Best place to purchase OM3/4 fibre from?

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Benoire

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#320022 26-Jun-2025 21:07

Howdy folks

I'm in need of about 30m of OM3/4 fibre cable for a new connection to an outbuilding. What is the local NZ preference for this? Go Wireless have single mode fibre by Ubiquiti but its more than I was hoping... for that price I can pick up an SFP+ RJ45 adapter and run standard ethernet in its own conduit but looking for a simple option while the ground is being prepared by the builder.

Wheres good?

Chris

mentalinc

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#3387322 26-Jun-2025 22:02

Running ethernet between two buildings isn't a good idea.

fs.com - you'll need to wait a few days, but sometimes international shipping can be just as fast as within NZ.

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richms

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#3387341 26-Jun-2025 22:22

Going multimode will limit you in the future. If the ditch is open then get the conduit and a pull string in now and then pull the cable thru when it arrives, but for the price I would just get the armoured single mode from gowifi. They ship fast. I have used dirt cheap gigabit media converters as the for now solution with a plan to go to 10/25/whatever at a later stage, and the media converters have all held up fine. The second set were actually SFPs in a box so in theory the SFPs could have been moved to the switch but I didnt want to waste the 10g ports that I was using DACs in at the time, so stuck with the cheap converters.

Richard rich.ms

nitro

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#3387472 27-Jun-2025 08:59

richms:

armoured single mode from gowifi. They ship fast.

this is what you need. fs.com have them as well, but it has recently been posted here that gowifi offer very competitive pricing (to fs) and ship faster.

Benoire

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#3387473 27-Jun-2025 09:09

I like Go Wifi - I've just dumped $1300 on new unifi gear in the past few weeks - that armoured fibre is in my wishlist... just wanted to see what others thought first

MichaelNZ

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#3387607 27-Jun-2025 11:38

Benoire:

I'm in need of about 30m of OM3/4 fibre cable for a new connection to an outbuilding.

The reason you are having difficulty getting this cable is because single mode has prevailed over multimode for short runs. Just swap your optics for single mode 1310nm duplex with LC connection and call it a day.

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Benoire

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#3387609 27-Jun-2025 11:41

MichaelNZ:

Benoire:

I'm in need of about 30m of OM3/4 fibre cable for a new connection to an outbuilding.

The reason you are having difficulty getting this cable is because single mode has prevailed over multimode for short runs. Just swap your optics for single mode 1310nm duplex with LC connection and call it a day.

Ah ok well I don't have any optics yet so this is all new.

MichaelNZ

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#3387610 27-Jun-2025 11:51

Benoire:

Ah ok well I don't have any optics yet so this is all new.

https://www.gowifi.co.nz/cabling/fibre-optic-cables/fc-sm-100.html

or the 60m version:

https://www.gowifi.co.nz/cabling/fibre-optic-cables/fc-sm-200.html

and a pair of any of the following:

https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/f-sm1310-10km-10g.html

https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/f-sm1310-20km-1.25g.html

https://www.gowifi.co.nz/ubiquiti/uacc-om-sm-10g-d2.html (sold per pair)

If you buy the SFP+ (10gbps) modules be sure what you are putting them in supports SFP+.

While you could plug that cable directly into the SFP's I would suggest some sort of LC to LC termination box and normal patch leads to your modules.

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richms

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#3387618 27-Jun-2025 13:16

MichaelNZ:

If you buy the SFP+ (10gbps) modules be sure what you are putting them in supports SFP+.

While you could plug that cable directly into the SFP's I would suggest some sort of LC to LC termination box and normal patch leads to your modules.

I got a whole lot of LC keystones for dirt cheap off aliexpress and use that to go between the inwall and the patch to the PC/Switch/whatever.

I have got a cleaning tool as well but not needed to use it yet. SM is more affected by dirt than MM as the light hole is smaller so easier to block up so you need to keep that in mind when moving things around. Keep the caps and put them back on both cable and keystone if you are taking things away.

Richard rich.ms

Benoire

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#3387678 27-Jun-2025 16:16

Yeah I'll probably go with the 1Gb modules first until I upgrade the garage switch to something that supports 10Gb uplink and the garage will have wall plate to terminate but will probably have to direct connect to module in the FTTH cabinet as I haven't found a small enough patch unit for that.

richms

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#3387683 27-Jun-2025 16:30

I guess you could put keystones into one of those surface mount keystone holders - would have to have a good look at the room at the back for bending it as the break out cables at the end of an armoured do not have the same tollerance of bending that a jacketed patch cable does tho.

My in house ones are all just long patch cables that I pulled the cat5 up the wall with something taped on the end, and then taped the fibre to it and pulled it back down. Tight fit with 2 cat5s and the fibre thru 20mm holes in the nogs but they all got there in the end. Large loops of it up in the loft because I suck at estimating lengths and more is better than less. The shed is still running on 10gbaseT over the old cat5 because I am lazy and its working. That is on the spring time work list to do and then I will possibly try aggregation between the 2 if I dont see anything with 25g from unifi at a sensible price by then.

Richard rich.ms

Benoire

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#3387685 27-Jun-2025 16:35

richms:

I guess you could put keystones into one of those surface mount keystone holders - would have to have a good look at the room at the back for bending it as the break out cables at the end of an armoured do not have the same tollerance of bending that a jacketed patch cable does tho.

My in house ones are all just long patch cables that I pulled the cat5 up the wall with something taped on the end, and then taped the fibre to it and pulled it back down. Tight fit with 2 cat5s and the fibre thru 20mm holes in the nogs but they all got there in the end. Large loops of it up in the loft because I suck at estimating lengths and more is better than less. The shed is still running on 10gbaseT over the old cat5 because I am lazy and its working. That is on the spring time work list to do and then I will possibly try aggregation between the 2 if I dont see anything with 25g from unifi at a sensible price by then.

I had thought about that - but given the cable is armoured - the route through the wall plate to the switch is pretty much vertical up the centre of the FTTH cabinet between the two GPOs so I can just run the fibre cable directly in to the module... but the garage side will be on a wall plate for making it loook nice and professional reasons.

richms

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#3387696 27-Jun-2025 17:08

Just keep in mind that there is not enough room behind a surface block, or in a flushbox with a back on it for the fibre to enter a keystone nicely. Needs to be open back flushbox to prevent bending it. Depends on the wall cabinet how it ends up taking the plates that you put the keystones in.

The patch cables are pretty good about not kinking but that thin stuff at the end of the armoured is super fragile.

Richard rich.ms

Mehrts

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#3387725 27-Jun-2025 19:53

See this thread for some parts ideas from when I ran single mode fibre to my detached garage a few years back. It's still running fine now too.