Cat6 cable failure

[CromeYellow]

(1) I laid a direct buriable what I thought was high quality Cat 6 cable over about 200 feet, worked fine for a couple weeks then suddenly failed. When I attach the tester to each end, the lights barely light up dimly except for #5 which flashes bright. I have attached new connectors to each end twice now, four gold plug RJ45 wasted, same exact result.

I tested the two routers being connected with a 30' ethernet cable, worked fine, also tested the tester itself with this 30' cable, it flashes all 8 digits brightly and correctly.

Have examined the length of the cable there is no damage no cuts in it, and it's only a couple weeks old anyway. All I can think of is that there are a few bends around corners including a couple that are almost 90 degrees, could this over a two week period lead to failure? Bizarre.


(2) Also, going forward, for this type of cable, direct buriable pure copper connectors - thick cable - should I attach the crimped RJ45 plugs as I have been doing, or get those biscuit jacks, connect those to the cable itself, and then use patch cables?

 

[MikeMl]

Water intrusion! Use an Ohmmeter between conductors.

 

[CromeYellow]

I started pulling the cable and found that it had been chewed through at some point where laid flat on the ground whatever chewed through the outer split conduit and the cable itself apparently not enough to sever entirely but enough to cut all but a couple wires, as I was pulling the cable it separately entirely. Wasn't separated before which is why I couldn't see the damage

No joy in Mudville must think of a different route that is perhaps not right on the ground, or better conduit must be hungry critters here.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Looks like critters. It might not be burried deep enough. Low volatge conduit?

In any event, I would not use that corrogated tube. I think your inviting the wire to sit in water collected in the tube.

 

[fourtytwo]

The critters here burrow! so everything underground is steel wire armored and everything else fly's!

 

[Inquisitive]

Drop the Cat 6 cable it in 1/2" PVC or rigid conduit. Then you can fish line it in and replace if need be. Could be rats, or mice or moles? Around where I am, squirrels will chew the odd power line connectors in half, above ground level.

 

[MikeMl]

I have a cat5 cable that runs underground from my house to my hangar. Total underground run is about 100ft. It is buried about 2ft in glued PVC conduit. It has been working for about 4 years without any problems. However, we live in a very dry part of Arizona, where the ground is very dry, and the relative humidity is very low. I believe that if this was a high humidity climate, I would have had some problems with condensation forming inside the PVC.

Many hams have tried burying RF coax cables between their house and the base of an antenna tower. I see lots of posts on Eham or QRZ.com about problems of water intrusion into buried coax, especially if buried in conduit.

 

[CromeYellow]

I am returning the corrugated tubing (it was a split conduit that was easy to install over the Cat 6), this may well be what attracted the rodent to begin with - we had rains and maybe there was water or moisture caught in the tubing that the varmint wanted to drink.

I am also replacing the buriable Cat 6 I had, with this variety of buriable Cat 6 that is encased in stainless steel, that should solve everything:

I don't actually plan to bury it, will just staple it to side of houses and lay it on the ground.

Anyone ever used this stainless steel cable? How wide is it, what size coaxial cable staples will I need? I am guessing 1/2" as 1/4" worked for the Cat 6 itself.

 

[unclejed613]

one place i worked at had a rash of cars not starting. it turns out varmints are attracted to wire insulation and plastics made from a soybean derivative.

 

[gophert]

it turns out varmints are attracted to wire insulation and plastics made from a soybean derivative.

Rodents have been chewing on cable insulation for a long time - long before soy-based bioplastics were on the market. I would like to see some data rather than just a correlation - and what reason do car owners give for rodents chewing non-bio based insulation? Do those reasons not apply to bio-based plastics?

It's funny how little a soy-based polyester looks like soybean oil. It's also surprising how much soy-based plastics look like plastics made from Petrolium-based raw materials.

Oh, I see it now, there are class-action lawsuits about soy-based insulation. It must be true.

 

[dknguyen]

I thought armour was a minimum requirement to make a cable direct buriable?

 

[gophert]

I thought armour was a minimum requirement to make a cable direct buriable?

Define armor (armour). Low_voltage power cables ain't got none - some signal cables can be burried but don't have "armour".

 

[dknguyen]

Define armor (armour). Low_voltage power cables ain't got none - some signal cables can be burried but don't have "armour".

A hard metal sheath.

 

[gophert]

A hard metal sheath.

Plastic conduit is fine for everything up to 220 VAC in my zip code _ must be burried below the frostline. I don't know when/if metal is ever required.

 

[unclejed613]

Oh, I see it now, there are class-action lawsuits about soy-based insulation. It must be true.

i didn't realize this was such a hot-button topic, sheesh... that's what people whose car wiring was eaten were told by the mechanics that fixed their cars...

 

[gophert]

i didn't realize this was such a hot-button topic, sheesh... that's what people whose car wiring was eaten were told by the mechanics that fixed their cars...

It's a hot button issue to those in the plastics industry, in the auto industry and anyone appalled by ambulance-chasing attorneys assign blame for random events to good companies with deep pockets.