Robust RJ45 for frequent connections/disconnections

Question

I am looking for robust RJ45 cables/connectors in an environment where people come and go and plug in and out. After a month of usage, the connectors are worn out and fall out and you need to replace the cable. I want to not do it so often - what are my options other than wireless?

Update: after some searching, I think I have found what I was looking for. The magic keywords seem to be "cat6 patch leads with strain relief". The most robust I've seen have a long "sleeve", but these guys seems to be also very durable. Not endorsing any product, just the type of design.

Chopper3 · Answer 1 · 2013-07-05T06:58:45.770

3

Very weird question but I'd be tempted to buy a whole bunch of short cheapo 0.5m-1m cables and just switch out those instead of trying to find some, probably mythical, super-strong ones myself. Not exactly the green approach but it'll work.

edited Jul 05 '13 at 06:58

answered Jul 04 '13 at 11:28

Chopper3

101,808

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 04 '13 at 11:31

This isn't actually an unusual problem.

There's a whole range of networking hardware and paraphrenalia designed for rough/industrial environments.

A quick google for "industrial rj45" turned up things like this:

There's even some which are good up to IP67.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 04 '13 at 11:33

Lots of people use a RJ45 cable for their laptop, plug/unplug everyday for years without any problem. In my whole life I never saw a RJ45 falling out (well, in 20 years). I suspect your users do something you don't know.

If you want them to plug something into their own RJ45 female, you can't have any other choice than using a RJ45 male.

Robust RJ45 for frequent connections/disconnections

3 Answers3