Testing CAT6A & CAT7 cables?

[Gerr]

I am running cable throughout my house to replace most of my need for WiFi and bought a bunch of CAT6A & CAT7 cables to do this.  Since some of these cables will go through the walls & attic, I don't want to have to redo these runs as they are a PITA to install.  So I bought a cheap cable tester to make sure the cables are good before I install them...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-MS6818-Network-Tracker-Coaxial/dp/B010LXUCFI

 

It tests all my existing CAT5e & CAT6 cables fine, but when I test the new CAT6A & CAT7 cables, it gives a "Split Pair" error on about 50% of the CAT6a cables and 75% of the CAT7 cables with the shorter cables having a higher error %.  

 

So I have several questions...

 

1.  Can CAT6A & CAT7 cables be tested with a standard cheap tester, or do they need something different?

2.  Are split pair errors more common in CAT6a & CAT7 or should these errors be ignored?

3.  Are shorter cables more prone to errors like "split pairs"?

4.  Is my tester so cheap, I shouldn't rely on its findings?

5.  Or did I just get a bad bunch of cables?  CAT6A are from Cable Matters, CAT7 from Vandesail, both bought from Amazon.

 

Any insight would help.

 

Thanks!

[Bananasplit_00]

wow.. since when is CAT7 a thing?... 

[pcgamer3223]

You might try a hook-up test before running them through your walls, just hook them up and see if they work, should give you a good isea on their operational state.

 

edit 3-20-2021  just looked at ebay cat 8 are as low as 15 d for 15 foot CAT 8 cables if you check old posts maybe to try cat 8 if you have not already done so.

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by pcgamer3223
updated cable standard

[InVis]

2 hours ago, Gerr said:

I am running cable throughout my house to replace most of my need for WiFi and bought a bunch of CAT6A & CAT7 cables to do this.  Since some of these cables will go through the walls & attic, I don't want to have to redo these runs as they are a PITA to install.  So I bought a cheap cable tester to make sure the cables are good before I install them...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-MS6818-Network-Tracker-Coaxial/dp/B010LXUCFI

 

It tests all my existing CAT5e & CAT6 cables fine, but when I test the new CAT6A & CAT7 cables, it gives a "Split Pair" error on about 50% of the CAT6a cables and 75% of the CAT7 cables with the shorter cables having a higher error %.  

 

So I have several questions...

 

1.  Can CAT6A & CAT7 cables be tested with a standard cheap tester, or do they need something different?

2.  Are split pair errors more common in CAT6a & CAT7 or should these errors be ignored?

3.  Are shorter cables more prone to errors like "split pairs"?

4.  Is my tester so cheap, I shouldn't rely on its findings?

5.  Or did I just get a bad bunch of cables?  CAT6A are from Cable Matters, CAT7 from Vandesail, both bought from Amazon.

 

Any insight would help.

 

Thanks!

1. yes, if it only tests if the cables are connected correctly on either end.
2. Nope - only if you connect them wrong
3. Nope
4. Depends on what you are testing. You cannot test 10GbE with that tester, you need something waaay higher quality
5. I really dont know. But be aware that if you are going to punch them down in a wall socket or patch panel, you need Solid cables and they are not so flexible as Strand cables. If you are just clamping a RJ45 on either end of the cable, you should get Strand cables.

[Scheer]

5 hours ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

wow.. since when is CAT7 a thing?... 

IIRC it came out prior to Cat6a being introduced by ANSI/TIA, and for some reason still exists even though its pretty much the same thing as Cat6a. Cat7 is NOT recognized by ANSI/TIA, but I assume companies like to carry it because people pry think bigger number means better and will pay more for it.

 

 

 

OP, I have no idea who Vandesail is, but I've never had a bad cable from CableMatters, so I would blame the tester and trust the cables. Not sure why your 5e and 6 would pass though. I could see one, maybe even two, cables having issues... but not a vast majority.

 

All the tester does is check the 8 wires (Cat 5, 5e, 6, 6a, 7 all only have 8 wires in them) for continuity when looping back to see what positions the wires are in on both of the connectors. Technically as long as all of the wires are the same on both ends it will work, but the most common standard is TIA/EIA-568B: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIA/EIA-568

 

You can visually check the connectors to see if they match up to one of those standards.

 

B is used 99% of the time on both ends, and A on one end and B on the other is a crossover cable, which will still work just fine since pretty much everything since the late 80s has had Auto-MDIX build into it to internally crossconnect or straight itself depending on the needs.

[Prysin]

7 hours ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

wow.. since when is CAT7 a thing?... 

since a long ass time ago.

We are up to CAT10-30 something when it comes to LTE networks.

[brwainer]

13 minutes ago, Prysin said:

since a long ass time ago.

We are up to CAT10-30 something when it comes to LTE networks.

LTE categories and ethernet categories are completely different. The latest official spec for ethernet cables is 6a, and it's only a few years old.

[Bananasplit_00]

13 hours ago, Prysin said:

since a long ass time ago.

We are up to CAT10-30 something when it comes to LTE networks.

wow. i thought CAT 6a was like the newest and coolest Ethernet cable on the block lol

[Prysin]

13 hours ago, brwainer said:

LTE categories and ethernet categories are completely different. The latest official spec for ethernet cables is 6a, and it's only a few years old.

CAT 7 copper has been official for nearly 8 years.

[brwainer]

14 minutes ago, Prysin said:

CAT 7 copper has been official for nearly 8 years.

