Cat5 - external cabling for a showcentre

[shoehorn]

Hi,
I've got a showcentre and want to hard wire it to my PC using Cat5.
The thing is they are a couple of rooms apart and what I'd like to do is run the cable round the outside of my house.
So a couple of questions and your thoughts please...
- is there any specific cable type I should get?
- should I get 'lightning protection' (?!?)?
- how should I enter and exit the house (is a hole in the wall acceptable)?
- how should I attach to the wall to make things look neat and tidy (for the Mrs!)?
- and just to confirm, the max recommended cable length is 100m, right?

Thanks!

 

[bcopping]

I just ran normal cat 5e cable up the outside of my house and have had no problems so far (3 1/2 months)

used cable ties to attach it to a drain pipe & cable clips (little nails with round plastic bits to hold the wire) to run it across the wall.

100m is a long way! your house must be pritty big!!

to go through the walls i drilled though the wood surrounding the windows. Going up behind a drain pipe means you cant see the cable.

 

[shoehorn]

100m is a long way! your house must be pritty big!!

to go through the walls i drilled though the wood surrounding the windows. Going up behind a drain pipe means you cant see the cable.

My windows are new so not wood... I'm not very adept at the DIY bit, can I drill these...?
Oh and what size drill bit, in that do you drill a hole big enough for a cable with the ends on, or just big enough for the cable and then put the ends on when it's inside - in which case is it easy to put the ends on?
And last of all - is there some sort of sealant that is recommended to close the holes?
Thanks again!

 

[bcopping]

If you are worried about lightning, I just had a look on the net for surge protecting and found this:

http://www.minitran.co.uk/pages/products/list.mhtml?ct=1&sc=9&filter=APC RJ45 Surge Protector

i may get couple myself

 

[bcopping]

Putting ends on is fairly simple, you will need a special crimp tool.

I got a kit from maplins ages ago that came with everything i needed, most importantly instructions!!

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=44386&doy=5m10

I dont know about drilling through your windows, mine were wood so it was easy!!

 

[shoehorn]

Perfect - thanks!
I might even have a go this weekend!
Just need to get a drill bit for the wall I guess....

 

[baldrick]

I wouldn't recommend drilling through non-wooden window frames. You're better off going throught the wall. You'll need to get a long masonary drill, probably somewhere around 8-10mm this won't be big enough for the RJ45 connector, but the cable will slide through easily.

Drill at a slight angle so the hole is sloping down, higher inside than out, this will prevent moisture running along the cable and into the house.

Once you've got the cable in place and fixed with cable clips etc... use a liberal 'glob' of silicon sealant around the wire and Robert is your mother's brother!!

To terminate I'd recommend 45mm wall boxes and a single RJ45 socket at each end. You'll then just plug....

 

[shoehorn]

Good tips - thanks baldrick!
I hadn't thought of a box, but now that I have (or you have at least!) can you get boxes with RJ45, RF (for TV), FM and telephone socket all in one?
- and why would you want a box with 2 sockets - simply to plug in another PC I assume....??

 

[baldrick]

Shoehorn - you can get 'open' wallplates and then purchase different socket types to put in them. Using this you can customise connection points depending on your requirements.

As for multiple RJ45s, yes, you may want to plug in multiple devices...

 

[Maff et1]

Standard cat5 cable isn't weatherproof (and often not UV stable), I've not seen external grade cat5 in anything other than full rolls (300m). It might be worth running your cat5 inside something (maybe a length of hosepipe) to protect it.

Aswell as angling the holes down put a drip loop on the cable outside (run the cable vertically so the hole is at the top, rain then runs down the cable rather than along it)

 

[Triggaaar]

As said above - don't drill non wood window frames. You can drill just underneath, just wherever looks best. And drill down as said (you'll need a long drill bit ) Start drill with a std drill bit, getting the angle right, then switch to the long drill bit. And afterwards, you can put silicon sealent on the outside to plug the hole (that's what sky installers do).

If you can get external grade in 300m, get that - unless it's somehow much more expensive than internal. I bought 300m internal very cheaply (and have run out).

 

[ADENCOOL]

Hi,

- and just to confirm, the max recommended cable length is 100m, right?

yes but this lenght includes any patch leads at each end!

90m would be a safer bet - to avoid network collision!

 

[jefff]

You can buy external grade CAT5e cable here, not too badly priced either for a 305m reel:

http://www.netshop.co.uk/productcategorydetail.aspx?CategoryID=51540

 

[shoehorn]

As for multiple RJ45s, yes, you may want to plug in multiple devices...

OK - so I could run one cable from my PC, round the outside of the house - into the living room, where it would go into a multiple box...
Then could I have a showcentre connected and a Netgear MP101 (MP3 player) for example - and run them both at the same time? (not sure why I'd want to mind you.....)

 

[shoehorn]

OK - thanks for all the tips/help/advice.... I've done it! (and it works!)
(used the Maplin Kit....)

 

[baldrick]

shoehorn - If you want to connect multiple devices at either end of your new cable then you will need to use a switch (or a hub), you can only connect one devicce to an RJ45 socket, but a switch/hub will allow you to plug in multiple units....