I must have been asleep for the past two years. I was unaware that there was such a thing as Category 8 cable. I was still thinking that Category 7 was the be all/end all for ethernet cabling.

Never heard of it

From what I've read, CAT8 cable is to ethernet what RG11 is to coax.

Like CAT7, CAT8 seems geared towards data center applications as opposed to consumer & regular commercial usage.

Yes, limited to Data Centers at the length isn't conducive for hortontial usage. However, I am guessing that there is always going to be one person that insist they need Cat 7/8 patch cords for their Cat 6a home network so they can speed read their email.

Available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=category+8+cable&crid=1UAX2KYR0ULFO&sprefix=catagory%2Caps%2C270&ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_8_8

Category 8 data cable's main purpose right now is for the switch to switch communications in data centers as it is limited to 30 m (98ft). It allows upgrading to higher speeds without having to rip out everything and start over.

In the USA there is no such thing as a Category 7 cable. The IEEE never created a standard for it and the TIA/EIA never approved it. Cat 7 also requires a proprietary connector that is compatible with the RJ24 connector but hard to find.


Here a great article about why you don't need Cat7

https://www.cablematters.com/blog/Networking/what-is-cat7-and-why-you-don-t-need-it

The article makes CAT7 cable sound as popular as CAT4 cable.

"Category 7 was simply ahead of its time, and with no application yet requiring it, TIA decided to not recognize Category 7. Hence, it saw little to no traction in the North American marketplace. There were however plenty of Category 7 deployments in countries like Switzerland and Germany where shielded cabling is the de facto standard due to tougher EMC regulations."

~from an article published by Fluke

Dean -

If I remember correctly (always problematic, these days!) it's OUR (USA) fault for shielded cabling requirements in Europe (especially in Germany).

We expected WW III to break out in Germany and that tactical nuclear weapons would be used. It was felt that shielded cabling could mitigate the interference cause by tactical nukes.


Sam

Telephone goes

I'm dying to know what an "RJ24" connector is. I can't wait to hear this one.

RJ-24X: Is normally associated with a telephone company provided key telephone system. It's typically used with registered ancillary devices such as conferencing devices, music on hold, etc., and is wired to provide the same tip, ring, A, and Al appearances as a standard five-line key telephone set.

RJ-24X appears to be a 25 pair (50 pin) Amphenol connector (RJ21X) set up to provide T/R & A/A1 for 12 circuits.

Sam

Darn it!!

It looks like I wrote the wrong connector in my post. The article I linked has it correct and the correct connector is the RJ45.

The GG45 connector which is the proprietary connector is backward compatible with the RJ45 connector.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GG45

Isn't the RJ-24x made of Phantonium? I know they pulled a lot of obscure designations, but I missed the 24. Maybe that was a non-US or special manufacturer's unauthorized designation.

Carl This is where you link to your research..... USOC

The RJ-61 is missing from this list. It's an 8-pin T&R plug for 4 lines in the 54362718 order.