# Which category of Ethernet between Fathom-X Tether Interface Board Type Single and RPi

**URL:** <https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/which-category-of-ethernet-between-fathom-x-tether-interface-board-type-single-and-rpi/20018>\
**Category:** Communication Interfaces\
**Created:** [April 8, 2025, 3:51am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/which-category-of-ethernet-between-fathom-x-tether-interface-board-type-single-and-rpi/20018 "2025-04-08T03:51:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ryan714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@ryan714](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/ryan714)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:51am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/which-category-of-ethernet-between-fathom-x-tether-interface-board-type-single-and-rpi/20018/1 "2025-04-08T03:51:02Z")

</div>

Category 5, 5e, 6? I couldn’t locate the information.

Thanks,  
Ryan

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![EliotBR](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/eliotbr/32/6937_2.png) [@EliotBR](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/EliotBR)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 9:53am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/which-category-of-ethernet-between-fathom-x-tether-interface-board-type-single-and-rpi/20018/2 "2025-04-08T09:53:41Z")

</div>

Hi @ryan714,

A Cat5 patch cable should be sufficient for use with our current Fathom-X boards, but if you have a Raspberry Pi 4 then it may be worth getting a Cat5e or Cat6 cable for future-proofing, since RPi4 can do gigabit ethernet.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/13297_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/which-category-of-ethernet-between-fathom-x-tether-interface-board-type-single-and-rpi/20018/3 "2025-04-08T22:22:23Z")

</div>

Hi @ryan714 -  
Just to follow on from Eliot’s response - the Fathom-X used by the BlueROV2 by default uses only a single twisted pair in the Fathom tether. This tether itself does not meet any Cat specification, and so for standard ethernet connections may only work to 30-50m.  
300m with the Fathom-X is possible, with maximum bandwidth of 60-70Mbit/s.