Does having multiple RJ45 jacks degrade the Internet signal a lot?

This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.

I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house & will be routing
the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
feet) - but I have a few 'design' questions I'd like to ask those more
experienced than I am.

Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
http://picturepush.com/public/7212874
or
www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7212874/1024/Anonymous/cat5-questions.gif

I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
hole at the wall).

I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?

Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?

If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).

When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
degrade the signal?

In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
how I should terminate it.

Any advice?

On 12/24/2011 12:04 AM, Chuck Banshee wrote:
> This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
> how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.
>
> I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house& will be routing
> the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
> feet) - but I have a few 'design' questions I'd like to ask those more
> experienced than I am.
>
> Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
> http://picturepush.com/public/7212874
> or
> www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7212874/1024/Anonymous/cat5-questions.gif
>
> I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
> to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
> 30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
> hole at the wall).
>
> I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
> should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?
>
> Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?
>
> If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
> the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
> will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).
>
> When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
> second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
> degrade the signal?
>
> In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
> how I should terminate it.
>
> Any advice?

I'm a bit confused here. It should be one device per line, so what are
you paralleling?

I'd put the router someplace like a closet in the middle of the house
and run wires to each room as needed. There are "structured" wiring bays
if you want to get fancy, rather than have wires dangling in the closet.


Kind of old school here. I think today you would just wire data. Forget
the RF unless you insist on cable.
> http://www.swhowto.com/


> http://www.computercablestore.com/12..._PID48600.aspx

I've only see these in rack mounts, i.e. office environments. Wall
mounts is what would make more sense for a house.

I'd put in the highest speed wire and patch you can afford. Also, there
are issues with how you radius the wire. I don't think this is rocket
science, but you do need to be scientific about it.

Your AM radio may hear these wires sing, but streaming radios are the
way to go. I haven't used a broadcast radio other than shortwave in 4 or
5 years.

There are shielded cables to reduce the EMI. Probably OK for a short
distance. There are ground mismatch issues with shielded cables.

Cat 6 is commonplace. Cat 7 is out there, though I don't recall seeing
it in stores. A twisted pair guru told me (and I have no way to verify
this) that once a company can do cat X, eventually everything the sell
is Cat X, even if it is labeled Cat (X-1). Once you have the twist
(balance) down, you eventually make everything to that grade as
machinery gets fixed.

Some of the cat 7 wire has teflon insulation. I'd certainly rest easier
at night knowing the wires in the wall are good for high temperature.

Incidentally I have a very old Zircon stud finder. They called it the
video sensor. It works well. But your magnet trick looks good to me.
> http://www.zircon.com/discontinued/s...eoscanner.html

This device even found a shallow buried pipe that some rancher gypsy
installed.

Chuck Banshee wrote:
> This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
> how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.
>
> I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house & will be routing
> the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
> feet) - but I have a few 'design' questions I'd like to ask those more
> experienced than I am.
>
> Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
> http://picturepush.com/public/7212874
> or
> www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7212874/1024/Anonymous/cat5-questions.gif
>
> I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
> to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
> 30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
> hole at the wall).
>
> I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
> should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?
>
> Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?
>
> If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
> the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
> will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).
>
> When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
> second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
> degrade the signal?
>
> In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
> how I should terminate it.
>
> Any advice?

Your description is somewhat vague, but I can give you some general
guidelines.
Assuming you're running standard 802.11 ethernet, it makes some difference
whether you're running 10Mb, 100Mb, or gigabit ethernet.
Faster requires more care.

In general, you can have exactly one device at either end of the wire.
You can have plugs and sockets in the wire, but only one device on
either end....not in the middle...at the ends of the wire.
You cannot tap a device into the middle of a wire. Devices have to be
on the ENDs of the wires. Doesn't matter if the unused end of the wire
is disconnected...the extra wire can't be there.

You can have two sockets and a jumper wire. Remove the jumper to use
the connector in the middle of the run, but that disconnects the rest of
your system.

If one of those devices is a router, you can use one router port to continue
the run while you use another router port to "tap" the signal.

What do you mean by "terminate"?
You don't "terminate" the line as in impedance matching. That's done
inside the devices you connect to the END of the wire run.
If, by "terminate" you mean, do I solder it or use screw terminals, that's
a different issue. Should be instructions with the socket you use.

