Until now, all the computers in our house have been in one single room. But now, were adding another one ont he other side of the house.

My room is int he basement, and has 3 wired connections, and 1 wireless (a server, a gaming computer, a PS2, and the laptop is wireless). 2 floors up, is my sister's room. Im getting her a computer for christmas, and, well, she needs a network connection.

Im using Cat5e cable. Just the regular stuff, not plenum or anything fancy. I figured Id have to go intot he crawlspace, across the ceiling of the basement, outside, up 2 floors, into the attic, across said attic, and down to her room. That is realy the only option for running a wire up there. Wireles is not an option here.

Anyone see anything wrong with the plan of attack? Would I have any problems with running the wire outside? Would I have to use EMT outside to run the wire in? If my wire is too short, can I splice 2 together with 2 RJ45 connectors and a RJ45 female/female connector? (Assuming the splice isnt outside)

 

It's possible to use less wires (2 pair) from the CAT5e cable, but since it wouldn't be a standard config, your devices may end up not working correctly. Have you considered powerline networking ? Plug a cat 5 into the outlet device and another in your sister's room with a cat 5 to her PC (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...uct_Id=152644#)

 

If it goes outside at least have it in some sort of conduit.

 

2 floors is too much for wireless?

have you seen the newer MIMO which doubles if not triples, the G numbers?

 

not in this house

 

Neither in any other house pretty much. Personally, I don't really like the idea of powerline networking, because I am not sure about how secure it is, but it might be very secure, never read up on it.

 

Powerline networking can be an issue in some houses. If you've ever had issues trying to get an X-10 system to work, it's the same root problem.

The problem comes from how 110 gets into the house. In most homes, the power comes in as 3-phase 220. This is effectively two 110v legs with a common return. Some things in the home will use both 110 legs so that they can run from 220 (stove, dryer, electric furnace...). The common outlets in the home are on _either_ of the 110 legs... and this is the issue.

The way 110v AC works, current flows between the cold return and ONE hot leg. So, if you put one side of the powerline box on one leg, and the other side on the opposite leg, they will never see each other, and you won't be able to get connectivity between the two.

You can tell if this will be a problem by looking at the fuse/breaker panel in the home. As you look at the panel, it will be split into two columns. Starting at the top LEFT fuse/breaker, start counting down the column saying "A", "B", "A", ""B", etc. What you're doing is mapping out each 110v leg to how they lay out in the house.

Stop when you get to the breaker that controls one room where the network hub will be, and remember either "A" or "B". If the other room is on the same side of the panel, keep counting down with alternating "A"'s & "B"'s. If the room is on the other side of the panel, then do the same thing on that side, but start at the top with the letter "B" (so "B", "A", "B", etc...).

Now compare the letters that you assigned to both rooms. If they're the same, you're okay. If they're different, you'll more than likely have trouble since that would indicate that the rooms are on different 110v legs.

Now, there's a fix and an exception to this...

The exception is that if the signal from the powerline box is strong enough, then in theory it will jump to the other leg through the common line as it meets up with the power transformer "on the pole". In my experience, that's a pretty big stretch, and even if it does work, you're potentially looking at a VERY long run for the network signal which will end up with a low signal level on the receiver. Not good.

The fix is to use a coupling capacitor. BE FOREWARNED!!! this is something that an electrician should do. But, if you want to take this on, then bridging the two legs with a .1uf 600VDC capacitor _should_ make this work. I do not warranty this fix, and accept no responsibility for it creating other problems. If you don't understand this point, or much of anything above, then don't try it.


So... anyway, that's probably more information than you cared to know, but there it is.

In short... I'm not a big fan of powerline networking though it's worked well for a friend of mine.

 

I want to stay as traditional as possible here. Nothing fancy/smancy. The reason I dont want to go wireless is because the signal will end up being extremely weak with anything less than a cantenna (Ive tried picking up with my laptop up there, and it was horrible), and the fact Im on a tight budget here.

 

I cringe at the thought of running bare cat5 outside. I don't see why you couldn't run it through the house inside. Get yourself a box of cable, some RJ45 ends, a crimper, and a roll of fish tape to pull the cable with. You'll be surprised what you can do. Do some reading up on it first, because you want to avoid crossing power lines (or do so at a 90* angle) and other little things like that.

However, that'll probably cost you just as much as getting a wireless range extender or antenna booster.

 

I have some PVC laying around, and I can get ElectroMetallicTubing for cheap. Im probably going to use that, and run the Cat5 inside it

 

Powerline networking ouch. Maybe last resort and a signal bridge would almost be a must especially if its an older home. Wireless is getting pretty cheap and offers a lot more freedom in where you want to use your computers. Don't use couplers or splices even the best done will drop the effective quality. Use a good cat5, cat5E, or cat6 and RJ45's cross over branch circuit wiring not adjacent (the same goes for coax,voice, lo/vo and speaker wiring. If it's an older home on the east coast it's typically ballon framed and there should be no problem running from the basement to the attic with a fishtape on either outside walls or near a chimney or main plumbing vent pipe. PVC would be a easy although not aestheticaly pleasing way to do it and shouldn't be a problem.

 

So I went and looked outside, and noticed the corner pieces for the vinyl siding is hollow, and starts and ends where I need. Not only that, its just barely big enough for the Cat5 to fit in. So I drilled a hole through a board on the foundation, pushed the wire out that, up the siding trim, and into the attic through the soffits. Went across the attic, drilled a hole in my sister's ceiling, and let it down. Bad thing is the cable was about 10' too short, so its sticking out of hte ceiling by abotu 6". Im going to need to put a coupler on that and use more wire.

So...when in doubt, buy 110 feet and not 100, cause youre going to need it. And...remember where you put those RJ45 connectors you took out of your pocket. I bought a 10-pack, dumped them in my pocket, took them out, and cant find them any more. Paid $6 for 10 connectors which I only used 2.

 

Gangus2006, you cheater, you cobble jocky, you..you.. you alternative wiring methods engineer. Well I guess it does provide some physical means of protection. Bummer on the length though, don't suppose you could take it back and claim it was the wrong color blue. Too bad you don't live closer I've got about 3000 feet laying around you could have. Maybe you could mount a jack in the ceiling

 

Yea, Im going to see how long this lasts. I dont think Ill have any problems with it.

Oh...when working in an attic, wear long pants!!! Im itching like CRAZy right now because of the fiberglass insulation.

 

I can pick my neighbor's router from across the street all over my house.
First and second floor. That's ~50 ft away thru both house walls, insulation, etc.

These routers have gotten pretty darn good.

I have not tried picking up my router in my basement so I can't tell you how 3 floors down affects the signal strength and quality.

I would not hesitate to try out a wireless network and see where you stand.
No doubt, had wire get you the best speed.