Hurricane Rebuild - Wiring question

[cajunbug]

So we are moving along on rebuilding our hurricane gustav damaged home...

I plan to run 2 RG6 and 2 Cat-6 to each room..with 4 RG6 to home theater room. but a couple of quick questions.

Can the Cat-6 be used for telephone and/or ethernet? Or should I run seperate telco line? Most of our phones are wireless and cell phones are becoming norm anyway...but I want to be safe.

Next...was looking over at monoprice for the cables, but which cat 6 and rg6 to buy? i have two story home, if that helps.

[BattleZone]

You should not use a single CAT-6 for both phone and Ethernet, as there will be crosstalk that can impact the Ethernet speed and sound very bad on the phone.

You can, of course, run phone on its own CAT-6. All of the CAT-x cables were originally phone cables.

[Grentz]

You can run phone over cat6 just fine. Just as IIP pointed out do not try to run ethernet and phone on the same cat6 wire. Since you are planning on 2, no problems there.

As far as what to buy. Get UTP Solid Cat6 (non-plenum) in the color of your choice. (might considering doing two colors for identification purposes).

For RG6 from monoprice, you should be fine with single shield. Do note that monoprice only has CCS (copper clad steel) RG6 which is not as nice as the SCC (solid copper core) RG6 that is recommended for use with Directv (although it will work with CCS in most cases as well).

[BattleZone]

For RG6 from monoprice, you should be fine with single shield. Do note that monoprice only has CCS (copper clad steel) RG6 which is not as nice as the SCC (solid copper core) RG6 that is recommended for use with Directv (although it will work with CCS in most cases as well).

One minor correction: the standard cable for satellite is DUAL-shield (100% coverage foil and 60% coverage aluminum braid). The only single-shield cable is the pre-made Radio Shack/RCA stuff with the stupid plastic bushings at the ends:

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/53000332/Images/2/F-75__1.jpg

I seriously doubt that Monoprice sells anything that crappy.

I'm sure you already know this, but I wanted to correct this for others that might not.

[Grentz]

My bad, meant Standard Shield, not single shield :p

Good catch IIP.

[cajunbug]

Thanks. That was exactly the verification I needed.

What kind of wiring setup do you guys recommend for behind the flat panel tv? Recessed power,etc

[WestDC]

Thanks. That was exactly the verification I needed.

What kind of wiring setup do you guys recommend for behind the flat panel tv? Recessed power,etc


Run a Conduit (plastic) or two located somewhere out of site and then you can always change wiring out long after the walls are up.

PIPE it first --cable it as you need it. :)

[Stanley Kritzik]

The last time I bought RG-6, I went with solid copper -- just to play it safe. as a weak signal can result in pixelation or the dreaded "771" message. So, I got good quality Belden cable -- regular for inside and quad shield for outside. I think I used Cables to Go, and I won't swear that I got the lowest price in the world. Also, for outside, I use a little dielectric grease to weather-seal connectors. And, I always tighten each connector gently with my trusty open end wrench.

Stan

[DX9100]

you could try using this as a cheap raceway to run into the attic or basement if a wiring change is needed.

[cajunbug]

Which of these two is better? Why such difference in pricing?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10234&cs_id=1023401&p_id=2266&seq=1&format=2

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=3531&sku=32591

[BattleZone]

The Monoprice cable is slightly thicker, which means that if everything else is equal, and it appears to be, the Monoprice cable is technically better.

The Cables To Go price is just stupid.

[netraa]

Which of these two is better? Why such difference in pricing?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10234&cs_id=1023401&p_id=2266&seq=1&format=2

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=3531&sku=32591

this is why the cables to go is so much more expensive.

'Polyethylene separator for enhanced NEXT, ELFEXT and RL Bandwidth'

triples the cost of the cable.

What is the Isolator?
A revolutionary addition to the physical cable called the Isolator™.The patented Isolator maximizes the separation of the twisted pairs within the cable and minimizes pair motion resulting in superior NEXT, ELFEXT, and RL performance.The Isolator resolves crosstalk and balance issues required for accurate transmission using all four pairs.

[Grentz]

Just go for the monoprice one. That cables to go price is insane.

[netraa]

unless you plan on buying cat6 EVERYTHING, including connectors, wall plates, jumpers, and all hardware and planing on pushing 1gigabit through your home network... your wasting your money on cat6 cable.

just save your money and use cat5e cable.

[Grentz]

unless you plan on buying cat6 EVERYTHING, including connectors, wall plates, jumpers, and all hardware and planing on pushing 1gigabit through your home network... your wasting your money on cat6 cable.

just save your money and use cat5e cable.

and in fact you can push 1gig easily through cat5e. Cat6 is for things above 1gig that really do not exist in the normal consumer market yet (heck 1gig is just really taking off for home users and most still do not even need it!).