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:04:38 +0000 (UTC), Chuck Banshee
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
>how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.
>
>I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house & will be routing
>the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
>feet) - but I have a few 'design' questions I'd like to ask those more
>experienced than I am.

Cat5 is designed for 100m reach, within an office environment.

standard setup is 10m total of "patch" leads at each end, with a fixed
"home run" cable between them.

Exactly what you use over the Cat5 dictates how sensitive the sugnals
are to pushing the boundaries
- but Cat5 is designed to have some room for long term degradation.

Various setups may increase the number of RJ-45 connectors - a power
over Ethernet power injector within a run for example.
>
>Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
>http://picturepush.com/public/7212874
>or
>www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7212874/1024/Anonymous/cat5-questions.gif
>
>I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
>to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
>30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
>hole at the wall).
>
>I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
>should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?
>
>Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?

yes - but exactly how much depends on the device - find some cabling
instructions on how to do it properly, but in general maintain the
"twists" in each pair as much as feasible.

I think the punchdown style connections are easiest to do, and allow
the twists to within a few mm of the connector.
>
>If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
>the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
>will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).
>
>When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
>second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
>degrade the signal?
>
Golden rule is treat this as flood wiring
- put more cables in parallel than you think you will ever need,
since cable is cheap and running wires in is disruptive.

Dont add extra jack points on an individual run unless you need to.

PoE is designed to work at 100m, so it doesnt sound like placement
will matter much.

>In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
>how I should terminate it.
>
>Any advice?
--
Regards

(E-Mail Removed) - replace xyz with ntl

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:04:38 +0000 (UTC), Chuck Banshee
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
>how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.
>
>I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house & will be routing
>the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
>feet) - but I have a few 'design' questions I'd like to ask those more
>experienced than I am.
>
>Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
>http://picturepush.com/public/7212874
>or
>www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7212874/1024/Anonymous/cat5-questions.gif
>
>I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
>to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
>30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
>hole at the wall).
>
>I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
>should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?
>
>Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?
>
>If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
>the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
>will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).
>
>When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
>second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
>degrade the signal?
>
>In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
>how I should terminate it.
>
>Any advice?
The short answer is yes, you should keep the segment in one piece if
at all [possible. Each connection can degrade the signal.

If you want to split the cable where it enters the building best
practice would be to install an active switch (if you are running
ethernet) at the entrance - you can go 285 feet (some say 100 meters,
but that's stretching it) on both sides of the switch, and up to 4
switches in "series"

Terminate with cat5 or cat5e spec RJ45 jacks or plugs. (plug on end of
cable goung ito and out of switch, jack in wall)

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:06:14 +0000, Stephen
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:04:38 +0000 (UTC), Chuck Banshee
><(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
>>how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.
>>
>>I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house & will be routing
>>the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
>>feet) - but I have a few 'design' questions I'd like to ask those more
>>experienced than I am.
>
>Cat5 is designed for 100m reach, within an office environment.
>
>standard setup is 10m total of "patch" leads at each end, with a fixed
>"home run" cable between them.
>
>Exactly what you use over the Cat5 dictates how sensitive the sugnals
>are to pushing the boundaries
> - but Cat5 is designed to have some room for long term degradation.
>
>Various setups may increase the number of RJ-45 connectors - a power
>over Ethernet power injector within a run for example.
>>


Best practice would be to use a POE switch at the entry point - it
provides the POE and retransmits the data, breaking the network into 2
segments (both of which have the theoretical 75 or 100 meter length
capability)
>>Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
>>http://picturepush.com/public/7212874
>>or
>>www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7212874/1024/Anonymous/cat5-questions.gif
>>
>>I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
>>to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
>>30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
>>hole at the wall).
>>
>>I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
>>should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?
>>
>>Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?
>
>yes - but exactly how much depends on the device - find some cabling
>instructions on how to do it properly, but in general maintain the
>"twists" in each pair as much as feasible.
>
>I think the punchdown style connections are easiest to do, and allow
>the twists to within a few mm of the connector.
>>
>>If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
>>the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
>>will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).
>>
>>When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
>>second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
>>degrade the signal?
>>
>Golden rule is treat this as flood wiring
> - put more cables in parallel than you think you will ever need,
>since cable is cheap and running wires in is disruptive.
>
>Dont add extra jack points on an individual run unless you need to.
>
>PoE is designed to work at 100m, so it doesnt sound like placement
>will matter much.
>
>>In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
>>how I should terminate it.
>>
>>Any advice?

