mark_g

I'm new to the forum, so pardon if this has been covered before. Our house in a remote area of NY State is under construction and we want to lay in the right cabling for cctv now. There are a couple of buildings and base has been poured for a tower (condiut in between all). Distances do not exceed 200' in any one run direction. We were planning to put in high quality all-copper RG-6 cable with separate 18/2 for power and use jacketed-flooded cable for all underground runs. My contractor has suggested we consider Cat 5 or Cat 6 instead with baluns on the ends. I've generally subscribed to the school that the fewer boxes and connections between sources, the better, but there seem to be advantages--being able to run multiple cameras off one run, can incorporate RS484(?) control wiring if we upgrade to dome, fewer cables to pull and maintain. I can make cabling accessible to change or upgrade as technology advances; thus I'm not looking to "future proof" cabling, but to put in the best, most sensible backbone for today. In the real world, can you share your experiences going either RG or Cat-5 (or other) Balun route? Thanks in advance, Mark

...that is why we use a little flexible plastic conduit to each location, making it easier to replace cable when new technology demands. To me, that makes more sense than trying to future proof an installation. In this instance, I was trying to get am umderstanding if running composite analog video over Cat-5 had any practical, "in the field" limitations. Thanks to all of you who shared your experience--we will be running Cat-5 (or 6) along with 1pr #16 if I can find it waterproof. Anyone have any favored cable suppliers? Pls contact me backchannel. Thank again, Mark

We are running Cat-6 and RG-6 everywhere needed in the house, thru smurf (flex plastic conduit), so we can change cable to all technology locations when or as necessary. My main question is concerning wiring for cctv cameras--to run RG or Cat-6 cable there. So far, it seems that Cat-5 (or 6) will be much more versatile for cctv now and in the future than RG-59 or RG-6. And a second 16/2 for power needs wd also be recommended for other than POE devices. Is that the consensus, that there's no benefit to RG anymore for any practical reason? --Mark

Thanks for the quick feedback ak357. With a little smurf, I can pull in whatever cable is needed, when it's needed or as technology changes. I'm wondering what to install now--in the real world, are there advantages or disadvantages to running balanced? And if using baluns is the way to go, then why are all the cameras I've seen only have RF outputs? I don't know anything abt digital or IP cameras, so maybe that is worth considering--but in the meantime, what cable for today? Thanks again, Mark