OK…there’s enough internet-savvy people here that someone must have been in this same situation as me. Here are the details:
We just got DSL installed into the computer in our basement (Windows 98 w/Ethernet card). Now what we want to do is share this DSL connection with another computer in the house. The only problem: That computer is on the second floor of the house–two levels up.
I’ve looked into wireless home networking, but that’s just too expensive. The only solution that I can afford is to link the two computers via a router/switch.
My big question is this: How can I run the cable from the basement up to the second floor? I’d rather not run it on the outside of the house. There must be a way to somehow “feed” the cable up through the walls. I mean–don’t cable television installers somehow get the coax up through the walls somehow? I just don’t know how to go about doing this. Also, is there a limit to the length of the cable b/t the two computers? How long can it be before it affects the quality of the signal?
Another possibility I’ve just heard about is something calledHomePlug. This utilizes the electrical wiring itself as the home network. I’ve only read about it, and have never seen it on sale anywhere. Does anyone know more about it?
Has anyone else solved a problem like this? Remember, I’m on a limited budget.
I think the maximumn length of cat 5 ethernet cable is either 300 feet or 300 meters, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Do they make netwrok cable that can hold up to heat? If they do, maybe you could just snake it through your heating ducts.
Do you have a closet or utility room on the first floor that doesnt have a plaster cieling and doesnt have to look nice? you could just drill a hole through the floor and ceiling of that room and put the cable through. This will only work if the room happens to be located in the right spot, though.
I’d give a second thought to wireless networking. I don’t know what ‘too expensive’ is, but I set up mine for $150 including the network card. You can then increase the range of your wireless hub by changing it from an omni-directional to a uni-directional antenna with a high tech (drum roll) Pringles can. Really.
If you go wireless, be damn sure to change all passwords. I remember an article in PC Magazine in which the reporter wandered through a downtown area with a YAGI antenna and found dozens of wireless corporate nets, many of which still had the default passwords, letting any savvy interloper change all the settings.
I doubt you’ll have to worry about high-tech intrusions, but I wouldn’t want a neighbor scoring free internet off my wireless LAN. All he’d have to do is set up a computer with a similar receiver, unless you take steps with passwords and such to lock him out.
Category 5 cable is rated for 100 meters. The tool you need to snake it through walls is a steel fish tape. I have one of these things myself for just such installations (including running cat 5 cable to the second floor of my own house). Maybe you can borrow a unit for this one job.
I have had much luck using the shaft built into the house for the purposes of running the ductwork up to the different floors. There is usually some space available for a thin wire to be run through. be sure to reseal it up afterwards to maintain any firebreaks.
Wired is generally far, far easier to setup and use than wireless. There’s a lot of “wire-phobia” out there.
If you do some checking you will find there are a lot of things that run from your basement to the 2nd floor. Pipes, electric wires, etc. It really isn’t that hard to find them or to fish wire thru them if you are smart.
In my case, for a TV cable from the attic to the basement, I used the run for the doorbell wire. (It’s nicely low voltage too.) I didn’t have to putz much with fishing the wire either. I disconnected the bell wire at one end, attached a small wire, pulled it thru the other end, attached the cable to that end and pulled the cable and bell wire back thru. I have also dropped cable thru the hollows of interior walls (not exterior). There’s just too many ways to mention and without actually seeing your house I can’t point out the 10 easy ways to run cable thru your home.
Regarding running cable next to ductwork. (I strongly advise against running inside ductwork!) What you need is “plenum grade” cable. Ordinary Cat 5 won’t work. A bit more $ but not a fire hazard. Also a good idea to stay away from flues entirely. Running next to standard housewiring might be against code in your area.
Small, well made holes in drywall can be easily fixed. Don’t be afraid of making small holes.
Networking over power or phone lines generally get absolutely terrible reviews in magazines.
They have something that is called a wireless bridge which can be used to connect 2 wired networks. This bridge can be used to span the 2 floors (use the pringles can if you have to).
Other then that they have devices that use power lines and phone lines that you already have in your house.
If you really want to run the cable run it through closets and thelike - just keep it out of site and you should be OK.
