Alpha Introduces Xtra-Guard® Cat5e Ethernet Cable

Industrial Ethernet cables are the newest addition to Alpha Wire’s line of Xtra-Guard® products. This new group of Cat5e cables features Alpha’s Xtra-Guard® 4 jacket, made with ruggedized TPE. These cables are ideal for Ethernet applications requiring flexibility and durability in harsh environments.

Xtra-Guard® Cat5e Ethernet cables are available with FEP (-50°C to 125°C) or Polyethylene (-50°C to 105°C) insulation, and can be unshielded, foil shielded, or combination shielded. Alpha’s Supra-Shield® combination shielding consists of aluminum/polyester/aluminum foil and a tinned copper braid. This material provides excellent noise protection without sacrificing flexibility.

These rugged Cat5e cables also resist UV and fluids, and pass the UL 1666 Riser Flame Test, as well as the CSA FT-4 Flame Test. Alpha’s Xtra-Guard® Ethernet cables are approved for NFPA 79 applications.

For more information on Alpha’s Xtra-Guard® Cat5e cables, email info@awcwire.com or comment below.

Price Increase Alert – General and Belden Cable

General and Belden have both announced price increases for March and April. General’s 4-6% increase on cordage products goes into effect today. Belden will apply a 2-5% increase to select electronic and industrial wire and cable products starting April 16^th. This price adjustment is a result of the rising cost of polyolefin materials, including PVC, polyethylene, and polypropylene. The Belden increase will not affect its copper data cable, broadcast cable, or commercial audio/visual cable.

General Cable (effective 3/19/12) – 4-6% Increase on Portable Cord, Industrial Cord, and Cord Set Products

Belden Cable (effective 4/16/12) – 2-5% Price Increase on Select Electronic and Industrial Cable Products

Cat5e OSP Cable Now Available from Allied!

Cat5e outdoor plant cables (OSP cables) are now part of Allied’s catalog of data cables.

These cables are built with solid bare copper conductors, and are designed to resist the environmental hazards to be expected with outdoor installations in ducts or aerial lashing. To improve their environmental ruggedness, Cat5e OSP cables feature water-blocked cores and sunlight resistant rugged polyethylene jackets.

Common applications for outdoor plant cables include Ethernet, and composite, component, or digital video. They meet Cat5e electrical performance standards and ANSI/TIA-568-C.2. They are also RoHS compliant. Cat5e OSP cables are rated to 300 volts, and have temperature ranges of -45°C to +60°C.

See full Cat5e OSP cable specifications here.

Spotlight On: Portable Cord

Portable Cord options are now being featured in our Spotlight video series, where we give you the basics of some of our most popular wire and cable products.

Watch our “Cable Basics: Portable Cord” video first. It teaches you all about the letters used to name portable cord. These letters tell you a lot about each cable, and will give you a great foundation for understanding all the portable cord options on the market.

Once you get a general idea of which portable cord solutions are available, browse our minute-long videos focused on individual products. SOOW Cable and SJOOW Cord are the first two product videos in this set. The biggest difference between the two portable cord options is voltage. SJOOW cord is junior service cable, rated to 300 volts. If you are looking for a cable solution with a higher voltage rating, be sure to watch the video about SOOW cable, rated to 600 volts.

Soon to come are videos on SJT cable and STOOW cable, so be sure to revisit our AWC Wire YouTube Channel often!

Do you find these videos helpful? Want to request a topic for future videos? Leave a comment and let us know.

Portable Cord Videos: AWC Spotlight Series

Price Increases to Take Effect in Coming Months

Panduit, 3M, and HellermannTyton have announced price increases to take effect during the next few months.

Panduit will apply a 4-8% price increase to several of its product lines, including its wiring accessories: cable ties, terminals, wiring ducts, and abrasion protection. The increase is effective March 13, 2012.

Although HellermannTyton has not had an overall price increase for almost two years, most of its products will be subject to a 6% increase as of April 16, 2012. Although prices must go up due to raw material and production costs, HellermannTyton is proud to manufacture all of its parts in the USA.

As of February 6, 2012, many 3M parts also experienced price increases.

• 3M – increases effective 2/6/12
• Panduit – increases effective 3/13/12
• HellermannTyton – increases effective 4/16/12

NFL Postseason Promo Winners

The Giants won the Super Bowl! Whether you’re a thrilled Giants fan or a slightly depressed Pats fan, we hope you had a great time yesterday. And although the big game is over, we’re happy to tell you that the Super Bowl wins are not.

Here are 3 more Super Bowl winners – the winners of Allied’s NFL Postseason Promo:

• Mary from NJ
• June from MA
• Ray from IA

Each of our winners will receive an NFL replica jersey. To be sure that everyone would be able to wear their new football gear with pride, we let them choose their own. Mary, June, and Ray, your Jets, Patriots, and Chiefs jerseys will be on their way soon!

Alpha Industrial Cables, Now with CSA Tray Cable Rating

Alpha Wire announced that their Series F, Series P, and Series SF cables will now carry the c(UL) TC/CIC rating. The Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) requires this rating for cabling installed in cable trays.

The three types of Alpha cables that will now feature the c(UL) TC/CIC rating are designed for use where superior flexing and flexibility are required. Each can be defined by the benefits it provides to industrial applications.

Alpha Industrial Series F cables are continuous flex cables known for their toughness and ability to withstand more than 20 million rolling flex cycles. Series P consists of stationary control cables, which feature thermoplastic elastomer jackets for great flexibility, along with excellent chemical and oil resistance. Series SF cables are servo cables, constructed for continuous movement in servo applications.

Why is the new Canadian tray cable rating important for these three series of cables? Well, they are now approved to be installed in trays, rather than conduit or pipe, which are more expensive and require more labor-intensive installations.

Allied is an authorized distributor of Alpha Wire. For more information on these cables, or their ratings, call 800-472-4655, or leave us a comment.

DLO Cable in Stock at Allied!

DLO Cable (6 AWG)

DLO cable is a popular power cable option for locomotive and industrial use. It is often called diesel locomotive cable, but it is also found in oil rigs, power generation, mining equipment, and shipyard applications, among others. DLO cable also happens to be one of the products available in Allied’s on-site inventory!

Allied is happy to have DLO cable included in our inventory of power cables and portable cord. With a variety of sizes of DLO wire in stock, we can get you the diesel locomotive cable you need, fast!

We now stock the following parts: