Bill wrote:


Precisely, that was my intention. USB-CAT5 extenders are good for
several tens of metres of usable distance.
I have used 2 models. 1 is from CPC, about £30 and seems reliable. The
other was around £200 but was one of the first to come on the market a
few years ago. I had 2 failures out of 4 (1 DOA, and 1 after about a
year). I know for a fact having asked your original question direct to
the manufacturer (small UK firm and I got through to the design
department) that it uses all 8 cables. IIRC a pair was used for +5V, a
pair was used for 0V and the other 2 pairs for the data in a proprietary
way. I can't promise this holds for the newer cheaper ones, but it's
likely (if you consider wire gauges, currents and voltage drops).

I think it'll have to be a new length of cta5 (or use the old one and
run your LAN over wireless)

Chris

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