Ethernet cable Outdoors

Hi im wanting to run some Ethernet cable around the outside of the house from back to front can anyone recommend some, Im wanting to use it for Gbit speeds, The cable will basically leave 1 room threw a hole in the wall go round the outside of the house and back in threw a hole in the wall in a diff room, One end will go directly into a Gbit hub the other end will be wiered into one of these or would i be better off having one of those faceplates at each end (cleaner)

Would this be ok if i chop the ends off ?

Thanks for any help

Ash

Edited by acpsd775 (Sun 08-Apr-12 01:50:00)

I would go with cat6, especially for a long run. Dont skimp on quality, otherwise you may have problems achieving Gbit speeds over a long length of cable. Up to you how you terminate it at each end. A quality ferrite core at either end might be a good idea too.

In reply to a post by stuorguk:

I would go with cat6, especially for a long run. Dont skimp on quality, otherwise you may have problems achieving Gbit speeds over a long length of cable. Up to you how you terminate it at each end. A quality ferrite core at either end might be a good idea too.

Hi thanks for the reply its not a long run as such between might be 15M at the most posibly more 10m, Its just more convenient and easier to run it out side, Hole wise its all done (previous sky install) for me so no drilling just a case of adding 2 ends and nailing it to the outside wall, To do it internally it would mean ripping carpets & floors boards up drilling extra holes that's the main reason i was asking about outside cabling

I think ill box at each end it would be a lot Neater in the long run than just a cable hanging out the wall

Ash

In reply to a post by acpsd775:

Hi im wanting to run some Ethernet cable around the outside of the house from back to front can anyone recommend some, Im wanting to use it for Gbit speeds, The cable will basically leave 1 room threw a hole in the wall go round the outside of the house and back in threw a hole in the wall in a diff room, One end will go directly into a Gbit hub the other end will be wiered into one of these or would i be better off having one of those faceplates at each end (cleaner)

Would this be ok if i chop the ends off ?

Thanks for any help

Ash

yes, that will be fine.

http://www.fscables.com/Data/Structured+Wiring/Exter...

For both Cat5e and Cat6 - you probably don't need SWA (armoured though). They will supply a 20M length - by post or collect from Luton/St Albans area.

And YES, terminate it on a face plate - a lot easier than connector as well as being the right way to do it.

In reply to a post by acpsd775:

Would this be ok if i chop the ends off ?

No.

Why do I say no? Because it has copper/aluminium alloy conductors.

. . .

This cable is solid core copper based (part copper, part aluminium),

. . .

Avoid Right-Angle "bends" at house corners and Holes.

Whatever method of attaching you use, eg cable ties to existing cable etc, avoid compressing both old and new cables.

thanks all for the advice ive got what i need now i think to be on the safe side im going to run 2 cables for redundancy and in case i ever get a second device its for a media center but if i decide to move my ps3 down there its easier to couple up to internet then

Ash

2 cables is always the best option (as i see this loads of times when one of the cables do not work) or worse the only 1 cable does not work when there is only one cable going to the face plate (fuss of having to re pull an cable or run an new cable around the house)

wish i had done that at my house as mine runs under the floor very not accessible (i have to pull up all the laminated wood floor back up)

Personally, I would use a conduit of some sort (Simple plastic overflow pipe works just fine). I would also double up on the cable run.

for such a short link get any 15M/20M cable and attempt to use that without taking the ends off, then fill the holes in the wall in. I also would recommend having this in a 'pipe' and use the correct wall sealent.

In reply to a post by iand:

for such a short link get any 15M/20M cable and attempt to use that without taking the ends off, then fill the holes in the wall in. I also would recommend having this in a 'pipe' and use the correct wall sealent.

Ive decided im going to be using face plates at each end for neatness so the ends need to come off anyway lol , Its better to have a neat little box than a wire sticking out of a hole in the wall

Ash

Edited by acpsd775 (Tue 17-Apr-12 19:51:35)

any suggestions on how to avoid right angle bends ? I need to do a similar thing as the original poster. going from BT master socket down stairs to where main PC and router etc based upstairs, however shape of out side of house is like below:


-outside-| << upstairs main modem, router, PC etc
-outside-|__
-outside----|
-outside----| << downstairs BT master socket

I can see the need for quite a few turns there in any cable.

Any help appreciated

Afternoon Ian

Assuming you are running basic cable without ends on, slide suitable lengths of semi-flexible tubing such as for car windscreen washers, on to the cable as you reach each corner.

Each bit of tube should be around 6 inches (150 mm) and anchored towards the ends only on a simple, single-corner bend, about 1 inch (25 mm) in from the tube ends.

On that basis, the assembly will loop out at an external corner slightly, looking slightly untidy.

On an internal corner, it will be scarcely noticed.



Judging by your diagarm, you may have close double-bends, internal followed almost immediately by external.

Adjust the tube length accordingly.

