What are the specifications for the use of unshielded twisted pair?

　　Unshielded Twisted Pair Pair (UTP for short) is a data tranSMission line widely used in Ethernet and telephone lines. The following is a detailed description of its use and specifications:

　　Purpose

　　Local Area Network (LAN) cabling: Unshielded twisted pair plays an important role in network cabling in enterprises, schools, and homes, and is the basic transmission medium for building a local area network.

　　Telephone system: It is also used as a transmission medium for traditional telephony and IP telephony to ensure clear and stable voice communication.

　　Security monitoring: In security monitoring systems, unshielded twisted pairs are often used to connect cameras and monitoring centers to transmit video signals and data.

　　Specifications

　　Type and performance:

　　Super Category 5 cable (Cat5e): suitable for 100Mbps Ethernet, with a transmission rate of up to 100Mbps (or 1000Mbps, depending on the specific implementation and network equipment).

　　Category 6 cable (Cat6): suitable for Gigabit Ethernet, the transmission rate can reach 10Gbps. Category 6 cable adopts a star topology, the length of permanent link cannot exceed 90m, and the channel length cannot exceed 100m.

　　Enhanced Category 6 cable (Cat6a): better performance than Category 6 cable, suitable for 10G Ethernet, with longer transmission distance.

　　Category 7 cable (Cat7): suitable for high-speed networks, with a transmission rate of up to 100Gbps.

　　Structural features:

　　Wire pair: Unshielded twisted pair consists of 8 wires of different colors divided into 4 pairs and twisted together in pairs to reduce the impact of electromagnetic radiation and external electromagnetic interference.

　　Conductor material: Bare copper or twisted copper is usually used as the conductor material, and the wire diameter is generally 23 AWG (about 0.57mm).

　　Insulation and sheath: The conductor is covered with an insulating layer of HD-PE material, and the entire cable is covered with a PVC sheath for additional protection and durability.

　　Color identification: Each pair of lines has a different color identification for easy identification and connection. Common color combinations include orange-white-orange, blue-white-blue, green-white-green, and brown-white-brown.

　　Other parameters:

　　Transmission distance: The maximum transmission distance of unshielded twisted pair is generally not more than 100 meters to ensure stable signal transmission. To increase the transmission distance, repeaters can be installed between two twisted pair wires (up to 4 repeaters can be installed, connecting 5 network segments, and the maximum transmission distance can reach 500m).

　　Impedance and attenuation: Unshielded twisted pairs have a specific characteristic impedance (e.g. 100ohm ± 15%), and have low transmission delay and attenuation over a certain frequency range.

　　Flame retardancy: Unshielded twisted pair wires are usually made of flame retardant materials to ensure safety in extreme situations such as fire.

　　In summary, unshielded twisted pair has a wide range of uses and a variety of specifications. When selecting unshielded twisted pair, it should be comprehensively considered according to specific application scenarios, transmission performance requirements and cost budgets.