Re: Is there a hard drive TV recorder that does NOT use Tivo service?

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Charlie Hoffpauir:
I have Cat 5 to Den (2), wife's computer,
bedroom and my computer room (3), all inside walls with sockets that I
can just plug a patch cord into. This gives me wired ethernet to three
DirecTV DVRs, My wife's computer, my computer, and....

I posted something like this to the windows networking group, but
no nibbles yet - so I'll try it here.

When you run that Cat5, is any advantage either way to

- Straight runs from server to each wall outlet
vs
- Running, say, 50 feet to some intersection point and
then branching via a switch to each outlet

My gut says "straight runs".

Our guts agree. Whenever I run CAT-5 cable, I *always* crimp all 8 pins into the connector on both ends. Yes, I know that there are only 4 signal wires (2 xmt/2 rcv), but some devices hold the other 4 wires at ground as some sort of signal shield. This is a benefit if the cable ends up near a disturbance source, ie. anything emitting a strong and nasty electrical field, ie, fluorescent light ballast, vacuum cleaner, etc. If you use an 8-wire CAT-5 cable to provide two 4-wire circuits, you'll lose any benefit those 'ground' wires may have provided. Plus, if you ever want to use any device that requires PoE power, you're in trouble.

So, if you need to connect devices together, as others have posted, use a switch - a real switch, not a dumb hub. A dumb hub is nothing more than a collision domain and will instantly wreak unmitigated havoc for any high-bandwidth usage and make you rue the day you met the dumb hub.




Also, is there any realistic length limit to cable runs?

The figure I heard was 100 meters, which is way, *way* beyond
anything I could conceive of in our house.


A residential house rarely imposes any cable length issues, especially if you pin all 8 wires on both ends. If you need multiple CAT-5 circuits, pull multiple cables together in one pull operation, and for Christ sake, get all the twist out of the cables first and do not twist them together. Pull them all straight and loose. If you want to branch, pull the longer run first, then branch each of the cables to a shorter run. Don't worry about wasting cable material - that extra length may well make placing the cable possible, if not a lot easier.

--
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: 2 Ethernet cabling question
    ... male on one end of the repair and female on the other. ... the wall is open and you can do a pull right then after the damage is ... cables should NOT cross over plumbing where it will ... four wires in a jacket. ...
    (Fedora)
  • Re: Coaxial cable and phone wire installation
    ... CATV installers often do not snake wires or run them internally. ... companies often run these cables, snaked in walls. ... wire the house for cable. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Need to replace coax cable. Need advice.
    ... I don't know if two coax cables will fit ... If people are compulsive like I am, they made the hole only big enough ... When I put cable in my house, the walls ... I have wires going down the inside of walls, which have to make a bend ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Finishing Wiring Closet
    ... walls, surface raceway is best. ... Panduit has a unique surface raceway ... It's great for running cables in a basement because you can ... access the wire easily and add wires or make changes without punching ...
    (comp.home.automation)
  • Re: Pulling HDMI Cable
    ... tape to run the pull wire then wrap the HDMI cable to the pull wire. ... recently pulled all cables out of this conduit (S-Video,Composite, ...
    (alt.tv.tech.hdtv)