Install Cat5e Jack with Existing Coax Jack

[bdgordon10]

I am wanting to, as the title says, install a Cat5e Ethernet jack in an already-installed low-voltage wall box which is currently housing just a Type-F connector for a coaxial connnection. The room I want to install it in is a basement, interior wall, with both sides finished. There is a crawl space above the ceiling of about 18 inches, which is accessible approximately 20-25 feet away from where I want the jack to be installed. I can't see where the coax cable drops down into the stud from the unfinished side due to HVAC, canned lights, etc. being in the way. I do have access to the other end of the coax cable in the unfinished side of the basement.

What I was thinking about was tying a couple pieces of string to the upstream-end of the coax cable and pulling the cable out of the opening in the room and using the strings to pull the cable back with the ethernet cable taped to it. My issue, though, that when I go to tug on the coax cable from the end in the room, the cable won't budge, leading me to assume that the cable is stapled to the studs and/or floor joists. Also, I don't want to break the strings pulling it back up and not being able to reconnect the coax cable to the splitter.

I am wondering if there are any other techniques or methods I can use to fish a Cat5e cable back to the unfinished side of the basement without cutting many (preferably none at all) holes into the drywall or ceiling.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[bill001g]

Going to be tough. The largest issue is getting though the top plate of the wall. If there was a big hole drilled when they put the coax in might be able to get a wire fish tape though it and then push it until you could see/snag the end with a second tape.

If the box is plastic you can carefully break it and then put a flashlight and small web cam though the hole to look into the wall cavity. The box is easily replace with special boxes that attach to the drywall.

They make special flexible fiberglass drill extensions that would allow you to use the box hole to extend up and drill though the plate. Still I don't think I would do that unless you could see where it comes out. You could end up going into the AC duct or a wire.

Maybe you would be better off cutting another box hole at a point you can see the top of the wall. Even with the special drill extensions it is still very tedious to get a hole drilled in the top plate via a small access hole.

Of course the simple way is to cut a access into the ceiling near the wall and then patch it...depends on you skill level fixing drywall