I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:10:36 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

Before all that, how about one of the wifi range extender/repeater widgets that
you might be able to put somewhere in between? Could save a lot of work.

On 11/4/2020 3:26 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:10:36 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

Before all that, how about one of the wifi range extender/repeater widgets that
you might be able to put somewhere in between? Could save a lot of work.

Don't know if the OP's work requires maximum broadband speed to get his
work done. At least in my experience, both my wifi extender and my
powerline extender each provide about 40% of the throughput speed to the
same location (about 40' from my modem/router) compared to the
connection I can get by using a 50' ethernet cable.

If the OP needs an ethernet connection, but can get by at a lower
bandwidth than he would have by running an ethernet cable, he may want
to try a powerline extender instead of a wifi extender. However, it
should be returnable because powerline extenders are fussy about both
members of the pair often needing to be on the same side of the 240V -
120V split to connect with each other, and it may or may not work
depending on how the AC receptacles he would be using are wired at his
breaker box. Both the wifi extender and the powerline adapter are
easily adjusted to provide high level encryption, which he probably
needs for the protection of his work.

On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:26:37 PM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:10:36 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

Before all that, how about one of the wifi range extender/repeater widgets that
you might be able to put somewhere in between? Could save a lot of work..

Yup, first thing I tried. It seems to work, it increased signal strength from none to a little bit, but not enough to connect. And work is on a VPN, unless the signal is strong it keeps dropping me.

The extender I bought can be an access point if I can hard wire it. My house is 30 x 60 feet, so a 100 foot patch cord is more than enough to go across a room, out a window, and in through a basement wall and to the other end. If that's the best way I can do it, just have to buy a masonry bit. Seems like there should be some way to fish into the basement though.

Is there a way to have two wired points from one cable, or do I run two if I want wired access at both ends of the basement?

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

Yeah, I measured one of my own at that, but the one in the patch cable at Home Depot looks bigger.

On 11/4/20 4:31 PM, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

Yeah, I measured one of my own at that, but the one in the patch cable at Home Depot looks bigger.


Then it may not be a standard 8p8c 10Base-T male plug. Can you post a
link to the H-D cable you looked at ?

On 11/4/20 4:29 PM, TimR wrote:

Seems like there should be some way to fish into the basement though.

Would it be easier to drill into the siding into a joist space ?



Is there a way to have two wired points from one cable, or do I run two if I want wired access at both ends of the basement?


Either 2 cables; or one feeding a hub/switch with 2 outputs.

Something like this:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/linksys...?skuId=4833500

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Nov 2020 13:31:54 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

Yeah, I measured one of my own at that, but the one in the patch cable at Home Depot looks bigger.

I actually bought a 100' patch cable from Hdepot about 2 months ago. If
you give me a bit of time, I'll go measure it.


I dind't need 100' and I sort of planned to cut off what I needed and
put my own end on. I was going to do that not to have extra cable, but
it would also make the diameter less -- though I would just go with . ,
but I'll admit I've had a hard time doing as good a job as they do at
the factory. They still work but the cheap F-connectors could be
ripped off if one pulled, and not even very hard.

The better F-connectors haven't worked much better for me.

First I bought the crimpers that look like a simple pair of pliers with
2 sizes of hexagonal holes.

Later, iirc, I found in the trash** a professional pair of crimpers,
that have more leverage. But maybe I haven't had use for them.

**At an office park, driving in the big parking area between two
buildings, I saw a tool box sticking out of a trash barrel. Lots of
little things inside but iirc a few tools too, including this fancy
crimper. Also about 100 F-F coaxial conntors and I lots of other
things. I can't remember if I kept the tool box itself. I think so.
Used it for plumbing stuff. .

On 11/4/2020 4:29 PM, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:26:37 PM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:10:36 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

Before all that, how about one of the wifi range extender/repeater widgets that
you might be able to put somewhere in between? Could save a lot of work.

Yup, first thing I tried. It seems to work, it increased signal strength from none to a little bit, but not enough to connect. And work is on a VPN, unless the signal is strong it keeps dropping me.


