APC by Schneider Electric 47136WH CAT 5 RJ45 Inline Coupler
The APC by Schneider Electric 47136WH is a straight-through RJ-45 female-to-female inline coupler designed to join two CAT 5 patch cables end-to-end — the kind of fix you need when a pre-terminated run comes up short or a cable segment needs to be extended without re-terminating field cable. Rated for up to 100 Mbps over CAT 5, it handles Fast Ethernet traffic cleanly, making it a practical fit for extending network cabling runs to IP cameras, access control readers, door controllers, and other edge devices in physical security installations.
When This Is the Correct Choice
The 47136WH is the right call when you have two pre-terminated CAT 5 patch cables that need to be joined inline — in a ceiling plenum, inside an enclosure, or at a junction box — without pulling a new run or re-terminating. The straight-through configuration preserves pin-to-pin continuity as-is: plug in both cables, and the electrical path is unbroken. TAA compliance makes it viable for federal, state, and municipal installations where Trade Agreements Act sourcing requirements apply — a detail that often surfaces late in a project and costs time if the hardware can't clear procurement. Browse the full APC by Schneider Electric catalog for complementary cabling and infrastructure accessories.
When to Choose a Different Solution
If your run demands Gigabit (1000 Mbps) throughput, skip the 47136WH — its 100 Mbps ceiling is specific to CAT 5 performance, and a Gigabit link will negotiate down or fail to maintain line rate through a CAT 5 segment. For those environments, source a CAT 5e or CAT 6 coupler rated for 1000BASE-T. Similarly, if you're working with CAT 6A shielded (STP) cable, you'll need a shielded coupler to maintain the shield continuity that suppresses crosstalk at 10GbE speeds — an unshielded coupler like this one breaks the shield path entirely.
Key Features
- RJ-45 Female-to-Female, Straight Through: joins two standard RJ-45-terminated CAT 5 patch cables without crossing or remapping pins — no adapter required, no wiring configuration to verify. Saves a field termination when a run is slightly short.
- Up to 100 Mbps Data Rate: supports Fast Ethernet (100BASE-TX), which covers the bandwidth requirements of most IP cameras, card readers, PoE-powered edge devices, and similar low-to-mid bandwidth security peripherals on a CAT 5 backbone.
- CAT 5 Standard: matches the installed base of CAT 5 horizontal runs still common in commercial and light industrial facilities built before CAT 5e became the de facto standard — no need to upspec hardware to join an existing legacy run.
- TAA Compliant: sourced in compliance with the Trade Agreements Act, clearing the procurement gate for U.S. federal government projects, GSA schedules, and state/local bids that mandate TAA-compliant components throughout the bill of materials — including passive accessories.
- White Color: blends into white drop ceilings, white raceway, and white surface-mount conduit — the color most often specified in clean commercial interiors where exposed cabling infrastructure needs to be visually low-profile.
- Single-Unit Packaging: ships as one coupler per package — useful for targeted repairs, spares inventory, or low-volume deployments where purchasing a bulk pack creates unnecessary overhead.
Integration and Compatibility
The 47136WH is passive and protocol-agnostic — it passes electrical signals without active components, so it is compatible with any 8P8C RJ-45-terminated CAT 5 cable regardless of the equipment vendor. It works across IP camera installations, access control systems, intercoms, and any other infrastructure that uses standard RJ-45 terminated UTP cabling at Fast Ethernet speeds. Because it introduces two additional mated connector pairs into the link, verify total channel length stays within the 100-meter CAT 5 channel specification (cable + patch cords combined) — the coupler itself does not consume measurable link budget beyond the connector insertion loss, but the total run must still comply with TIA-568 channel limits.
What's in the Box
- 1x APC 47136WH CAT 5 RJ-45 Female-to-Female Inline Coupler (White)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the APC 47136WH TAA compliant for federal procurement?
A: Yes. The 47136WH is TAA compliant, making it eligible for U.S. federal government purchases, GSA schedules, and state/local contracts that require Trade Agreements Act compliance throughout the bill of materials.
Q: What is the maximum data rate supported by the 47136WH?
A: The 47136WH supports data rates up to 100 Mbps, consistent with CAT 5 and Fast Ethernet (100BASE-TX) specifications. If you need Gigabit (1000 Mbps) throughput, a CAT 5e or CAT 6 rated coupler is required.
Q: Can I use the 47136WH with CAT 5e or CAT 6 cable?
A: Physically, the 47136WH accepts any standard RJ-45 plug, so it will mate with CAT 5e or CAT 6 terminated cables. However, the coupler is rated to CAT 5 performance (100 Mbps), so using it in a CAT 5e or CAT 6 run will limit the channel to CAT 5 performance at that junction.
Q: Is the 47136WH a straight-through or crossover coupler?
A: The 47136WH is a straight-through coupler — it passes all eight pins in their original sequence with no pin remapping. It is not a crossover adapter.
Q: Does the 47136WH work with PoE-powered devices?
A: The 47136WH is a passive connector and does not actively interfere with PoE power delivery. However, adding inline connectors to a PoE run increases contact resistance at the junction. For critical PoE links, minimize the number of inline couplers and verify the total channel meets the impedance continuity requirements of your PoE standard (802.3af/at/bt).
Q: How many couplers come in each package?
A: Each package contains one (1) APC 47136WH coupler.
The 47136WH gets used more often than most integrators plan for — it's the passive coupler that saves a cable pull when a pre-terminated CAT 5 run comes up two feet short at a camera bracket or card reader. The TAA compliance stamp is the detail that actually matters on government-site work, where procurement can reject a component line item if it lacks Trade Agreements Act documentation, even on a $2 coupler.
Technical Highlights:
- 100 Mbps ceiling: Matches Fast Ethernet throughput, which covers every IP camera under 4K and most access control readers operating on CAT 5 infrastructure — no bandwidth penalty for this class of device.
- Straight-through pin mapping: No re-termination, no crossover confusion. Connect both cables and the link comes up — the pin sequence is preserved end-to-end without any wiring verification step.
- TAA compliant: Clears federal and GSA procurement gates where TAA sourcing is a line-item requirement — useful when a project BOM is being reviewed by a contracting officer and every component needs documentation.
Deployment Considerations:
- Total channel length still governs: the 47136WH adds two connector interfaces to the link, but the 100-meter TIA-568 CAT 5 channel limit (cable plus patch cords) applies to the combined run — measure before you install to avoid a marginal link that passes certification but fails under load.
- This coupler is unshielded (UTP) — deploying it in a shielded (STP/FTP) run breaks shield continuity at the junction, which defeats the purpose of the shielded cable in high-EMI environments like equipment rooms with dense power cabling.
The 47136WH is the right tool in a government facility retrofit where a CAT 5 horizontal run falls short of a new camera or reader location and a re-pull isn't in scope — TAA compliance keeps it on the approved BOM, and the straight-through configuration means the field tech doesn't need to verify wiring before closing the enclosure.
