jo.com's Full Review: Belkin 50 ft. Cat. 5e Patch Cable (A3L850-50-BLK-S...
Impossible as this may seem I am reviewing my Belkin Patch Cables.
Why?
Because I never thought I would have any idea of what this is, what to buy or why to buy it and that may be true for you too. So for all of us, other than just saying “This is a cord” I will attempt to tell you what it is used for and a few specs that I don’t totally understand.
The Gist of it:
To make a long story as short as possible, you need cables to connect your computer to either your modem or Ethernet connection. Why did I need 2 packs of 50 feet each? It is really simple. In my review of Linksys Etherfast Cable and DSL Router I wrote “We needed to buy 2 additional cables because the existing cable from the modem to the computer had to now go from the modem to this router so we needed a cable from the router to each of the two computers to which we wanted the router connected. They are called CAT5. Those are only letters and a number. Don’t let them scare you. We bought two; one was 50’ and the other 7.”
I understand this all better now than I did then. Since I moved my computer into another room but moving the modem and router into the sunroom (I now write and look at the ocean.) was too much work, buying the Belkin FastCat was what we had to do.
This is a 15.2 m, 50 Ohm Coaxial Cable and has an RJ45 male/male which just means that the connection on both ends are the same. (Read into this whatever you want, but you probably get the idea.) You plug them into female/female connections.
Basically this looks just like a cord with ends that plug into what the ends of many of your computer connections have at the end. Eventually it will go (hopefully that is) up through the floor from the basement rather than running through 3 rooms but let’s not hold our breaths on that one. In the meantime, in order for my computer to work in the sunroom it had to be connected to the router and this was the way to accomplish that.
This product has a lifetime warranty. Belkin warrants that this will be free of defects in design, assembly, material and workmanship or will give you a free replacement.
Additional information summarized from the package:
~The patch cable is tested before shipment. It can be used to connect a PC with a 10.100Base-T Ethernet card directly to a 10/100Base-t faceplate, hub or patch panel and 1000 Bast-T networks.
~It exceeds the performance requirement of Category 5e which transmits data of up to 100Mbps and meets or exceeds the requirements of the Ethernet IEEE 802.3ab ad Token Ring UTP IEEE 802.5 specs. The ends have what they call snagless molded strain relief, which provide added strength with flexibility even under extreme conditions, and protect against damage to RJ45 tab.
~It has a PVC Cable Jacket (That is what the cord is made of-basically what I am looking at.) which provides added durability yet flexible enough for use in tight areas.
~It has 50-micron gold plated connectors to ensure a clean and clear transmission.
~ PowerSum tested
~ Extra headroom over standard CAT 5e cables.
The FastCat actually is a step up from the original Category 5e cables but the price seems to be the same so we figured if it does more, then why not?
I have had the first 50’ cable since June 2001 and have had no problem with it at all. It has been tangled with other wires for much of that time with no adverse affects. Tangled is an understatement. This cord is strong and durable if it could withstand what I have put it through. I have no doubt these 2 I recently bought will live up to that standard.
My final thoughts:
There may be other manufacturers of these things, I really don’t know. I do know that this has worked for me for almost 2 years and my new ones are working fine as well. I will say that 2 years ago, I paid $35.00 for it.
Staples is selling them for $25.00 each. I found them on
eBay and won 2 of them for a total of $12.00.
I hope this has helped in some way. Feel free to leave a question or comment and for those who know about these products better than I if I have left something glaring out, please let me know.
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