Hi
I'm putting short sections of my 5M RGB strip in the stairs, now I have to wire everything, can I use the strands from a CAT6 UTP with to do this?
Right now I use a 5A 5V adaptor to power the 5M strip. The sections on the stairs contain 9 LED's per section, 14 sections. (126 RGB LED's, which will never be white, and never lit at full brightness at the same time).
A quick-Google tells me RJ45 Jacks are rated for 1.5 Amps. So, I'm going to say no!
There are two issues - There's the current limit and heating of wire, connectors, and wire-connector junction, and there's a voltage drop across the fine-gauge wire which depends on the length and the current through it.
I've got 24 LEDs running from a network cable with maybe a total current of 750mAwhen all of the LEDs are on. IIRC I've got 3 signal leads for the serial data, 3 parallel ground lines, and 2 parallel power lines. I've got a voltage regulator at the far end so voltage drop is not an issue.
No, the wire's not thick enough. CAT5 strands are fine for a small stuff, but for 5v, in a situation where voltage droop could result in uneven brightness across the strand, no.
Definitely not.
Should use mains cable (house wiring) for the power lines.