How to Ensure Outdoor Cable Performance ?

Many users and installations are faced with the problem of cheap and efficient data transmission between buildings in the park environment. The choice of routing, transmission distance and application environment will all affect the choice of cable medium. Incorrect or inappropriate choice will result in a shortened period of wiring investment, and reinstallation will also cause the network system to stop running.
If it is an outdoor application, the fiber optic system is usually the choice for campus network connection. The real cost of optical fiber lies in the termination of optical fiber cabling system and optoelectronic equipment. When users only need to transmit 10Mbps or 100Mbps within a distance of 50 meters between buildings, optical fibers are generally not used.

Buying conventional Category 5 copper cables underground or laying overhead may cause transmission failure of a certain network along the wiring line. Therefore, choosing the existing outdoor direct-buried enhanced type cable will bring a cheap link. Before deciding to choose these outdoor LAN cables, you should fully understand their design.

Anti-moisture protection nets have been used in communication cables for many years. These aluminum polymer materials have overlapping seals as protection to reduce the penetration path of water vapor to prevent water from entering. However, an unprotected dry cable will need to suffer as long as six months to a year of liquefaction due to infiltration, and a dry cable with a moisture-proof protective net will be completely protected. The cable designed in this way is approximately similar to a foil-screened LAN cable, and it is easy to connect and use.

Therefore, the wiring system designer must consider the application environment, which includes the following environment and parameters that affect the cable:
1. Whether the cable is placed under the eaves; as long as the cable is not directly exposed to sunlight or ultra-high temperature, the standard LAN cable can be used. It is recommended to use pipes:
2. External walls; avoid direct sunlight on the walls and man-made damage;
3. In the pipe (plastic or metal); if in the pipe, pay attention to the damage of the plastic pipe and the heat conduction of the metal pipe;
4. For suspended applications/overhead cables, the sag and pressure of the cable should be considered. Which bundling method you intend to use. Whether the cable is directly irradiated by sunlight; laying directly in the underground cable trench, this environment is the smallest control range. The installation of the cable trench should be checked regularly for dryness or humidity;
5. Underground pipeline. In order to facilitate future upgrades, cable replacement, and isolation from surface pressure and the surrounding environment, laying pipes is a better method. But don’t expect that the pipe will always remain dry, which will affect the choice of cable types.

Factors affecting cable performance include:
1. Ultraviolet (UV)-Do not use cables without UV protection in direct sunlight. You should choose cables with black polyethylene or PVC sheaths, such as Brand-Rex’s 4 pairs of reinforced type 5 MegaOutdoor outdoor cable, with metal mesh moisture-proof protective layer and black polyethylene sheath, is suitable for most inter-building connections, whether it is overhead laying, ground installation or pipeline construction, it can be used:

2. Heat-the temperature of the cable in the metal pipe or trunking is very high. Many polymer materials will reduce the service life at this temperature. Black polyethylene or PVC sheathed power cable should be selected;

3. Water-Water is the real killer of LAN cables. The moisture in the twisted-pair cable of the local area network will increase the capacitance of the cable, thereby reducing the impedance and causing near-end crosstalk problems. If it is extremely effective to prevent moisture and water vapor, a protective layer of metal shielding net is required;

4. Mechanical damage (repair costs)-the repair of optical cables is very expensive, and at least two terminations are required at each discontinuity;

 

Grounding-if the shielding layer of the cable needs to be grounded, the corresponding standards must be followed;

The total length of the route (not only between the buildings)-Use outdoor-grade LAN twisted-pair cables between the buildings, and the total length should be limited to 90 meters.
For a network of 100Mbps or 1000Mbps, the laying distance cannot exceed this limit. If the laying distance is between 100 meters and 300 meters, optical cable should be selected.
The following simple experiments can be used to self-test whether the wiring investment is safe: use a 20-meter enhanced category 5 UTP cable to terminate at both ends; carefully remove the cable sheath at the midpoint of the cable to expose a small section of copper cable (1 cm ); Test the cable according to AN/NZSD standard; soak the cut part of the cable in water for 1-2 minutes, and then retest.