Cable Question - CAT5 / Phone

All major office buildings, etc. use cat5 for everything.
The only thing I might do different is run two, one for phone and one for
data.
It's high grade twiosted pair and is better than the old bell cable

"daytripper" <day_trippr.DeleteThis@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:egg7lvkcojvqr25l336aaov9fl6a0g6u8h@4ax.com...
 > On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 16:11:46 -0400, "Steve" <abc12345.DeleteThis@aol.com> wrote:
 >
  > >Hi all,
  > >
  > >Building a new house and builder says he runs CAT5 instead of Bell Wire
  > >(phone) and that I should be able to change faceplates and use other 6
wires
  > >for CAT5.
  > >
  > >1. Doesn't phone need solid gauge Bell wire for good voice and 56k modem?
  > >2. Can I really get GOOD 10/100 over a "modified" CAT5 setup?
  > >3. Are there any other problems (cable stupid here) in running 10/100 and
  > >phone in same cable?? Or should I insist on him running real 2-pair
phone
  > >and "un-split" CAT5??
  > >
  > >TIA, Steve
  > >
 >
 > I wouldn't even f*ck with it.
 >
 > The wire is cheap if bought as a roll, and it'll never be easier to run
the
 > wire than while the walls are open studs.
 >
 > Insist. Stamp your feet. Or sneak in and do it yourself.
 > Fixing it later will be a bitch...
 >
 > /daytripper<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Cable Question - CAT5 / Phone 

"Steve" <abc12345.RemoveThis@aol.com> wrote:
 > Building a new house and builder says he runs CAT5 instead of Bell
 > Wire (phone) and that I should be able to change faceplates and use
 > other 6 wires for CAT5.
 >
 > 1. Doesn't phone need solid gauge Bell wire for good voice and 56k
 > modem?
 > 2. Can I really get GOOD 10/100 over a "modified" CAT5 setup?
 > 3. Are there any other problems (cable stupid here) in running
 > 10/100 and phone in same cable?? Or should I insist on him running
 > real 2-pair phone and "un-split" CAT5??

I'm not a technician, but I don't think you'd have any problems with what your
builder is proposing. CAT5 cable comes in both stranded and solid gauge, and
it's typical to use solid going from jack to jack, while stranded is terminated
with plugs (e.g., patch cables). The issue is more about how flexible the
cable has to be. I'd be surprised if the builder didn't use solid inside the
walls.

There's nothing special about "Bell" wire. In contrast, CAT5 is designed for
minimal crosstalk between 4 pairs while carrying signals of at least 100 mbps,
so your modem won't have a problem with its puny 0.056 mbps data rate.

Ethernet only uses two pairs, with the other two pairs in a standard CAT5 cable
remaining unused, so it is possible to split the cable and use the other two
pairs for phone, intercom, or even a second ethernet connection. I don't know
if a second ethernet line would run at 100-mbps, but it works fine at 10-mbps
and I've heard of many installations that do that in a pinch, such as when
another ethernet line is desired but the wiring is already in place.
POTS+ethernet shouldn't have a crosstalk problem.

Having said that, though, daytripper has a point -- it's cheap to run wires
when the walls are open. What your builder proposes probably makes sense for
owners who wouldn't otherwise be installing a network. I can imagine an owner
saying, "no, I don't need wiring for a computer network," and the builder
saying, "fine, but let me do it this way so you can change your mind later."
If you already know you're going to spend the money for network cabling,
though, it feels like this is compromising.

Just my non-technician two cents. When I remodeled some of the rooms in my
house, I put in four-port wall plates in each room for two phone lines, CAT5
ethernet, and RG6 CATV.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Cable Question - CAT5 / Phone 

On 02 Sep 2003 07:35:57 GMT, dg1261.TakeThisOut@cs.com (Dg1261) wrote:

 >
 >"Steve" <abc12345.TakeThisOut@aol.com> wrote:
  >> Building a new house and builder says he runs CAT5 instead of Bell
  >> Wire (phone) and that I should be able to change faceplates and use
  >> other 6 wires for CAT5.
  >>
  >> 1. Doesn't phone need solid gauge Bell wire for good voice and 56k
  >> modem?
  >> 2. Can I really get GOOD 10/100 over a "modified" CAT5 setup?
  >> 3. Are there any other problems (cable stupid here) in running
  >> 10/100 and phone in same cable?? Or should I insist on him running
  >> real 2-pair phone and "un-split" CAT5??
 >
 >I'm not a technician, but I don't think you'd have any problems with what your
 >builder is proposing. CAT5 cable comes in both stranded and solid gauge, and
 >it's typical to use solid going from jack to jack, while stranded is terminated
 >with plugs (e.g., patch cables). The issue is more about how flexible the
 >cable has to be. I'd be surprised if the builder didn't use solid inside the
 >walls.
 >
 >There's nothing special about "Bell" wire. In contrast, CAT5 is designed for
 >minimal crosstalk between 4 pairs while carrying signals of at least 100 mbps,
 >so your modem won't have a problem with its puny 0.056 mbps data rate.
 >
 >Ethernet only uses two pairs, with the other two pairs in a standard CAT5 cable
 >remaining unused, so it is possible to split the cable and use the other two
 >pairs for phone, intercom, or even a second ethernet connection. I don't know
 >if a second ethernet line would run at 100-mbps, but it works fine at 10-mbps
 >and I've heard of many installations that do that in a pinch, such as when
 >another ethernet line is desired but the wiring is already in place.
 >POTS+ethernet shouldn't have a crosstalk problem.
 >
 >Having said that, though, daytripper has a point -- it's cheap to run wires
 >when the walls are open. What your builder proposes probably makes sense for
 >owners who wouldn't otherwise be installing a network. I can imagine an owner
 >saying, "no, I don't need wiring for a computer network," and the builder
 >saying, "fine, but let me do it this way so you can change your mind later."
 >If you already know you're going to spend the money for network cabling,
 >though, it feels like this is compromising.
 >
 >Just my non-technician two cents. When I remodeled some of the rooms in my
 >house, I put in four-port wall plates in each room for two phone lines, CAT5
 >ethernet, and RG6 CATV.
 >

fwiw, and where I was coming from: the networking world *already* uses all
four pairs in a standard CAT5E cable. And it's not hard to envision a few
years from now that gigabit will be commonplace...

....except where lack of foresight reigns.

It doesn't make much difference what you run for the phones (you'll probably
be using digital phones in a few years anyway but I'd treat that network
wiring with more respect than this builder does...

/daytripper<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Cable Question - CAT5 / Phone