running CAT5e/CAT6 outside.....

B

BigGreg85

Gawd
Joined
Jun 19, 2003
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Ok so I plan to run a CAT5e or CAT6 cable up to the second floor of the house....the only way to really do it is to run it out side along the aluminum siding of the house up to the attic and then drop it down into the room.

would there be a problem doing this....I really dont see this cable having the could of protection against the Chicago Weather.

any insight is appreciated.

thank you

=greg=
 
shielded utp can take some stuff.

Just don't exaggerate
 
I would use some conduit just to be safe. Because wiring sucks [H]ard.
 
I mean we have done the same thing with coax cable for like years and it is still holding up quite well....i just think coax has better insulant than CAT5e/CAT6......


thanks for the input so far keep it coming
 
My friends have a cat5 cable running between their houses through the trees. One of them has a cable modem and the other doesn't...so he leeches. One time last winter the cable fell down in a storm and my friend's dad ran it over with the snowblower, that was pretty good. We were in the middle of an online UT game, and he dropped from the game, haha.

But the cable was replaced, and it's been there for 8 or 9 months. A blue wire going through the trees between their houses.
 
I would also suggest getting some conduit and STP.
 
I have some cat5e run up to the attic and its been working for a good two years.
 
I don't think even STP is needed for the distance you're talking -- there's probably less EMI on average outdoors than indoors. Just don't run next to a power line.
 
I wouldn't use Cat 5e. Use Cat6 its has better shielding and insulation. I ran Cat6 outdoors with out any problems.
 
so would you all just suggest running CAT6 then....I was gonna tuck it behind some aluminum siding to protect it a little bit better.....its only outside for about a good 25-30ft.......im mostly woried about it in the dead of cold and the rubber case cracks and exposes the wires.....

should be alright though

right?
 
Yeah Cat 6 has thicker insulation on each wire plus it has a thicker sheith as well as a foam core. I ran Cat 6 125 Feet Outside, in Alberta to boot. Some time it hits to -40 Out here. THe only extra thing I did is I got a some PVC water pipe from hardware store and ran the cable through that, I need it to run into a building through a whole which needed to be pluged back up.
 
Why get all creative with your wiring if you could just drop in some 802.11b/g NICs and call it a day? For the price of the CAT-6 you could get the WNICs for just a few dollars more.
 
STP sounds great and all... but unles you know what you're doing and have the proper equipment to terminate the shielding, you're likely to do more harm than good and will turn that one wire into a giant antenna.

If you are going to run a cable outside, just throw it in some conduit and cap the ends. Of course, you could just run the bare wire if you want. You may see some issues, but it'll do the job.

And of course, wireless is getting very cheap (but I still prefer wired ;) )
 
BobSutan said:
Why get all creative with your wiring if you could just drop in some 802.11b/g NICs and call it a day? For the price of the CAT-6 you could get the WNICs for just a few dollars more.
Click to expand...

up untill about two weeks ago i was running a 802.11b(linksys) network for about 3yrs. It started to crap out.....fadded signals,lost packets, and lost connections every 2-3min. So I got new hardware dlink 802.11g stuff....same thing.....so I got fed up and decided to do it the right way and just wire it.


I really dont wanna get into the conduit thing, because it is going to be running up the side of my house tucked behind the siding, so it wont be to visible. I think copper conduit would look kinda gaudy.
 
I think your idea should work fine. I'm looking to do something similar, but I have to run the cable some 250 feet. But I'm in southern california, where it NEVER gets below 35-40 degrees F. I'm more worried about the sun cracking the outer insulation, so I'm running this cable under the eaves where it will be out of direct sun.

I'll use cat6, since others in this thread have said it's got better insulation.

Thanks and good luck!
 
Regular CAT6 unsheilded will work fine. If you look around you should be able to find some grades that can be run outdoors that have a better jacket around them for climate changes, but as long as your not moving the cable in the dead of winter it shouldn't present a problem.
 
There also is outdoor rated Cat5e cable which is gel filled and has a thicker jacket. You might want to look into it.
 
jeffmoss26 said:
There also is outdoor rated Cat5e cable which is gel filled and has a thicker jacket. You might want to look into it.
Click to expand...


Yep.
Only way to go.. Keeps animals from chewing on it also, if that has the potential of being a problem.
 
i have regular cat5e running for about 50 feet outside for the past two years, no problems at all.
 
I think copper conduit would look kinda gaudy.
Click to expand...
PVC is your friend. And, it's pretty cheap. Cat5e will run gigabit fine, so that's what I'd go with. It's cheaper than Cat6. Pay a couple more dolars for the higher quility cable. It's worth it in the long run.
 
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