# Hard Wiring



## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

Greetings, I wish to run a CAT5/5e/6 ethernet cable approximately 100-150' (from a small office to a family room) :4-thatsba Rather than drill a hole in the flooring, which I am sure I must have done at our first home. :wink: 

I'd like to utilize the path of the wiring already within the home, i.e. phone, cable, or electrical jack access out of the office to the basement shortest distance across the home up via similar access within family room.

Is this a realistic possibility or will my access be blocked? To answer the finished basement question. No, but well insulated :grin:

Thanks, _*Rudy*_

_P.S. Jack Access. LOL! Now that could easily be misinterpreted in a conversation. _:laugh:


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

It's unlikely that your existing telephone cable will allow you install LAN over it. 

you'll need to have a separate UTP cable run from your router / switch to every possible RJ45 jack point. The phone line will most likely run around the building allowing any combination of connections to the phones in serial / parallel connections. The LAN will not work that way. It must have a star arrangement from a central point to all end points. The end points will include routers and access points. If there is more than one switch or hub on the system then there will be multiple stars.
If you intend to use gigabyte technology transfer on your local network you may have to add some repeaters. Off hand I do not remember the max cable length for Gigabyte transfers.

In most countries it is NOT ALLOWED to pass low voltage cables through the same trunking as AC electrical cables. Regulation that I remember is that the cabling should be run about 1meter from the electrical cables but that may vary according to country and / or state.


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## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

Thanks Fishin - unfortunately, your post left me more confused. So I cannot merely sname a cable down to the basement and criss-cross it over to the other room, in a matter of speaking?

Rudy


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

What is the length of the path and how many turns does it make. Depending if there are no staples or other fasteners holding the cable/s in place it is possible to attach a "pull string" to the existing cable to pull it back out and attach the new with the old (if still needed) and pull them back into place. It is *risky* because you can't see the size of the holes in the framing to determine if they are big enough to accept the cables. Great care must be taken in fastening the cables to the pull string or you could lose both lines.... the cable-to-pull string connection must be smooth or you lose your snake.

If you are going 100' or so, don't even try it.... even 50' can turn into a failure if going through sill plates and studs (or any other framing).


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You should be able to drop the cable to the basement and across the ceiling and up into the other room, just don't run it in the same joist space as the power cable, follow the phone line instead(if by chance they are in the same joist it's either legal in your area or yours is already wired incorrectly). cut the outlet box hole in the wall first so you can check for obstructions/pipes/ wires first then drill a access hole up from the basement into the joist cavity and run the wire, use fire stop caulk around the wire in the holes drilled when your done to comply with fire codes(so any possible fire can't travel up the inside of the wall through the hole you drilled).


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

additional info 

phone requires 1 pair of twisted wires in the cable and connect to the central pins of the RJ11 or RJ12 telephone jack.

10/100MB LAN requires 2 pairs of twisted wires in the cable, and these are connected to pins 1,2,3, & 6 of the RJ45 jack. pins 4&5 are reserved for telephone use. The cables are paired as transmit and receive. one pair is pin, 1.2 the other pair is pins3,6.
when connecting a PC with a Router, as opposed to a network switch, the pairs require swapping at one end. The wires are polarised ie must be in the correct positions or the system won't work! The wires are designated TX+, TX-, RX+ & RX-. 10/100MB is usable for lengths up to 100 Meters between equipments ie PC to switch or Router.

Gigabyte LAN uses 4 pairs of twisted wires. there is no provision for the telephone pair. the wires are polarised as above and MUST be placed with correct polarity.

take a look here http://www.zytrax.com/tech/layer_1/cables/tech_lan.htm for some wiring advice


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## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

SABL said:


> If you are going 100' or so, don't even try it.... even 50' can turn into a failure if going through sill plates and studs (or any other framing).


Thanks SABL - unfortunately that is the case. I was hoping if these other ideas were to complicated or likely unsuccessful I could simply get the cable into the basement then string the cable across or through the floor joists and back up to the other room? 

Is there a good way to do that without drilling a hole in the corner floor of the room(s)?

Rudy


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

Have you thought about wireless with an access point somewhere half way should you find speed restrictive.


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## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

wrench97 said:


> You should be able to drop the cable to the basement and across the ceiling and up into the other room...


HI Wrench - that sounds like what I must do at this point. There are multiple phone, cable, and power (electric) outlets in each room (office and family) so i should have no problem following the phone jack access versus the electrical.

Thanks, Rudy


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## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

Done_Fishin said:


> Have you thought about wireless with an access point somewhere half way should you find speed restrictive.



Yes -Or I thought I did but it did not seem to help when I bought a booster. Suffice to say it would likely be easier. Would it negate my constant "drops" due to poor signal strength? Is an access point different from the booster device I purchase which has proved worthless?


