CAT5e - The e is for everywhere

by Anand Lal Shimpi on 10/26/2005 11:51 PM EST
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  • illuminati - Monday, November 14, 2005 - link

    Make sure you run two RG-6 wires to your main TV location (wherever you would have your entertainment center) in order to have the incoming satellite/cable signal and then you will be able to use the other cable for the output of the decoded signal to route back down to your basement closet for distribution throughout the rest of the house.

    I forgot to do this when wiring my house, and got lucky that the wall for my main TV set was still barely accessible from my basement... so I was able to run a second RG-6 line when I got my satelite installed.
  • blckgrffn - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    :(

    Also, while the pipe system works great (my parents put one in and it was a godsend when I got old enough to appreciate the potential) Anand is wiring to EVERY lightswitch, etc. That would be alot of pipe ;)
  • GoatHerderEd - Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - link

    Why dont you just run pips from the rooms to the basement, that way you can just feed whatever wire you need when ever you want. Just have the ends of the pipe stop in the wall, and put a plate near it.
  • oTAL - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    That's more or less the system I have at my home. It works pretty well. It's not enough to run pipes though. You need a "guide cable" going through the pipe that makes EXTREMELY easier to put in the cables you want. (You just tie it on one end and pull on the other :)
    I have some sort of plastic, flexible pipes. Not really sure about the material. Maybe you should look into that possibility...
  • sn1lloc - Monday, October 31, 2005 - link

    where at in nc were you guys
  • obeseotron - Monday, October 31, 2005 - link

    If you're going to wait for a while to actually implement such a system I might suggest you just forego the expense altogether. Wireless is only going to get better as time goes on, and the bandwidth requirements to stream content, even HD content are not that huge relative even to current wireless technology much less whatever might be available a few years on. I'm not suggesting 802.11G is sufficient for what you want to do, just that it won't be long before something is.
  • Marlin1975 - Saturday, October 29, 2005 - link

    Why not cat6? The price is not that huge and down the line you never know what you will need.
  • sungster - Saturday, October 29, 2005 - link

    cat 6 is about 40% more expensive. cat 5e should be sufficient for this job
  • KristopherKubicki - Sunday, October 30, 2005 - link

    I said that too when I wired my house with 10baseT. LOL. Go with the best stuff available or the stuff they use in office blocks. It seems expensive now, but when youre putting down several hundred on building a new house anyway, you're definitely going to appreciate it later. There is also a huge resale advantage as well.

    Kristopher
  • Marlin1975 - Sunday, October 30, 2005 - link

    Agreed.
    Its much easier to run wire when there is no wall ;) So run the best NOW so later if you are there 5+ years you are still good.
  • Houdani - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link

    Anand,

    Have you looked into a structured wiring solution which GE offers? I have no idea what the quality or capability of it is, all I know is that it exists. It's called the GE Smart ConnectionCenter (or something like that).

    It may offer much of the interconnection which you're looking for.

    http://www.gesmart.com">www.gesmart.com
    http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/products/ge-interl...">GE Smart ConnectionCenter
  • mulder - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link

    This sounds cool. I see the comment above inquire about CAT6 vs. CAT5e and I had heard that CAT6 was spec'd for gigabit connections too. I guess my question is, why is Anand going with CAT5e instead of CAT6 for the house? Is it cheaper? Does it make a difference when everything is said and done? Just curious really. I didn't see the explanation and thought I would ask.

    Thanks.
  • mulder - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link

    Oops, sorry. Didn't mean for that to be a reply to the comment. Accidently clicked the wrong reply. I meant for this to be a top-level question.
  • adg1034 - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link

    Are you just going to attend the Daily Show? If so, I never knew it was in CT. Either way, Jon Stewart is awesome; enjoy.
  • AtaStrumf - Saturday, October 29, 2005 - link

    I'd like to know that too. Which Jon Steward are you talking about???
  • judmarc - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link

    I'm with the previous poster - would love to see pics.

    quote:

    Since the system I'm looking for doesn't yet exist, I wanted to make sure that the wiring is there should it eventually happen. So we've got additional CAT5e running everywhere from lighting switches, to potential camera locations, so whenever my ideal system comes into existence, hopefully it'll be retrofittable.


    Perfect (though wireless may be good or even better for a lot of what you'll be doing - a widescreen laptop on the deck with a glass of OJ and a mug of tea on a North Carolina morning - what could be finer?;).

    Re landscaping - keep an eye on your topsoil, or have a friend/neighbor do it for you. It's aggravatingly difficult to grow grass without it, and expensive to bring it in if you don't have it. I know; 6 weeks ago I brought in 12 truckloads (~180 cubic yards) to cover an acre after a year of growing mostly weeds on clay and rocks. (You want grass - think of dirty/muddy footprints on brand new carpet.) Now, except for a few bare patches left to touch up, the yard looks like Ireland!
  • ksherman - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link

    How is CAT5e different from CAT6? Sounds like you are gonna have one helluva house! you should post some pics sometime
  • creathir - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - link

    CAT5e is not "certified" to run at Gigabit speeds... it is essentially the same cable with a few minor differences. The copper yield is not the exact same, frequency wise on what it can handle. The other difference is in how the connectors themselves differ. On a CAT6 connector, the pairs are "stacked", whereas on traditional CAT5 and CAT5e they are all in a row. This is to further eliminate the possibility of a phenomenon known as "crosstalk" between the pairs at the only point that that happens, when they are not twisted. Hope this answers your question!
    - Creathir
  • ksherman - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link

    Thanks! I kinda had a feeling that CAT6 had a connection to Gigabit...

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