While reading about diff cat 6 cables I realize that I just got done wiring my house with this cable from monoprice Cat 6 UTP Stranded, In-Wall Rated (CM), 400MHz 24AWG 1000FT Bulk Cable - Black. For what I been reading maybe I should have used solid cable. Will this be a problem, will I need to rewire the house again?
Oh, OH, did I mess up?
- Thread starter MrSpeed
- Start date
Crap the more I read, the more I realize I made a costly mistake
I guess back to monoprice to get the solid cables 
beelzerob
Senior Member
I understood the main difference between solid and stranded was just flexibility. Wire in the walls doesn't need to move, so it's solid, wheras patch cords are stranded for the extra flexibility.
But that is just my poor understanding of it, and probably not the real reason.
But that is just my poor understanding of it, and probably not the real reason.
According to what I am reading, solid is the right way to terminate cables in the patch panel. Stranded is too flimsy for termination, I am so mad at myself for not researching this prior to making the purchase, this is an $800 dollar mistake on my part
Neurorad
Senior Member
Huh. I didn't know Monoprice sold stranded cat6. I didn't look too closely when I bought my last box, a few months ago. Luckily, it was solid.
I know at least a few people here at CT have punched down stranded. I think it would be kind of difficult to add male connectors to it, though.
Before buying more, wait for a few more posts.
Edit - After reading Ira's post below, and thinking about it, I now think it would not be hard to add male RJ45 connectors to the cables.
I know at least a few people here at CT have punched down stranded. I think it would be kind of difficult to add male connectors to it, though.
Before buying more, wait for a few more posts.
Edit - After reading Ira's post below, and thinking about it, I now think it would not be hard to add male RJ45 connectors to the cables.
According to what I am reading, solid is the right way to terminate cables in the patch panel. Stranded is too flimsy for termination, I am so mad at myself for not researching this prior to making the purchase, this is an $800 dollar mistake on my part
You might could get a bunch of screw-type terminal strips and use those to terminate your existing runs, then use short pieces of stranded to go from the terminal strips to the patch panel. But if your walls are still open, it might be less trouble to just pull new runs.
And since the stranded runs are already in there, don't pull them out. You might could use them for other things in the future. You can never have enough wires in the wall!
wuench
Senior Member
According to what I am reading, solid is the right way to terminate cables in the patch panel. Stranded is too flimsy for termination, I am so mad at myself for not researching this prior to making the purchase, this is an $800 dollar mistake on my part
I am a network engineer. I have terminated stranded on patch panels at home. Don't lose any sleep over it. Just get a good LAN tester and test your terminations. If you can't get a good test no matter what you do, then you may want to look at patch panels and jacks that accept RJ45 on the back and just terminate with RJ45. But I doubt it will come to that.
While not recommended, since you ran standed wire, you should be able to get it to work. I think with some extra time and testing, you'll find you can punch it down just fine. If you really have problems, I think you could tin the standed ends to make a "solid" wire and then punch that down. Of course that would be a real pain to do for each wire, so I would try punching down the standed wire first.
PaulD
Active Member
From my own experience, stranded can be punched down but with mixed results. The slots made for solid wire are designed to cut thru the insulation and take a bite into the solid wire. If you try to punch down stranded wire into a slot made for solid, it can even cut some of the wire strands leaving you with a very iffy connection. It is a hit or miss effort. If you do it, be sure to test the connections good and even wiggle the wire around to make sure the connection is good. However, they do make punchdown products for stranded wire. That would be the safe way to go if you want to salvage your existing cable.
drozwood90
Senior Member
apostolakisl
Senior Member
Don't sweat it. I am sure with a little futzing around you will get good contacts with the stranded wires.
Thank you all for the replies and suggestions. As painful as it is, I ended up buying the solid cable. I think down the road road would have been more frustrating if I had problems with the connectors. So while I am in a wiring mood, I decided to do it right the first time. Lesson learned for me is to pay more attention next time!
On a flip note I am on the last stages of wiring my alarm system to the HAI pannel. Hoping to be done today, will post pics after done!
Thanks again!
On a flip note I am on the last stages of wiring my alarm system to the HAI pannel. Hoping to be done today, will post pics after done!
Thanks again!