If you have a furnace or a fireplace, chances are there’s a chimney with a gap between the chimney and the surrounding walls/floors. Category five will run down this gap nicely. Drop a string first, with a couple of big paper clips on the end for weight, have somebody feed the cat5 down as you pull the string.
I would just run the cable up through the ceiling and then through walls. Get a little plastic covering to hide the cable if you want to. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and let’s face it… you’re not trying to win an Elegance Prize, here.
I second running it through a heating duct. My father ran a phone line for the modem back in the late 80s through heating ducts. Worked just fine–of course, a 1200-baud modem isn’t exactly the same as a cat 5 ethernet connection.
If you are going to run cable from one floor to another (especially if you are going through ductwork)…be sure to consider getting plenum grade Cat 5 cable as opposed to PVC.
I see it is now $90 after rebate. The PCI card for the PC (you only need one - the PC nearest the router just plugs straight into it) costs about $60. So you will be up and running for about $150. I found it very easy to set up. I do work in the IT industry, but in software development, not hardware or network admin, so I’m no expert.
I’m not particularly recommending either Linksys or buy.com. They just happen to be what I used. I’ve had the network for about a year and had no problems.
Slight hijack: is plenum really more resistant to fire? I thought the only difference between plenum and regular cable was that, if there was a fire, a plenum cable will not produce toxic fumes (which makes it much much better for home and office wiring). What’s the scoop?
I would second the idea of using heating ducts (this won’t work if you don’t have a forced-air heating system, of course).
We have an older house, but a relatively new (10 yrs. or so old) gas forced-air furnace. The “hot” air that is coming out of the furnace isn’t really all that hot - about 90 degrees. Nowhere near hot enough to be a fire hazard or a danger of melting anything.
We’ve got a telephone line and a cable t.v. line both run from the living/dining room area to bedrooms on the second floor. Just in through the register in the living room and out through the register in the bedroom floor.
We just did it in reverse, dangled the wire in from the bedroom register and had someone snag it when it wiggled down far enough to reach the living room.
Works just fine and it was cheap and easy to do. The wires run from the telephone jack/cable jack, along the top of the baseboards, into the register; and from the register vent, along the baseboards again, and up to the appliance they’re connected to. They aren’t really noticeable at all.
MAX TORQUE -------- Plenum rated cable is less caustic when it burns.
I wouldnt use heat ducts. Its illegal per the NEC. (National Electric Code) Like others said in this thread, there are many common walls in a house that can be used. If your observant you can tell where the first floor walls are in the basement. You can also tell by digging around in the insulation in the attic where the walls are too. Find a noninsulated common wall and drill a 3/4 inch hole from the basement up. Using the same wall drill the same size hole from the attic down (directly over the basement hole). You now have two holes in the same wall (one in the basement and one in the attic). Drop some kite string down from the attic whith a big UGLY knot in it and a nut for weight. Use a lot of string in making the knot. What you want is something to hook with a piece of hanger wire in the basement hole. Bend a short tight hook in some hanger wire and shove it up the basement hole and spin it around untill you catch the string(the one with the BIG knot in it). Gently pull the string through the hole and you now have a pull wire from the basement to the attic. Once youre in the attic with your cable, find the wall that the computer is closest to and drill a hole down into that wall. Push the cable down that new hole and cut a hole in the drywall directly below that hole about one foot off the floor. They make low voltage rings for such projects, so make sure the hole you cut in the drywall is smaller than the ring. Reach in the hole and pull out your wire. Attach ring to wall and install cover plate of your choice. You now have a professional looking job that the landlord or the home inspector won`t gig you on. You can get the drill bit, string, ring, cover plate, and cat 5 wire all from the same place(HomeDepot or such).
As far as wireless goes…I have a Linksys wireless router and a Linksys PCMCIA card for my laptop at home. The router is maybe 15 feet from where I normally use my laptop, and there is one standard drywall/2X4 wall in between. As far as surfing the net goes, it’s not bad, but for downloading files, it’s terrible. Directly connected (when I drag out my extra long CAT5 cable) I get at the very minimum an average of 100kbps downloads. On my wireless, I typically get 10-15kbps. As far as file tranfers between computers is concerned…forget about it…it just takes too long.
I’ve heard the Linksys cards aren’t the best, so maybe that’s a factor. Anyway, that’s my experience with wireless networking.