Try a different location to be sure it is receiving a good signal. It
should probably be halfway or so.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 04 Nov 2020 17:47:17 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Nov 2020 13:31:54 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

Yeah, I measured one of my own at that, but the one in the patch cable at Home Depot looks bigger.

I actually bought a 100' patch cable from Hdepot about 2 months ago. If
you give me a bit of time, I'll go measure it.

Yes, from flat side to flat side it's about 7/16" and from corner to
corner it's a little more** but it's still under 1/2".

I think it will fit to begin with but can't one general run a masonry
drill in and out and get the hole a little bigger?

I think this is what I got:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwir...8443/202316436
I paid cash so I'm not positive, but I think that's the only one they
keep in stock in each store.

I think it looks bigger because the hex nut is longer than they used to
be. I think the hex nut is the same size for just about all cables.



**How much more should be the same for every hexagon.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Nov 2020 13:31:54 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

Yeah, I measured one of my own at that, but the one in the patch cable at Home Depot looks bigger.

Oops, we're talking about Ethernet. Never mind.



Temporarily you can just run it down the steps to wherever it goes.

As to later, since you suggest the attic, that's what I did for most
wires. There is a "stack" that has the heating ducts for the second
floor. How many floors is your house? Mine is 2 stories plus basement
and unfinishable attic. The floor of the 2nd floor covered the stack,
and to run burglar alarm and 110V AC wires to the attic, I had to lie on
the floor with a 6' drill bit and a 12" extension and drill hole(s?) in
that piece of plywood. Then I pulled things back and forth until
everything was in.

But I didn't think of leaving an unused line to pull later things with.
Big mistake. Would have been easy. Now everything I pulled is
connected at both ends and it would be a pain to use those lines.

On Wed, 4 Nov 2020 12:10:30 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

The real way this is done in a commercial environment is you run the
CAT 5/6 cable and terminate it in keystone connectors in a shallow
handy box with a plate on it. No special crimpers and the hole can be
1/4" or so. Then you can use premade patch cables for the connection
to the machines. You have about 100 meters of total cable you can run
so you take the path of least resistance not necessarily the shortest
one. Getting an RJ45 through a half inch hole probably is not going to
work for you. If I really need to do it I punch a 9/16 or 5/8 but I
usually do it right and terminate in keystones.

On 11/4/2020 12:10 PM, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.


If you can't find an easy path along other cables, look for where the
drain pipes go. You might find an open path you can feed your cat6 down.
A wire or plumbing "snake" might help you find the straight path down.

On 11/4/2020 7:39 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 11/4/2020 12:10 PM, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work
from home half time.Â* I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to
work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the
big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is,
and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the
basement.Â* The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get
the connector through a half inch hole?Â* And why does a premade CAT 6
patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without
connectors?Â* I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back
down in the basement.Â* How in the heck do I fish a wire into the
basement?Â* This is not obvious.Â* But I know some of you do it routinely.


If you can't find an easy path along other cables, look for where the
drain pipes go. You might find an open path you can feed your cat6 down.
A wire or plumbing "snake" might help you find the straight path down.

Look for the roof "Vent" pipe. If it matches the location of a vertical
drain pipe up from the basement, you might have found the path.

On Wed, 4 Nov 2020 20:02:50 -0800, Bob F wrote:

On 11/4/2020 7:39 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 11/4/2020 12:10 PM, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work
from home half time.Â* I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to
work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the
big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is,
and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the
basement.Â* The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get
the connector through a half inch hole?Â* And why does a premade CAT 6
patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without
connectors?Â* I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back
down in the basement.Â* How in the heck do I fish a wire into the
basement?Â* This is not obvious.Â* But I know some of you do it routinely.


If you can't find an easy path along other cables, look for where the
drain pipes go. You might find an open path you can feed your cat6 down.
A wire or plumbing "snake" might help you find the straight path down.

Look for the roof "Vent" pipe. If it matches the location of a vertical
drain pipe up from the basement, you might have found the path.

