sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Cat5 vs Cat5e

Hi, I have a new customer moving into new premises which has 250+ cat5 and 50+ ca5e.
The previous occupants cut off all the patch panels!!!
The customer wants to 'future proof' the site so would like to either;

1. replace all of the old cat5 with new cat5e

2. Terminate all 300+ cables and test to see whether the cable (Brand-Rex) will pass as cat5e (I hear that most cat5 will pass as cat5e anyway.) dates on the cable are 1998.

The problem is that they want to move in in 3 weeks. Plenty of time then!

terminate a random selection of the cat 5 (15-20 or so ) and test if they pass your good to go just terminate it all

if not then start pulling .

As Skip says...& be up front with the client & let him know what the results are "if they're close" and tell what it'll cost to change 250 drops. Give him your opinion & let him decide.

Most clients wouldn't have a clue as to which they are using anyway. Too many other factors can slow the speed down such as hubs, switches, patch cords, etc.

Dave

Last year we pre-wired a law firm in downtown L.A. The new office had VERY old (early 1990's) Systimax CAT 5 still punched to patch panels in the equipment room. When we did a random sampling with an Omniscanner for CAT5E (gigabit ethernet) certification, they all passed with flying colors. I think you will find that if the terminations are good, your old CAT 5 will certify out.

And, of course, they'll be good, because you (Leemc) will be the one terminating :-)

Thanks Carl!

Anyways, i've been back down to site in central london for more investigating and found the following:
1. All cables are ran under false floor and terminated into cat5 modules. Then, patch leads come out of the sockets and are teminated into floor box modules!
2. Some of the cable looms are ran alongside 240v mains power.
3. Rats have been chewing the cables.
4. Rats have been urinating on the sockets which are attached direct to floor.
5. I found another 60 cables rammed under the floor (now 312 cables to run)
6. About 30 cables are about 130 metres in length. (isn't it 90 metres max)
7. When reaching under the floor, a friendly cockroach ran up my arm!

Obviously cabled by a spark. why electricians think they can run data is beyond me.
And they still want to move in in two weeks!
It'll take a week to rip the old stuff out.

Sorry, needed to get that off my chest!!
Rant over.

It sounds like you're going to need more than two weeks to air out the place after the exterminators finish :-)

Back in the day, raised floors gave you license to do anything you pleased. Your description gives good meaning to the phrase "rats nest".

I'm guessing from your descriptons that the cables are already terminated in jacks, then patched to floor jacks, then patched again? Is this something like a modular cord coupler in the floor jack? It sounds weird.

I'd be looking to have a couple of burly, low-paid types strip the floor clean and start all over with specific routes and hangars. Pretend like the cables were never there.

Carl

Talk about making things complicated. Did they by any chance run power using one of those underfloor trunking systems where floor boxes are then just plugged into the busbars? Sounds as though somebody was trying to make up a similar system for data.

Got it in one Paul!