[TowerTalk] OT: Exterior Ethernet Cable

[Pete Smith]

At 11:51 PM 8/10/2008, Matt Patterson wrote:
>Martin,
>
>There is outdoor rated CAT5.  It's more expensive than regular CAT5 and
>is filled with gel to keep water out of it.  The stuff that I've seen
>and worked with also had a black UV jacket on the outside.  They even
>make a shielded version of this cable which is what we used when we
>installed some outside access points at work.  If you use regular CAT5
>in an outdoors environment the PVC jacket will become brittle within
>weeks of being exposed to the elements.

Very interesting - I Googled and found multiple sources for shielded and 
gel-filled direct burial CAT5E for ~$160/1000ft.  That's not that bad, 
given the price of copper and with ordinary CAT5 going for ~$100/1000'.  I 
use 2X250 foot runs of ordinary CAT5 through woods on the surface, 
controlling remote antenna switches on my tower, and am gradually 
experiencing more and more problems with continuity and leakage between 
lines, so a little additional investment and replacing the lines may well 
be worthwhile.

73, Pete N4ZR