"miso" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:jd438j$1ra$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I'm a bit confused here. It should be one device per line, so what are you
> paralleling?
>
> I'd put the router someplace like a closet in the middle of the house and
> run wires to each room as needed. There are "structured" wiring bays if
> you want to get fancy, rather than have wires dangling in the closet.
>
>
All computer and Internet devices are wireless and the rest of the
electronic technology is close behind, such as TVs. Centralize a wireless
router and forego wiring the house.

On Dec 24, 10:52*am, cl...@snyder.on.ca wrote:
> On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:06:14 +0000, Stephen
>
>
>
>
>
> <stephen_h...@xyzworld.com> wrote:
> >On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:04:38 +0000 (UTC), Chuck Banshee
> ><chuckbans...@private.com> wrote:
>
> >>This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
> >>how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.
>
> >>I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house & will be routing
> >>the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
> >>feet) - but I have a few 'design' questions I'd like to ask those more
> >>experienced than I am.
>
> >Cat5 is designed for 100m reach, within an office environment.
>
> >standard setup is 10m total of "patch" leads at each end, with a fixed
> >"home run" cable between them.
>
> >Exactly what you use over the Cat5 dictates how sensitive the sugnals
> >are to pushing the boundaries
> > - but Cat5 is designed to have some room for long term degradation.
>
> >Various setups may increase the number of RJ-45 connectors - a power
> >over Ethernet power injector within a run for example.
>
> Best practice would be to use a POE switch at the entry point - it
> provides the POE and retransmits the data, breaking the network into 2
> segments (both of which have the theoretical 75 or 100 meter length
> capability)
>
>
>
> >>Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
> >>http://picturepush.com/public/7212874
> >>or
> >>www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7212874/1024/Anonymous/cat5-questions.gif
>
> >>I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
> >>to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
> >>30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
> >>hole at the wall).
>
> >>I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
> >>should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?
>
> >>Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?
>
> >yes - but exactly how much depends on the device - find some cabling
> >instructions on how to do it properly, but in general maintain the
> >"twists" in each pair as much as feasible.
>
> >I think the punchdown style connections are easiest to do, and allow
> >the twists to within a few mm of the connector.
>
> >>If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
> >>the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
> >>will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).
>
> >>When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
> >>second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
> >>degrade the signal?
>
> >Golden rule is treat this as flood wiring
> > - put more cables in parallel than you think you will ever need,
> >since cable is cheap and running wires in is disruptive.
>
> >Dont add extra jack points on an individual run unless you need to.
>
> >PoE is designed to work at 100m, so it doesnt sound like placement
> >will matter much.
>
> >>In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
> >>how I should terminate it.
>
> >>Any advice?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

It would seem to me the best thing to do would be
to run one line from the outside antenna direct to
a central distribution point in the house. At that
central point, you put the switch. Then any RJ45
jacks in the house are run to the central point.

But a lot depends on what it is he's intending to
do, the various uses, how easy it is to run cable,
etc. For at least some of the uses, wireless may
be a better option, as someone already pointed out.
No wire to run.
Wired to the various rooms/uses is still going to
provide more reliable connection and better data
rate. But if the WISP connection is the limiting
factor, having 1 gig ethernet inside the house
doesn't get you much, unless you;re moving
data between devices.

On Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:04:38 +0000 (UTC), Chuck Banshee
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>This is my first time installing cat5 cable in my house and I am unsure
>how to connect to RJ45 jacks that I need to put in the wall.

The basic idea is to build a "star" (also known as home run).
Everything comes to a central location, where you locate a 10/100baseT
ethernet switch. You can add additional ethernet switches at any
endpoint that needs more than one connection (forming a "tree").

>I've installed a WISP antenna 75 feet from the house & will be routing
>the outdoor cat5 cable into the middle of the house (another 25 or so
>feet) -

Very vague. What manner of hardware are you installing? Most WISP
system use PoE to the radio/antenna on the roof, and ethernet to some
manner of power injector. From there, you run ethernet to a local
router, and then to the central ethernet switch. The router might be
built into your unspecified model WISP radio. Note that I said
"switch", not "hub". You do not want a hub.

