Longest CAT-5 Cable?

[bkehoe]

Hi,

I'm going to be connecting a neighbours house to mine using a network.

The 2 houses are about 100M apart. We both have D-Link 16 port hubs (DE-816TP), and we both want to connect the hubs together.

There is nothing in between the 2 houses only a field and 240Volt electricity cables. The field is my fathers so that isn't a problem, but the potential problem is what is the max lenght that I can make a Cat-5 cable?

Is some kind of booster needed half way there?

If it did work it would be great - -10ms pings in UT, he'd be able to access my satellite internet and more.

If it will work without any modifications I suppose the cables would just be connected into the Uplink port on each hub?

Also, what does the Jabber LED on my hub mean? It never comes on, and the collision only come on sometimes.

Thanks,
Brendan

[a Bill]

I don't recall the exact length it can handle, but you are right at it http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Mntsnow]

Yes to connect the two hubs together you would want to use the uplink port prefferably.

The max length of cat5 cable by spec is 100m which is appox. 330feet for us americans. If you are wanting to run the cable outside you will want to make sure that the outer sheath of the cable is weather resistant or run it in some sort of conduit. Where you planning to run this underground or ontop of the ground or hanging above like the powerlines?

Mntsnow

[bkehoe]

Hi,
Is there some kind of 'booster' that can be put after a certain lenght to extend the max distance?

Or, does the other cable, cable that looks like thin TV antenna cable have a lower or higher max distance?

Yes, it would be overhead like the power and telephone cables.

Brendan

[ktwebb]

The tv cable you are talking about is Thinnet Coax. 10Base2. 185 meters max distance so you it would be within spec. You would need a NIC with that connector and terminators at each end. Even if you are a little beyond 100 meters you still "should" be o.k with Cat5. Testing is the only way to find out. You can buy a repeater as well to boost the signal. Hubs and switches are in fact repeaters. Finding out the exact distance the run would be should be done first.

[Jator]

kt,

Aren't there some passive hubs that do not act as repeaters? Just curious.

I've seen some older hubs that take in a ThinNet connection and then distribute out to RJ45 connection (UTP or STP).

My converne would be if you are running this cable between your houses, do you have a lot of lightning strikes in your area? Would suck bad if there was a lightning strike that took out both of your computers.

Jay

[MadMatt]

Distance isn't your problem.

You said the cable will be running through "a field and 240Volt electricity cables". Unshielded Twisted Pair cable is sensetive to Electro-Magnetic Interference. This can reduce throughput or even make the line unworkable. The 'twisted' part helps alot with this problem but you should place the line carefully.

Also, the earth 100m apart can have different electrical potentials, which can cause grounding problems. Add in the possibility of lightning, a surge from his house to you (or vice versa), etc.

Spend the money to get some surge protectors on that line and to put the cable in some conduit and bury it.

[wyvrn]

Actually distance is an issue. 100 M is the max for UTP Cat 5. And with all that electricity, I agree, use shielded twisted pair at minimum but coax would be better. Use RG6 and grab a hub or some Nic's that can use bnc connectors. Thinnet can run like 185 ft, I think, and less succeptible to interference, but it is only 10MB so your file transfers may slow.

[This message has been edited by wyvrn (edited 04-10-2000).]

[Jator]

Actually, THinNet is 185 Meters, not feet.

Jay