What guage wiring should i run for motion detectors, cams, etc

[jokah]

Its late, and dark, or i would crawl and look at some existing...

However, I am on my way to the local hardware store to buy some more cat5e (i am running low) and was curious what I should buy to run for PIR sensors, glass breaks (if even necessary with a PIR - but figured it might be a good idea for basement)..


And of course, some more wiring for CCTV cams. We have room for 2 more, so I have been kicking around the idea of putting some outside. I know it would be a good idea to buy wire meant for this (rg59 with power) but I have some really crappy ebay rg6 (500') to use, and cctv is about the onlything I want to use it on.

Allowing me to vent my damn SNS connectors worth more than the damn wire i do.

Anyways, what should I get? Some 18x4?



....also, side note, 16 guage wire overkill for basic home theater?

 

[pete_c]

For Cams I use both CAT5 with balums and RG6 with power. I prefer to use the CAT5. Its easier to run and I don't see the advantage anymore to running RG6 CCTV cable. For PIR's I like CAT5 but have used 18/4. For doors and windows have only used 18/2 cable. For whole house audio and media center speaker wiring used 14/4 and 14/2.

 

[jokah]

thank you petec.

For audio, does it matter if stranded or not?

 

[felixrosbergen]

as far as i know audio shoudl always be stranded...

check the Wiring you house 101 guide on these forums... I don't know where it's hiding these days, but it's around.

Many people use 22-4 for PIR and also for door/windows sensors eventhough for door/window you only need 2 conductors. It's just easier to only have 1 cable type for security.

For audio some people use 16-2 or 16-4 as well...it depends on the distance you need to go and how much power you need to send through there..the 14-4 or 14-2 woudl certainly handle most situation but might be overkill.

 

[pete_c]

Apologies - decided to look in a corner of my basement where I have boxes of cabling to see what I actually used.

- Speaker wire came from Standard wire and cable company - found
16/2 STRD 500 feet - color white - part number 25726 - didn't find the 4 conductor speaker but used same company same color and size.

Also found some grey 16/4 that I used but didn't like it because the jacket was too thin - it says Coleman cable 94764 and there is a reference to Audio on it. It was very hard to strip so switched over to the white PVC cable after a couple of runs.

- For alarm used - "sound & security cable" 22/2 Riser rated CL3R/CMR Gray 500 FT. It also says Carol ® on the spool and "with ripcord".

Also a variety of colors of 1000Ft boxes of CAT5E. (blue, white, grey and yellow)

and some radio shack 6 conductor "telephone cable" in addition to 2 conductor shielded microphone cable (using this today to run audio between stereos but mostly use networked audio/video stuff now)

Age is setting in...and that I did all of this stuff about 5 years ago.

 

[jokah]

Curious.. What are you guys using the 4 line cable for in audio?


And jesus petec, thats awesome - thanks for pn's as well as reference on you not liking coleman cable.



One would think HD would sell installer grade cable at higher pricing. I would gladly pay 2x more if I knew the rg6 i bought is what cable co's and electricians who warranty work use. Unfortunately, in that instance, i bought RG6Quad, figure HD quality Q will put me at installer quality Rg6


(had cheap rg6, had a 1.5 db loss in a 25' run. Sucked !)

 

[tmbrown97]

For what it's worth, for security sensors, I strongly recommend standard 22/4 stranded (motion/glassbreak) over Cat5... Cat5 is handy, but I found it way less enjoyable to work with. My installer ran it because he could use mine instead of his - and I hated working with it. The wires just aren't as pliable and they break easier. I ended up doubling up for reliability but it was just pointless.

 

[pete_c]

Looking at what I did in a historical perspective and relating to alarm wire I would tend to lean towards the shielded 22/4 also over CAT5. One of my issues or concerns which came up with the various CAT5 cables was coloring of the individual wires. Lower grade wires did not have distinct coloring. I am color blind and some of the CAT5 wiring colors tend to blend together where as some are distinct.

I ran a lot of RG6 in the house and one of the most expensive RG6 cables that I used was ONQ cable. What I noticed is that this wire has become brittle over the last five years and when its cold it's covering (in the attic) has fallen off. This came from a role of dual RG6 quad shielded cabling. It was very thick. One winter a couple of years ago also noticed that animals tended to like this cable in that in one spot outside that one animal had decided it would be nice bedding material and cut/chewed my satellite cabling. I have since buried it into PVC tubing and laid it a couple of inches underground. In FL non of the RG6 cable that I installed touches the ground. (IE: Satellite cable comes out of the attic and directly attaches to the antenna (a couple of feet or so)). Same with the RG6 used for an analog/digital antenna.

The specifics on the ONQ cable: OnQ Technologies - F111077 Dual RG6/U Quad Shield 18AWG

Another thing I did for the audio in the bedrooms and a couple of locations was run speaker wiring to a wall switch. In my kids, MB setup there are stereo's. In the MB I also put two sets of speakers (one set for the Bathroom and one for the bedroom). So the sound basically comes from the rest of the house or the individual location. Each of my kids bedrooms have stereos, TV and computer setups. The AB switch contols whether the sound is from their stuff or the house stuff. In the MB I like to sometimes hear what I "broadcast" from the house system or locally from satellite, combo DVD or network attached media device. So both the audio and the video may be sourced locally or from the house system. For video I use a couple of "broadcast channels" for whatever I want to direct to these broadcast channels from the source. Specifically in my study (LCD mounted near the ceiling on one side) its video sources are local, MB or whole house like the sound. The most difficult part of this setup was the electric. The back of the setup though has HDMI, CAT5, VGA, Svideo, analog audio and multiple RG6. I used rapidrun cables for this setup along with the MB setup. I used RR cables for the LCDs in the kitchen (one LCD under the couter and one in the "breakfast nook". The LCD under the counter also serves as a monitor for a computer with wireless keyboard combo mouse attached. I did the same in FL running the two stereo 16/2 wires to one wall plate and running 16/4 wires back to the source. In addition I ran CAT5 to the wall plates from the same central source in the house. About 20 years ago I was using stereo audio pots in individual rooms in my old house. One day while having a party and blasting music in one of the rooms the stereo pot got so hot that it started a small fire in the wall and melted the pot. Since then and in the current home (and in FL) I decided to use digital volume controls from the source for each zone and they work well.