustrating before I figured that out.

 

[MossRoad]

Two suggestions on crimping-

- make sure the untwisted wires are cut at exactly a 90 degree flush angle. Don't allow even a minor variation in length of the wires.
- before crimping, make double sure the wires are pushed hard enough into the connector so every wire is completely seated. Use glasses or magnification if needed to make sure of this.

I was having about 25% of my crimped cables inexplicably fail. Close examination of the connectors revealed nothing unusual. Then I bought some extra-strong reading glasses and ... presto ... I could see strand(s) in the failed cables that had not pushed all the way to the end of the connector. It was very, very frustrating before I figured that out.

The pass through connectors would eliminate most of those issues. You wouldn't have to trim the ends exactly, and you wouldn't have to push the wires in against the end and hold them there with pressure while crimping with the other hand. You'd probably also be better to maintain the twist right into the connector. Again, I wish I'd had them when I was doing that job.