Wiring Cat-5 Ethernet Cable?

[ricepudding]

I know that this is not really electrical, but here is what I want to do. Our internet comes from a modem that converts the digital cable into cat-5 ethernet. The problem here is that the modem is in the basement, meaning that the WiFi Router's range is piss poor. How can I wire the Cat-5 ethernet cable one story up without tearing out all of the drywall, so I could raise the height of the wifi router. I was thinking of using the ducting, but I guess that would not be up to code. The flooring between the basement and top floor is in a truss style, meaning that there is a few feet of play room for wiring. Idk, just thinking out loud here...

 

[theoldwizard1]

I was thinking of using the ducting, but I guess that would not be up to code.

You can run low voltage cable in a duct if it is "plenum" rated.

 

[dogdog]

your other option is to find a good Ethernet over power line adapter.... just don't get any cheesy brand like Belkin or that other reseller brand (Rosswell).... might end up with more frustration than a actual good working product. There are also WIFI extender over power line as well...

Unless you are strongly wanted gigabyte networking.

 

[Thumper68]

If you just want to go straight up that wouldn't be a hard fish.

everything to do it you can find at HD, fish rods, flex bit, old work LV boxes.

Do a search on you tube for vids on how to fish walls.

 

[myk]

Do you have coax (cable) in both places? if so, MoCA (Multimedia Over Coax) is significantly better than ethernet-over-power. It's a lot easier than running wire or dealing with dropouts or crappy speed with the ethernet-over-power solutions.

The device most people use is the Motorola NIM100 (which you'd have two of, one where the ethernet comes in and one where it goes out)

The other option is to move the cable modem upstairs to another place you have cable, with the router...

 

[GuyllFyre]

Being a techie, I wired my whole house with CAT5e and RG6 coax.
It can be tedious but if you are like me, you want your options. This includes a patch panel in my office as well as a used second hand HP Procurve Gigabit switch for plugging it all in to.

The rest of you, well, just need your Internet connection conveniently available.
If all you want to do is get the "modem" to a more reasonable place in the house, just extend the coax cable to where you want it.

If you have CATV in the house, then just mode the "modem" and it's CATV splitter to a location in the house, remembering to put a coupler on the incoming feed from where you just removed the "modem."

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Happy fishing!

I would keep the modem as close to the demarc as possible to avoid connection issues.

If u want WiFi in the basement then leave the wifi router there and then a CAT5 cable upstairs and hookup another wifi router. Make sure the 2 routers have different IP addresses...

 

[Beemer533]

Happy fishing!

I would keep the modem as close to the demarc as possible to avoid connection issues.

If u want WiFi in the basement then leave the wifi router there and then a CAT5 cable upstairs and hookup another wifi router. Make sure the 2 routers have different IP addresses...

And that the second router is not handing out IPs as well! Turn off the DHCP server on the second one...

As Thumper said, it isn't a hard thing to fish the wires up, but you need common walls (walls on top of each other from the first to the 2nd floors). The long flex bits are required as well, but they are about $50...

I'd give you a hand if you live anywhere near central NY..as I have already all the tools to do this.

I live in a 100 year old home, so I have had to do this many times for cable, power and network runs...

 

[toplessHO]

you could use a range extender ,just move it around in basement to see if it will get all the dead spots upstairs I found some on close out at the local CVS pharmacy for round $5 ea

 

[Cypherian]

Hey,

Do you have a waste pipe from the basement all the way up or perhaps a vent pipe there is usually enough room to go along side it with a fish tape / rod. You could also perhaps find Catv cable run or some other pipe etc heading up and follow it up.

Cypher

 

[James-W]

I don't have one, but I have heard very good things about an Apple AirPort Extreme router. Apparently they have a longer range than most other wireless routers, are very easy to configure, and they are highly dependable. Not saying one of these would fix your problems, but it may very well do so.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

And that the second router is not handing out IPs as well! Turn off the DHCP server on the second one...

As Thumper said, it isn't a hard thing to fish the wires up, but you need common walls (walls on top of each other from the first to the 2nd floors). The long flex bits are required as well, but they are about $50...

