Stranded wire or Solid Wire

[WhereEaglesDare]

If I wanted to use a handful of Cat5e wires to make my CP modular would it work well?  Any one have experience using Cat5e wiring in this application or is stranded the only way to go?  How about for the video connections?  Cat5e is rated to handle 300+MHz so it should work fine, right?

[surface tension]

This is an age-old question on the forum that just generates a shitstorm and neither side will back down. 

I just did a search on "solid or stranded" and there are plenty of threads to help you decide. Don't mean to appear an asshat... no-one ever agrees on this question and I will refrain from saying what I KNOW to be right! 

You shouldn't have any problems with the video connections... though it's all about the shielding. Not sure what the application is, but you're best stripping an existing cable assuming you'll be using the other end.

[WhereEaglesDare]

great point about the shielding, didn't think about that, you're right.  I'll probably use Cat5 and RJ45s for my CP Im building to replace the one that is on the cab I just bought.  When things are modular, life is so easier and happy.

And thanks for the honesty and not being an ASSHAT  LOL

[Malenko]

for what you're using it for they will both do the job just fine. As for video, I have no idea my first answer was for the buttons. Ive seen people use stripped back cat5 for their CPs, and once again, no idea on the video.

[gryhnd]

I used CAT5E cables from Monoprice for wiring all my buttons and joys. I thought they were great because they were inexpensive and already "shrink wrapped".  No issues.

Can't speak to video.

[WhereEaglesDare]

couldnt you still use a common ground for all your buttons, you could do 6 or 7 buttons on one cable of cat5

[gryhnd]

couldnt you still use a common ground for all your buttons, you could do 6 or 7 buttons on one cable of cat5

Ya, I could have (probably) in retrospect, but at the time my experience was lower and I wasn't confident in how well putting 11 grounds into one thin Cat5e strand would work (7 button switches+ 4 for the joy) .  So I tied them all together into one larger gauge wire at the encoder end so I wouldn't have to worry about it.

[JustMichael]

It really doesn't matter if you use solid or stranded wire if the wire is going to be sitting still.  If the wire is going to be moving around a lot then I would recommend stranded because it is less likely to break.  I used cat5 for wiring my control panel because I had extra lying around.

[phildo77]

It really doesn't matter if you use solid or stranded wire if the wire is going to be sitting still.  If the wire is going to be moving around a lot then I would recommend stranded because it is less likely to break.  I used cat5 for wiring my control panel because I had extra lying around.

+1

I'm building a rotating panel so I chose stranded.  For me, breakage risk is the main issue when looking at solid or stranded.

[TEKNYNE]

+2 for stranded.
I work with low voltage and communications systems every day go for stranded cat 5 it will save you headaches in the future. With the right bends a couple to dozen of times solid cat 5 can fail. Stranded can flex hundreds of times before failing.

[XCVG]

Everything I say has probably already been said, but I'll post anyway.

For video, use some cheap A/V cables (the ones with the 3-color RCA plugs) as they are readily availible and shielded.

For controls, solid or stranded would be fine. Stranded is much better when you're going to be moving wire around a lot, but in a CP is should be secured anyway.

For power, I recommend stranded, because properly thick solid wires would be incredibly stiff.