Again anchor about one inch in from each end, with one or more additional anchors on the intermediate stretch.


If the cable already has plugs on it, slit the tube along its length, preferably on a slow helix, so that it tends to close over the cable. You may find some insulation tape helps.


You may also be able to "hide" the cable by taking advantage of existing aspects, such as down-pipes.


If the cable is distinctly different in colour and "exposed", try spraying with a garden ornament/flower tub type of paint of suitable colour.

I used a white/grey/black, flecked version on my cable.



If the cable has to go through a wall, drill the hole to take the tubing if without plugs.

Alternatively if with plugs already on, drill the hole large enough to take a standard diameter piece of conduit, about 23 mm if I remember correctly.

I have done this for the cables from various meteorological instruments in the garden and on the roof, with a standard double-outlet box on the inside, which is large enough to take the smallish, multiple-way junction box, with a single lead to connect onwards to the controller-memory unit interfacing to the PC.

eckiedoo do you mean something like this:

windscreen wiper tube

and I assume only using on the bends ?

I was planning on wiring one end do the IDC connections behind splitter at BT master socket then going to a face plate on internal wall upsatirs to connect using a patch cable to modem.

I understand i need shielded solid core cat5e cable for use externally. any recommendations for suppliers where I don't have to buy 300m but just the approx length i need??

That tubing looks fine (apart from colour!), assuming it will slip on readily.

Without searching, I'm sure that you can get cheaper; or try scrapped cars etc.

Yes, at bends only.

Regarding cable, again I'm sure that you could get shorter lengths from electronic stores, possibly even your local computer store.

BUT remember to buy about 10% more than your measured length - otherwise ...



Regarding specific routing, also check if you could follow the cement between courses, if such structure and visible. This would allow you to remove cement at external corners and lay the tube/cable in, avoiding/minimising protruding loops.

Shielding is not really the issue, but the material that is used for the outer covering.

External Grade CAT5e will not go brittle in the sunshine (when we get some)
http://www.run-it-direct.co.uk/CAT5ecable20ME.html (probably cheaper out there if you look harder, but they do less than a drum)

Shielded is really more for where people think they will need to protect it, and really they should be looking for an armoured variant if they think it might suffer strimmer type attacks.

Should add an Health and Safety note, keep the amount of external grade running inside the property to a minimum, as in a fire the external grade can give off toxic fumes. Hence why most people run it outside and back in terminating at a socket at each end, with internal patch wiring to connect the devices.

FS cables http://www.fscables.com/Data/Structured+Wiring+Cable...

They will supply by the metre ... Weatherproof external Cat5e is 27p/metre, Twin Jacketed Duct Grade 49p and Cat6 Duct Grade 51p + VAT. They do have a £25 MOV but are a good and reputable company to deal with.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I find the FS website a bit confusing, and I can't find the prices anywhere. Is it only phone orders? By MOV you mean Minimum Order Value ?

Also I'm now a bit confused.

This face plate Master socket splitter allows me to split the signal at source. I understand I only need to use connections A+B for the ADSL signal, which means I'd only be using one of the four pairs in the CAT 5e cable. Is this correct? If so am I overdoing it by using CAT 5e cable? Could i just use a good quailty telephone line cable? Or would the fact i need to route it outside mean i should go with the external grade CAT 5e ? The face plate at the "target" destination would be required to have an RJ11 socket so I can then use another CAT5e cable with RJ11 connectors to connect to my modem ?

If I did only use one pair from the CAT5e cable then I assume a could use another one of the pairs to connect to the telphone extension connections 2+5 at the face plate and route a telephone extension to the same "target" face plate ?

Any guidance much appreciated.

Thanks..
Ian

The FS cables site does not have prices as they vary "by customer" - the prices I quote are for small order customers, as a regular, I would get a discount on those and some will get large discounts.

As you want to go outside you MUST use an external cable. To extend just the DSL signal side, you could use a good quality CW1128/1198 (phone cable) but that will normally be 2 or 3 pair and not much cheaper. Stay with Cat5e and yes you can use one pair for data and one pair for voice and if you really wanted you could use the other two pair to provide a LAN connection close to the master.

Edited by MHC (Sun 11-Nov-12 20:33:22)

thanks MHC that's helped loads.


I Googled your signature quote which made me chuckle

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

Afternoon Ian

Assuming you are running basic cable without ends on, slide suitable lengths of semi-flexible tubing such as for car windscreen washers, on to the cable as you reach each corner.

Each bit of tube should be around 6 inches (150 mm) and anchored towards the ends only on a simple, single-corner bend, about 1 inch (25 mm) in from the tube ends.

On that basis, the assembly will loop out at an external corner slightly, looking slightly untidy.

On an internal corner, it will be scarcely noticed.



Judging by your diagarm, you may have close double-bends, internal followed almost immediately by external.

Adjust the tube length accordingly.

Again anchor about one inch in from each end, with one or more additional anchors on the intermediate stretch.


