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In Reply to: RE: Cat 7 posted by E-Stat on June 14, 2014 at 06:33:22
"Plug one end into router/switch and other into device. Not rocket science." would be true were I willing to have cable running along the floor between where the service enters the house, two rooms and a hall away from my iMac, but I'm not. The cable needs to go inside a wall up to the attic, across the attic, and inside a wall down to the outlet. Once its installed, then the trite not rocket science statement would be valid.
Tony, replacing the old ethernet with WiFi produced an instant cure, so I don't know if there was some other intermittent problem with the existing cable, but in any case we''ll probably pull 6C (IIRC) while we're at it. The IP talked of a bandwidth problem, and I didn't challenge the assertion.
db
Follow Ups:
Not rocket science." would be true were I willing to have cable running along the floor between...
I see two challenges here. The first is that of connections. If you recall, my post was in response to this comment:
I don't know enough about ethernet to install it.
You really don't need to buy bulk cable and have it custom terminated. Passing any kind of cable through floors and walls is a separate question that shouldn't be terribly difficult either. If you read my post titled "I went the cheap route", I too, had to run the completed cord up a built in bookcase, drill a hole in the ceiling and the floor of the attic above. It then passed across two walls of the attic and into the listening room. Custom terminations not required.
You would have to run tests to see why the wired network didn't work. For example, was there any connectivity at all? Did the link lights illuminate when you plugged in the wire? What color (speed) did they show the connection operating at? Did you try ping tests to see lost packets? Did you look at Ethernet counts? All of these would help you diagnose the problem, assuming that you understood enough to know what I am talking about. Also, you could try different equipment on opposite ends of the cable. (If you don't understand what I am talking about here, then I suggest finding a friend who does and asking him to help you.)
It is certainly possible that your old wiring was not proper Ethernet cable, i.e. ordinary telephone cable. It's also possible that the equipment was somehow defective. That could be verified by moving the equipment into the same room and trying different cables. I have a lot of old hubs stored in drawers and old cables. I keep these to swap about in case I ever have a problem that is difficult to diagnose. But I really haven't, except with my Raspberry Pi where sometimes the RJ45 connector doesn't seat firmly and this confused me a few times until I learned to check it carefully.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Tony, unfortunately the problem was the most difficult kind to diagnose, intermittent. The internet link worked fine much of the time, and the lights showed what the IP said they should, but on occasion, and those occasions became ever more frequent, I had no service. Since installation of WiFi, I have experienced no problems and the iMac is very responsive. Netflix takes a few minutes to initialize on the Oppo 105, but once up navigating its interface and downloading a selection is quick. I have a Mac Mini connected to the Oppo via asynchronous USB, but I had trouble downloading from HD Tracks and have let it slip. I also have Pure Music and Audirvana on the iMac. I don't know how important ethernet is for that application whenever I get off my ass and get it running.
db
I think Tony is on the right track. Hard wired Ethernet is generally a lot faster and more reliable than Wifi.
Netflix, AppleTV, and various high bandwidth streaming services have always been faster to load and more reliable for me via basic CAT5 Ethernet vs wifi.
Good luck!
I went into the attic with our carpenter/contractor yesterday and concluded that the approach E-Stat used would work for me. I've had good experiences ordering from Blue Jeans, so I think I'll order a CAT6A patch cable of sufficient length to go from the router where service enters the house up through the attic and down to the iMac. The path will be that of the existing ethernet cable, and if we can do so without damaging the new cable, we may use the existing cable to pull the new cable. Another patch cable can run from the iMac to the Oppo, just as it did with the previous ethernet.
Thanks for all your help, especially E-Stat.
db
That approach simplified the process for me, although it did require drilling slightly larger holes than the cable itself would require. The only "exposed" run was along the floor behind the speakers in the listening room.
As for "pulling" them, my cable was passed through open spaces where there was no tugging of the cable that might compromise it.
What I meant by pull was use the existing cable to guide the path of the new cable. If we meet resistance, we will stop pulling. Drilling half-inch or even inch holes to accommodate a connector is not a cosmetic problem in my application. It's beginning to seem within my minimal knowledge of ethernet installation.
db
that's what I did!
Other posters seem to think there is some "stress" on the cable involved with this process. It was not in my situation.
Someone may have already mentioned it but the potential problem with 'pulling' a patch cable is that many are made with stranded wire that might easily break.... but this may still work for you depending on length and how hard it is to pull.
The stiffer solid conductor ethernet cables are less prone to breaking conductors when pulled.
If you get just one cable from your router into the desired room, and don't want to pull another cable, you can buy a $50 switch and have multiple ports available for you via that one pulled cable.
"Someone may have already mentioned it but the potential problem with 'pulling' a patch cable is that many are made with stranded wire that might easily break...."
Pulling stranded cable will not be a problem. He has access to where he is running the wire. Stranded is actually more flexible that is why it is better for (patch cables)external wiring . Try pulling on a patch cable with you hands and see if you can break it.
In theory sold core should ultimately be better performance wise. But I don't think we would even tell. Tony can probably explain why. :)
"In theory sold core should ultimately be better performance wise. But I don't think we would even tell. Tony can probably explain why. :)"
No I couldn't. I never did figure out all the subtitles of electricity and magnetism. At the time I should be have studying this stuff I was interested in other things. I would put it this way: I confused E&M with S&M. :-)
My advice in new construction would be to pull conduit. That's the only system that would seem to be future proof. Decades ago I drilled some holes in a baseboard and flooring and dropped some Monster Cable. This allowed me to put the speakers on one floor and all of my equipment on another floor. This was great from an sonic perspective as well as an aerobic perspective. No more vibration problems when the equipment as coupled to a separate concrete slab. Lots of exercise running up and down the stairs to adjust volume, flip LPs, etc. After some years I got tired of running up and down the stairs.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
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