MMJ cable length?

[Kevin Handy]

Tothwolf wrote:

> Ok. I'm just not sure what length are the most useful. I know the 
> 12-15ft cables always worked ok for me to connect 
> systems/terminals/terminal servers, but I'm just not sure if shorter 
> cables would still work as well length wise.

Depends on where the equipment is located in relation
to each other. Longer cables will work in place of the shorter
ones, but you end up with a lot of extra cable to hide, which
will collect dust and generally get in the way.

> Lightning can do some pretty strange things. One of the more 
> interesting lightning damaged installations I found was where someone 
> had run a thicknet drop cable across a building roof. I have no idea 
> what the person responsible for that cable run was thinking.

I've had a lot of equipment destroyed by lightning over
the years. The damage goes from invisible (internal
problems in IC's), to the extremely visible (hole burnt
completely through circuit board and IC's missing,
except for some legs). Usually not worth fixing, because
many other components are likely to fail soon after
any repair.