"Paul B. Webster VK2BZC" <paulb@MIDCOAST.COM.AU>
>   I'm not actually sure what is meant by "cat 5".  If it refers to
> shielded lines, no complaints at all.  If it refers to 10BaseT cabling
> using 4 out of an 8-wire cable, then there is a trick as this is *not*
> in fact twisted pair.

If it is Category 5 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), it most certainly does
consist of twisted pairs.

The silver satin flat modular line cord you are probably thinking of is
not twisted.

10BaseT networking requires twisted pair, but it doesn't have to be Cat 5.
I'm not sure what Category it officialy requires, but any normal twisted
pair telephone cable will work.

100BaseT requires Cat 5, although I've used it on short runs of Cat 3 and
Cat 4.

I've seen lots of people try unsuccessfully to run 10BaseT or 100BaseT on
long runs of flat cable, and then test the cable with a cheap tester that
claims it's OK.  The cheap testers only test continuity.

Note that flat modular telephone cable is often wired with a flip (i.e.,
pin 1 at one end is wired to pin 'n' at the other end.  10BaseT and 100BaseT
cable has to be "straight-through", unless you're using a crossover cable
between two nodes, in which case two pairs get swapped.

Cheers,
Eric