If the cable already has plugs on it, slit the tube along its length, preferably on a slow helix, so that it tends to close over the cable. You may find some insulation tape helps.


You may also be able to "hide" the cable by taking advantage of existing aspects, such as down-pipes.


If the cable is distinctly different in colour and "exposed", try spraying with a garden ornament/flower tub type of paint of suitable colour.

I used a white/grey/black, flecked version on my cable.



If the cable has to go through a wall, drill the hole to take the tubing if without plugs.

Alternatively if with plugs already on, drill the hole large enough to take a standard diameter piece of conduit, about 23 mm if I remember correctly.

I have done this for the cables from various meteorological instruments in the garden and on the roof, with a standard double-outlet box on the inside, which is large enough to take the smallish, multiple-way junction box, with a single lead to connect onwards to the controller-memory unit interfacing to the PC.

Could I add a query. I am in a similar position to Ianfuture but am just a beginner (and not in my first flush of youth!). I want to connect my computer upstairs to a computer socket downstairs so my wife can have computer access there on a second machine. The distance would be about 20 m. I have been told that an external ethernet cable would be the best method and I follow the way the cable should be laid - no sharp bends in the cable. I have also found a website where I can get two plugs with the cable so that I can drill a smaill hole in each wall and fix the ethernet plugs inside the house. I did however want to ask two questions:
First Is all outdoor ethernet cable the same or should we go for a certain type of cable e.g. CAT5
Second Some of the answers on the site talk about using two cable. I do not quite understand why or indeed how they are wired. I might say that basically we use the computer for emails and searching; we do not use any gambling or videos or really even music.
Any help or comments would be appreciated (included any helpful tips before I start this project!).
Many thanks

Infrastructure cable is NOT suitable for terminating in RJ45 plugs. The solid conductors can either be missed or sliced causing a missing termination and with external cat5e - it will be too large.

Get a standard electrical backbox, modular faceplate and an RJ45 socket for each end. Terminate the cable in the IDC connectors of the socket. You must use External Cat5e - to get the right twist ratio and protection against UV.

At each end, get a ready made Cat5e patch lead and connect from the socket to the router at one end and PC at the other.

Evening rjgw

I suggest that you should consider using "ethernet over mains" devices such as Homeplugs, rather than the lengthy cable.

This would make it much easier to change location within the room and house at any time, although with the slight limitation of having to be within reasonable reach of a mains socket.

-------

Alternatively, most routers have WiFi built-in and also laptops etc. This is usually set up and connected to with minimal problems. No extra cables, use laptop almost anywhere within range etc.

If circumstances permit, do the initial WiFi setting up and test use in the immediate vicinity of the router/WAP before moving it upstairs.

----------------------

If you do go for the outside run, you'll generally find that a good supplier will provide suitable cable.

Make sure you buy more than sufficient for the job, with the basic run properly measured etc; and installing with some extra at each end.

Also buy extra connectors, so that you can practise crimping them on to the cable.

Basically it is not difficult; but must be done almost pedantically, no short-cuts.

Definite care needed when removing the insulation, both overall and from the individual wires. If you have connected up 13A Mains plugs, very similar BUT on a much smaller scale and six wires to contend with.

When I was doing it on a frequent basis, I allowed myself 5 minutes per end.

Once in my absence, two colleagues took two hours (4 man-hours) to do the two ends of one cable, the latter already in position and no access problems.

I don't know how many connectors they used; or how much the installed cable shortened by!

For your practise cables, allow about 2.5 metres in length - if successfull, they can then be used for other local connections.

As with the WiFi, do a cable-connected local test before moving the second PC/laptop upstairs.

=======================

If using a drain pipe etc, you may find that the weight of the cable tends to pull it down at the highest tie-point.

A way of reducing this is to do an "omega" tie to the pipe.

Put one cable-tie round the pipe only, pulling it very tight. Use a larger/heavier tie if available. At this stage, the cable itself is "no-where near" the pipe.

Lay the cable in the intended position OVER that first tie.

Put a second tie round the pipe and the cable, tightening just above the first tie.

Put a third tie round the pipe and cable, tightening just below the first tie.

This creates a small omega loop in the cable, giving a much better grip etc.


Assuming the pipe surface is the left-hand margin:-

o
o Onward cable
o| Second tie round the pie and cable
|o First tie round the pipe only, with cable passing over the "top".
o| Third tie round the pipe and cable
o Onward cable
o

This method of using the ties is very effective, if you want to avoid Ethernet and similar cables being jerked out of sockets - depending of course on the actual location, equipmet etc.

I used it a lot to prevent multi-way cables being jerked/pulled out of Ethernet Vampire taps - something that fortunately you won't have to contend with.

All too frequently, thee Vampire Taps were about 25 feet/8 metres up on roof girders and the like, requiring very long ladders or scaffolding to be erected, so I devised this method to minimise the risk of later problems.