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What kind of temperatures can cat5 survive?

Whats the longest I can run it without any loss in signal?

How much does cold weather affect the cat5?



I am having trouble choosing if I want to go the wired or wireless route with splitting up the broadband from the basement computer to the computers that are upstairs on the 2nd floor. Wired would be cheaper, but i wont be able to easily run the cable through the house. It would have to go around outside the house.

So I am trying to go with the cheapest route.....but I dont want to lose the signal

You can only run it 100m (about 300ft). You probably wouldn't want to run it outside unless it's deep in the ground (to keep it from freezing temperatures) Although, I have seen cat5 ran from a building out to a portable with no protection and it seems to be alright.

My opinion? Go wireless. Sucks you can't run it through your house...

you can buy outdoor cable its just thicker and stands up to the elements better...

Any length you'll run inside (or around) a house is not likely to exceed the max recommended length.

I can't remember what the max is, but I've seen it run in excess of 500 feet (Hip, I've seen much longer runs than 300 feet inside commercial buildings).

Cold won't affect it at all. If the cable is going to be exposed to the elements then you should buy outdoor cable. Home Depot sells outdoor CAT5 for a reasonable price - like around $50 for 500 feet (indoor cable generally runs around $50 per 1000 feet).

ok, thanks for the input guys

I guess outdoor cable will be the way to go the first time around

We've got some runs at my warehouse that go almost 400 feet with nothing in between. They're only sheiled from the rain, but not from the coldness of the winter. What is the exterior of your house like? If you're gonna run the wire up underneat the overhang of the roof, you might be able to get away with regular indoor cable.. But, for the price diff, you might want to go the safe route. eGo

Most internet connections are around 3Mbs (if your lucky)
Wireless connections are 11 Mbs with good signal and degrade with interference.
wired is 100Mbs at 300 feet with some signal loss with distances over 300 feet.

If you are file transfering.....wired is much better.
If you are just going to share an internet connection...both will work, however the wired will be more reliable. My opinion is the wireless is a feature good for laptop/portable computers but the wired is more reliable for stationary computers.

Both wireless and wired supply more bandwidth then any internet connection and should work for your internet sharing needs.

it isn't recommended to run cat 5 further than 300 ft though. i've had a run of 400 cause they didn't want to put a 20 dollar hub in the center and it didn't have any packet loss...

I thought it wasn't recommended to run CAT5 outside at all due to the lightning attraction CAT5 has.

Lightning IS a problem. And it's not recommended that you run the full length exposed. Outdoor cable is rated for OCCASIONAL exposure (like between the ground and the side of the building). It should be buried, run in metal conduit, or run through a crawl space.

I would highly recommend putting a APC P-Net surge protector on each end of a cable running any great length outdoors, and make sure it's connected to a good ground.

You can buy shielded cable which helps but conduit is cheaper.

In the end you may find wireless is cheaper or more practical.

I've had good luck with wireless as long as you buy an Access Point with TWO antennas on it, and locate it as centrally as possible in the house. They also make "repeaters" now which improves the coverage.

The price for 2nd generation 802.11 has come down a LOT lately, and you can get some good deals.

see I've had a problem with Wireless and internet. Whats annoying is the fact that alot of times when watching a streaming video it would have to stop to buffer all the time. I mean even a lower quality 200kbps one. I was litterallty right next to the AP (about 4 feet). Same thing across the house. Also, if you have a microwave dont expect to use the internet when someones using it. Been there done that, lost connection. IMO, I would only use wireless if absolutely necessary.

You tried changing channels? 90% of all 820.11 APs come from the factory on channel 6 for some stupid reason. Also they're on the same frequencies that wireless house phones use.

I have to admit we're in a very rural area here. I'd expect wireless to be more problematic in the city.

Overall I have good luck with it. Several of my clients use it in lieu of hard wire. I've found that the manufacturer makes a big difference - lot's of no-name brands out there now that I'd avoid. Linksys and D-Link both have a lot of experience with WiFi now. Also it's a good idea to install the latest BIOS.

I agree hardwire is more reliable. Sometimes it's just not practical.

well....i went the wired route

went out and picked up some of the outdoor rated cable
about 40 feet is exposed outside....
its running under a pannel of siding out the side of the house, to the back where it goes through the wall into the basement

thats where the router and modem will be

At the other end...it ends into a wall jack

now I just gotta wait till tuesday to see if it works well