A small egg sinker on some mono works if gravity is in your favor.
like dropping down a stack chase. Mark the line so you know when you
have dropped free in the basement.
Some bead chain on a piece of string and a magnet out of a disk drive
on a piece of 10ga solid wire is good for fishing inside walls. If you
trim off all of the excess steel from the right magnet, it fits
through a 1/2" KO in a box.

http://gfretwell.com/electrical/fishing%20magnet.jpg

If you are using an "old work" box you have a plenty big hole to work
with before you put the box in.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 4 Nov 2020 12:10:30 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is,

If your router is on the ground floor and you're headed for the
basement, why not drill a hole in the floor above the right spot in the
basement.

If there's carpet, it will close in around the wire and you don't need
any kind of plate. Even if there is no carpet.

I've done that a couple** times and it works well. Though it's easy to
miss a closet or a thick wall, or a setback or lots of things and
misjudge where the hole will come out. I spend time checking and
recheckeing and measureing and rechecking so I didn't make a blunder.

**Four times if you count the two holes I drilled in the second floor
above the overhang I have, so the exit was outside, one of those times
to bring in the fiberoptic to the second floor. And two other times
with co-ax starting in a corner of the bedroom closet, coming out just
at the end of bookshelves in the living room, and continuing to the
basement, coming out in the corner. From there to a tv there, and also
above the ceiling (snaking that was difficult) to the laundry room/shop
(where I had a tv) and there up through the bottom plate of the kitchen
wall to a tv there. (I guess that one was drilled from above, to be sure
I knew where the kitchen wall was. )

You can drill up from the basement too, if you figure out where to
drill.


Or you can just go across the floor and down the steps.


and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement.
The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector
through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost
less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that
if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

On 11/4/20 2:10 PM, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

When putting a cable through a wall, I'd rather drill a smaller hole and
get the cable through, then install a connector.

--
50 days until the winter celebration (Fri, Dec 25, 2020 12:00:00 AM for
1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"The world is proof that God is a committee." [Bob Stokes]

On Wed, 4 Nov 2020 13:29:55 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:26:37 PM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 3:10:36 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

Before all that, how about one of the wifi range extender/repeater widgets that
you might be able to put somewhere in between? Could save a lot of work.

Yup, first thing I tried. It seems to work, it increased signal strength from none to a little bit, but not enough to connect. And work is on a VPN, unless the signal is strong it keeps dropping me.

The extender I bought can be an access point if I can hard wire it. My house is 30 x 60 feet, so a 100 foot patch cord is more than enough to go across a room, out a window, and in through a basement wall and to the other end. If that's the best way I can do it, just have to buy a masonry bit. Seems like there should be some way to fish into the basement though.

Is there a way to have two wired points from one cable, or do I run two if I want wired access at both ends of the basement?
Just buy a "hub" or "switch" (which is NOT a manual selector) or run
a wire upstairs to just above where you need the wifi downstairs and
plug in a simple wifi router and set it up as a "hotspot" to provide a
strong wifi signal to the basement. Involves plugging the cable into
one of the LAN plugs not the WAN plug. An old router can also be used
as the previously mentioned "hub" or "switch"

On Wed, 4 Nov 2020 13:31:54 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

Yeah, I measured one of my own at that, but the one in the patch cable at Home Depot looks bigger.
Just cut the "boot" off

On Wed, 4 Nov 2020 16:46:33 -0500, wrote:

On 11/4/20 4:31 PM, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 4:20:21 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On 11/4/20 3:10 PM, TimR wrote:

The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole?

A standard 8 pin "RJ-45" Ethernet connector is slightly smaller than
1/2" wide.

Technically 11.68 mm which = 0.459 inch

Yeah, I measured one of my own at that, but the one in the patch cable at Home Depot looks bigger.


Then it may not be a standard 8p8c 10Base-T male plug. Can you post a
link to the H-D cable you looked at ?
Might be Cat6? (sheilded plug)?

On Wed, 04 Nov 2020 19:44:39 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 4 Nov 2020 12:10:30 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

I need better internet in my basement because work forces me to work from home half time. I have spotty wifi at one end but really need to work at the other.

