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ACat5

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Mark568B

IS-IT--Management
Jul 29, 2005
63
US
I have heard that there are a few companies that will begin selling Aluminum Cat5 this spring.
With the cost of Aluminum being so much cheaper than copper there should be at least a 20% savings.
We are considering using this but are a little weiry considering all the problems they had with aluminium electrical wiring in the 70's.

The savings are so substantial it may be hard not to at least try a couple runs using this.
Is anyone else considering using ACat5?
 
Do you have any links for this?

It will be important that the connectors are designed for the conductor.
 
Aluminum
~1-1/2 to 2x the diameter of copper for same electrical
~min bend radius about 2x that of copper, major EMT fill revisions
~1/2 the tensile strength so pulling will be critical
~1/2 price of copper


Regards
Peter Buitenhek
ProfitDeveloper.com

"Never settle for a job well done...always look for cost cutting measures
 
Personally I think cable mfgrs could save a ton of money by not using insulation on the conductors. Not to mention you get better signal coupling by just twisting bare wires together.

Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]
 
Bell Labs and IEEE have plans on the board for 20 AWG aluminum cable to replace 24 AWG copper for communications cabling...not an April fools joke.

The data speeds on aluminum alloy wires are much faster than the electrical speeds that plagued home aluminum wiring. This extra speed prevents data pileup so no heat is generated at the backup bend joints (called choke points). My stockbroker - Lehman Bros. called and is trying to put an IPO deal together. This may be a big money maker. The website is
 
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