IT infrastructure, Progressive Office Cabling

Why Your Company Should Avoid CCA Cabling – Part 2

30 Oct 2018

Cat6 Office Cabling Dallas TX Pittsburgh PAAs discussed in Part 1, companies that have a limited budget for network infrastructure may end up buying copper clad aluminum (CCA) cabling to save money. Although marketed as a sufficient substitute for solid copper cabling, CCA cables are far from being the right answer for trimming budgets. Part 2 will continue discussing CCA cabling related issues and counterfeit copper cabling.



Shortened Cable Runs


As lengthier CCA cable runs approach the 100-meter maximum, there will be a decrease of signal strength in comparison to solid copper CAT5e cabling. Reduced signal strength can result in data loss because increased packets of data must be retransmitted.


Unsuitable for Power Over Ethernet (PoE)


Since CCA wires have a higher DC resistance (about 55% greater) than solid copper, its conductors may need to be 60% larger than solid copper to compensate. Without resistance compensation, the drop in voltage will be greater for any channel length.


Longer cable runs of 65 meters or more will surpass TIA’s channel DCR requirements, limiting the available voltage for the device. In addition, higher resistance will result in a faster buildup of radiant heat, which may damage the device.



How to Identify CCA Cabling


CCA wire is also much more brittle than solid copper wire. Identifying CCA is easy because all you need to find is the silver color of the tip of the conductor. Another way is scraping away the thin copper surface of the conductor to reveal the aluminum.


CCA cables also weigh much less than solid copper cables. Go to the CCCA website for the CableCheck™ mobile app (http://cccassoc.org/news/free-apps/), which provides the approximate correct box weights to help detect CCA conductors being used to fraudulently substitute for solid copper conductors.


When a CCA cable is labeled as a Category 5e, 6 or 6A cable or CMP or CMR rated, it is counterfeit cable. It will also be non-compliant with industry performance standards and will pose a hazard by being unable to pass UL fire safety testing.



Progressive Office Cabling


Founded in 1986, Progressive Office’s success has been a direct result of years of commitment to seeking solutions on behalf of our clients. Efficiently working together, Progressive teams get cabling installed and operating as fast as possible while minimizing disruption and downtime. Call our toll free number (800) 614-4560 today.

Network Cabling ,Data Cabling,CAT2 6A UTP

Issues to Avoid with Cat6a Cables

22 Dec 2014
Network Cabling ,Data Cabling,CAT2 6A UTPA newly popularized cable is Cat6a. It is the new “cable on the block” which has prolonged the life of copper cabling. Cat6a has the shielded twisted and untwisted pairs with different advantages and features. It supports Gigabit Ethernet up to a hundred meters. However, you need to understand and cope with several issues.

Contentions


The size of Cat6a cable is larger than Cat5e. Copper is inherently unreliable due to Bit Error Rates or BER. This is why manufacturers have designed Cat6a cables with a smaller cross-section. It takes up less space in the tray. Yet, this space is needed to minimize crosstalk between cabling pairs. The protective shield in Cat6a cable adds to the expense.

Electricity and Mechanical Facets


Aside from the electrical issues, Cat6a Untwisted Pair (UTP) is fabricated with bigger conductors. It has more rigid twists compared to Cat5e and Cat6 and these heavier conductors plus large and stiffer jacket combines to make for more difficult cable installation. Besides, the external diameter of the UTP means that the Cat6a cable takes up more room in the trays and conduits.

Electrical and mechanical issues should not be overlooked since this can affect performance. The physical stability of Cat6a is essential to its transmission performance. Cat6a can be more sensitive to degradation of signal compared to Cat5.

These may be produced by the following:



  • Cable twisting generates signal reflection.

  • Excess insertion pressure on cables can cause poor connector performance.

  • Weakness of RJ45 (communications) connectors.


For example, if the cable is wedged in a door or compressed or squeezed by a heavy object, can result in sporadic network problems which may not be easy to detect. Nevertheless, Cat6a functions at enhanced specifications compared to Cat6 UTP. Considering all of these issues it may seem that fiber cable will become the ultimate future for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. It is up to users and the market forces to make the choice.