Hello! I've been reading a couple of the articles* on here with great interest, but I need more help, as I know very little about networks and less about TV.
We have the builders in, and right now the upstairs walls are just partitions. I suddenly realised this is the perfect moment to drop network and TV cable in, but what to use??
We currently have a standard TV aerial, with a 4-way splitter in the loft, and ADSL with a Netgear DG824M. So current requirements are modest, but I am trying to look into the future. I am thinking that Cat6 and satellite-quality coax is probably what I should install (other suggestions welcome). I am thinking of Asterisk (open source PABX) and eventually a media centre, plus no doubt more PCs/Xbox/etc.
* I came across this site via a link to Tim Higgins' Diary of a New Home Network, which is great and really informative, but of course slightly different regs from the UK. Followed links to Homegrown Networks and various other discussions - all extremely interesting and helpful. This is a terrific site!
PS Is there a UK equivalent of Deep Surplus? Their keystone wallplates look ideal for what I want.
I believe in the UK and European countries it's a standard to use STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) while in the US and Canada we use UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair).
You can't go wrong using Cat6 for your home network, just know where you want the drops to go.
As far as your television.. I'm not really up and up on it but I think you want to use RG6 Coax - You might even want to contact the service provider and ask what they recommend using.
For network, I'd run 2 cables to each spot if you can afford it. If not, you can always put in a switch at some point and branch off one connection. Maybe run two lines where you know you'll have computers set up, mainly in case one line goes bad or you need additional connections.
I considered cat6 but having spoken to a few friends in the networking business I realised it would be overkill as well as being far more complex to terminate correctly.
UTP is normal in the UK.
Cat5e cable is so cheap that I ran a minimum of 2 drops to every room as well as some speculative ones to places like the porch (for a security camera perhaps)
Other things to consider is putting a small plastic bag over the end of the cable. When the plasterers and painters have been in it will save you having to clean the cables then looking for the label to work out which drop it is
As for labelling drops I used white electrical insulating tape then ballpen to write the numbers on.
I also kept the key to which number went where in 2 seperate workbooks cos its a right pain when you cant work out who is who.
Hi, as theDaySleeper has said, cat6 is overkill! It is very difficult to terminate if you do not have the right tools/experience. It would future-proof the network media in your home, but it is a bit pointless, as you could at a later date, replace the cables very easily by simply taping the new cables to the old ones, and pull them through as you pull out the old. Cat5 would more than suffice for the needs you have. Connectix is a very reliable, very cheap cat5 cable. Their jacks etc are also very cheap.
As for coax (TV), CT100 would be perfect, its pretty simple to terminate, as long as you have the correct tools.
And as you say, now would be a perfect time to drop the cables!
Incase youre wondering, I am a networking engineer, so thats how I know all this!
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