Doing network, phone, or coax cables is not rocket science but you do need some equipment and a little knowledge. Try not to run the cables parallel to high voltage cables, and cross them at a 90 degree angle.
This is a must.
I cant count the times I have had to move cables due to either 60hz hmm heard on CAT5e/6 used for analog phone line or poor network performance.
For Cat-[56] buy good connectors and a plate to hold the connector while you make the connections. You will need a sheath cutter, to cut through the outer wall of the cables. Strip the outer layer, cut off the nylon pull stress relief, and crimp them using either 568-A or 568-B color coding. I'd use A, because it is likely going to win the battle, but it really doesn't matter as long as all jacks use the same color coding.
568-B is actually the standard but A will work as well- just make sure to do the same one both ends.
Keep the pair twisted as much as is possible (to maintain performance) and then finish the connector. They are insulation displacement connectors so no need to strip the individual conductors....
This is important as well...
Coax, type depends on use, RG-58 or RG-6, most these days is RG-6. Same routing as network cables. Use the squeeze-crimp type of connector, where an inner ring is forced into an outer sleeve to pressure crimp the cable. You'll need a two blade stripper (one for inner core, one for outer sheath). Really, really easy with the right tools.....
Its called compression crimping. One popular brand is snap and seal made by thomas and betts...
We wired our house a number of years ago.
Waste of time and money, as most devices we use are wireless now.
Wireless works fine when youre out in the woods with neighbors not close to you.
In apartments and condos, its a different story. 2.4ghz wireless spectrum is saturated because there are only 3 non-overlapping channels and as people catch on to 5Ghz and switch over to it, it will get crowded as well.
Nothing beats a hardwired connection. Wireless cameras ****- either due to poor signal or battery power source.
and please keep these network runs away from the home's electrical system... don't use the same stud electrical wiring holes for these CAT wires,
yes this is important and many including electricians forget this.
For those who don't understand, you want a hardwire connection if possible, as it's best. I plan on using smart TV's, that use internet to stream. Yes, wireless works great, but it's more reliable and better to use a hardwired connection.
yes nothing beats hardwiring no matter how good the wireless is.
For the soffits, the CAT will be used to run cameras, you could do it with coaxial, but since I'm running cable anyway, might as well go IP. Everything will be dumped into the basement so it finishes with a nice, neat and virtually invisible install. Also, the network I'm setting up is going to use Wireless Access Points, which require a CAT cable be ran to them. These sit on the ceiling, and will terminate in a media enclosure in the basement.
analog coax camera systems are being phased out for IP network camera systems.... better to go with IP cameras...
It's a system, that's far easier to design and do now, then try to do later. It's also future-proofing the house, because even if I need to run different cables later, I can use the existing cables to tie-off to and fish them through the finished walls; attach the new cable, and reverse the process.
pull string can be used for that as well....
Cap, the problem with mesh networks (for me) is that I don't want AC-type plug in's around the house, and I don't want nodes sitting on shelfs, on desks, etc. Call me crazy, but I don't like the look of "stuff" being plugged into outlets unless it's hidden. This MAY be possible, but I like the idea of hardwiring AP's instead.
Yes if aesthetics is a problem, then mesh may not be for you.
But if your house isnt large, you could get by with a couple of high powered aps on each floor.
Many security cameras are wired so that you can use PoE to power them. Often wireless cameras are flaky at distance or because of interference. Wireless will mean batteries or other power source. Not everything is wireless power yet. Tesla lost that war years again.
You know what they say about free advice... I totally understand what you're getting at.. Those ceiling mount APs could likely be converted to PoE mesh nodes in the future. The thing I don't like about multiple APs is having to manage multiple SSIDs, or risk your device lingering on a low power access point longer than it should.
In a house do you really need more than 2 SSID's- 1 each 2.4ghz and 5Ghz? Ok and maybe a guest network SSID if you dont want your guests snooping on your network?
And if managing them is a headache for you why not go with an enterprise system such as UBNT unifi which has a controller that can manage them all.
I think I've done enough low voltage work over the years that I just HATE it! I've sold off all my qualification tools, and most of my termination stuff over the last few years and glad to be done with it.
Why do you hate it? Ive been doing it on and off for 16 years and love it.
If you have any tools left Id be interested in buying them. My contracting business is always looking for new tools.
+1 on that.
Even desktop computers come with built-in WiFi now. Broadband speeds are getting faster and faster.
The issue with wireless is interference and spectrum saturation as well as coverage and attenuation by building materials. And just because a computer comes with Wi-Fi, it doesnt mean the radio is good. Many wireless cards have weak internal antennas that barely pickup signal from an AP in the next room. Electronics all mingled together near the back of a computer where the WiFi card is can attentuate signals and cause interference as well.
Nothing beats hardwiring.
And WAN speeds have nothing to do with using WLAN vs. hardwired lan. Those are 2 separate subjects.
People can now get 2GBPS symmetrical WAN speeds via fiber to the premise(Comcast and google being 2 ISPs in my greater area that provide this) and there are very very few wireless APs that could deliver that same speed to the host. Much less there is even fewer wireless cards in a host that are capable of those data speeds. And they are all aftermarket. The factory WiFi card will not do those speeds. At least with CAT6 you can get gigabit WAN speeds to the host.
Obsolescence is also an issue, hardly anything comes with an ethernet port anymore. USB and HDMI, etc. will soon be phased out in favor of 1 interface that will provide all functions; incl storage, power, and connectivity.
Quite the contrary. Almost everything i install has ethernet. The Amazon streaming devices do not but Amazon has a separate add on device that has an ethernet port. Im assuming they realize that people have wireless issues.
And i doubt USB and HDMI will be phased out. USB is on its 3rd revision/generation that now includes separate power connector on the same port.
Same with HDMI- its on its 3rd or 4th revision with ethernet and other options available.
USB and HDMI and thunderbolt(Apple) actually caused firewire to be phased out. Thunderbolt 3 uses USB-C.
Id say its safe to say that USB and HDMI are here to stay for a long while.
Yes, but most equipment these days can auto-switch between straight and crossover so the type is more and more irrelevant. And when that's the case the standards committees will pick one to minimize ambiguity. Either way, pick one and use it throughout the job.
Yes
MOST equipment can do auto midi-x. But not all.
And 568-b is the standard...
I ran all my own cat5 and coax to every room in my house and a small detched cottage. Ran the coax and cat5 in the same conduit as the 240v power to my well with no issues after 7 yrs.
As said above, thats a huge code violation IF the CAT5 and COAX does not have a 300v insulation rating.
No prior coax or cat5 expierence. Ran all the coax to a single point for the cable company to hook up. Guy was suprised how easy it was for him.
Ran the cat5 to a cabinet in my laundry room thst holds the modem and wifi router. I get better internet speed being pluged into the ethernet...alot better for streaming.
That explains the code violation...
Its better and cheaper to hard wire now, then to later on discover that you need to run wires and have to pay more since everything is finished.
Fishing can be a pain
Sounds like you are going to install a security system. Use CAT5 or 6 and get POE cameras. Running hard wires to your TV locations is a bonus because wireless is less reliable. There are other things you can save money on if thats the issue. But if it were me, I would run them myself and save even more. But then I would also run the electrical myself as well.
especially in apartments and condos where every single unit has their own WiFi...
