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Topic:
Go to brand of wire?
This thread has 29 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15.
Post 1 made on Sunday January 8, 2017 at 22:28
onetime
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Curious what your go to brand of wire is.

I've been using Snap AV's wire for about five years now and have been somewhat happy up until now. I ordered 20 boxes of cat five, half of the boxes the jacket Just splits right off the wire. The building was 60+ degrees so wasn't a cold issue. I have never been so frustrated on a pre-wire.
If you don't stop and look around once in a while, life will pass you by.

You're an analog guy living in a digital world.
Post 2 made on Sunday January 8, 2017 at 22:35
3PedalMINI
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ICE Cable...Only way to go.
The Bitterness of Poor Quality is Remembered Long after the Sweetness of Price is Forgotten! - Benjamin Franklin
Post 3 made on Sunday January 8, 2017 at 22:40
SB Smarthomes
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I've been using ICE for about 90% of my wire for the last 3-4 years and don't have any complaints.  They are close by so I usually receive shipments next day unless I place the order really late.
www.sbsmarthomes.com
Santa Barbara Smarthomes
Post 4 made on Sunday January 8, 2017 at 23:37
Slimfoot
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ICE for speaker and category. Vextra for RG6.
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln
Post 5 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 00:04
Mario
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Ice for anything that matters.
Anything from anyone for simple alarm 22/2 or 22/4
Post 6 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 01:56
Mogul
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Belden. It's what they use in the facilities that produce what we're attempting to retransmit to our clients. Their stock management SUCKS, so plan ahead, but their cable is solid and 100% backed by legitimate specs.
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble." [Sir Henry Royce]
Post 7 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 02:31
ErikU
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I agree. Belden is the gold standard. It's all any broadcast/production integrator would ever use. I also agree on stock issues.

2412 for CAT6
1855A for mini coax (love this)
1505A or 1694 for long run coax
1800B for digital/analog audio
9451 for analog audio or RS232
8723 for two pair audio or RS422
Post 8 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 02:40
Brad Humphrey
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When you use cheap wire you are rolling the dice. The factory in China maybe doing well enough in the start for them but you never know when corners will get cut and guess who pays the price. The Distributor can apologize till the cows come home but it really doesn't do you much good then does it.

I have used Liberty Wire for the last 12+ years. It has never let me down and the quality is on par with all the other top brands - some of it is made in the USA by OEM of those companies.
Belden, Commscope, Coleman Cable, and a few others I can't remember right now; are generally considered the best and OEM for others too.
Many people love ICE and has had a good rep for many years now. Curious who the OEM is or they do it themselves.

When choosing wire, I always spend more for the better wire. Always! I don't have time to dick around, when the cheap wire's 'good run' runs out and has problems for awhile. And if it's going to be in the walls of a home, where you would have to gut the house to run a new line, how stupid is it not to use the best wire you can put in.
Post 9 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 09:31
Zohan
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Used to use ICE and some SCP.
Then switched to almost all SCP with some coleman cable but coleman cable was bought by southwire and quality is not the same so im all SCP now.
FWIW I bought a few boxes of snap's cat5 for a camera install because I needed next day and nothing else I use was in stock.
Post 10 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 10:05
Dave in Balto
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Pretty much all liberty, some scp cat6.

The liberty boxes suck though, not all openings are for being used as handles, I keep packing tape around just is case.
Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

The Dude
Post 11 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 10:37
Zohan
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On January 9, 2017 at 10:05, Dave in Balto said...
Pretty much all liberty, some scp cat6.

The liberty boxes suck though, not all openings are for being used as handles, I keep packing tape around just is case.

Ha, I just remembered a couple months ago I ordered 2 boxes of liberty cat5 that disty was blowing out. I now know why, because the boxes sucked. Besdides the handle issue, the boxes where 1/3rd bigger than any other box.
I'll pass on liberty.
Post 12 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 10:55
Brad Humphrey
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Liberty has 2 versions of the same cat cable to order. They are both the same cable but the box is different. Cost a little more for the better box (about $30 more). I think it's kind of silly but some prefer saving every penny they can.
The 24-4P-L*-HT-*** is the cheap box
The 24-4P-L*-EN-*** is the better box version.

Some colors are also available on reels. Most of the EN series cat6 is on reels as standard.

I love the spool-in-a-box they use to have as standard. You can still get it like that but you have to special order and order a quantity. Not practical for small shops that only order a few 1000' at a time.

Last edited by Brad Humphrey on January 9, 2017 11:04.
Post 13 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 11:17
SB Smarthomes
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I took the high road for the first 2-3 years I was in business and used only Belden wire (even for speaker wire), but finally came to the conclusion that it just wasn't necessary for my residential work.

I've never purchased really cheap bargain wire so have never experienced an actual issue with wire.  My switch to ICE over the last few years was based on good boxes/spools, good customer service, ease of purchase, same day shipping with next day delivery and I buy enough that shipping is free.
www.sbsmarthomes.com
Santa Barbara Smarthomes
Post 14 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 11:32
Zohan
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On January 9, 2017 at 10:55, Brad Humphrey said...
Liberty has 2 versions of the same cat cable to order. They are both the same cable but the box is different. Cost a little more for the better box (about $30 more). I think it's kind of silly but some prefer saving every penny they can.
The 24-4P-L*-HT-*** is the cheap box
The 24-4P-L*-EN-*** is the better box version.

Some colors are also available on reels. Most of the EN series cat6 is on reels as standard.

I love the spool-in-a-box they use to have as standard. You can still get it like that but you have to special order and order a quantity. Not practical for small shops that only order a few 1000' at a time.

I ordered the EN version, the better one. I inquired about the difference between the 2 and was told the lower version was 100mhz bandwidth and the EN was 350mhz.
OP | Post 15 made on Monday January 9, 2017 at 16:30
onetime
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Thanks guys.

I was thinking I would switch to belden, but I'm going to talk to the guys at ICE as well.
If you don't stop and look around once in a while, life will pass you by.

You're an analog guy living in a digital world.
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