Cat5e backplate

[redtop]

Just about to start 1st fix. Going to run cat 5 around the house, terminating in a Ethernet front plate when I get onto 2nd fix. Do these plates fit onto a standard 35mm metal back box, the ones you use for light switches and single sockets?

 

Taaa

[Oz07]

Yes.

[Oz07]

Don't ask me what you do with them had my place done with it and never used it

[joth]

Also look at "euro module" face plates that allow you to mix and match rf45, coax, hdmi, brushplate outlets etc in a single box.

I had to get my electrician to upgrade several of the single gang back boxes to doubles e.g. AV and office, as I want to pull a lot more through the box than just one Cat6A cable.

Euro modules are available for single double triple and even 4 gang back boxes

[Oz07]

Yes as above I have coax and cat6 in same boxes

[redtop]

Brill, will take a look. Thanks everyone

[TonyT]

Make sure you use 35mm deep boxes far easier to work with

[Bozza]

Also consider, if you hadn’t already, running inexpensive empty plastic conduit from rooms to loft spaces, cupboards etc.  With string line inside.  Though technology is definitely moving towards wireless/wifi it just gives you easy options in the future, including additional power sockets, if you ever need them.  Saves hacking into plasterboard.  One of the benefits of self build.

 

With my build I got my sparky to run conduit from loft to downstairs cupboard, near a socket.  Had no plans to use it, but just recently looking at CCTV options.  Means I can use a wired system with a hard drive in the cupboard if I go down that route.

 

My nephew recently bought a brand new house and decided to put his tv on an opposite wall.  As the house was on a solid slab he had to hack through several walls to do it.  His wife wasn’t too happy.

 

 

 

 

 

[TonyT]

I did a lot for a while

and can not justify the fluke tester at £10k

 

got this

 

https://cpc.farnell.com/peak/utp05e/atlas-it-network-cable-analyser/dp/IN07477?mckv=sIjS4m0kV_dm|pcrid|450989503080|kword||match|b|plid||slid||product||pgrid|88974634787|ptaid|dsa-847157790233|&CMP=KNC-GUK-CPC-KWL&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpZnendn_7AIV2O3tCh36cAR2EAAYASAAEgJdfvD_BwE

 

I have the cheap and cheerful £10 tester that I bought in 2002 when I sat my MK data training course?

[ProDave]

My take on Cat 5 is I ran plenty around the house to all rooms, but so far only one is actually in use (wired ethernet to desktop computer)  the rest are "spare".  So I have not terminated any or even cut back box holes for them.  Instead they are all coiled up in know locations in the service void so when a use for them appears. I can cut a back box hole in the plasterboard and fit a socket.

 

Same with phone points.  With cordless phones we only use one phone point, yet every room has a phone cable just sat in the service void should we wish to use it.

 

Some rooms have spare tv cables as well just in case we want the tv in a different place.  Guess where those cables are waiting for possible use one day........

[TonyT]

Agree with ProDave, I took the same approach and flood wired all rooms with Cat6 and Sat cable, as I was rewiring  and installing heating so had floor boards up.
loads hanging in the Cupboard, terminated as and when required.

 

[Oz07]

Is it @AliG who has the Wi-Fi boosters? Personally I think they are now more crucial that extra hardwired data cables. Some houses you struggle for signal at opposite ends. 

[Mr Punter]

19 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Is it @AliG who has the Wi-Fi boosters? Personally I think they are now more crucial that extra hardwired data cables. Some houses you struggle for signal at opposite ends. 

 

If you have CAT5 you can add a proper access point(s) to give you wider wifi coverage without any lowering of signal / drop out / SSID name  issues - just seamless wifi throughout.

[Oz07]

I thought this might be the case. I don't suffer from the wifi issue in my shoebox though!

[Gav_P]

8 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

 

If you have CAT5 you can add a proper access point(s) to give you wider wifi coverage without any lowering of signal / drop out / SSID name  issues - just seamless wifi throughout.

Or just get up to date with a mesh WiFi system. £100 and I have coverage everywhere in the house (lots of old thick stone walls) and the complete garden (approx 500m2). No noticeable drop in speed (less than 1mbps difference between bottom of garden WiFi and Lan connected laptop to router). 

[Temp]

There are several ways to improve wifi coverage but ..

 

First thing I would do is download this free Wifi Analyser App for Android or a similar one and check what channels are in use near you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keuwl.wifi

Put it Channel mode (see buttons at the bottom) and walk around where its bad to see if there are lots of other wifi stations in the area. 

 

Although there are 13 channels a wifi access point effectively broadcasts on a block of 4. So in practice life can get tricky if there are more than three or four wifi access points in close proximity. Channels 1, 6 and 11 are recommended to keep them from overlapping.

 

However most ISP give you router set up on channel 1. So one cause of poor coverage is interference from a neighbours wifi that is also on ch 1. You might be able to improve your coverage simply by switching it to ch 6 or 11 for no cost at all.

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by Temp

[ProDave]

One advantage of being in the country, is the neighbours are far enough away for their wifi to be completely out of range.

[AliG]

1 hour ago, Oz07 said:

Is it @AliG who has the Wi-Fi boosters? Personally I think they are now more crucial that extra hardwired data cables. Some houses you struggle for signal at opposite ends.

I have Ubiquiti hardwired access points. I am not the only person I think.

 

Wireless boosters use some of your bandwidth and slow down your internet, so it is better to have access points wired back to the man router.

 

The most efficient solution is to run ethernet cables to a few places and then have wireless access points there.

 

Ultimately we put in ethernet to everywhere there is a TV as then you can connect up a Sky Q box or the TV itself and then in most rooms a second ethernet cable for an access point. Other than TVs most devices that accesss the internet do not get plugged into it anymore.

 

Only two or three of them actually connect to a backplate, the access points are mounted on the ceiling as that gives the best signal, so the cable just comes through the plasterboard into the back of them.

 

In a house with concrete upper floors and block walls we needed a lot more access points than you would need in a timber frame house. Two or three should do most people.

Edited November 13, 2020 by AliG

[joth]

1 hour ago, Oz07 said:

Is it @AliG who has the Wi-Fi boosters? Personally I think they are now more crucial that extra hardwired data cables. Some houses you struggle for signal at opposite ends. 

 

Wireless booster / mesh tech keeps changing.  Having extra wired connections will never go out of fashion and indeed as others are saying will definitely help existing mesh APs work much better, and very likely will continue to do so in future.

Ultimately, the wireless bandwidth available in a given building is inherently constrained by the laws of physics (and licensing politics), but wired bandwidth is only limited by the quantity of copper (or fiber) you pull.

 

PS use CAT6, no point using CAT5 these days.

New PoE++ spec recommends CAT6A (or at least AWG23 with foil screen)

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by joth

[Temp]

Even where you dont have a cabled network I've found the powerlink kit works well. A tx unit near my CU and I can plug a wifi AP anywhere in the house, even out in the shed which is what I got it for. I get a WiFi connection connection speed limited by my broadband connection (around 40Mb/s according to fast.com).

 

Edit: I probably wouldn't build a house that relied on it but it would be my choice over wifi boosters/repeaters.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Temp