So, the quick and dirty way is to buy a premade "patch cord" from the big box, go out a window on the ground floor where my cable router is, and drill a hole in the concrete block wall to get it in the basement. The local stores have half inch masonry bits - can I get the connector through a half inch hole? And why does a premade CAT 6 patch cable cost less than bulk cable in 5e or 6, even without connectors? I'll do that if I have to.

But I'd rather do it right, which is to go up into the attic and back down in the basement. How in the heck do I fish a wire into the basement? This is not obvious. But I know some of you do it routinely.

The real way this is done in a commercial environment is you run the
CAT 5/6 cable and terminate it in keystone connectors in a shallow
handy box with a plate on it. No special crimpers and the hole can be
1/4" or so. Then you can use premade patch cables for the connection
to the machines. You have about 100 meters of total cable you can run
so you take the path of least resistance not necessarily the shortest
one. Getting an RJ45 through a half inch hole probably is not going to
work for you. If I really need to do it I punch a 9/16 or 5/8 but I
usually do it right and terminate in keystones.

Keystones are what I've used in my last 3 houses to distribute Ethernet
from one part of the house to another. I wouldn't do it any other way.

I've tried Ethernet over power lines, over phone lines, and over TV coax
lines. The coax worked best by far, but still only gave me about 60% of
what actual Ethernet cable provided.

Wireless, especially in the form of an Extender, would be my very last
choice. Run Ethernet cable, or hire someone to run it for you, and be done
with it.

On Friday, November 6, 2020 at 11:43:54 PM UTC-5, Jim Joyce wrote:
The real way this is done in a commercial environment is you run the
CAT 5/6 cable and terminate it in keystone connectors in a shallow
handy box with a plate on it. No special crimpers and the hole can be
1/4" or so. Then you can use premade patch cables for the connection
to the machines. You have about 100 meters of total cable you can run
so you take the path of least resistance not necessarily the shortest
one. Getting an RJ45 through a half inch hole probably is not going to
work for you. If I really need to do it I punch a 9/16 or 5/8 but I
usually do it right and terminate in keystones.

Keystones are what I've used in my last 3 houses to distribute Ethernet
from one part of the house to another. I wouldn't do it any other way.



Stupid question probably, but is the patch cord the same as the bulk? Can you cut off an end and punch down to a keystone? Curious because the patch cord at home depot is far cheaper and there's more selection.

Also 100 meters of cable must be reduced by each connection I would think. But I wonder how much.

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 05:00:04 -0800 (PST), TimR wrote:

On Friday, November 6, 2020 at 11:43:54 PM UTC-5, Jim Joyce wrote:
The real way this is done in a commercial environment is you run the
CAT 5/6 cable and terminate it in keystone connectors in a shallow
handy box with a plate on it. No special crimpers and the hole can be
1/4" or so. Then you can use premade patch cables for the connection
to the machines. You have about 100 meters of total cable you can run
so you take the path of least resistance not necessarily the shortest
one. Getting an RJ45 through a half inch hole probably is not going to
work for you. If I really need to do it I punch a 9/16 or 5/8 but I
usually do it right and terminate in keystones.

Keystones are what I've used in my last 3 houses to distribute Ethernet
from one part of the house to another. I wouldn't do it any other way.



Stupid question probably, but is the patch cord the same as the bulk? Can you cut off an end and punch down to a keystone? Curious because the patch cord at home depot is far cheaper and there's more selection.

My experience is limited there, but every patch cord I've taken apart has
been stranded conductors to provide improved flexibility, while the bulk
cable I've worked with has been solid conductor. I think you'd have a
harder time punching down stranded conductors.

I don't think HD is where I'd go for Ethernet cables. Is that all you have
available around there? If retail stores are limited, check out
www.monoprice.com.

Cat6a would be my choice. That's what I put into my new house last year.
https://www.monoprice.com/category/networking/networking-bulk-cables/cat6a-bulk-ethernet-cables


Also 100 meters of cable must be reduced by each connection I would think. But I wonder how much.

