| How would you wire this? Please forgive my lack of terminology. Complete noob. I'm switching cable providers and I'd like to try setting up my wiring a bit differently this time. Need some advice.
My main PC is in my office, and I'd like the modem and router to be there, too, so I can easily hardwire my PC to the router.
Problem is, my office is located on opposite end of house from the box on the wall where the coax comes in. Previous cable company said they weren't getting a strong enough signal at the office, so they set up the modem and router in kitchen. This puts the wifi in a more central spot, but it means that my office PC is connected via wifi.
So my question is, am I better off keeping my router in its current location and paying someone to run a long Cat5 to my office, or should I try to run a new coax to the office and put the router there?
The distances are as follows:
- 65 feet from the utility box to the house.
- 25 feet from the wall to the kitchen jack (these distances are just straight line approximations. The cable is almost certainly longer.)
- 70 feet from wall to office jack (on main floor).
- 40 feet from kitchen router to office.
If I were to run a new coax cable, or a new Cat5, it would probably need to run outside the house because my basement is finished and it would a real PITA to try running it inside from one side of house to other. That means adding some distance to the above lengths.
So, run a longer coax to the office, or keep router in the kitchen and run a Cat5 from there?
I'm told my new installer will add a jack for $35, but I'm not sure i can expect him to run a new coax around the house for that price. |
| Going around the outside of the house with Cat5 is a NO-NO. Going around with RG-6 would be doable. But since your signal levels are questionable, the added length of coax off a splitter and running around the outside of the house probably will dump your signal levels out of spec. The installer will do it, but this may end up causing another truck roll to solve the inevitable signal issues. Since the basement is a no go, what about the attic? Do you have access through the ceiling of a closet? This would probably be your easiest/cheapest/best bet. Either pull coax or Cat5 (in some sort of thin conduit) under the carpet or behind the baseboards, into the closet. Once in there, neatness isn't as a big of an issue. |
