Cat 7A help needed

[mhmhmha]

Hi all,

I have just completed a house refurbishment not knowing much about home networking. I got my electrician to wire and install Cat 7a around the house. This was obviously a mistake for a home environment. I'm now in a situation where I have basic RJ45 female adapters installed with Cat 7a wired into them...is this even possible? Now I need to connect the other ends to an RJ45 adapter to install into the switch in the basement but...I can't seem to find any for Cat7a. Now am I able to sort this out or have a worked my way into trouble?

Let me know if you have any questions but in layman's terms....Cat7A wired around my house into RJ45 adapters and I need to crimp the other ends and I'm thinking will this even work now? I need to know what to crimp it with and if the female adapters will even work with the Cat7A?

Thanks in advance!

 

[CaptainSTX]

I think in your case the easiest solution might be for you would be to terminate the the other end on female jacks also. You can either do this by a small buying a small patch panel or make your own patch panel by buying a three gang or four gang box, keystone connectors and duplex mounting plates for the box which will give you either 6 or 8 ports.

Then buy pre made jumper cables to run from the jacks you have punched down to the switch ports. I don't know where you can get Cat7 fittings or jumper cables. Did your electrician use Cat7 female jacks? If he did you might ask him to sell you some for the other end of the cables.

Also buy a simple tester to be sure all the cables were terminated correctly. If your electrician used the 568A pinning scheme you will need to do the same. If 568B the same holds.

If you want to crimp male connectors on I have never seen a cat7a cable so I can offer no assistance other than to say Cat5 & Cat6 are difficult enough so if Cat7A actually exists I can only imagine how difficult it might be. I do know that Platinum tools doesn't offer Cat7 clam shell fittings.

When you get your LAN setup you will find this project was worthwhile.

 

[Tucu]

Hi all,

I have just completed a house refurbishment not knowing much about home networking. I got my electrician to wire and install Cat 7a around the house. This was obviously a mistake for a home environment. I'm now in a situation where I have basic RJ45 female adapters installed with Cat 7a wired into them...is this even possible? Now I need to connect the other ends to an RJ45 adapter to install into the switch in the basement but...I can't seem to find any for Cat7a. Now am I able to sort this out or have a worked my way into trouble?

Let me know if you have any questions but in layman's terms....Cat7A wired around my house into RJ45 adapters and I need to crimp the other ends and I'm thinking will this even work now? I need to know what to crimp it with and if the female adapters will even work with the Cat7A?

Thanks in advance!

You payed more than needed by installing 7a but you should be fine. Are both ends terminated with RJ45? If so just use any 6A or 6 cables (or even 5e) to connect your female RJ45 to a switch or device. If you need to terminate the other ends, use any 6A or 6 patch panel port, keystone module or equivalent.

 

[Datalink]

Fwiw there are differences in terminating a Cat 7/7A/8 cable. That can be seen in the following youtube videos. As usual, a little youtube tech school can be worthwhile before plunging ahead with a new project.

There are also specific RJ-45 connectors and keystones for Cat 7A/8 cables which are shown below as examples.

If you take your time, adhering to the steps to use the cable shields as shown, and use the proper connectors for Cat 7A/8, you should end up with a great home network.


Main youtube search for: Excel - Terminating Category 7A

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Excel+-+Terminating+Category+7A

Selected videos:

Connectors:

RJ-45

http://www.comnen.com/product/shielded-cat7-ftp-rj45-8p8c-modular-plug/#

note: Suitable for 23-26AWG stranded and solid wire

Cat7A & CAT8 Shielded RJ45 Plugs - 8P8C

Shop Cat8 & Cat7A rj45 modular plugs at Infinity Cable Products. Create high speed connections with our Cat8/Cat7A shielded, 8p8c rj45s. Certified & Trusted.

infinity-cable-products.com

CAT6A/7 Shielded RJ45 Connector - OD Under 8mm

Wondering why your network speed is low? Protect your network from EMI with our premium Shielded CAT6A/7 RJ45 connectors! Easy with inserts.

www.primuscable.com

Cat8 Field Termination Plug RJ45

Shop Cat7A & Cat8 field termination plugs at Infinity Cable Products. Perfect for high speed connections in your home or business. Certified and Trusted.

infinity-cable-products.com

https://www.primecables.ca/p-373374-cab-24757-entegrade-series-cat7-or-cat6a-rj-45-field-connection-modular-plug-10-pack-monoprice