What kind of house is this where you need to be concerned about the 100m
limit? Wow

If the length does become an issue, you'll need to break up the run into
two or more segments, coupled by an active element such as a switch. A
passive hub wouldn't suffice, but I haven't actually even seen a hub since
the very early 1990's. You're unlikely to run into a hub, but I'd be
surprised if you were running into the length limit in the first place.

On Sun, 08 Nov 2020 14:22:23 -0600, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 05:00:04 -0800 (PST), TimR wrote:

On Friday, November 6, 2020 at 11:43:54 PM UTC-5, Jim Joyce wrote:
The real way this is done in a commercial environment is you run the
CAT 5/6 cable and terminate it in keystone connectors in a shallow
handy box with a plate on it. No special crimpers and the hole can be
1/4" or so. Then you can use premade patch cables for the connection
to the machines. You have about 100 meters of total cable you can run
so you take the path of least resistance not necessarily the shortest
one. Getting an RJ45 through a half inch hole probably is not going to
work for you. If I really need to do it I punch a 9/16 or 5/8 but I
usually do it right and terminate in keystones.

Keystones are what I've used in my last 3 houses to distribute Ethernet
from one part of the house to another. I wouldn't do it any other way.



Stupid question probably, but is the patch cord the same as the bulk? Can you cut off an end and punch down to a keystone? Curious because the patch cord at home depot is far cheaper and there's more selection.

My experience is limited there, but every patch cord I've taken apart has
been stranded conductors to provide improved flexibility, while the bulk
cable I've worked with has been solid conductor. I think you'd have a
harder time punching down stranded conductors.

I don't think HD is where I'd go for Ethernet cables. Is that all you have
available around there? If retail stores are limited, check out
www.monoprice.com.

Cat6a would be my choice. That's what I put into my new house last year.
https://www.monoprice.com/category/networking/networking-bulk-cables/cat6a-bulk-ethernet-cables


Also 100 meters of cable must be reduced by each connection I would think. But I wonder how much.

What kind of house is this where you need to be concerned about the 100m
limit? Wow

If the length does become an issue, you'll need to break up the run into
two or more segments, coupled by an active element such as a switch. A
passive hub wouldn't suffice, but I haven't actually even seen a hub since
the very early 1990's. You're unlikely to run into a hub, but I'd be
surprised if you were running into the length limit in the first place.

Sounds right to me.

On Sunday, November 8, 2020 at 3:22:30 PM UTC-5, Jim Joyce wrote:
My experience is limited there, but every patch cord I've taken apart has
been stranded conductors to provide improved flexibility, while the bulk
cable I've worked with has been solid conductor. I think you'd have a
harder time punching down stranded conductors.

I did not know that. Thanks. So it's solid wire and keystones. (and any holes I drill don't have to accommodate the connectors. )

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 07:53:34 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Sunday, November 8, 2020 at 3:22:30 PM UTC-5, Jim Joyce wrote:
My experience is limited there, but every patch cord I've taken apart has
been stranded conductors to provide improved flexibility, while the bulk
cable I've worked with has been solid conductor. I think you'd have a
harder time punching down stranded conductors.

I did not know that. Thanks. So it's solid wire and keystones. (and any holes I drill don't have to accommodate the connectors. )
I have had reasonable luck installing "keystones" (rj45 plugs) on
stranded patch cables and I have also purchaced MANY ready made cables
with solid conductors. (often for about the cost of the connectors
alone, for up to 25 ft of cable - The joys of china "dumping" product
in North America -)

On Monday, November 9, 2020 at 12:59:13 PM UTC-5, Clare Snyder wrote:
I have had reasonable luck installing "keystones" (rj45 plugs) on
stranded patch cables and I have also purchaced MANY ready made cables
with solid conductors. (often for about the cost of the connectors
alone, for up to 25 ft of cable - The joys of china "dumping" product
in North America -)

This will be new to me. During my amateur radio days (I was NX9L at one point, lost the call sign when I didn't get the renewal mail overseas) I soldered a good number of PL259 and SO239s. One of them survived a 20 meter beam and rotator blown off the mast and dangling from the connectors I'd soldered. Punching down into a keystone jack sounds doable, just attention to detail I guess.

