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Hey all, i’m hoping to set up a home network of sorts in that i want to have the internet available at specific points around the house without using wifi. Ideally i want a data socket or 2 by the TV (internet capable TV, xbox, media streaming device etc), one in the new rear extension by the TV, maybe in the back room in case we decide to put a pc desk there, one in the box room and one in the front bedroom upstairs.
A few questions.
I currently have a netgear DG834G router modem that has 4 ports on the rear. If i reduce the required number of sockets to 4 can i simply run out cat5 cable from the router to each point then connect it in a data outlet ?
Do i use something like this:
if so, how does it work ? I can see from the pic the 8 outlets but where do i plug in the internet connection ? Is this even the right thing to buy, will i simply run a cat5 from this to my desired position and then plug what ever i want into the socket and get full internet access ?
My current setup has the main telephone socket downstairs in a small cupboard by the front door, an extension runs upstairs to my box room/office where i have the netgear router.
This was installed when ADSL first became available and i think pre dates the filter system that is more often used now. As you see from the pic the faceplate has 2 sockets, 1 regular telephone and the other is a data socket (RJ45?) The extension that runs upstairs runs off this faceplate and terminates in a simple surface mounted data socket. Ideally i need to move this from the box room to the front bedroom (bedroom 2) as that is where we plan to have a small pc desk and we can free up the box room should we get lucky enough next year to start a family.
Returning to the idea of having separate sockets at each point, where the TV is would i need to run 2 or 3 separate lines there or will one suffice, if so how would i split it into 2 or 3 separate outlets so that i can for example have the TV, xbox and a media streamer all running together.
As you can tell i’m totally clueless when it comes to networks, i simply want to have internet access at the various points without using wifi as i don’t want any degradation of speed/latency. If i can then have a pc at one point with media on it and be able to stream to or from it then i guess that’s a bonus too.
This is a rough sketch of what my layout will be and where i intend to put the outlets:
Any advice is appreciated.
cheers.
Signal gave me some helpful pointers – listen to him.
My tuppence worth….
Yes you could run 4 lines direct from your router… not a very elegant solution though.
That switch is shit – if you are putting in cat5e cable you should get a gigabyte switch… upgrade to a gigabyte router if yours doesn’t support it.
If you did get that one – it has 8 jacks at the front – most likely just plug the router into any of the 8 and it then splits the signal to the other 7. Some routers have a dedicated input jack at the back though.
For TV if you are using Sky you should work out where your tv signal is going to come in to the house – then you use a signal splitter at that point. All your coax cables should come into that central point ready to take the signal as needed.
cheers signal and doc.
My sky comes into the front room where the existing TV is sited and where it will remain.
The switch i picked out there was the first thing i found that i could use to explain my ideas, i have no knowledge of what would be good/bad, the problem is i’m trying to do this within a sensible budget. I don’t think i’ll be doing much streaming to and from various sources but i know i will need the internet at certain points where wifi just won’t be beneficial.
Cheers for any advice gents, my head is hurting already and i haven’t even started yet! 🙂
@11thSignal wrote:
i’ll talk to you later when I get back from work. I helped Doc out with his.
still waiting!!! 😉
in essence what i need to do to get my broadband to various points around the house without it being overly complicated or expensive!
I think i may invest in a mede8er unit or 2 to cater for any media streaming which i want to connect to the net to utilise internet radio etc. As i understand it i can stream music etc from one unit to another and if connected to a network i can also access any files that may be stored on a pc or a standalone “server”.
I’m totally lost with networks and probably don’t appreciate all that can be done with them (i’d love to have music streamed to my bathroom for example) so am looking for any guidance, advice or general info!
cheers.
I thought you had the basics already.
You want a structured wiring system… so all points go to one place in the house… so that is your tv area. Work out how much cable you need to run from there to each point. I would advise that you run two lines of cat 5e
http://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/acatalog/UTP_Solid_Cable.html
and also two lines of coaxial.
Buy some faceplates
http://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/acatalog/Cable_Monkey_Shop_UTP_Outlets_151.html#a008_2d001_2d005_2d21
And learn from youtube how to punch down your wires (I ended up paying my leccy to do this – but he ripped me off and I wish I had just bought the tools myself.) You need a punchdown tool.
http://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/acatalog/tools.html
At your TV area you need to plug all these cables into a switch…. buy it on ebay.
Then your router plugs into the switch.
make sure your router and switch are 1gig network capable.
You can also get a splitter for your sky and hook up your co axials here.
