Sourcing Cat5e cable help (in USA)

mjroennebeck

mjroennebeck

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Mar 9, 2025
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OMG I feel like this should be this difficult for me but it is. I'm trying to find Cat 5e stranded on Amazon. None of their cables say stranded. I have found ones that say outdoor, standard or nothing really. Here are some pictures. Please let me know which one I need to get1000019048.jpg1000019049.jpg1000019050.jpg1000019051.jpg1000019053.jpg
 
Personally, I would stay with well known brands and pay a bit more. Monoprice, Belkin, South wire are all wire brands that I would trust. The search algorithm on Amazon sucks because it gives you what it wants to and not what you are searching for. A few of you search items and then a bunch of what it tries to get you to buy.
 
Ok, so of those three, the first and last are rubbish. Both are CCA - Copper Clad Aluminium. This is completely out of spec for CATx cables, and will give you troubles. Do not buy.
The middle one is pure copper; what you want.

It's unlikely you'll find a box of stranded core easily - the reason being solid core is used for install work, and the boxes help that. Stranded is used in patch cables, and typically only available in much bigger reels for the companies that put the connectors on the end.
I would suggest buying pre-fabricated cables, with the connectors already attached.
 
Just my 5 cents worth .... if you have never made network cables, buy premade. I've made my share at work and at home and I've only used solid copper wires and NOT copper clad. Shielded or Unshielded depends on whether there is any source of interference. I know, not very specific, but it all depends on your application
 
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