[Tfug] Copper Clad Aluminum CAT-5e wire outdoor/waterproof

[Mr Brevity]

Hi Louis,

On 7/2/2014 3:37 PM, Louis Taber wrote:
> The wire is not steel.  I tried a magnet.  Scraped off the copper color and
> is looks like aluminium.  But, yes, it is small hand hard to tell.  It is
> certainly not copper in the center.

See if it reacts with NaOH?  :)   (jk)

> I haven´t come up with a way to measure the gauge her in Pennsylvania.

Dial caliper?  Hand micrometer?

If push comes to shove, wind several layers atop each other (NOT
alongside as this becomes a cylinder packing problem) and measure
the aggregate.

> There is lots of (sometime conflicting) information about CCA Cat-5 if you
> do a Google search.  For example:
> http://www.fia-online.co.uk/pdf/Whites/wp-IAN002-01.pdf.  And from a seller
> of CCA http://sewelldirect.com/articles/cca-facts.aspx  At least Seawell is
> up front about what they are selling.  My vendor did not provide a clue,
> even when asked.

For *signal*, I doubt you will have any problem.  At the high
frequencies used in network comms (even 10Base), everything is
riding in/on the "skin" (which is copper).

For power carrying, you may find some issues.  Even if you
opt to go with PoE, you can probably use the cable as long
as you avoid "big" loads (or long lines).

I would be most worried about the reliability of the conductors
wrt mechanical fatigue.  Not so much in the middle of a cable
but at the point it enters the strain relief in the connector's
shell.

If you can afford the cost of "real" copper, then why not step
up to that and allay your fears?

Personally, the only problems I've seen with aluminum wire
(not copper *clad* aluminum) have involved oxidation, current
carrying capacity (you need a larger wire gauge relative to
copper) and "solderability".