[JamesB77]

Hey Guys,


I have some questions about some basic home networking that I want to do. First some background:


I have an un-finished basement that I am planning to develop (picture below) that will have a family/TV room, home theatre, bathroom, and spare room.

The electrical panel is located in the top right corner of what will be the home theatre. The TV coax cable and telephone cable cone into the house here and so all of the coax/telephone cables are run to here as well.

Currently there are:

- 4 coax cables run (each bedroom and the living room)

- 5 telephone cables (Cat5e) run ( each bedroom, the office on the main floor, and kitchen)

- 2 Cat5 cables run (both to the main floor office)

- 4 sets of speaker and control wire (dining room, kitchen, outside, master bath)


I want to do a basic internet/TV/telephone distribution system. Here is what I plan to do:

- The equipment closet will be located in the space under the stairs.

- The living room and family room will be the same type of set-up and each have a TV, Popcorn Hour, and Cable Box. The family room will have a BluRay located in the room, all of the equipment will be in the equipment closet.

- Re-locate the coax and telephone cables to the Equipment closet and network from there.

- IR-repeaters for the equipment


I will deal with the family room as the others are similar. So for cable I will need:

- 2 Cat6 for network connection to Bluray, general network connection.

- 2 Cat6 for Popcorn hour and IR-repeater

- HDMI to TV

- Speaker and Sub Cable

- Audio/HDMI from BluRay to Equipment room.



Here are my questions:

1. Is it possible to relocate where the TV/telephone cables are into the equipment closet, or am I wasting my time?

2. I was thinking about going with a basic Leviton Structured Media Center Series 140 with a Basic Home Networking Plus panel. Is this enough? Are there better/cheaper options?

3. Am I missing any wires I should be running?

4. With IR-repeaters, do I need 1 receiving eye for each piece of equipment I want to control or do I just need 1 receiving eye for everything?


I think that's all the questions I have for now. Thanks for the help.

 

[Neurorad]

1. Of course it's possible. Good place to hide it.

2. Leviton is good, OnQ/Legrand is also good. Read the enclosure and module install manuals, to determine what will fit, and if it is adequate. Search at the cocoontech.com forums for experiences with each manufacturer.

3. Most probably. Will you want a kitchen PC someday, for TV/internet/music/recipes? Will an HDMI 1.4 cable be 'necessary' in several years? Will you be able to replace the 1.3 HDMI cables easily?

4. Usually 1 IR receiver for the TV location, all equipment shares, each component gets it's own emitter.


If there is loud equipment in that upper right corner of the HT/media room (sump pump etc) then consider some extra steps to reduce the noise.

 

[JamesB77]

Thank you for the reply.


What is the best way to extend Cat5 cables? Is there a mechanical splice avaliable or do I need to solder each individual wire?

 

[Neurorad]

I don't know if it's the best way, but RJ45 male and female connectors would be 1 option for splicing ethernet cable. A specific, cheaper product probably exists. Ideally, you wouldn't splice ethernet cables for LAN, but run new longer cables. For phone, no prob.

 

[JamesB77]

Perfect, thanks. The only cables I am trying to extend are the cat5 for phone and the coax fot Tv from where they come into the house to the new location.

 

[Neurorad]

If the ethernet cable is for phone, you could use any kind of splice.


But, if you want to repurpose the cable some day, for a LAN, do the best you can now, unless you'll have access to the splices in the future to make them better.


For the coax extension, it's best to use a compression tool to add connectors to the cables, and not a crimp tool. But the crimp tool will probably work, and it's cheaper.

 

[JamesB77]

Thanks for all the help.

For the voice I've been researching using either the RJ45 connectors or a patch pannel. Which ever way I go I will be keeping the splices close to where they are now at the main panel so they are accessible. I'm also going to run some conduit to the new location just in case.

 

[jautor]

For cat5 wires, I'd recommend the 3M Scotchlok UR connectors for splicing. They'll pass the Cat5 tests, and they're easy, cheap, and very sturdy. You can buy a small boxful at Home Depot for less than $10 bucks (IIRC)...


Jeff

 

[JamesB77]

Thanks. I will add them to my list to research.