Linksys and Cable Length

Okay, so I know that the maximum length of a CAT5e cable is not supposed to exceed 328 feet/100 meters. However, all the ready made cables seem to stop at a maximum length of 100 feet. Is that a matter of 328 feet being the theoretical maximum length and 100 feet being the practical maximum length or can I link a few together for 300 feet?

I am getting ready to link a couple buildings together for my boss (a small retail store, shop, and storage) and
we're doing it on the cheap. I plan on using the standard 4 port Linksys BEFSR41 off of a cable modem, and then running about 200 feet of cable into a switch in the middle building, and then from that switch going 100 feet or so into another switch in the last building. I've had 2 50-foot CAT5 cables joined with a coupler running over the roof of my house for a couple years now and never had any problems. I'm actually kind of surprised the plastic has held up this long. Anyways, please let me know if there are any flaws in my plan as well as any advice you might have.

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As has been pointed out on this forum in the past, running bare unshielded/ungrounded signal cables outside could put users in danger of lightning strike.

The fact that you have been doing it for a while without problems may be more attributable to your luck level than anything.

You might want to consider burrying the wire or else getting a good conductive non corroding conduit, like galvenized pipe, and grounding it with a healthy ground.

You have a cat5 surge protector?? Because if your taking about a power surge protector (ie plug into wall) then that'll stop you from having to throw the breaker back on when the lightning rips down the cat5 and destroys every piece of hardware attached to it. I think they arrest in both directions anyway LOL.

<A HREF="http://forums.btvillarin.com/index.php?showtopic=421" target="_new">Psyko's Puter</A><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by psykoikonov on 12/07/03 01:08 AM.</EM></FONT></P>