DIY Ethernet Cable

[lpost]

'Unfortunately when I tell you that the people making these recommendations have now idea what they are talking about it starts up a pages long thread were engineering outfits like Texas Instruments Siemons with heavily instrumented papers showing what is going on with Data cabling are somehow ignored.' 

 

I wholeheartedly agree with @plissken

 

or ask Belden themselves. Galen Garis is now retired from Belden but had a hand in the design of nearly all Belden cables including Ethernet over the past 35 years. He's quite accessible on PS Audio forum if you'd like to learn from the horse's mouth.

 

P.S. I don't hold any certifications, those on my staff do, but I manage a large corporate Cisco network with HP Aruba wireless. We use and recommend Belden bonded cables. They resist change keeping the pairs in perfect position. The installers don't like the extra work to terminate but when you build a network to last 30 years+ it matters. Plenum cables have PTFE by code. If it burns you don't want the toxic PVC jacket getting into the HVAC system. The data doesn't care about the insulation type.

[lpost]

We just completed a large conference center build with REVConnect. With Covid I've never been to the site but I can see the lack of errors with the system ;).

 

I know the installers really liked the speed or time savings terminating them. That's how Belden sold it as a time saver. Time is money in the structure cable game. I believe one need a tool though which unless you need a bunch of cables I would just buy measured patch from Blue Jeans and call it a day.

 

I intended to mention to the OP, all he's done is completely violate the Ethernet spec and yet to its robustness it still works! At least over the short distances in a house or patch cable.

 

Don't use shielded cable unless you're in a noisy industrial environment. It's a waste otherwise and few it any home installations are going to be properly grounded network systems anyway. The shield only serves as a potential noise conduit between two devices.

 

I prefer bonded 5 (or 5e) UTP for home use with measurements to ensure it meets spec. A 'better' cable can do no better.

[lpost]

Good to know and have another source.  When I started in networking in the late 80s I had to deal with vampire taps (remember those?), 10base2 'cheapernet' and AppleTalk over 2 wire or was it 4 wire telephone line cord all in the same buildings, all 3 types! I still work for the same company all these years later. We've not gone beyond dual 10Gbit uplinks as we simply don't require it but it's nice to know 40G and 100G is now readily available and 400G is possible. With the exception of upsampling 192k-24bit PCM to even higher rates we still don't need more than 100Mb/s for audio and even most video.

 

Oh how things have improved and in many ways become must simpler.

 

It seems about every 10 years we replace our network core because they approach EOL. End of the month a pair of Nexus 7k are being replaced with a pair of 9606R. The Nexus replaced a pair of Cat6513 with 13 years service and before that a 10M Cisco router running in bridge mode! Silliness.

 

Be safe out there and don't hack Ethernet cables for no good reason.

[lpost]

I've tried FO in my setup a number of times, as I have access to many flavors of patch and SFP. Depending on the implementation, I've found the PCI-e NIC to make more noise than the fiber link removed. Not needing the RF immunity I didn't hunt for 'better cards' or transceivers and remain completely happy with copper.

[lpost]

Just now, plissken said:

Novell, Banyan Vines, DECNet, LanTastic.

Wow, I haven't thought about some of these names in years. Novell 2.15c, ah the good ol' days. Novell's directory from 1995 still beats MS AD 2019 in features but that war has long since been lost. Reminds me of Beta vs. VHS. The better doesn't always win.

[lpost]

2 minutes ago, TomJ said:

I think cant help here - they will think I'm crazy. 

All I can say is, that the stripped 2x2 TP cable without isolation are the most resolving i heard so far.

If you have an old patchcord, just give it a try - remove the overall isolation and cut the unused wires.

 

As I know the isolation (e.g. PTFE) of the wire in the analoge sector makes a difference, maybe this is also valid for Ethernet cable.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the experimentation, it's a hobby and since it's low voltage no one dies.

[lpost]

No, got lucky and managed to get the Cisco order fulfilled without issue. Lead time was 3 months but I didn't care at all. I expect the shortages will get worse.

 

Last year, cable was in short supply. Belden nearly screwed us saying they couldn't supply more than have the bonded pair they had committed to provide. In the end, they 'found' it. Almost had a half and half install.

[lpost]

That is Galen Garis, the man.

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2 minutes ago, TomJ said:

Ok, will register on PS Audio and try to contact the master....

You'll find him here. He created Iconoclast cables while still working for Belden. It's an interesting story...

 

https://forum.psaudio.com/t/belden-iconoclast-interconnects-and-speaker-cabling/2038

[lpost]

6 minutes ago, plissken said:

 

The potential issue that I have is that this is going to increase the error rate that the switch PHY operates at.

I think this is all that could happen. Perhaps the increase in errors and subsequent retransmission creates a favorable 'sound'. At our normal paltry audio data rates, the link can probably tolerate 90% errors and still work just fine.

[lpost]

2 minutes ago, TomJ said:

But no ethernet cable from Iconoclast - yet . . . . 

No, and I wouldn't expect so. The data transmitted by an Ethernet cable isn't sound, it's TCP or UDP packets. Iconoclast and BAV cables are strictly analog, though some do meet the specs to be used as digital interconnects. Galen makes no claims of SQ improvements only measurements. He invites you to listen to them in your system and decide for yourself. The speaker cables make the most difference in my experience. They offer 3 different copper variants with identical geometry. He knows the geometry matters but what about the copper? It matters or at least makes a difference but it's much more about preference at that point. 

[lpost]

4 minutes ago, TomJ said:

I have done tests with software analyzer tools and there is not more package loss, errors or delay with the 2x2 as with standard 4 x 2 cable.

 

Is your Ethernet cable connected directly to your DAC?

[lpost]

Don't let us dissuade your fun and enjoyment. Just know there is little or no electrical engineering data to support your claims and this is OK. Enjoy!

 

I'm out.