2-Pair CAT 3 Being Phased Out? 4

[Dexman]

I recently went to a nearby electronics store to try to order a 1000' box of plenum 2-pair CAT 3 cable.

The gentleman who purchases stock for the store told me that both Beldin & General Cable, the 2 brands he carries, have stopped production of 2-pair CAT 3 cable despite the fact that both manufacturers still list these cables on their respective websites.

Are there any manufacturers still producing this type of cable?

5E with its larger overall diameter and 2 extra pairs seems to be overkill for a strictly voice telephone system (Avaya Partner ACS) which requires only 2 pairs. There are no plans in the works to migrate telephone service over to VOIP.

 

[Dexman]

Hey Mikey!

One of the things I did when installing the Partner system, was to also run an additional set of wires (also CAT 6E) for a back-up telephone system (a Merlin 410).

The Merlin is on "standby" so if the Partner goes down, people just have to move the Merlin phones, which are kept plugged in and positioned near each desk, up on to their desks, connect the 2 telephone lines to the Merlin and then switch on the standby answering machine.

CAT 6E cables are also being used to connect computers to the multi-port DSL Hub.

I'd say I've got more communication wire strung now than there has ever been in the building!

 

[exverizon]

For what is worth (and that's not a lot), Home Depot sells 2-pr CAT3. They used to have the 4-pr version which was more useful, but lately I can't find that. I still find some residential jobs are better suited for simple CAT 3 runs, but not if the house is new.

 

[skip555]

I beleive the homne depot stuff is quad wire , not two pair cat 3.(i'll have to look next time im there )

quad wire isnt cat 3 rated and often you will se bleedover and crostalk if trying to run two lines

sparky seems to like it so I think thts why its carried

 

[Dexman]

Hey Skip & ex,

Home Depot used to carry 2 pair CAT 3, but none of the ones around here stock it anymore. Now it's pretty much (4) pair CAT 3, CAT 5 and quad.

I've already begun the upgrade process. The only devices that will remain on the 2 pair CAT 3 will be the (2) door phones. Given that only non-critical/very low usage telephones were wired with CAT 3, I'm really not under any time constraints (A few Saturdays here and there will be enough.

 

[oldtimerbob]

I have a couple rolls of 2 pair cat3 in stock that I use when I am out of cross connect wire. That's about all it is good for.
Why don't you just get a box of cat3 4 pair,which is very cheap at most places if you get the pvc?
Cat 5e would be nice but only if you plan to use it for future data type of service,such as DSL,etc for the voice/internet.

 

[skip555]

is your two pair actully twisted pair rated cat 3 or is it green , red , black , yellow untwisted quad ?

just wondering Ive never seen two twisted pair with a jacket before .

as to cat 3 vs cat 5 the price is virtully the same last I checked so whay nopt pull the 5e

 

[ISDNman]

Skip,

I have used 2 pair twisted before (blue and orange pairs). It was back when I was used to Quad for everyhting but 1A2. I had to rethink the color codes from quad to the multpair color codes so I remember when and where I was the fiorst time I came across it.

I don't think have ever used quad since then, though beofre long I shifted to 4 pair for future proofing.

 

[Dexman]

Hey Bob!

Because I have quite a bit of CAT 6E cable already onsite, I am using that to replace most of, but not all of, the existing CAT 3.

I figure at this point that if I'm going to make the effort to rerun cables, I might as well go all the way and save myself from having to worry about another cable upgrade.

The 2 pair CAT 3 is actually fine for our Partner ACS phone system, but who knows what we will be using 5-10 years from now.

 

[oldtimerbob]

The two pair I have is PL cat3 with blue and orange pairs.
Your use of the Cat6E should be OK for any future uses and is good thinking on your part.
I would suggest however, that you use an 8 pin usoc jack for the voice at the station end ( and yes you can split pairs,use the blue and orange pairs on the first jack and the green and brown on the second,being careful to put t he green and brown on the pins of the jack where it calls for the blue and orange to go inorder to hit the correct pin outs) and put it on a patch panel at the telco end while you are doing the re-do so you can easily patch in the whatevers whenever you need to.

 

[Dexman]

Hi Bob!

I forgot to mention that I am, indeed, upgrading the jacks from CAT 3 to CAT 6 as I pull the new cable.

I'm using my supply of Levinton jacks, but I may switch to Systimax. I'm not too partial to having the wires terminated on the butt end of the jack (Leviton) as opposed to the traditional termination on the top of the jack (Systimax).

Paul