Registered: Jul 2000
Location: cambridge, MA USA
Posts: 27

I'm moving into a new place, and I'm planning on splitting a cable modem with my other two roommates. The hub is about 50 feet away from where I want to put my computer. I don't have a 50 foot ethernet cable; however, I do have a bunch of short cables. Can I buy a connector to link all of these cables to my room, or do I have to break down and buy the $40 50 foot cable?

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 289

You can get couplers to connect the ethernet cables together .. I did a quick search and found them for $5 each at http://www.comready.com/catrjcoup.html

Joe

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Reading, MA
Posts: 28

Geez, you could buy a box of cable and a
plug dohicky at home depot for 50...

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 289

But then u need an RJ45 crimp tool and other stuff.. Has Home Depot started carrying data grade CAT5 cabling? Last time I checked, I only saw coax cable and CAT3 ..

If virgilio only needs to connect 2 (maybe 3) cables, the couplers are probably the best bet .. anything over that and he should be able to pickup a 50' patch cable for around $25 or so..

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Reading, MA
Posts: 28

The do carry CAT5, but the crimper is going to be the expensive part. My brother-in-law bought a box to wire his house. Crimping CAT5 can also be a real pain,
so if you need a tester it is going to be even more
expensive.

Still, 40 for a cable is ridiculous.

http://www.us.buy.com/retail/produc...870&loc=101

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

expensive!

EXPENSIVE!!

I recently bought a 100 ft Cat 5 patch cable for 18 dollars at a local computer store (www.nanosys1.com) ( they deliver) I did notice that at CompUSA they were selling the same cable for 70 dollars, so It seems that this kind of cabling is where big stores make their money

-miradu2000

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 289

Yeah .. thats how it usually is with the various retailers (compusa, bestbuy, etc..) they have high markups on the cables & accessories since people usually buy them to go along with their new purchase .. However, you have to be careful with the cheaper cables, doesn't do much good if it causes errors in transmission and your computer system is constantly resending data..

Joe

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

yup

Yup. you are right. But just to not give genreal nanosystems a bad name becasue their cable is cheap. I got the cable 2 weeks ago. And having ping constantly going (I'm crazy.. just wanna always know if the network goes down from the linux end) I've not lost 1 packet.. it probably helps that I only have 2 comptuers connected. But I'm going through a hub. And this cable is great. It is OEM, i think that they might make it themselves... But it uses CAT 5 cable and it works so..

--miradu2000

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 289

My intent was not to give any particular vendor a bad name, I just know that cables are not all made the same so saving a few bucks on a cable might not be a good idea in the long run .. thats all.

Joe

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: cambridge, MA USA
Posts: 27

thanks for the help

I ended up buying a 100 ft cable for myself from buy.com ($18.00 - $10 coupon = $8!) I also picked up a 50 ft one for my roommate; even though he has to pay a 15% restocking fee to return the $40 cable he bought at compusa, he's still saving money (his cost $10 at buy.com)

I'll let you all know if I have any problems with cheap cable.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 28

Buy.com Eeeks!

I've had terrible luck with Buy.com.
I stopped buying from them after 2 purchases.

* 1 DB25 cable had bent shielding. (I fixed w/ needle nose pliers)
* 1 DB25 cable had bent pins. (I fixed w/ needle nose pliers)
* 1 DB25 Data Switch box showed up with Centronics inputs and outputs.... how impractical is that?

Since these were low cost personal purchases I just ate the loss on the Data Switch box. (Registered return mail just didn't seem worth it.)

The company may be good.
However, their suppliers leave MUCH to be desired. Reject seconds are not a way to keep customers.

I hope you had better luck with them then I did.

__________________

(OvaGirl's home away from home)

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Posts: 406

A while ago I bought a RJ45 F-F coupler from Radio Shack. Long story short, it didn't work. It wasn't the cabling, it's wasn't the distance. Don't know what the heck the deal was with this thing, but the coupler didn't work. Returned it, tried another, same thing. I say just go with single cables to span between connect points.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 638

quote:

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Originally posted by Vertigo
A while ago I bought a RJ45 F-F coupler from Radio Shack. Long story short, it didn't work. It wasn't the cabling, it's wasn't the distance.

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 289

RJ45 is the connector and the cable is rated (ie, category 3 or category 5) -- cat5 cable is used for 10/100base-t ethernet connections (there is an enhanced Cat5 and a cat6 for 1000base-t ethernet) and is designed to transmit at 300ft without any type of amplification/repeating unit. RJ11 connectors are used for telephone/voice communication and can run across CAT3 or lower grade cabling. Satellite/Cable/DSL Modems (or better, routers) generally convert their transport to an RJ45 connector to hook into data networks (ie a hub/switch/router/pc/etc..) -- given their speed, they usually support CAT3 or CAT5/CAT5+ cabling.

In anycase, the coupler should have worked assuming it is the correct connector & the distance didn't exceed 300ft..

fyi -- rg11 connectors have 2 pairs of wires (4 total) while RJ45 connectors have 4 pairs of wires (8 total).

Joe

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Walnut Creek, Ca, USA
Posts: 16

My $0.02

Just to add my $0.02 to this discussion.

If you want excellent prices check out http://www.outpost.com - and remember when doing a price comparison that at outpost they do NOT charge sales tax AND they provide FREE overnight delivery.

I discovered them about a year ago and have been very happy with them.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: NJ
Posts: 517

Yes, outpost.com is great, but I ended up buying my cable at buy.com. The price was cheaper, and the cable was good quality. You really just have to compare places on a product to product basis I think. I bought my computer, monitor, speakers and video card from outpost, but they didn't have good prices on network equipment or the camcorder I wanted, so I went other places. Overall I do think outpost is one of the best stores, but it isn't the cheapest 100% of the time.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 165

If you're in California you might want to look at a Fry's Electronics. ( : : pause for the collective groan from anyone who's ever been to Fry's : : ) Their CAT-5 cable is pretty well priced, and you can take care of all of your other network needs.

Just make sure you know EXACTLY what you're looking for when you go, because the guys on the floor won't be any help. And try to avoid the place on weekends, and for the love of God don't pay with a check! Like most people, I have a love/hate relationship with Fry's... usually pretty good prices, usually everything I'm looking for, but the worst customer service & the most back-assward operation I've ever experienced.

If you're not familiar with Fry's, you'll find this enlightening:

http://www.best.com/~braith/frys.htm

-Andy

__________________
<br>"Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union" -Frank Lloyd Wright

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 638

quote:

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Originally posted by Usonian


If you're not familiar with Fry's, you'll find this enlightening:

http://www.best.com/~braith/frys.htm

-Andy

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That was great
BEN

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 289

I agree with Andy's viewpoint 100% -- I like the wide selection of components -- the ability to compare side-to-side is great -- I also like their return policy -- never had a problem returning stuff..

Joe

ps -- they have two stores in Arizona..

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Posts: 406

quote:

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Originally posted by BEN

quote:

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Originally posted by Vertigo
A while ago I bought a RJ45 F-F coupler from Radio Shack. Long story short, it didn't work. It wasn't the cabling, it's wasn't the distance.

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[snip]
I just though of this. Were you trying to hook up satillite, a cable modem or digital cable to the RJ45? If you were then it wouldn't work? You need to run RJ58 (I think that's the number) for those applications.
BEN

[Edited by BEN on 09-09-2000 at 04:22 PM]

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