# outdoor phone cable for NCE radio



## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

For years I've kept my NCE DCC wireless cab rig outside in a plastic box. It's been great. But we recently finished a remodel of the house and it's time to move the whole mess indoors.


My question is about the radio base station. I'll need to put the base station outside, in a weather proof enclosure, and run about 50 feet of cable from the commands station, in the house, to the base station. 

I need to use six connected phone cable, rated for outdoor use. I can't seem to find it anywhere. I don't know much about phone cable, so maybe I'm missing something? I can find 4 connector cable rated for outdoor use, and cable with 12 conductors, but not a six conductor cable, Ideally, I'd like to find a 50 foot cable with connectors on both ends. Any suggestions?


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## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By lownote on 13 Sep 2011 07:42 PM 
For years I've kept my NCE DCC wireless cab rig outside in a plastic box. It's been great. But we recently finished a remodel of the house and it's time to move the whole mess indoors.


My question is about the radio base station. I'll need to put the base station outside, in a weather proof enclosure, and run about 50 feet of cable from the commands station, in the house, to the base station. 

I need to use six connected phone cable, rated for outdoor use. I can't seem to find it anywhere. I don't know much about phone cable, so maybe I'm missing something? I can find 4 connector cable rated for outdoor use, and cable with 12 conductors, but not a six conductor cable, Ideally, I'd like to find a 50 foot cable with connectors on both ends. Any suggestions?




The simplest solution might be to run conduit and use regular six conductor cable - you could also get outdoor rated Ethernet cable (4 pairs of wires) and put your own connectors on the end and only use 3 of the 4 pairs.

dave


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, actually the flat cable is not as good as twisted pair... I do exactly what Dave suggested, and way over 50 feet. 

I have my own crimper and 6 pin RJ11/12 connectors. Buy a good one, like the one made by Ideal, available at Home Depot, don't get a cheap one. 

I have not found Ethernet cable rated for outdoor cheap, but I get lots of "leftovers" so I change the wire every 5-6 years if the jacket looks ragged. 

Greg


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## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

They do make outdoor 6 conductor telephone cable 
http://www.amazon.com/76352-Phone-I...ef=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=172282&s=electronics 

You still need to add your own connectors. 

But Dave's suggestion to use outdoor Ethernet cable I think is a better choice.


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Why do you need to have the receiver outside at all? Isn't the range good enough to have it in your house? When I had my old LGB wireless I did what you are suggesting using phone cable to the reciever outside, but part of the reason I switched to Massoth was to get rid of all that and now everything is in the house. Have you actually tried it with the receiver inside, because I thought Greg said NCE had a range of a few hundred feet? 

Keith


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

At Homedepot this morning I found some "indoor/outdoor" round 6 conductor cable, and bought 100 feet along with a crimp tool and some connectors. I'll put it out, maybe in conduit where it's at ground level, and see how it holds up. 

I've had some range issues at one end of my layout, but the placement of the radio base station has been much less than optimum. It's sitting in a plastic box under a bench. Range was fine until I got a couple NCE cabs with no external antenna--then I started having problems at one end. Since I'm moving the whole rig, I thought I'd try to optimize the placement of the base station. I plan to mount it about six feet off the ground, in a waterproof enclosure. But I'll try it inside first--it may work fine that way.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I can see the logic of using an ethernet cable, but it seems like a pain to add the connectors. Maybe I'm overcomplicating it?


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

I would suggest you try mounting the reciever fairly high up, and maybe put a square metal plate (say 1' square) behind (or under) it. 

Keith


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

"UP" is good because there's less of the bushes and the human bodies to get in the way of the signal. I used self-sticking Velcro-type tape to secure my base and remotes to the underside of the eaves at each corner of the house. They've been up there for two years with no sign of a problem. Cables were easily stuck under the vinyl siding from one unit to the next.

Doesn't Radio ("The") Shack carry six-conductor flat phone cable? I'm pretty sure they also have the six-conductor connectors. Just make sure you orient them according to the diagram in the NCE manual. If you have the contacts reversed, it won't work.

JackM


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