CAT5 FireWire Extender

FireWire fans know that the standard has many advantages over USB. Besides being faster, FireWire uses peer-to-peer technology, so two devices don't need to be connected to a computer to communicate with each other. However, until now the longest typical cables available have maxed out at 10m. To overcome this limitation LINDY Electronics announced today the launch of its CAT5 FireWire Extender that extends the distance between two FireWire devices up to 75m using CAT5, or higher, cable.

Consisting of local and remote units housed in brushed aluminium casings, the Extenders can be used to connect FireWire 800 devices or, with the use of the supplied adapter cables, FireWire 400 equipment. Standard, low cost CAT5 or higher cable (not included) connects the two units together, along with the supplied RJ-45 crossover adapter.

When it comes to managing large multimedia files FireWire is unbeatable in terms of speed and stability in transferring data, which is why it has always been in favour with photographers and video editors. The only downside for some users has been the limitation in the applications FireWire devices may be used for because of the restriction in cable length.

The LINDY CAT5 FireWire Extender can be used to extend the distance between with any FireWire enabled device from PCs and Macs to digital cameras, scanners and external drives. Setup is easy, there is no additional software to install the user just needs to simply connect the units and FireWire devices together and power the remote extender using the mains power unit supplied.