On 7/17/2017 7:28 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Monday, July 17, 2017 at 8:19:07 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
It turns out that the roll of "speaker wire" my friend gave me when
cleaning out his shop is actually cat5e ehtenet cabling . So , I'm faced
with a decision - I have 400 feet of this stuff , which is plenty enough
to wire my whole house for internet connections . On the other hand ,
wireless is much cleaner and easier to move computers around if we
change the layout of our furnishings . Or maybe a combination , since
some comps already have a wireless card and some don't - and the one out
in the shop has a card but signal strength is iffy at times . Not much
worry here about getting hacked , a stranger down here in The Holler
would be questioned - and the hacker would have to be in my driveway to
get any kind of signal at all so ...

--

Snag
If it were me, the fact that it was free wouldn't make me want
to do the labor part, which isn't trivial, to install it. If there
is a use that could benefit from wired speed and reliability, eg you're using
it for video, I'd consider doing it there. But for general internet
usage around the house, wireless works for me. Plus more and more
connected devices are mobile and may not be connectable via wire
anyway.

Well , since most of my exterior walls don't have drywall yet ... now
would be a good time to decide . The modem and router are at the middle
of the structure and will stay there , probably 4 or 5 runs would cover
the most likely areas where I'll want a computer - TV , stereo , one or
2 in the bedroom , my desktop is right by the router and will stay in
this immediate area . The one that really needs a wired connection is
the shop , it's just barely too far from the WiFi router to get a
reliable signal . Doesn't help that the side walls are sheet metal (end
walls are wood framed with plywood sheathing) .