I'd give you a hand if you live anywhere near central NY..as I have already all the tools to do this.

I live in a 100 year old home, so I have had to do this many times for cable, power and network runs...

Yeah i forgot that and also make sure the APs arent on the same channel...

 

[GuyllFyre]

I'm in a Victorian built in 1900.
Most of the cabling either goes up the basement to attic wall where they had old ducting or up the "wet wall" where most of the plumbing feeds to the second floor.
Lots of drilling and snaking but for me 100% worth it.

For my cable modem, I just extended the cable up to my office. Was a very simple run, one hole to drill.
My router then is mounted nearby up on the wall as centrally as possible.
I still don't get enough signal to reach the garage so I'm in process of getting ready to snake CAT5e to the garage in the new conduits I installed.

 

[volleyball]

Happy fishing!

I would keep the modem as close to the demarc as possible to avoid connection issues.

If u want WiFi in the basement then leave the wifi router there and then a CAT5 cable upstairs and hookup another wifi router. Make sure the 2 routers have different IP addresses...

I think this is backwards. Let the cable company put the modem where it is convenient. A few more feet of cable isn't going to make a difference. I have my stuff in a second floor closet.
Find a place where you want all your cables run. I have internet and tv in the same closet.
I put in conduit to get from the basement to the second floor so cables run in basement or attic.
Other ways to address the problem is to put the router closer to the basement ceiling. Even better is to get router with external antenna(s) and run cable and put the antenna inside the first floor.
Easier than running a range extender especially if you have a problem

 

[James-W]

My modem and router is in one corner of the basement. I ran a cat-5 cable from the router to an eight port switch in another area of the basement. Then I ran all the other cat-5 cables to the switch that is located in a much more central area of the basement and where I have easier access to the main areas of the house. This allowed me to use much shorter cat-5 cables running to all the other equipment connected to the router. Perhaps you could go with a similar setup in your house.

 

[67carl]

Maybe I don't understand his current setup but this seems a simple fix. He has the cable modem and router in the basement. I would assume he has a TV upstairs somewhere, and that there is coax cable going to that. Yes?

1) Unhook the modem and router in the basement
2) You will have two ends of coax, the incoming cable from the street and the outgoing cable (goes to TV upstairs). Get a male to male adapter and connect those 2 together.
3) Take modem and router upstairs and connect it where the cable comes out of the wall to your TV.

TaDa! Wireless router on your main floor, good signal.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Not always that easy...since the modem requires the most signal, you want it to be the first split off the incoming drop. May require some reconfiguration of splitters.

 

[CNGsaves]

OP you'll want to keep one continuous RG6 cable from demarc (ie outside connection box for CableCo) to your cable modem if possible.

Whatever you do, absolutely do NOT let CableCo take shortcut after shortcut and string cable around perimeter of your house and use giant 18" drillbit to drill through entire outside wall and string cable here and there. YOU can do it yourself 1,000 times better with a little planning, compression tool(s) and cable ends.

As other GJers have said, plan out a central distribution location and homerun all your Rg6 cables (inside interior walls) to that location where you'll have splitters to send out signal to TV's across the house . . . along with special treatment for cable modem. Label all those cable ends as to which room/wall/etc they are located so you'll know exactly which connections should be live.

Do same concept with CAT5e with centralized location so you could have switch or hub there and easily share internet across the whole house using hardwire.

Have a battery backup to power your cable modem, router, main computer, etc. so that you'll still have communication during a power outage. I use Magic Jack (ie low cost IP telephone) which plugs directly to router so my battery backup keeps that landline always running.

 

[67carl]

My cable comes in to the garage and there is a adapter connection there. From that point it goes through my attic then down into a closet wall where it terminates into a wall plate. My modem has a short bit of cable that connects it to the wall plate. That's the incoming line. From the modem it goes back to the wallplate into the wall, up to the attic and down the wall of the living room to another wallplate where it terminates. From that wall termination a short cable goes into my DVR. That's at least 4 separate breaks and I have zero issues. I highly doubt 1 break is going to make a difference.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

To those thinking long runs of cable and splitters wont effect a cable modem, think again. Working for an ISP, Ive seen first hand the effects of poor signal at a cable modem. It will work for a while but just as soon as the line tap signal level changes at the pole, your modem will suffer from poor signal quality. You always want the modem as close to the semarc with as few splitters as possible!

