Cat 5 requirements

[Chosen]

I live in a apartment with 3 other people and we all network our computers together. The problem im having is that my room is about 50 feet away ( i mean in the way we would send the cable [cat 5] through the apt. to my room)and i cant get the internet to work in there. We've done it a couple of times and it seems that the signal from the router isnt strong enough. I know that cat 5 cable is good for 330 feet but could it be the signal from the router?? I would love to have my computer in my room. If you have any ideas on what the problem is our ways to fix it let me know please. Thanks

 

[MattWray]

Doubtful that the signal is not strong enough. Check your cable and PC configuration. Probably bad cable. Matt Wray
CCNA, MCP
mwray77518@yahoo.com

 

[Chosen]

i really dont know, the router i have is a netgear rp114. We did a test, i had a cable that was about ten feet shorter then the longer one i had. It worked when i went from the router directly to my computer. Then i plugged it into the wall where on the other side there is another cable that goes to my brothers, its about 10 feet or more on the other side, that didnt work. Its starting to look bad. The lights on the router light up showing theres a connection but they dont flash or anything. Also my brothers card flashes orange when theres not a good signal. It was flashing yellow. Any other suggestions to fix this or solutions?? Thanks for your response.

 

[MattWray]

I have used that same Netgear for clients and it has worked fine throughout a suite, with runs up to about 250 feet. That's also thru a patch panel, cable runs, jacks and patch cables. I strongly think you'll find it is that particular cable you are trying to use. Do you have a cable tester(MODtap)? If you say the 10' shorter piece works, than your cable should work also(if it is good). 50 feet is nothing in CAT5. I would try getting another 50' cable and testing it. Matt Wray
CCNA, MCP
mwray77518@yahoo.com

 

[Chosen]

Alright, ill try it out here in a few and let you know. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[Chosen]

Ok, i got it going in my room. The thing is that when i first did it and hooked it up only my MSN Messenger worked and i was told that i kept signing on and off and also when i went to open my browser, all i eventually got was server not found. Then i cut off about a foot and a half chunk of the cable and put another....esh, what are they called,(plugin part) on the cable and put it back onto my computer. This time my internet would work but it was slower then a 56k dialup. I dont know why, would the length of the cable be a factor? Considering testing and cutting off anohter part again but soon its going to be too short to do. Let me know, thanks alot for your help so far btw.

 

[MattWray]

It may have had a bad connector(plug). If its connecting and still super slow, try switching the port. You said one of your buddies can connect fine, well use his port with your cable and see what happens. If it is still slow> bad cable. If it works fine> bad router.
Good Luck! Matt Wray
CCNA, MCP
mwray77518@yahoo.com

 

[Chosen]

Its still slow, and i dont know if its the cable or not, like i said my msn messenger works fine but the internet browswer is so slow! The whole box of cable couldnt be bad right?

 

[MattWray]

Try testing your bandwidth at

http://www.2wire.com

That will test your connection, see what it says your connection speed is. Can you hook up off your buddies cable and see if it is still slow? If it is slow with his cable, it is probably something with your machine not set up right. And no it is not likely a whole box of cable is bad. They test all cables, so it is rare to get a bad one. Matt Wray
CCNA, MCP
mwray77518@yahoo.com

 

[ChrisAC]

Are you sure that you're terminating the cables right! I don't mean to be funny but I've seen some really bad terminations, like the electrician that stripped and untwisted 6 inches of cable before terminating the ends!!

Chris.
************************
Chris Andrew, CCNA
chrisac@gmx.co.uk
************************

 

[Chosen]

lol, fairly sure, i only strip the cable a 1/2 inch maybe. Then i make sure i have it pused up far enough to where the plasic clip can get a grip on it. But last night i said and cut the cable as short as i needed and put a connector on it, now its much faster but still slower then before. I have the 8 wires in the cable exactly the same on both ends. I dont know why its slower but it seems to get faster each time i cut off a chunk.

 

[Chosen]

What kind of kbps is good for home cable internet, here at my college we get 562.8kbps.

 

[Chosen]

how sad, here in my room im only getting 86.6kbps,thats really frustrating.

 

[Chosen]

my roommate in the room next to me(little closer to the router) is getting 163kpbs. Does his memory have anything to do with it?

 

[MattWray]

Did you try putting your machine on his patch cable. You should have nearly the same bandwidth as him. And trust me it is not a distance issue, not for only 50'. And try using your patch cable to his machine and run the test again. If his comes up slow its either the cable or the router. If you switch ports and still use your long cable and its slow-Bad Cable. It could be a problem in the wire itself. We once got an entire 1000' roll that was bad from the manufacturer. Matt Wray
CCNA, MCP
mwray77518@yahoo.com

 

[Guest_imported]

Try reseting your router also make sure you are geting a good IP address some time those things dont see all the users on it. and make sure your network card is pluged in good.

 

[Chosen]

Today i actually was getting really good connection but now tonight its all whack again and i just checked, im getting 36kbps. Dont know, have no idea, i reset my modem and its the same. Im losing a lot of patience as you can guess.

 

[MattWray]

Try taking the router out of the picture. Go straight from the modem to a PC. It may be your service. 163K is very slow for a DSL connection. Matt Wray
CCNA, MCP
mwray77518@yahoo.com

 

[Chosen]

Ill try it, it couldnt be perminent b/c i have roommates but ill check it out. You think that maybe some internet speed boost programs might help?

 

[MattWray]

If your roommates service is that slow without the router, you should call your ISP. Our DSL here at the office runs low 800's. Matt Wray
CCNA, MCP
mwray77518@yahoo.com