{"id":32482,"date":"2013-02-26T21:25:51","date_gmt":"2013-02-27T02:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-08-15T19:32:59","modified_gmt":"2021-08-15T23:32:59","slug":"cables-carrying-fake-ul-marks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/cables-carrying-fake-ul-marks\/","title":{"rendered":"Cables Carrying Fake UL Marks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cables<\/a>Underwriters Laboratories<\/strong> recently warned that two communications cable products carried “counterfeit UL marks<\/strong>.” Neither cable has been evaluated by the laboratory for safety. In addition, UL<\/strong> claims that the two cables do not contain required flame-retardant<\/a><\/strong> elements, so they both pose fire hazards<\/strong>. The first warning regards a StarTech<\/strong><\/a> product while the second carries the brand name Monoprice<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\"StarTech<\/a>Back in January Underwriters Laboratories (UL)<\/a> issued a public notice<\/a> that identified StarTech<\/strong> communications cable as being mislabeled. According to an article<\/a> in Cabling Installation & Maintenance<\/i><\/a>, UL stated that the cable, \u201cbears a counterfeit UL Mark<\/strong> for the United States and may pose a fire hazard<\/strong>.<\/i>\u201d The safety organization states, \u201cThe communications cable has not been evaluated by UL to the appropriate standard for safety in the United States, and is not authorized to bear the UL mark or any reference to UL.”<\/p>\n

Further, the notice states that the cable \u201cis missing required flame retardant elements<\/strong>. This may cause an increased risk of fire<\/strong>.\u201d The box bears the brand name StarTech and has the terms \u201cISO<\/a> 9011,\u201d \u201cUL,\u201d \u201cETL,\u201d and \u201cIECQ\u201d printed on it. According to UL\u2019s notice, the cable jacket includes the following: \u201cCMR Type 4PR 24AWG 75C (UL) E151955-A CSA LL79189 ETL Verified TIA\/EIA-568-B.2 CAT 5E<\/a> UTP 350 MHZ Patch Cable<\/a> B-8A1004 ROHS Compliant.<\/a>\u201d The UL alert says that the cable was sold at overstock.com<\/a> <\/strong>and may have been sold at other locations.<\/p>\n

In a February article<\/a> at Cabling Installation & Maintenance,<\/i> there is a similar problem with cable sold by Monoprice<\/strong>. The UL issued, an alert<\/a> to the public that Monoprice cable uses the UL mark without authorization<\/strong> and lacks certain fire-retardant materials. <\/strong>The UL alert says this cable is known to be also sold at www.greenconnectionsusa.com
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Fiber Optic Association<\/a> has a YouTube video<\/a> that demonstrates the fire dangers<\/strong> of counterfeit communications cable.<\/p>\n