 

[volleyball]

But you can have the ISP reduce the attenuator and up the signal. We are probably not talking that many more feet of cable

 

[67carl]

I think there are 2 separate things going on here. 1) using splitters and 2) using a coupler. For those saying there will be issues are you referring to splitting the signal (one incoming, two outgoing)? That wasn't what I was referring to in my post. My suggestion was to use a coupler so he could relocate the router upstairs, not split the one signal into two. There should be no issues coupling the coax together. Right? That's what I've got and it has been in use for a dozen years without issue (something sinilar at my parents house as well).

 

[volleyball]

A coupler has a small amount of attenuation. Not a factor. Splitters all have some attenuation. You can get different amounts designed in.
I was talking about a purpose built attenuator designed not to overload your devices. Too much of a good thing sort of problem. It is inline like a coupler, attenuates like a splitter.
Some cable company box on the pole or other distribution panel have tap offs with different levels appropriate for the situation.

 

[GuyllFyre]

Every coax connection is a -3dB hit.
You're automatically getting hit with -6dB right at the entry as CATV is required to have a coupler with a solid ground. Sometimes this is a coupler, sometimes it's a splitter.
A common 2-way splitter can have a 9dB loss.
There is less loss in the cable itself in lengths found in a common house.
The loss is all in the connections.
Minimize the connections, move the modem.

 

[markietas]

Every coax connection is a -3dB hit.
You're automatically getting hit with -6dB right at the entry as CATV is required to have a coupler with a solid ground. Sometimes this is a coupler, sometimes it's a splitter.
A common 2-way splitter can have a 9dB loss.
There is less loss in the cable itself in lengths found in a common house.
The loss is all in the connections.
Minimize the connections, move the modem.

This.

I would also like to point out that losing 3db of any signal is HALF of your total signal strength.

I'm not saying that you will looses half of your internet speed but depending on how strong your signal is entering your house it can significantly degrade your internet and or TV quality even to the point of it not working at all.

There are calculators on the internet that will tell you the Db loss of a given length of a type of coax.

If it were my house I would keep the modem as close to the cable entry as possible and use Cat 6 ( a very small increase in price and will be much more future proof ) to the center of the house and put the router there. regardless of how hard it is to fish the cable there.

Just the right way to do it IMO.

Those Ethernet over power and coax adapters are expensive and have pretty **** performance compared to a simple Cat 5 Ethernet cable.

Now some may say " oh well your internet is only so many Mbps. so its pointless to use cat 6 or even cat 5 because the power line Ethernet adapter claims its Theoretical max is 110 Mbps and that's faster than your internet so its fine "

BUT I say do it right for the first time then when your internet eventually gets much faster you won't be doing this again. Plus you may wan't to use that for transferring files one day between a media server in the basement and something else in the house or w/e.

These are great APs

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005H4CDF4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I have that particular one, never have to restart it, and much, much better coverage than my $300 Dlink had.

If you have and wired Ethernet devices then you can get a simple switch of the appropriate port number and you will be set.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I think there are 2 separate things going on here. 1) using splitters and 2) using a coupler. For those saying there will be issues are you referring to splitting the signal (one incoming, two outgoing)? That wasn't what I was referring to in my post. My suggestion was to use a coupler so he could relocate the router upstairs, not split the one signal into two. There should be no issues coupling the coax together. Right? That's what I've got and it has been in use for a dozen years without issue (something sinilar at my parents house as well).

I was referring to both.

A coupler has a small amount of attenuation. Not a factor. Splitters all have some attenuation. You can get different amounts designed in.
I was talking about a purpose built attenuator designed not to overload your devices. Too much of a good thing sort of problem. It is inline like a coupler, attenuates like a splitter.
Some cable company box on the pole or other distribution panel have tap offs with different levels appropriate for the situation.

