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Hack&Lube · 04-15-2014, 11:29 AM

If you didn't puncture the exterior shealth, it should still work. All the internal wires are also wrapped and extremely tight in twisted pairs.

What you might lose however, is speed. There is no real difference between ethernet cables (CAT5, CAT6, etc.) except that the wires inside have more twist.

The twist is neccessary to cancel the electromagnetic interference etc. that degrades speed. If you've squashed everything, the electrons will still flow but the interference and noise will degrade the speed of the cable.

Interestingly, if you make your own cables, custom crimp them to different lengths, have an electrician mess around with them, etc. you'll potentially turn your certified CAT6 into CAT5 or less because you can't twist the wires back to the degree and tolerances that they need to be at by hand.

04-15-2014, 11:29 AM	#3
Hack&Lube Atomic Nerd Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Calgary Exp:	If you didn't puncture the exterior shealth, it should still work. All the internal wires are also wrapped and extremely tight in twisted pairs. What you might lose however, is speed. There is no real difference between ethernet cables (CAT5, CAT6, etc.) except that the wires inside have more twist. The twist is neccessary to cancel the electromagnetic interference etc. that degrades speed. If you've squashed everything, the electrons will still flow but the interference and noise will degrade the speed of the cable. Interestingly, if you make your own cables, custom crimp them to different lengths, have an electrician mess around with them, etc. you'll potentially turn your certified CAT6 into CAT5 or less because you can't twist the wires back to the degree and tolerances that they need to be at by hand. Last edited by Hack&Lube; 04-15-2014 at 11:31 AM.