CAT6 cable, shielded or unshielded

[TackleItAll]

I am in the process of installing a Reolink CCTV system in my home. So far I have run 3 cat6 UTP cables to 3 cameras but I am stuck on my cable run for a video doorbell.

This run will have to run alongside a ring main circuit and the lighting circuit as well as various light switch wires. I cannot avoid running the cables together as they go through a hole in the wall to an extension and cannot put another hole in. The stretch they'll be tightly together is only about 30cm and about 2 metres they'll be close with a couple of lighting cables. The rest I could separate enough to not cause an issue.

My question is do I need shielded cables? If so what sort? is FTP okay or do I need STP? It is proving very hard to find cat 6 STP! If I use shielded cables what ground connectors do I need and can I connect the ground to the earth point on the back of my NVR only?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

 

[sparkymarka]

Be fine with normal unshielded …

 

[TackleItAll]

Be fine with normal unshielded …

Thanks for the reply. Why would it be okay? Looking online some say it’ll be okay and some say it won’t. Is it not so bad with domestic electrics?

 

[SFK]

Quote: Why would it be okay.

Because ethernet cables are made up of 'twisted pairs' of signal carrying wires, which are relatively impervious to signal pickup.

So the normal cables work well, and the extra shielding is not normaly needed in typical use.

Twisted pair - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[hllns]

Thanks for the reply. Why would it be okay? Looking online some say it’ll be okay and some say it won’t. Is it not so bad with domestic electrics?

It's not as bad as people think generally, in a commercial/office setting you'll find various installs all over the place with UTP adjacent to mains with only a small amount of separation

 

[TackleItAll]

Thank you for the replies. So basically the cables are naturally resistant to interference? So in a domestic setting this would be okay, is it only in a more industrial setting this would become an issue?

I just want to be sure before I go ahead because once it’s in I can’t change it.

 

[SFK]

Yes the cables are already designed to be resistant to interference.
And yes, for normal domestic use you should be fine with the cat 6 utp that you are already using.

 

[opps]

A long time since I looked into this stuff. I got the impression that shielded was a waste of time in a domestic set up. Why have metal RJ45 plugs that connect to plastic ports?