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 11:32:29 -0800 (PST), TimR wrote:

On Monday, November 9, 2020 at 12:59:13 PM UTC-5, Clare Snyder wrote:
I have had reasonable luck installing "keystones" (rj45 plugs) on
stranded patch cables and I have also purchaced MANY ready made cables
with solid conductors. (often for about the cost of the connectors
alone, for up to 25 ft of cable - The joys of china "dumping" product
in North America -)

This will be new to me. During my amateur radio days (I was NX9L at one point, lost the call sign when I didn't get the renewal mail overseas) I soldered a good number of PL259 and SO239s. One of them survived a 20 meter beam and rotator blown off the mast and dangling from the connectors I'd soldered. Punching down into a keystone jack sounds doable, just attention to detail I guess.

Since it's new to you, I'll offer a couple bits of advice.

1. Pick a wiring standard (TIA 568A or TIA 568B) and stick with it.
Regardless of which you choose, you can find plenty of pro/con articles and
pinout diagrams on the web. Pick either one and be consistent. Your
equipment will work with either standard.

2. Untwist the bare minimum amount of wire when you're making your
connections. Untwisted wires are susceptible to crosstalk and noise.

3. If practical, get and use an Ethernet cable tester to verify that all of
your cable pairs have been connected properly, without reversed polarity,
opens, or shorts. I've seen testers on Ebay for less than $5 with free
shipping, and in fact that's where I got mine.

4. At a minimum, you should use Cat5e cable. That should get you up to 1
gigabit. To go higher, I recommend Cat6a, which is what I used in my house
last year. You'll see listings for Cat7 and Cat8, but I avoided them
because they aren't official standards. Cat6a is the latest official
standard.

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 11:32:29 -0800 (PST), TimR
wrote:

On Monday, November 9, 2020 at 12:59:13 PM UTC-5, Clare Snyder wrote:
I have had reasonable luck installing "keystones" (rj45 plugs) on
stranded patch cables and I have also purchaced MANY ready made cables
with solid conductors. (often for about the cost of the connectors
alone, for up to 25 ft of cable - The joys of china "dumping" product
in North America -)

This will be new to me. During my amateur radio days (I was NX9L at one point, lost the call sign when I didn't get the renewal mail overseas) I soldered a good number of PL259 and SO239s. One of them survived a 20 meter beam and rotator blown off the mast and dangling from the connectors I'd soldered. Punching down into a keystone jack sounds doable, just attention to detail I guess.

Just maintain the twist all the way to the keystone and make the wires
as straight as you can to the punch down. Don't kink them or wad them
up.

Just an update.

With no available vent stack (not sure why, there's a sink and laundry drain in that area, but nothing in the attic) I decided to take the safe route and copy what Comcast did. On the ground floor they went through a window frameout area, so I put a hole an inch above theirs.
In the basement they went through the concrete block brick veneer wall. I measured down 5.5 inches and put a hole through just like theirs. Except I didn't, the longest bit Home Depot had was a 12 inch, and the wall is thicker. I didn't expect that. I can't be more than an inch or so short but I didn't get through.
I have the cable, keystones, etc., just as soon as I can get the hole through.
I have to work from home some days and last winter I froze down there, the end of the basement where the wifi reaches stays cold. The other end is no problem.

On 11/23/2020 11:19 AM, TimR wrote:
Just an update.

With no available vent stack (not sure why, there's a sink and laundry drain in that area, but nothing in the attic) I decided to take the safe route and copy what Comcast did. On the ground floor they went through a window frameout area, so I put a hole an inch above theirs.
In the basement they went through the concrete block brick veneer wall. I measured down 5.5 inches and put a hole through just like theirs. Except I didn't, the longest bit Home Depot had was a 12 inch, and the wall is thicker. I didn't expect that. I can't be more than an inch or so short but I didn't get through.
I have the cable, keystones, etc., just as soon as I can get the hole through.
I have to work from home some days and last winter I froze down there, the end of the basement where the wifi reaches stays cold. The other end is no problem.


