More Ways to Use Up Your Cat 5 Cable Bulk, Besides Internet

Buying Cat 5e cable bulk makes good logical sense. It’s affordable, versatile, and when made of top-grade materials, can have a usable life expectancy of at least five to 10 years. Most people today use Cat5e cables for a fast, reliable, and secure Internet connection, but once you’re done wiring the network Ethernet cables, what are supposed to do with the rest of that Cat 5e cable bulk?

In fact, with a little bit of know-how, you can cut and wire Cat5e cables for a variety of uses around the house. Here are five more ways to use up your bulk cables for quality connections at an affordable price.

  1. Telephone Lines
    You may have all the cell phone accessories you want, but there’s still nothing better than a secure landline. You can use Cat5e cables to wire your telephones, same as your Ethernet.
  2. Computer-to-Computer
    You can also use any length Cat5e cable to transfer large amounts of data directly from one computer to another. However, you may need to wire the pin-outs to create a crossover cable connection so that the information can transfer more easily (check out a how-to here).
  3. Speaker Signals
    Although for a truly high-quality performance you’ll want to get specially designed audio cables, Cat 5 cable bulk still works great in a pinch for running sound from source to speaker. Simply terminate the cables with a standard RCA jack for a secure connection that’ll be safe from interference.
  4. Video Connections
    Analog video signals, such as S-video or composite video, work great through Cat5e cables and can run for impressively long distances without sacrificing quality. Believe it or not, you can also send HDMI and VGA signals over a Cat5e — but you’ll need to purchase an additional extender.
  5. USB Transfers
    Again, you’ll need an extension to wire a Cat5e with a USB terminal. But this hack is definitely worth it for running USB cables over long distances to external devices like scanners and printers.

Don’t let your extra Cat 5e cable bulk go to waste! There are plenty of ways you can use Ethernet cable besides Internet to provide quality connections all around your home, which makes buying in bulk an even smarter way to DIY and save.

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