Cat8

CAT6A Shielded Field Termination Plug - OD 5.6-8.5mm

The Shielded CAT6A RJ45 Field Termination Plug is designed to be terminated in the field without needing any special tools. Inserts are included. Future proof your network!

www.primuscable.com

Cat8 Keystone:

CAT8 Keystone Jack, Shielded, High Density 40G 2Ghz, Toolless, 180 degrees

The CAT8 Shielded Keystone Jacks are engineered w/ PCB technology, phosphor bronze IDC contacts, gold plated prongs, & a zinc die-cast w/ nickel plated housing.

www.primuscable.com

Copper Foil Strips

Copper Foil Strips - 10 strips per sheet (10 sheets per pack) 100 pcs

This EMI shielding strip is ideal for improving bandwidth performance using shielded RJ45 Connectors and Keystone Jacks. 10 sheets to a pack (100pcs).

www.primuscable.com

 

[CaptainSTX]

If installed and terminated correctly the Cat7A cable will give you a network capable of 40 gigs. Before spending $10 - $20 each for either the male terminations on the end of your cable runs check what the electrician installed. If he just installed standard Cat5e or Cat6 female keystone jacks then do the same and install the same category terminations at the other end of the cable. In the future when you have a use for a 40 gig network you can redo the terminations at both ends. In the meantime with good Cat6 terminations you could have a network capable of upt o 10 gigs.

 

[Tucu]

Cat 7 and Cat 7a are dead-end technologies but the cable is backwards compatible with 6/6A and 5e.
For 25Gbase-T and 40Gbase-T IEEE 802.3bq defined the use of Cat 8 for up to 30m. They skipped Cat 7a.

 

[follower]

Hi all,

I have just completed a house refurbishment not knowing much about home networking. I got my electrician to wire and install Cat 7a around the house. This was obviously a mistake for a home environment. I'm now in a situation where I have basic RJ45 female adapters installed with Cat 7a wired into them...is this even possible? Now I need to connect the other ends to an RJ45 adapter to install into the switch in the basement but...I can't seem to find any for Cat7a. Now am I able to sort this out or have a worked my way into trouble?

Let me know if you have any questions but in layman's terms....Cat7A wired around my house into RJ45 adapters and I need to crimp the other ends and I'm thinking will this even work now? I need to know what to crimp it with and if the female adapters will even work with the Cat7A?

Thanks in advance!

Read my replies at the following post.

Which RJ45 plugs to use for thick cat 6 cable

Hello, I'm UK based and have wired a new house throughout with cat 6. But this cat 6 is way thicker than any cat 5 I've used in the past, and I've tried different plugs but so far none have fit onto the cable. Its roughly 8mm thick. Maybe its cat 6a? Are there plugs I can buy for this cable...

www.snbforums.com

 

[mhmhmha]

Thank you so much for the replies. Extremely helpful.... I have had a look at what wall plates have been installed at they are all only Cat 5e which isn't what I expected

I got the Cat7a cable cheap hence installing it.

The other ends are NOT terminated so I will need to do that next...what should I use now? Can I use Cat5/6 RJ45s or do I need to use specific terminations for 7A cables?

I'm tempted to change all the wall plates to Cat 6 but unsure if I should bother.

 

[Tucu]

That is some badly made termination. I would put 6A Keystones (or equivalent) on both ends of the cables. Then store-bought cables between the devices and the ports.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Go with Keystone 6A for now. You may need to experiment with with various manufacturer's jacks to find a model that accommodates your heavier gauge cables.

Be sure to purchase a simple tester which will check the continuity and pinning of each of your runs after you terminate each cable. As an additional test after verifying the pinning plug connect devices on both ends of the cable run and be sure the run tests as a gig connection.

Also test ALL the jumpers you purchase to be sure that they test as gig capable.

From the pictures it looks like the electrician pinned the jacks as 568B but confirm this and if it is actually pinned as 568B follow the same scheme on the jacks you add.

 

[mhmhmha]

Thanks all for this....all the input has been really helpful and massively appreciated. I was always under the impression I couldn't make Cat 7A work with Cat 6A so that's good news. I've purchased these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074WBYCJC/?tag=smallncom-21 and will get these to replace the wall plates: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D4JBY6D/?tag=smallncom-21. Is there anything else I need to be made aware of at this point please?