[cajunbug]

This house is 30+ years old two story house...the framing is very "interesting"...once we run my cables and put up the walls, there will likely be no changing.

So I was thinking Cat 6 for "future proofing"

But Ya'll do make a good points on the 5e issue

[cajunbug]

I am also thinking about putting in a media cabinet. How are you guys wiring the receivers to the TVs? Which remote systems do you recommend?

[netraa]

I am also thinking about putting in a media cabinet. How are you guys wiring the receivers to the TVs? Which remote systems do you recommend?

depends on how much money you want to spend.

you can drop 50 grand on a custom remote control system with all the bells and whistles..

or, you can drop 200 bucks on a couple IR repeaters like this one.
https://www.tselectronic.com/leviton_lin/47621_cms_mie.html

[jwd45244]

You can run ether net and phone over thae same cable if you are putting in a VoIP Phone system. If I was rebuilding that is what I would do.

[Grentz]

Just as a reference, the standard right now for installers is 2x Cat5e and 2x RG6. Many new builders are putting this in and they actually sell a bundled cable (that is extremely expensive) that has all 4 in it. The idea is you are covered for a DVR with the two Coax, or 1 OTA and 1 something else. Plus you have enough for a network drop and a phone drop.

[BattleZone]

and in fact you can push 1gig easily through cat5e. Cat6 is for things above 1gig that really do not exist in the normal consumer market yet (heck 1gig is just really taking off for home users and most still do not even need it!).

While this is absolutely true, 20 years ago, having a 10 Mb network at home was rare and expensive. 10 years ago, 100 Mb was rare and expensive. Today, 1 Gb is somewhat rare, but not so expensive. And as moving HD video and audio around the house to and from multiple devices simultaneously, plus a continuing expansion in the total number of Ethernet devices in the home, it's hardly difficult to imagine 10 Gb and faster being common in the next couple of decades.

Any cable you put in your walls today is likely to be there and in use for the next 4-5 decades. It makes sense to spend a few extra bucks today to future proof as much as possible.

[BattleZone]

this is why the cables to go is so much more expensive.

'Polyethylene separator for enhanced NEXT, ELFEXT and RL Bandwidth'


FALSE!

All CAT6 has the separator, including the Monoprice CAT6 that's a third of the price. The separator is the primary difference between CAT5e and CAT6.

[cajunbug]

What is the difference in 23 and 24 AWG? does it matter?

[Grentz]

While this is absolutely true, 20 years ago, having a 10 Mb network at home was rare and expensive. 10 years ago, 100 Mb was rare and expensive. Today, 1 Gb is somewhat rare, but not so expensive. And as moving HD video and audio around the house to and from multiple devices simultaneously, plus a continuing expansion in the total number of Ethernet devices in the home, it's hardly difficult to imagine 10 Gb and faster being common in the next couple of decades.

Any cable you put in your walls today is likely to be there and in use for the next 4-5 decades. It makes sense to spend a few extra bucks today to future proof as much as possible.

Very true. I would go with cat6 as well, I was just mentioning it as cat5e is the standard right now that most are putting in and can handle gig speeds ;)

What is the difference in 23 and 24 AWG? does it matter?

That is just the gauge of the cable, and 1AWG is not really a big difference. The fact is, if a cable is officially cat6 rated it is officially cat6 rated and will work for cat6 applications. That is the nice thing about ratings :grin:

[netraa]

The real question is, with FTTP becoming more and more common, is glass going to become 'next' before cat5e really tops out. Personally, I think that we are going to skip cat6, and cat7 cabling in the residential market and 'next' is going to trump them. (either wireless, or glass)

But, that's a personal judgment call.

Yes, if you are going to skip the raceways, and permanently wire the house, cat6, if it can be found for a reasonable price, will do the same job as 5e. But if your going to 'futureproof' your house and spend the extra $$ on 6, do yourself a favor and upgrade everything in/on the walls to 6. This includes spending the extra time, effort, and wire to run them properly.

Really, the only way to plan for the future is to run the raceways down the walls. In 10 years you'll be kicking yourself if glass becomes the next standard.

[houskamp]

get the cheaper stuff.. you can always upgrade after the next hurricane :grin:

[cajunbug]

get the cheaper stuff.. you can always upgrade after the next hurricane :grin:

Now that is funny! :lol:

I keep telling everyone I am hoping to have the house repaired and back in for June 1st.....the first day of Hurricane Season!

[BattleZone]

Fiber isn't going to be used for home distribution anytime soon. It is very fragile and easily broken, and very hard to terminate correctly (it requires very expensive tools, in the $1500+ range, and training). Instead, you'll have fiber to the house, where it will be converted into Ethernet and coax. This is what Verizon does now, and I don't see that changing very soon.