Newbie - Setting up a Home Network - Need Advice

mickevh

You might be able to do better on price for the bulk cable - for example Cable Monkey (no affiliation) have some for around half your price... Cat6a Bulk Cable

Personally, I wouldn't want the hassle of any shielded UTP (whatever it's "cat" - but it tends to be 6A and higher) and save myself the ball-ache of having to strap down all the shielding to earth.

If you want to scare yourself silly about how stringent higher cat installation requirements are, try the following article - though bear mind it is written by professional cable monkeys for professional cable monkeys...  Installation Pitfalls in Cat6 Cabling

Markr123

Shopping list looks pretty good. Only suggestions would be...

1.  Lots of choice on blanking plates etc on eBay. I normally use
linxcomuk LinxcomUK | eBay Shops for brush bars and blanks. Have some good 1u temp controlled rack fans too.

2. Cable. Unfamiliar with the Belsen brand. Seeing as you only want to be laying in once and the effort involved, I tend to favour a known brand. Also in a box is much, much easier then a reel I find. I used this CE Cat6 Cable UTP LSOH 4 Pair - 305mt box available... | Comms Express Cost is better too.

3. Ubiquiti.  You may find the CloudKey gen2 plus a bit overkill unless you plan to run ubiquiti cameras. I use the basic £70 one at home and second property. Also, you may find the SHD version of the AP overkill too. I have about 4 of the UAP-AC-Pro and find these more than comfortable in serving around 35-40 WiFi devices. If you’ve happy with budget then go for it.

Lastly, don’t forget good quality punchdown tool. Forget the cheap ones.  Basic £10 tester will aid you too.

techquest

It's Belden

Signal Transmission, Connectivity, & Networking Products - Belden

they're only the world leader in cable manufacture. They bought CDT (cable Design Technologies) the best design/manufacturer of cables there ever was.

RS also distribute Brand-Rex (now owned by Leviton) cables and would be a good alternative cable to use

@mosh has listed a 305 mtr drum in his list.

Time and detail is all you need to install shielded. It really isn't much more difficult to deal with than any other Cat type, yes more work due to the shields but such is life installing cables.

Markr123

Well, you learn something new everyday.

techquest

Hopefully we're all on here doing that

mosh

Thanks for your help guys. So I’ve currently got a couple of blinkxt cameras outside but was initially looking at the nest IQ outdoor cameras until I saw the ending of the non google smart products. The G3 pro cameras from ubiquity look really good and are priced identically but with cloud subscription. They are around £240 each.

techquest

Yes the spec is good and what price can you put on security. At least there will be no reason of non compatibility with the rest of your kit. Let us know how your getting on.

mosh

Thanks Techquest, quick question on the punch down tool; any preferred ones you would recommend?

Markr123

I went with this... TRENDnet Punch Down Tool with 110 and Krone Blade TC-PDT https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000AZK4D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3zSpDb43V427R

The cheap ones like this... Draper 40417 Punch-Down Tool https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000Q5KLN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wBSpDbAXRMDKM
Just seem to fall to bits after 20 odd punches.

techquest

As @Mark123 posted, Trendnet's punch down tool is good. Here's another supplier:

Trendnet TC-PDT Punch Down Tool with 110 and Krone Blade network analyzer Blue, White


An alternative is Klein's VDV427, but more expensive:

https://www.tequipment.net/Klein-Tools/VDV427-800-SEN/Punchdown-Tools/

Steer clear of cheaper models as the do tend to fall apart very quickly and are nowhere near as good at terminations initially anyway.