There are extenders for drill bits. You probably only need a few inches
to get through.

On Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:38:41 AM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 11/23/2020 11:19 AM, TimR wrote:
Just an update.

With no available vent stack (not sure why, there's a sink and laundry drain in that area, but nothing in the attic) I decided to take the safe route and copy what Comcast did. On the ground floor they went through a window frameout area, so I put a hole an inch above theirs.
In the basement they went through the concrete block brick veneer wall. I measured down 5.5 inches and put a hole through just like theirs. Except I didn't, the longest bit Home Depot had was a 12 inch, and the wall is thicker. I didn't expect that. I can't be more than an inch or so short but I didn't get through.
I have the cable, keystones, etc., just as soon as I can get the hole through.
I have to work from home some days and last winter I froze down there, the end of the basement where the wifi reaches stays cold. The other end is no problem.

There are extenders for drill bits. You probably only need a few inches
to get through.
I suspect I need only an inch, maybe an inch and a half.

I don't see how an extender is going to work. My masonry bit is 3/8 inch. the extender socket must be bigger than that? I don't have a 1/2 inch bit.. I'll probably end up buying the next size, which is 18 inches, but the cost of that is about double the cost of the 12 inch.

On Monday, November 23, 2020 at 1:14:16 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
On Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:38:41 AM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 11/23/2020 11:19 AM, TimR wrote:
Just an update.

With no available vent stack (not sure why, there's a sink and laundry drain in that area, but nothing in the attic) I decided to take the safe route and copy what Comcast did. On the ground floor they went through a window frameout area, so I put a hole an inch above theirs.
In the basement they went through the concrete block brick veneer wall. I measured down 5.5 inches and put a hole through just like theirs. Except I didn't, the longest bit Home Depot had was a 12 inch, and the wall is thicker. I didn't expect that. I can't be more than an inch or so short but I didn't get through.
I have the cable, keystones, etc., just as soon as I can get the hole through.
I have to work from home some days and last winter I froze down there, the end of the basement where the wifi reaches stays cold. The other end is no problem.

There are extenders for drill bits. You probably only need a few inches
to get through.
I suspect I need only an inch, maybe an inch and a half.

I don't see how an extender is going to work. My masonry bit is 3/8 inch. the extender socket must be bigger than that? I don't have a 1/2 inch bit. I'll probably end up buying the next size, which is 18 inches, but the cost of that is about double the cost of the 12 inch.

Depending on how fast you need it, have you tried Ebay?

On Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at 8:47:15 AM UTC-5, trader_4 wrote:
On Monday, November 23, 2020 at 1:14:16 PM UTC-5, TimR wrote:
On Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:38:41 AM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 11/23/2020 11:19 AM, TimR wrote:
Just an update.

With no available vent stack (not sure why, there's a sink and laundry drain in that area, but nothing in the attic) I decided to take the safe route and copy what Comcast did. On the ground floor they went through a window frameout area, so I put a hole an inch above theirs.
In the basement they went through the concrete block brick veneer wall. I measured down 5.5 inches and put a hole through just like theirs. Except I didn't, the longest bit Home Depot had was a 12 inch, and the wall is thicker. I didn't expect that. I can't be more than an inch or so short but I didn't get through.
I have the cable, keystones, etc., just as soon as I can get the hole through.
I have to work from home some days and last winter I froze down there, the end of the basement where the wifi reaches stays cold. The other end is no problem.

There are extenders for drill bits. You probably only need a few inches
to get through.
I suspect I need only an inch, maybe an inch and a half.

I don't see how an extender is going to work. My masonry bit is 3/8 inch. the extender socket must be bigger than that? I don't have a 1/2 inch bit. I'll probably end up buying the next size, which is 18 inches, but the cost of that is about double the cost of the 12 inch.
Depending on how fast you need it, have you tried Ebay?

I've never bought anything on eBay and am not sure how to do it safely.

Lowes had a half price sale so I bought an 18 inch bit and am waiting for it to be ready. It was cheaper than the 12.

I'm not in a hurry at this point, the temperature is dropping but I have another week or two before it's uncomfortable.