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Review on ๐Ÿ”Œ SolidLink SL611A 1000ft CAT6A S/FTP In-Wall Ethernet Cable (CMR Rated) UL Listed - Solid Bare Copper Conductor 23AWG 550Mhz Fluke Tested Wire - White by Mike Carter

Revainrating 4 out of 5

It's possible to use CAT6 Ethernet connectors, but it's a painful process.

Although I don't have a 10 Gigabit network switch, I wanted to make sure I had the best possible backbone to my router so my network would be secure in the future. I pulled out the Cat6 patch (see photo) and ran this one instead. Each pair of wires is foil shielded and all pairs are wrapped in a ground braid. As with Cat6, each individual wire is 23 AWG, but the insulation in this CAT6A is much thicker, making it almost impossible to connect each wire to a standard pass-through connector. In order to insert each wire into the correct grooves, I had to vertically pinch each wire with pliers prior to insertion (see photo). It was after a lot of trial/error and frustration, but I finally managed to get it working fairly consistently without buying big and bulky CAT6A connectors. Basic process: Cutting >> Clamping >> Feeding. On the negative side, this CAT6A seems to have about 1/2 turn per unit distance compared to the CAT6 I have. The only way to know if this cable is worth all the hassle is to buy a few 10 gigabit devices and test their runs. In general, it doesn't seem bad.

Pros
  • Cat 6 Cable
Cons
  • New Competitors Arrive