As written above by @ScheerCat7 is NOT an actual recognized standard. There is a difference between an official standard defined by a standards body, and an unofficial standard that manufacturers call a product. When you search for "Cat7 ethernet cable" on Amazon, none of the results are from reputable brands I would actually buy from. The reputable brands only sell Cat6a.

 

EDIT: The only brand I would buy from that sells "Cat7" Cables is monoprice. If you look at their site, you'll see that their Cat6a cables are 24 gauge, while the Cat7 cables are 26 gauge. This means that the Cat6a cable is actually thicker than the Cat7 cable. Thicker cables have less attenuation/resistance and therefore carry a given signal farther.

[Prysin]

1 minute ago, brwainer said:

As written above by Scheer, Cat7 is NOT an actual recognized standard. There is a difference between an official standard defined by a standards body, and an unofficial standard that manufacturers call a product. When you search for "Cat7 ethernet cable" on Amazon, none of the results are from reputable brands I would actually buy from. The reputable brands only sell Cat6a.

From two of the major manufacturer of copper cables WORLD WIDE.

CAT7 and CAT7a is not a accepted standard in the UNITED STATES. It is however in Europe. You americans need to widen your horizon. Just because it aint a standard where you live, doesnt mean its not elsewhere.

 

http://www.prysmiangroup.com/en/business_markets/markets/multimedia/downloads/datasheets/da42e.pdf

 

http://www.nexans.no/eservice/Norway-en/navigate_336380/LANmark_7_Cable.html
http://www.nexans.no/eservice/Norway-en/navigate_336386/LANmark_7A_GG45_Connector.html

 

 

[brwainer]

13 hours ago, Prysin said:

since a long ass time ago.

We are up to CAT10-30 something when it comes to LTE networks.

After looking it up and seeing that Cat7 is an ISO standard, which I was not aware of before, I still don't understand why you tried to bring LTE into this conversation.

[Scheer]

5 hours ago, Prysin said:

CAT7 and CAT7a is not a accepted standard in the UNITED STATES. It is however in Europe. You americans need to widen your horizon. Just because it aint a standard where you live, doesnt mean its not elsewhere.

 

Well I mean he is in America, so he should use American standards right? Just because you can drink somewhere at 18 doesn't mean you can do it here... ANSI will always trump ISO standards in the US. ANSI is actually the US member for ISO, so if ISO sets a standard for something and ANSI still doesn't have that own standard for themselves it generally means that ANSI does not approve of it or feels it is not needed, which is the case here. If Cat6a can do everything Cat7 can, why have two standards?

 

ISO is kind of a joke of a standards body, they don't even have power to enforce any of their standards, anyone can say they have a Cat7a cable. It primarily exists as a rule of thumb.

[dricha36]

On 5/28/2016 at 11:36 AM, Gerr said:

I am running cable throughout my house to replace most of my need for WiFi and bought a bunch of CAT6A & CAT7 cables to do this.  Since some of these cables will go through the walls & attic, I don't want to have to redo these runs as they are a PITA to install.  So I bought a cheap cable tester to make sure the cables are good before I install them...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-MS6818-Network-Tracker-Coaxial/dp/B010LXUCFI

 

It tests all my existing CAT5e & CAT6 cables fine, but when I test the new CAT6A & CAT7 cables, it gives a "Split Pair" error on about 50% of the CAT6a cables and 75% of the CAT7 cables with the shorter cables having a higher error %.  

 

So I have several questions...

 

1.  Can CAT6A & CAT7 cables be tested with a standard cheap tester, or do they need something different?

2.  Are split pair errors more common in CAT6a & CAT7 or should these errors be ignored?

3.  Are shorter cables more prone to errors like "split pairs"?

4.  Is my tester so cheap, I shouldn't rely on its findings?

5.  Or did I just get a bad bunch of cables?  CAT6A are from Cable Matters, CAT7 from Vandesail, both bought from Amazon.

 

Any insight would help.

 

Thanks!

While this post seems to have turned into a CAT7 war, it doesn't look like you have gotten the answers you are looking for. I believe what is happening here is that the shielding on CAT6A(CAT7) is confusing your tester. If the tester is only setup to test the 8 pins on a 8P8C connector, the "9th connector" that is the grounded shielding may be mixing it up. This ground is not present on Cat5/Cat6, so this might be why those cables all pass. Even some cheap cable testers will have a light for "shield" or "ground" - though if your tester does not have this, this is likely your culprit.

 

A couple important notes...

 

1)While testing your cables is a good idea, it doesn't offer any information on the quality. You could use some phone wire and crimp RJ45 ends on - and it would still pass a cable tester. These test only continuity and do not tell you anything about the throughput abilities of the cable (10, 100, 1000, 10000Mbps). What you ideally need is a cable certifier. This will tell you the maximum speed that cable will support. 

 

2) As mentioned by @InVis, if you are planning on punching down these cables on a patch panel, or wall/surface jack, you need to make sure that you have SOLID copper cables. If you have ordered stranded patch cables, these are NOT intended to be punched down on jacks, and will likely fall out of the connectors. Even if you do manage to get a good connection with this type of cable, it is not to building code (at least in the US). If your home inspector would happen to check this (when you sell your home), these wires would NOT pass, and would need to be replaced or removed. Additionally, ensure that you have ordered 100% copper cables, and not CCA (copper clad aluminum cables). The same issues will arise with CCA cables.