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Gold plated connector contacts?

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chuffchuff
Rising Star
Posts: 163
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Registered: ‎25-01-2011

Gold plated connector contacts?

John Lewis are advertising a Belkin Hero Cat6 Ethernet cable here

which claims "features gold plated connector contacts to deliver maximum conductivity so that data transmission is fast."

Any truth in the claim?

9 REPLIES 9
chenks76
All Star
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Registered: ‎24-10-2013

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?

Fix
hocum
mikelahey
Pro
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Registered: ‎24-11-2015

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?

I concur with @chenks76, waste of money. Not required for cat 6 to work.

rongtw
Seasoned Hero
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Re: Gold plated connector contacts?

Gold makes minimal difference , just buy a standard connector

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VileReynard
Hero
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Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?

The cable will run at either 1,000Mbps or 100Mbps - nothing in between.

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twocvbloke
Seasoned Hero
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Registered: ‎06-11-2014

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?


@chuffchuff wrote:

Any truth in the claim?


 

Nope, it all goes back to the gold-plated, oxygen free (which is a scam in itself as copper wire by nature is oxygen free!!) speaker wire thing, works for analogue signals, but digital signals are just On and Off at a set voltage, anything spurious on the wires (such as RF interference) is ignored by the hardware thanks to tolerances set by the controllers which will only accept an incoming signal if it meets the criteria, kind of like a bouncer for a nightclub...

 

The gold plated thing is just to get uneducated mugs to buy higher-priced items to keep the manufacturers' profits up as they laugh all the way to the bank, as long as the wire is of a decent thickness, and isn't made from chinesium wire (the Copper-coated easy-break aluminium wire) then it'll work... Smiley

w23
Pro
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Registered: ‎08-01-2008

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?

Gold plated connectors ARE a good thing for most signal cables (analogue or digital), they won't improve any signal as such but non-plated connecting surfaces (the interface between plug and socket) are susceptible to oxidation and therefore can fail simply due to 'dirty contacts', gold plating is one of the most resistant to this effect.

Most CAT5/5e/6 cables (telephone cables, modem leads etc. as well) have gold plated connectors, only the cheapest ones don't.

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twocvbloke
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 6,399
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Registered: ‎06-11-2014

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?

Yes, most connectors are gold-plated, but aren't sold under the "Improves abc by xyz cos it's gold plated!" nonsense, it's the ones that are that are taking the pee with peoples' money, using it as a way to make it more expensive and therefore "worth buying" when in reality it's no better than something from a pound shop...

Luzern
Hero
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Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?

That JLP should be advising that way, dismays me! Have they got themselves infiltrated by You-Know Who?Roll_eyes

Then again perhaps some of their customers "must have the best".Crazy3

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198kHz
Seasoned Hero
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Registered: ‎30-07-2008

Re: Gold plated connector contacts?


@Luzern wrote:

Have they got themselves infiltrated by You-Know Who?Roll_eyes


 

Probably not, otherwise it would  provide more detailed data, better three-dimensional resolution. and cost around £75Wink

 

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