Every coax connection is a -3dB hit.
You're automatically getting hit with -6dB right at the entry as CATV is required to have a coupler with a solid ground. Sometimes this is a coupler, sometimes it's a splitter.
A common 2-way splitter can have a 9dB loss.
There is less loss in the cable itself in lengths found in a common house.
The loss is all in the connections.
Minimize the connections, move the modem.

This is what i was alluding to earlier. This is why ive said to keep the modem as close to the Demarc as possible!

This.

I would also like to point out that losing 3db of any signal is HALF of your total signal strength.

I'm not saying that you will looses half of your internet speed but depending on how strong your signal is entering your house it can significantly degrade your internet and or TV quality even to the point of it not working at all.

There are calculators on the internet that will tell you the Db loss of a given length of a type of coax.

If it were my house I would keep the modem as close to the cable entry as possible and use Cat 6 ( a very small increase in price and will be much more future proof ) to the center of the house and put the router there. regardless of how hard it is to fish the cable there.

Just the right way to do it IMO.

Those Ethernet over power and coax adapters are expensive and have pretty **** performance compared to a simple Cat 5 Ethernet cable.

Now some may say " oh well your internet is only so many Mbps. so its pointless to use cat 6 or even cat 5 because the power line Ethernet adapter claims its Theoretical max is 110 Mbps and that's faster than your internet so its fine "

BUT I say do it right for the first time then when your internet eventually gets much faster you won't be doing this again. Plus you may wan't to use that for transferring files one day between a media server in the basement and something else in the house or w/e.

These are great APs

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005H4CDF4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I have that particular one, never have to restart it, and much, much better coverage than my $300 Dlink had.

If you have and wired Ethernet devices then you can get a simple switch of the appropriate port number and you will be set.

Every scenario/install is different. Some will have quite a few splitters and connectors and wont have any issues and others will have just a few and their modem will consistently have issues....

And yes the UBNT UniFi APs are great!

 

[volleyball]

Your ISP will give you a signal at your modem strong enough to be reliable. Putting it near your switch is the way to go. You don't want to be running floors to troubleshoot.
You cannot future proof your house. Spend a few more bucks to near future proof, I am on my forth network wiring. And it will change again as tech changes. Next may be fiber.
My line in has a few segments. Pole to house, house to splitter, splitter to modem. Found out that I didn't need to tap before splitter, as they just lowered the attenuation at the pole. Still have more than enough signal. And less pieces to the system.
Going crazy and eliminating barrel connectors is no longer needed as before.
You have a really long driveway from the nearest pole, things could be different.
But that is not the issue for the original question

 

[jomobco]

I went with TP-Link TL-PA6010KIT which is an encrypted power line adapter. I've got 5 of them connecting to my router including one doing an 80' run to an out building. Speeds range from a high of 380 Mbps to a nearby room to 20-50 Mbps to the outbuilding. No cables, no fuss and a solid connection. I use these as a back bone for my security cameras and for wireless access points to tie my network together.

 

[Beemer533]

Every coax connection is a -3dB hit.
You're automatically getting hit with -6dB right at the entry as CATV is required to have a coupler with a solid ground. Sometimes this is a coupler, sometimes it's a splitter.
A common 2-way splitter can have a 9dB loss.
There is less loss in the cable itself in lengths found in a common house.
The loss is all in the connections.
Minimize the connections, move the modem.

Are you talking insertion loss? If so, I don't know where you get the 3db number, but if you get that much insertion loss with an average F compression connector, you are doing something terribly wrong..
Now 3db loss per splitter would be more accurate, but not per connector..

Anything over .3db per connector would be high @ 1ghz, here is an example of the T&B line;



The are rated at .18 dB insertion loss...

 

[theoldwizard1]

Snap-N-Seal is now owned by Belden.

 

[markietas]

Are you talking insertion loss? If so, I don't know where you get the 3db number, but if you get that much insertion loss with an average F compression connector, you are doing something terribly wrong..
Now 3db loss per splitter would be more accurate, but not per connector..

Anything over .3db per connector would be high @ 1ghz, here is an example of the T&B line;



The are rated at .18 dB insertion loss...

He is referring to splitting, I won't say how accurate the term is or not but I have heard it plenty of times before referring to the same thing.