Running Cat5e, Tele, cable wires problem? 2

[Guest_imported]

I'm in the process of running my Cat5e, Tele, cable box wires. I read somewhere that you can not run certain wires next to each other casue it will make problems. Is there any truth to this? Also once I bring in the wires to my home, Ex: Broadband, whats the Max distance I can have between the entry point from house to my cable modem, so not to have slow down? And when I run my cat5e cable from my router, whats the Max distance to each computer? Thanks for the time.


Brian K

 

[fs483]

TelecomgeekO,

Well, from the feed, there are 3 that are in use and a 4th unused in case I decide to get a cable modem. Yes I'm paying cable subscriber. Unfortunately, the utilities companies (cable, telco, electricity) charge pretty heavy labor for a onsite call. Telco charges 100$ CAN just to extend a telephone outlet within the same room ! Also, the cable guys are in a nasty contract dispute. The techs have been cutting major fiber optic lines all around Quebec, knocking out up to 500 000 subscribers at once and some are even going to appear in court for setting fires at sub-contractors home and vehicules ! They barely have enough staff to keep they service up. The utilities companies in my area tend to give you the minimum of services, charge you the most they can and give you the runaround. I'm only going to pursue solutions that I can manage on my own with minimal costs and not envolve other charging techs ! The cable company in my area recently got some bad news recently. The cable company was charging 5$ a month satellite companys for using their cable lines in commercial buildings. The radio and telcom governing body said that they were charging way too much and limited that charge to 1.25$ or so... Another major lost in the millions for the cable company. Where are the profits going to come from... my pockets because I'm sure by next year in the same time, I'll be paying a lot more ! I though about switching to satellite which is partially why I put RG6 in my walls but this would require too many signal receptors and a lot of activation cards !

thanks for the suggestion.
anthony

 

[fs483]

The cable guys came back to fix my tenants cable AGAIN (4th time in two months or so) and this time they ended killing my cable completely. I call in for a repair on my line and I asked them to run a totally separate feed from my tenants. The cable guy installed a new RG6 cable without any splitters from the pole to my house feed. It's amazing how much a splitter (on the feed) affected the signal strengh and a better quality cable (the feed was originally on a RG59) can make a difference. With this new wire in place I ended up removing 2 of the 3 video amplifiers I had. All I have now is a 20dB amp on my feed and that's enough. I didn't change anything in my drops. I was told that the cable company generaly delivers 10 to 15dB for each feed but that can vary.

No more snow on the screen, no more black bands going up and down...

I'm a happy guy.

Now, I'm going to try adding a cable modem...

anthony

 

[telecomgeekO]

The cable company should have had you on your own feed to begin with. Not only is the difference a 2 way splitter, but the fact that downstream their were probably 8-10 devices using the feed. I am happy for you the cable company properly wired your feed, and you have adequete reception now. Good luck with your cable modem.

 

[jeffbouldin]

After reading this I had a couple of answers.

Last I knew the National Electric Code called for at least 6 inches of seperation between high voltage andlow voltage lines. I usually try to keep at least 12 inches away. If you had to be closer for a short distance it probably wouldn't hurt. Crossing high voltage wont hurt either.
If you must run closer to high voltage use shielded wire.
Also, if you are running anything that has its own communication wire(alarm system keypads, addressable fire alarm datalines) keep them seperated from LAN cabling, they can cause interference.

Most low voltage wiring guidelines like the one about Cat3 are covered by the NEC. NEC is a guide that is not enforcable. Local governments(state, county,city, etc.) may adopt the NEC. At that point they are the ones that can choose what to enforce. They can even choose to enforce some parts and not others. Some areas may still be on tne NEC from the 80's.

 

[security554]

what is another name for catagory 5 cables

 

[daronwilson]

Another thing to remember about the NEC is that is has nothing to do with installing a workable electrical installation. It's only goal is safety, read the beginning of the NEC and they tell you that even if you install everything according to code, it doesnt mean that the system will work reliably, it only means it will not cause any harm to people. SO, the separation issue between line voltage and low voltage may only require a minimum distance by code, but that only insures safety.

At least one typical lighting installation we do requires CAT5 cable looped between all the electrical switches, then you replace a regular electrical switch with an addressable switch which is connected to a CAT5 wired backbone running RS-422. I met with my electrical inspector/instructor and said how do i make this work?

What he came up with was basically to meet Cat5 requirements, the wire had to have a 300 volt rating on the jacket. Since that jacket rating was twice the operating voltage in the box (120 volts) the two wires could co-exist in the same box with a 1/4" seperation. It's been a few years since we went through this, so I hope my memory is accurate, but what we ended up with was CAT5 wire in the same box, entering at the top while the 120volt romex entered from the bottom of the box, and maintaining a 1/4" separation.

Anyway, too much information, but just keep in mind that the NEC is only a code concerned with safety, not function of the electrical system.

Good Luck! It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[Daycock]

Ok, to scan2000. About your broadband modem. Is it dsl or is it cable? If it is cable, i'll watch out for the distance you put on it. I say this because depending on your cable company, the digital signal coming off the cable box from the street to your house could be weak. I found this out from my own situation at home. From the box to my house is about 200 feet. My cable modem is located at the cable feed into my house. I wanted to move it to my closet where my router and switch is located at. But when I do, the cable modem doesn't see the digital signal due to length. Now if you run into the same problem, you can get a digital signal amp from your cable company. Now I dunno if other people had that happen to them, but I know this from my experience at home. The bad thing is the cable company acts like they don't care. Oh well, I thought I would add my 2 cents in.

 

[smokyjoe]

I'd like to link wireless boadband between main house and guest house- 1000 feet away. Can it be done?

 

[skip555]

SMOKEY JOE

check out this thread for good wireless advice

thread575-459500 can you do it ? yes . would fiber be more cost effective ? youll have to work that out.