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

But, how long is the actual pull through the framing?? The baseboard can also be removed (replaced after work is done) and a hole made in the drywall (wallboard) to drill a hole through the sill plate. Make sure no other mechanicals are in the way... drive a nail through the floor, where you are wanting to drill, and go to the basement to have a look at what is in the area of the hole you plan on drilling. It sounds like most of the cable will be in the basement, which may have easier access. And yes, stay well away from any high voltage wiring!! In this case 120v is high voltage and all low voltage wires must be in a seperate chase. Air returns are also a no-no.


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

you would need to have a wireless router located somewhere that has good communication with both sides of the network and have it configured as a repeater. No wiring involved except power cable.

an access point at the router would then "talk" with your PC via the repeater.
Any mobile device could also gain access to your network if allowed by the security you set up. Distance will obviously impair speed, as will the number of people making use of the connection.

Things to watch out for are thick walls between the endpoints and repeater. Also as in any wireless medium, the radio communication can be affected by electric motors, microwave, mobile phone aerials and thick walls. Better that the repeater is on the same height as the receiving device and if at all possible "in line of sight" ie if you can see it all the better.


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## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

Done_Fishin said:


> you would need to have a wireless router located somewhere that has good communication with both sides of the network and have it configured as a repeater. No wiring involved except power cable.
> 
> an access point at the router would then "talk" with your PC via the repeater.
> Any mobile device could also gain access to your network if allowed by the security you set up. Distance will obviously impair speed, as will the number of people making use of the connection.


I see, is there a preferred model.brand of repeater I should seek(research)? I am utilizing a Linksys G at the moment.

Thank you to everyone for their assistance.


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

linksys are a good brand, part of Cisco group. We use their products in supermakets.

just make sure that the products are compatible. same channel, same ssid. I am not actually involved with the networking side. I just know that it is possible and that we use it extensively. If one access point/repeater isn't enough, others can be utilised to allow minimum 10% coverage at the boundaries but with differing channel frequencies or they will cancel out the signal. Normally you'd use channel 1 as a starter, channel 6 as intermediate and channel 11 for the next stage, then over again so that you don't confuse or cancel out surrounding signals

note i added a few comments to my earlier post. you were quick off the mark wit your response and I had "afterthoughts" :wave;


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## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

Understood -thanks again. This is a great message board. Wish I was aware of it when i was building this home. Better late than never.


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

they say it's NEVER TOO LATE!! :laugh: wish I had the foresight to put LAN wiring in my home when we purchased, rebuilt and rewired everything. Now I just have to wait til I am able to afford another rebuild :grin:


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I did mine but now only use 1 drop to the upstairs to connect the xbox and a second wireless router everything else is wireless:grin:


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

hindsight teaches us that foresight is important!! :laugh:


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## Snoopdogie187 (Jun 27, 2002)

I ran my cable up the wall from the router next to a tv cable wire. Then on the floor of the attic and down the side of the house into the basement. I picked an area with access to the ceiling/floor/wall for the first and second floor for running it from the attic to the basement. In the basement I ran it along the ceiling and then up the wall to the first floor. The router is on the second floor. 

I did have to drill 4 holes for all of this. One was next to the cable in the attic so I can run it down the wall, the other was by the side of the house so I can slip it down there (no wires over here) and then from the first floor into the basement and then the last was in the basement up into the wall. 

I also got some electric boxes to house all of the wire connections and to make sure the face plate doesn't come out of the wall (unlike the previous owner who thought it was perfectly fine to have the face plate screwed into the drywall). 

This was to go down one floor (I think the router isn't too far off center from where I installed the Ethernet port downstairs. It would have been better to probably go straight down but that would have taken more work, more holes/patching/etc. so I decided to take the long path. 

It looks professional and very clean, were no one would ever notice it. It took about a day to do, and I did use a fish tape which helped a lot for going through the walls. Just watch, in some spots its better to go up than it is to go down, and vice versa. I also used a steel cable (one that holds the cover down on a pool) to pull the fish tape from the other side.

If I ever go crazy and decide to re-do all the wiring in the house I will probably change this to make it better but that's not in any plans yet. House isn't old enough to need re-wiring, we just need more circuits upstairs and the circuit box is about maxed out, so that may be when this gets done.


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## RudyPT (Jan 23, 2010)

Best place to purchase a good repeater?


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

Most wireless routers have the ability to be used as access points or repeaters. Just check the specs before purchasing / comparing.

This is a world wide forum and it's difficult to name specific sellers.

Search online and find a retail outlet in your own country or where you feel confident that you'll receive your purchase.


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