14 replies to this topic

[Training Daze]

Ok so here's my situation....

I have a router (WAP)  setup in the top left corner of my house....and a computer with an adapter trying to access it from the basement. The signal is awful on my desktop    so I just purchased 100ft of cat5e cable from amazon and plan to just run the cable from the router to my desktop in the basement. My question is...it would be easier to just run the cable along the outside of my house (stapled to the siding) when connecting the cable as opposed to running it inside the house through the walls.... Is it safe to have this Ethernet cable exposed to the elements on the outside of my house? The heat in the summer and snow and ice in the winter....I don't want to sacrifice integrity of the connection for ease of set up    ....feel free to comment and thanks for taking the time to read this!!

[Quinntessential]

My personal take on this is that after a year or two the cable is going to have deteriorated and become brittle and could cause you a few headaches.

Here are two other people that seem to have had sort of the same problem as you and some other people offer a few solutions.

http://www.sundance-...31;t=000015;p=0

http://help.lockergn...opict41709.html


Hope this helps.

Edited by Quinntessential, 12 August 2007 - 11:55 PM.

[quartel]

Training Daze, on Aug 13 2007, 07:06 AM, said:

Ok so here's my situation....

I have a router (WAP)  setup in the top left corner of my house....and a computer with an adapter trying to access it from the basement. The signal is awful on my desktop    so I just purchased 100ft of cat5e cable from amazon and plan to just run the cable from the router to my desktop in the basement. My question is...it would be easier to just run the cable along the outside of my house (stapled to the siding) when connecting the cable as opposed to running it inside the house through the walls.... Is it safe to have this Ethernet cable exposed to the elements on the outside of my house? The heat in the summer and snow and ice in the winter....I don't want to sacrifice integrity of the connection for ease of set up    ....feel free to comment and thanks for taking the time to read this!!

You could try expanding the range of your WAP/Desktop NIC by using an antenna.

http://www.hdcom.com/links.html

[jnorman10]

No wireless signal can match the integrity and validity of a hardwired connection. Running a cat5 line may be a troublesome, but in the long run you'll be happy you did it.

Don't get me wrong, wireless is great, but it can't match the connection speed, nor the security a hardwired line will give you.

In my opinion, I'd take my time and run a nice cat5 thru the walls etc to the basement. Just remember, check the length from start to finish. Also, adding in the distances from the wall to the pc, the wall to the rtr, and the cable in between. Don't exceed 100 meters total or you're in for more headaches and shotty a connection. Hope this helps.

Cheers and good luck.

- J

[Training Daze]

Thanks brotherbill, Jnorman, Quartel, and Quinntessential!

Good information from the wise members here as usual, much appreciated.    Well based on your advice I am going to just run the cable through the walls and see if I can patch up any mess I make. I thought about just using a repeater but as  Jnorman said, wireless can't match a hardline connection....especially when I plan on upgrading my tv tuner and running cable tv through my desktop    I think running a line outside would be easier but I don't want to regret it a year or two from now when the signal starts to degrade and the squirrels on my roof already eat up enough of my wires as it is!
Thanks again guys for the advice and hopefully I can get this done by the end of the week.  

Edited by Training Daze, 13 August 2007 - 10:02 AM.

[Danse_Macabre]

Yup,long time no post so my bad on that and just having a quick flick through but if you realy do not want to go into any wall bashing or "chasing" into the walls and want to go outside the house then I suggest running it through some plastic conduit to protect it from the elements.

Easy enough to fix on the wall and pull through.You can glue it together and create a tidy run for it.

Will still have to drill a hole in the wall obviously but still,better than hiding it in the walls.Unless of course you are planing a major refurb of the house.

I do apologise if I missed something out as I sped read the thread.(nice term there )

[lohill]

Training Daze, on Aug 12 2007, 11:06 PM, said:

Ok so here's my situation....

I have a router (WAP)  setup in the top left corner of my house....and a computer with an adapter trying to access it from the basement. The signal is awful on my desktop    so I just purchased 100ft of cat5e cable from amazon and plan to just run the cable from the router to my desktop in the basement. My question is...it would be easier to just run the cable along the outside of my house (stapled to the siding) when connecting the cable as opposed to running it inside the house through the walls.... Is it safe to have this Ethernet cable exposed to the elements on the outside of my house? The heat in the summer and snow and ice in the winter....I don't want to sacrifice integrity of the connection for ease of set up    ....feel free to comment and thanks for taking the time to read this!!

Have you thought about enclosing the CAT5 in some type of conduit.  This would prevent exposure to weather as well as the risk of iit being destroyed by pets or pest.

[Olorin]

bobby1234 said exactly what I wanted to say - just shield the cable and that's it. but if you can pass it through the walls it is even better, though from my experience the task isi usually bordering on the impossible even in the newest and best prepared houses

[leslava]

I ran a CAT5e cable outside the house without any conduit or piping to connect my brother's xbox 360 to the router. I'll let you know when the time comes how it hold up against the cold weather.

[MudSlinger]

It will hold up to the weather ok but the Suns UV will get to it pretty fast and cause problems if not protected.

[kmoskos]

Training Daze, on Aug 12 2007, 10:06 PM, said:

Ok so here's my situation....

I have a router (WAP)  setup in the top left corner of my house....and a computer with an adapter trying to access it from the basement. The signal is awful on my desktop    so I just purchased 100ft of cat5e cable from amazon and plan to just run the cable from the router to my desktop in the basement. My question is...it would be easier to just run the cable along the outside of my house (stapled to the siding) when connecting the cable as opposed to running it inside the house through the walls.... Is it safe to have this Ethernet cable exposed to the elements on the outside of my house? The heat in the summer and snow and ice in the winter....I don't want to sacrifice integrity of the connection for ease of set up    ....feel free to comment and thanks for taking the time to read this!!

It will work fine around the house.  My coax cable for the cable tv is outside as well and shows no damage from the environment.

[kellyskinner1955]

you might try those wired airlink or netgear things that plug into wall outlets and use the house wiring to give a tethered connection

[davidjoh]

Ok so here's my situation....

I have a router (WAP)  setup in the top left corner of my house....and a computer with an adapter trying to access it from the basement. The signal is awful on my desktop    so I just purchased 100ft of cat5e cable from amazon and plan to just run the cable from the router to my desktop in the basement. My question is...it would be easier to just run the cable along the outside of my house (stapled to the siding) when connecting the cable as opposed to running it inside the house through the walls.... Is it safe to have this Ethernet cable exposed to the elements on the outside of my house? The heat in the summer and snow and ice in the winter....I don't want to sacrifice integrity of the connection for ease of set up    ....feel free to comment and thanks for taking the time to read this!!

    do you know if there is an hvac duct  in line with your wap unit and the computer?    that can interfere

[peterdell]

Typically, you use the disk to store the network settings, and saving files to a floppy disk (USB). then when the file is saved only connect to other computers, select the network configuration and perform the composition.

[linhely]

In my opinion, Windows 7I'd take my time and run a nice cat5 thru the walls etc to the basement. Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007Just remember, check the length from start to finish. Also, adding in the distances from the wall to the pc, the wall to the rtr, and the cable in between.Windows 7 Ultimate