Signal loss over extended ethernet cable?

Ronald Epstein · 05-09-2006, 05:14 AM

Quick question....

I may be buying a media device that needs to be hooked
directly to a wireless router in order to stream video content
across my home.

Problem is, the device is in the adjoining room and cannot
easily be hooked directly to the router.

I can, however, run 50' of ethernet cable from one room to
another (I already have a small hole in the wall between the
two rooms).

If I run 50' of ethernet cable, will there be a measurable loss
in signal strength between the two devices?

I'm sort of comparing this to the way you lose signal
strength when using using long extensions of coax cable.

Also, do I need a CAT5 or CAT6 cord? I have no idea the
difference.

SethH · 05-09-2006, 05:35 AM

IIRC, you should be fine up to at least 100 meters.

For cabling I would go with Cat5e which is an "extended" standard of Cat5. Cat5 will allow performance up to 100Mbps, but Cat5e can be used in gigabit networks which is appealing for future upgrades.

Ronald Epstein · 05-09-2006, 05:47 AM

Seth,

Thanks for the response.

Further question....

Shopping for CAT5E cables there are so many variations
at different price levels.

There are standard cables, patch cables, crossover cables, etc.

I can get a 50' cable for under $10 and one at $25-40.

Any recommendations? Are there really any variances in
quality?

Scott Merryfield · 05-09-2006, 07:21 AM

As long as the cable is cat5e certified, it should be fine, Ron. Also, you do not want a crossover cable -- that reverses the transmit and receive cable pairs. Seth is correct about the length -- 10BaseT and 100BaseT ethernet cable limit specifications are 100 meters.

Andrew Pratt · 05-09-2006, 09:38 AM

I've got my media device connected to a 50' Cat5 cable and there's no issue at all...in fact my notebook, printer and soundbridge are all on 50' cables.

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