Cat6A Unshielded Riser

If you are looking for top quality CAT6A CMR indoor cable at a reasonable price, then you just found it. I install Wi-Fi networks and camera systems and this particular cable is meant for an inside Wi-Fi AP/Switch/Router/Server installation. When I made my choice, I went by the following criteria: • The cable must be solid copper. Many of the runs I install are up to 300 feet. Stranded copper should not be used past 75 feet. • The cable must be CAT6A since the network I will be installing will, in the future, require 10G Ethernet over copper out to the maximum possible distance limitation of 328 feet. • The cable must be properly documented so I can select the proper connector to use with it. I will not trust cable this is not fully documented up front. • The cable must meet all EIA/TIA specifications and if used inside walls (not plenum air spaces) then it must further be CMR rated so it does not promote the spread of a fire. Fortunately, trueCABLE (unlike many others) has properly published the specifications on the cable and I selected the Platinum Tools ezEX-44 unshielded connector. Since this connector is specific to Platinum Tools, you are also required to use the ezEX0 crimp tool and interchangeable die system. The two most critical specifications needed are the OD or outside diameter of the cable jacket and the OD of the conductor insulation, which basically means the copper conductor diameter PLUS accounting for the insulation around the conductor. It is NOT enough that a connector says “CAT6A compatible”, nor is it enough that a particular connector says it will work with “23 AWG” conductors. Each cable manufacturer will have different ODs for the cable and conductors. In this case, the cable OD is 7.30mm and the OD of the conductor insulation is 1.02mm. Very few connectors on the market will work with such a thick cable OD of 7.30mm, so careful research was necessary. When I selected the connector, I needed to know what the connector would accept and as it turns out, Platinum Tools also properly documents their connectors. The ezEX-44 accepts cable ODs up to 7.36MM and conductor OD range of 1.0 – 1.12mm. Perfect! This connector has the added advantage that it is pull-through in design and does not use load bars, plus the conductors stagger 4 high and 4 low to minimize near and far end cross talk, which is critical for high bandwidth applications. See my pictures for how this looks. Taking the cable off the spool, this stuff is stout. The jacket is thick and the interior of the cable has a “spline” which separates the pairs to minimize cross talk. The spline further helps with keeping the cable from kinking while running it. There is a rip cord inside the cable, but I did not make use of that. You should use a cable stripper when terminating cable to RJ45 connectors. For such a thick cable, you are well advised to get a heavy-duty adjustable stripper such as the “Big Red” or BR-1 type. I took pictures of the inside of the cable. Overall, I am impressed with the quality of this cable! I wrote a long review here with pictures because this product really deserves it. Oh, and this was all at a lower price than Vertical Cable’s similar offering. I have used Vertical Cable and while they are comparable in quality, their cable costs more.

I bought 1000' figuring I'd have a bunch leftover. Not the case. I ended up using over 900'. I guess since I could, I ran multiple wires to some rooms (4 to my Theater Room). If you are there fishing lines already, go ahead and do the full job right. Not 1 issue with the cable. Note: the length of the cable is written on it every 6', (thanks True Cable), that helped. It is not stiff enough to be a problem. All my wires to all my rooms work. I don't have very fast internet, (don't need it for my uses), but my new wired connection to my TV went up in speed by 28% over my WIFI connection (went to 53gbps, way more than my 4K needs). No doubt, I am totally satisfied and will use this company for any other stuff I need. (Since it was on a spool, and I was running the wires starting in the attic, I put a rod between tow rafters and put the spool on it. Fed off the spool great!!)

I compared this CAT6A CMR cable to other bulk cables and found this one to have wider bandwidth, 750Mhz, and others typically had around 500Mhz. I pulled a few thousand feet of this so far and find it holds up well to pulling, the jacket is smooth, doesn't grab on anything, though that is also part of your technique in pulling cables. Haven't terminated and tested the wiring yet. I like the yellow color as it is easy to spot when you are in tight locations, attics, stud spaces, and the like. It is also easy to see what you write on the cable. I think this is a good value for the money, materials seem first rate, I chose CAT6A to be more future proof as it is only slightly more than CAT 6. I am only an amateur, not a professional.

This cable is solid copper, not cheap or misleadingly labeled CCA, it has a nice solid thick jacket that is hard to kink & feels premium when compared to CAT5 & CAT6. If you are not careful in choosing the cable you buy, whether it's CAT5/5E/6/6A, you may wind up with CCA (copper clad aluminum) which is terrible & you WILL REGRET IT if you use CCA. This came on a nice wood spool, not a pull box, so be aware of that because a pullbox is convenient, but putting a wood spool with a bar in a milk crate makes pulling so much easier than a pull box, especially for long runs. I will be buying more of this stuff.

This cable is outstanding ! I have performed multiple installs in various business utilizing this cable. It is rare for a product to exceed my expectations in both quality and value. Installation is as expected for this type of cabling. It holds up under heavy bandwidth and the speeds are as advertised. I will continue to order this for all of my installs.

Great product easy to pull

First time use of TrueCable wire, seems excellent. I thought I had run every color bulk cable there was and found one I hadn’t, purple, so I tried it. Nice heavy 6A wire as expected, but terminates easily with 6A pass-through plugs from truecable. Easily handles UniFi poe switches and long runs to AP’s.

Very heavy duty. Be sure your RJ-45 connectors are especially larger to accommodate the 23 awg conductors.

It arrived sooner than tracking info suggested. Not packaged very well, but no damage.