10BaseT Question

Every CATx cable I've ever seen had the type clearly labeled on the jacket. I'm sure it's a requirement for compliance.

There *might* have been some CAT3 made before the requirement was nailed down so if it dowsn't say CAT5 it *might* be CAT3 abd you could give it a try if the distances are short, but LOL.

By reading the specification printed along the cable. If it doesn't say it's a cat 5 cable, it isn't. You could put it on a pentascanner or whatever and see if it passes cat 5 tests.

--Dale

Look at the number of twists per inch of a pair. Depending on the pairs, CAT3 may have like one or two twists per inch, but CAT5 has several. Its pretty easy to tell them apart, just by feel even.

The twist between CAT-3 and CAT-5E is hardly noticeable. CAT-3 may be color coded with solid colors yellow-black,red-green,blue-white while CAT-5 most likely has white paired with another color, for each pair.