Scottish281 Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Hi, I’m looking at replacing my original cable that connects my fbv express mkii pedal to my Spider V 240 head as Iv recently broken the clip on the rj45 connector and also noticed the plastic cable sleeve beginning to split due to wear and tear, exposing the inner wires. The writing on the cable itself says it’s a Cat5e cable and iv looked at the wiring pins/colours and know it’s a straight type, not a crossover type. My question is can I use a Cat6 cable to replace the cat5e? Iv heard that using the wrong cable can kill the amp and/or pedal. I’m looking at getting a nylon/flat cable for more durability instead of the cheaper hard plastic ones but can only find these types for Cat6 upwards. thanks scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fflbrgst Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 The Line6 people say 'no' to the Cat6 cable, although a user reported here that he was able to use one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaRefractor Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 I'm using a Cat6. The difference between Cat6 and Cat5e is the number of twists per inch as well as a new dielectric (+ shaped plastic running the core of the pairs) for better separation, higher frequency and signal clarity. The gauge of the wire may also be different. One disadvantage is Cat6 will be generally stiffer than a Cat5e cable. https://www.bittree.com/blogs/get-connected/difference-between-cat5e-and-cat6 Other than allowing greater speeds for data networks, I don't see how it would damage the hardware unless it's not made correctly. Performance in terms of the controller will be almost nothing, so I'd go for what is cost effective. I happened to have spool remnant of Cat6 from my home network rewire. Simply put I am sure Line 6 is using the standard "if it isn't our cable, we cannot guarantee it won't damage" due to the possible miss wiring, cross-over and other issues customers using a third-party cable could run into. Since I don't have a warranty on my second hand controller and it didn't come with a cable, it was worth a shot and worked out for me. YMMV... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish281 Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 7 hours ago, fflbrgst said: The Line6 people say 'no' to the Cat6 cable, although a user reported here that he was able to use one. Yeah iv seen that line 6 don’t really say much except to use their cable, parts etc like most companies do lol. Thanks for the reply :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish281 Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 4 hours ago, SeaRefractor said: I'm using a Cat6. The difference between Cat6 and Cat5e is the number of twists per inch as well as a new dielectric (+ shaped plastic running the core of the pairs) for better separation, higher frequency and signal clarity. The gauge of the wire may also be different. One disadvantage is Cat6 will be generally stiffer than a Cat5e cable. https://www.bittree.com/blogs/get-connected/difference-between-cat5e-and-cat6 Other than allowing greater speeds for data networks, I don't see how it would damage the hardware unless it's not made correctly. Performance in terms of the controller will be almost nothing, so I'd go for what is cost effective. I happened to have spool remnant of Cat6 from my home network rewire. Simply put I am sure Line 6 is using the standard "if it isn't our cable, we cannot guarantee it won't damage" due to the possible miss wiring, cross-over and other issues customers using a third-party cable could run into. Since I don't have a warranty on my second hand controller and it didn't come with a cable, it was worth a shot and worked out for me. YMMV... Thanks for the in depth reply, Its nice to know someone else is using a Cat6 :) i have read it’s backwards compatible so can work with cat3, cat5 and cat5e etc but didn’t wanna risk the chance of screwing up the pedal nor do I have a vast knowledge regarding Ethernet cables so wasn’t too sure. I got the pedal along with a spider 3 amp so it’s like over 10 years old now so mine will be outside of my warranty too. The cable that I have now is quite stiff, prob why the cable has split from using it at gigs etc so hence I was looking at a more flexible one. Iv noticed the cat5e has a rating of 24AWG and the flat Cat6 cables have ones between 28/32awg. As far as iv read the higher the number the thinner the cable/insulation etc and more prone to breaking compared to line 6s official 24awg. Would the higher thinner gauge be that much more problematic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaRefractor Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 22 hours ago, Scottish281 said: As far as iv read the higher the number the thinner the cable/insulation etc and more prone to breaking compared to line 6s official 24awg. Would the higher thinner gauge be that much more problematic? Good question. I have to work with it longer to really say as I've not flexed it enough to fatigue and break the wires on any of my patch cords. I think if you make sure you at least have a spare in case of breakage during a gig, I don't see it being an issue. As long as that cable is also rated to support PoE (Power over Ethernet) then I would expect them to be able to suppor the controller as well. Too small a gauge could be an issue with power traveling to the controller, not just communications. Just look to make sure the manufacturer doesn't recommend that it not be used for PoE installations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish281 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/12/2019 at 7:05 PM, SeaRefractor said: Good question. I have to work with it longer to really say as I've not flexed it enough to fatigue and break the wires on any of my patch cords. I think if you make sure you at least have a spare in case of breakage during a gig, I don't see it being an issue. As long as that cable is also rated to support PoE (Power over Ethernet) then I would expect them to be able to suppor the controller as well. Too small a gauge could be an issue with power traveling to the controller, not just communications. Just look to make sure the manufacturer doesn't recommend that it not be used for PoE installations. I didn’t even think about the PoE side of things. Iv ended up ordering a Cat6 that supports PoE and has same 24AWG rating as original cable... the thinner flatter cables didn’t seem to support that and most were 32AWG, plus they were also made from around 30% copper etc... apparently they are more prone to breaking so I opted for one that was 100%. I deffo will keep one as a spare when gigging. Thanks for the replies, much appreciated! Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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