Problem with having it in the living room is it will be unsightly – – you need to think about a case of some sort to hide it all away.
Lastly… you dont need that medi8r thing – though it is probably fine.
I would just buy a cheap NAS box and hook that into your network for all your media streaming.
Other things to do with network… I just bought a network camera. It is set to keep an eye on the baby when we are downstairs (can watch her on the laptop.) Now that I have proved the concept (using it on my LAN/ accessing it remotely on the net.) I am now going to spend a couple of hundred quid on an IR camera that works in the dark to use for security.
If anyone breaks in… motion sensors take pictures of the guy… and emails them to me!!!
I love this stuff.
Sorry Wild totally forgot about you wanting help, pretty much what the DOC says, get a cheapish 16/24 gigabit switch( although a 100meg will still be fine) probably best if i can call you or you me. Drop me a pm later.
As for cabling as long as both ends of the cable are wired exactly the same it will work. Tcheers guys.
Why run two lines of cat5e ? Is it simply to have 2 data points at each outlet or is there more to it ?
The router is actually going to be upstairs in one of the bedrooms (currently in my box room) so i can put all the stuff up there and have it hidden away in a wardrobe or cupboard.
The sky comes in downstairs by the TV so i guess i’l have to put the splitter there, which one did you use doc and how good is it? i’ll probably only be running the sky into the extension anyhow so may just piggyback off the box for that.
In your setup, i understand you have all your media on your NAS. What do you use to access that media at the various points ? For example, if i have my TV in my front room and another in the extension and myself and Claire want 2 separate feeds (she a film, myself some music for example) what would you use from those points to stream the media to the TV/AV receiver ? I’m guessing a playstation or xbox could be used and obviously a laptop but i wonder if you use a specific media streaming device that may also allow you to access internet radio from any of those points ?
looking at your setup doc:
you say you have audio and data patch panels as well as a 24 port switch. Would i need these ?
If they are not required then i assume all i need to do is connect the router to the switch panel. Run separate lines out from the switch to the data points. Connect the NAS to the router (or switch?) and then hopefully have interweb/network access at all points?
I used to have a punchdown tool when i was an electrician many moons ago but think i lent it out and never got it back. I think i still have some of those cheap plastic tools you get free with a BT faceplate – any good ? 😉
thanks again.
@TurksMeister wrote:
Why dont you save youself a load of hassle and get some home plugs?!
don’t like the sound of them……..i imagine the signal gets degraded by line noise etc
I actually use some of these ethernet over power boxes and to be honest they ahve worked really well for me. I would from a personal perspective prefer to hard wire eevrything though especially if you have the workers in already.
@=XDC= wild egg tamer wrote:
The sky comes in downstairs by the TV so i guess i’l have to put the splitter there, which one did you use doc and how good is it? i’ll probably only be running the sky into the extension anyhow so may just piggyback off the box for that.
I have a lot of experience in this area. What you you want to do specifically?
A)Just piggy back the signal from the box to another room and watch the same picture in another room?
This pretty straightforward you just run a feed from RF2 on the back of the box to the other room, you need to go onto the Engineer Installer Menu ( Services, System Setup, 0,1 select) and turn the power to RF2 on (by default it is set to off) the default frequency is set to 68 although you can change it depending on your TV. Plug into the back of the TV in the RF Input (Aerial) and choose a channel number on your TV for SKY – most people use 9 or 0 then using the TV setup/Tuning options scan until you see a picture. (Tip: I always push the TV Guide on the Sky Box beforehand as it’s easier to ensure you’ve scanned the right channel)B) do you want to watch a seperate channel in seperate locations?
If you want to watch different channels in different rooms you will need a Sky box at the other end as the signal is encrytped – If you just want to use it for basic ‘Freeview’ then you can pickup cheap boxes from ebay I have a few knocking around if your stuck 😉 However, if you want to watch seperate Sky Subscription Channels you will need to do it though Sky for a viewing card and box for reasons all ready stated.
If you are running coax behind the wall terminating to a faceplate then run twin feeds in both locations that way you can plug you SKy+ HD or Sky+ box in either room – The Sky Box will operate on a single feed however you will have issues with recording and playback. If you are getting an electrician to do this make sure they terminate the cable ends correctly or you won’t get a signal and also make sure all feeds are being pulled directly from the LNB on the dish. If you have Sky + or Sky+ HD you will have a quad LNB by default meaning unless you’re already using them, you should have 2 spare connections on the LNB. Again I have some quads and some Octo LNB’s knocking around so if you need one let me know.
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