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Cables
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vickyg2003
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Joined: 20 Mar 2004
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Location: Florida

                    
PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My cable tool kit arrived. The cable tester solved the first big mystery. I have one Cat5 outlet on the first floor, and 1 yellow ethernet cable in one of the upper bedrooms that comes out of the heating register, under the carpet and then out at the baseboard.

Turns out the yellow cable is a direct wire to the bedroom, as cable tester shows continuity of all the wires. I had only seen the gray cables exiting the wall, but I went back and found the yellow data cable.

I went to Lowe's to purchase my cable but left dazed and confused. There were 2 kinds of cat5e and 2 kinds of RG6.......

The employee just told me the more expensive types have better insulation.

Now it seems that the cat5e plenum has insulation that makes its smoke less toxic, and that's what I should use in the airvents, if I was going to do those second floor runs. But I don't think this is going to improve my network quality, is it?

Then there was the RG6 and the RG6Q. I believe the Q has better shielding against cross talk. I currently don't have any issues with that, so I don't think I need the Q. But it really isn't that much more expensive for the quantity I need. Is the RG6Q harder to crimp?

I've watched some very good videos on the punch down process, and on the crimping process. I think after some practice I should be able to handle this. But still I haven't found anything that tells me what the cable standards are.

I think I'm supposed to make a big ponytail out of the wires and then feed them into the patch panel. Does it matter right to left?

I also have plant so have 15 cat5e feeds. Do I use a 24 port patchpanel for future needs (2nd floor), or is a 16 port an easier feed.

If you use a 24, to you start with the nearest ports to the ponytail, or the farthest?

Help.
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underquark
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Joined: 20 Jun 2005
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Location: UK

                    
PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cable tester - good idea.

Cat5, 6 etc - see http://www.howtogeek.com/70494/what-kind-of-ethernet-cat-5e6a-cable-should-i-use/

Local laws or your insurance may make plenum (fire-resistant plastic) cable mandatory - it doesn't improve signal quality but stops fire spreading along a cable. Shielded cable is only really needed if you cross near lines carrying mains power or near fluorescent lighting but it's not that much more expensive than unshielded - you need to earth the shielding. U/v resistant cable is only needed if you run it outdoors (or in certain laboratories). Solid-core cable is the type you want for running in a building - it's stronger and also easier to connect (the stranded cable is for flexibility when making cables to link a PC to the wall socket, for instance).

Personally I'd go for a 24-port panel rather than a 16 and then divide it into Group1 for first floor, Group 2 for second and Group 3 for routers, wireless access points, network-attached storage etc. (i.e. any device attached near to the panel). If I had more than one floor with more than eight cables I'd get a 48 (two rows of 24 in one panel). Connect the cables for Floor 1, leave gaps then start at the 9th socket for Floor2, leave gaps, start at the 17th socket for your attached devices.

You can place the wires any way you want but it makes sense to start connecting from one side and work your way across - start at Socket 1 (say, the right-most as you look at it from the back of the panel) and then the next wire goes alongside the first and a little bit further to Socket 2. Once you have a few cables connected then use a plastic cable-tie to hold them together and attach to the rack for security. Leave a bit of slack in the system.

You find a place to mount the panel but leave it off until you have fed the wires through and connected them. I have had success with mounting the panel with one end on a piece of wood which, in turn, is attached to a wall by a hinge and I can then swing it out if I want to add another line in the future. It is hidden in an attic space and isn't all that pretty to look at but it's still neat.

However you attach your cables - draw a diagram and keep a copy on your PC and print off a copy and leave it with the patch panel. Some panels come with little sticky labels for each socket but they can dry out and fall off.

Pay attention to how your panel and wall sockets have the terminators arranged as the patterns of colors vary. I don't know why there are different "standard" ways of connecting it but there are - http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.aspx

Keep the length of exposed wires from cable to socket short and keep the pairs of wires twisted until the last moment. Fan the wire pairs out in a starburst shape, hold the end of the cable pressed flat against the panel with the thumb of your non-dominant hand and use your other hand to place each wire in turn and punch it into place.


RG6/RG6Q - this is coax cable. I haven't tried the Q type but don't see anything in it that would make me worried about connecting it up. I have only ever needed basic "satellite-grade" cable in my house as I am only distributing a digital TV signal and can see the TV transmitter from my house but your needs may vary.
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vickyg2003
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

underquark wrote:
Cable tester - good idea.

Laughing, Yes, I know. In case you have forgotten, you told me to get a cable tester and a proper punch down tool. Until you told me that, I had no idea that there even were such things. I picked up a cheap tool set that has the cable tester, a punch down tool, a crimper and 3 plastic doo-dads with razor blades in them. I have no idea what the last 3 doo-dads are for and the instruction sheet is in Chinese so that's not going to tell me what they are either. Very Happy

My last tool, a tone tester, arrived in the afternoon mail. I had borrowed a tone tracer when I moved into this house to identitify the antenna wires I thought having one on hand would save my sanity with this project. This one is so much nicer than the one I had borrowed, even though it was really inexpensive when compared to everything else available. The tracer I used before only had alligator clips. This one has a whole bunch of ends: a network plug, an coax plug, and an phone plug, two insulated alligator clips, and a automotive fuse spade. Its a whole lot easier than the alligator-clip-only kind, especially when you are working by yourself.

So now all I need is my cable, my patch panel, some connectors and some mounting materials, and I should be good to go.

I am glad this is not going to involve going into the attic. When I mounted my antenna in the attic, in 2008 I stepped on the plumbing vent stack, without realizing it. Apparently the PVC glue was compromised and the fittings separated. When we got the next big rain......
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vickyg2003
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Joined: 20 Mar 2004
Posts: 7073
Location: Florida

                    
PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coax ends,
I've used the screw on type before,

I see that there is a crimp on kind and a compression kind.

I'm having lots of trouble trying to find anyone that knows which tool goes with which ends, and I can't seem to google it very well either.

I got the impression that compression is the best, but can't seem to find which compression tips work with which tool.......

Any recommendations?
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vickyg2003
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Joined: 20 Mar 2004
Posts: 7073
Location: Florida

                    
PostPosted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was another of my "to-do-list" before I leave for FL. I ended up with Paladin Connectors and tool that were at Menard's ( a big box hardware store that is local to the midwest). There was a big sign, that said "buy this tool and these connectors and this RG6 Quad cable", which was great because I couldn't figure out what on earth to use as tool and connectors, and nobody at any of the stores I looked at could tell me what I was supposed to use.

I used the compression connectors. So much better than the screw-ons that we had used before. Nice tight connection.

My first connector was a big hassle. My fingers were almost RAW. Ouch. Finally I found a real useful tip. Mud Gloves. I use these for working in the garden, and wow did the second one go on easy. I only wish I had thought of that for the first hour I spent, learning how to trim and clean and insert the end on the cable. Only 12 more to go. Rolling Eyes

Then on to learning how to do a 110 punch down tool!
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