Hopefully, you didn't run 75ft of coaxial cable between the radio and
the antenna. That's much too long. Cable losses at 2.4GHz are quite
high.

>Pictured here is what I have in the wall in the middle of the house:
>http://picturepush.com/public/7212874

My Zircon stud sensor sorta works. However, I cheat. I have photos
of what's inside my walls from before the drywall and paneling was
added.

While it's nice to have the outlet box attached to a stud, it's not
necessary. There are rework PVC device boxes, that attach to the
drywall.

RJ45 jacks do not cause loss. Un-connected jacks do not cause loss.
Unterminated cables do not cause loss. The catch is that you have to
install one cable for each RJ45 jack. Since CAT5e has 4 pairs of
wires, and ethernet uses only 2 pairs, you can split the cable pairs
and wire two jacks on the wall jacks, and attach two RJ45 plugs at the
other end of the cable. However, if you're using PoE on this segment,
you'll need all 4 pairs to the wall jack.

Since you're running CAT5 through the wall base plate, you'll need to
drill a large enough hole to accommodate the number of cables you
need. If you only want to run one cable, then perhaps adding an
ethernet switch near the wall plate might be easier.

>I'm not sure if it's best to route the wire all the way from the antenna
>to the middle of the house (about 75 feet to the house and another 25 or
>30 feet zig-zagging to the crawl space and then up to the newly drilled
>hole at the wall).

Hint:
a "wire" is a single length of insulated copper.
a "cable" is a collection of wires enclosed by a vinyl jacket.

Hopefully, this cable is CAT5e. It will need to run from the rooftop
mast, to the nearest convenient location that has AC power (for PoE).
That's usually also the location of the central ethernet switch.

>I'm going to put a wall plate at the wall in the middle of the house; but
>should I also put a wall plate where the wire enters the house?

No. Wall plates are NOT waterproof. You should use a proper cable
entry. For rooftops, that's a "rams head". For wall entry, cable
entry with a drip loop. There are some tricks involved (such as
slightly angling the hole in the wall upward so accumulated water
drips outward). Also, leave a service loop for anything that you
install in the wall. Talk to a DBS satellite dish installer for
clues.

>Does breaking the line into sections degrade the signal?

Nope, as long as there is an ethernet switch between each segment.
However, if you're talking about running multiple segments and just
splicing them together, that also works. I suggest you terminate each
end with an RJ45 plug, and use a coupler to make the connection. It's
a bit more complex, but much easier to troubleshoot when the kids,
puppy, or mice, chew up the cable.
<http://www.ebay.com/itm/260915346939>

>If I do put a wall plate at the entrance to the house, I'll likely put
>the POE (power over ethernet) at the wall inside the house (otherwise it
>will go in the middle of the house next to the WRT54G router).

Do NOT hide anything INSIDE the wall. One little spark or overheated
power device, and you'll have a fire in an inaccessible location.

>When I put a wall plate in the middle of the house, would you add a
>second female jack (just in case for future use?). Or does that also
>degrade the signal?

Yes. As long as the 2nd jack is on a separate CAT5e cable, there's no
deterioration in the signal. The problem is that there's NEVER enough
ethernet wall jacks. If you expect that you'll need one, then install
two. If you think you'll need two, then install four. 6 jacks is
about the limit. Extra cable is cheaper than the time to do it over
again.

There are also ethernet switches that will fit in the wall, but you
won't like the price:
<http://www.amazon.com/3CNJ220-CRM-4-Port-100Mbps-Ethernet-Switch/dp/B0001DHE0U>

>In summary, I'm not sure if I should strive to keep the line intact and
>how I should terminate it.
>
>Any advice?

I think you're over your head a little. Best to Google the internet
for CAT5 and ethernet installation instructions and examples. Also,
talk to a professional cable installer before you make a major
mistake. The danger is that if you have a house fire, and the fire
inspector finds non-code compliant creative wiring, you run the risk
of having your insurance company declare that you were the cause of
the fire.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

> All computer and Internet devices are wireless and the rest of the
> electronic technology is close behind, such as TVs. Centralize a wireless
> router and forego wiring the house.
>
>
I do wireless now, but given my druthers, I'd do it up all wired and put
a server/Drobo/whatever in that closet. New construction has structured
wiring as an add-on.