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Thanks DWScott. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions at all. I'm here to help.
Ronnie
Ronnie
My wiring closet... What do you guys think?
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Quote:
My home is 4000 sq. feet. I have 2-3 wall plates in each room. Each wall plate has a minimum of 2 RG6 and 2 Cat5e drops.
Ronnie
| Originally Posted by msteelefl Very nice job. Just curious, how large is your home and where do the 54 ethernet drops go? Mark |
Ronnie
Dude, that's just wrong. THIS is what your wiring closet is supposed to look like. NOte that I've got my network switch on the wall on the left side, with a crapload of wires on floor running to it.
[and, the picture is a little old - it was used in another thread on avsforum. Now it's got more stuff in it now, and is even messier].
http://www.myhometheaterpc.com/temp/...20IMG_5859.jpg
[and, the picture is a little old - it was used in another thread on avsforum. Now it's got more stuff in it now, and is even messier].
http://www.myhometheaterpc.com/temp/...20IMG_5859.jpg
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Very nice, my new house will be completed in June and I know this will help me in building my rack. Yes, my builder was kind enough to allow me the green light to run any and all low voltage.
That is an awesome setup. I picked up a Hoffman PC Rack from work that was destined for the dumpster. It has 1 side panel, and hinged rear panel, a front mount monitor window panel up top, front mount keyboard slide out tray, and a front mount "access door".
Unfortunately, at the point I bought my house, the drywall is already done, but there is cat5e and RG6 cables run to each room. I'm wanting to get everything centralized like you have.
The neat thing about your setup... I work for a distribution center that carries almost everything you used in your install. So I will slowly pull it all together and hope to have it looking as great as your setup.
Unfortunately, at the point I bought my house, the drywall is already done, but there is cat5e and RG6 cables run to each room. I'm wanting to get everything centralized like you have.
The neat thing about your setup... I work for a distribution center that carries almost everything you used in your install. So I will slowly pull it all together and hope to have it looking as great as your setup.
When I retrofitted my house with Cat 5 and some rudimentary video monitoring, I knew we would be moving in just a couple years. I had a situation on a past move where the buyer saw my complete system, and he included it in his offer to buy. I countered with a higher price, including all the goodies. He accepted, and I had to start over.
I knew I would want to take all the active components to the new house this time, so I built a split system. I began with a backboard under the basement stairwell. All the wiring terminated on a 66-block (phone) and on a couple surface mount boxes populated with eight keystone jacks (data). Video to aluminum angle drilled for bulkhead connectors. The UPS, servers, KVM switch, monitor, and some other toys sit in a rack next to the backboard. I'll remove the rack and everything in it before the house goes up for sale. I'll abandon the backboard and terminations.
Ronnie, your system is beautiful and functional. I suggest you compile a list of the replacement value of every item you might want to leave behind when your time comes to move. For example, you got a terrific deal on your rack this time, but when you settle into your next house and you want everything up and running ASAP along with all the other items involved with a move, I'm guessing it will cost more. A lot more. Be prepared to either put a realistic price on it, or remove what you want to take before you sell.
I knew I would want to take all the active components to the new house this time, so I built a split system. I began with a backboard under the basement stairwell. All the wiring terminated on a 66-block (phone) and on a couple surface mount boxes populated with eight keystone jacks (data). Video to aluminum angle drilled for bulkhead connectors. The UPS, servers, KVM switch, monitor, and some other toys sit in a rack next to the backboard. I'll remove the rack and everything in it before the house goes up for sale. I'll abandon the backboard and terminations.
Ronnie, your system is beautiful and functional. I suggest you compile a list of the replacement value of every item you might want to leave behind when your time comes to move. For example, you got a terrific deal on your rack this time, but when you settle into your next house and you want everything up and running ASAP along with all the other items involved with a move, I'm guessing it will cost more. A lot more. Be prepared to either put a realistic price on it, or remove what you want to take before you sell.
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Jstehman, thanks for the kind words.
If I ever move, the rack, wire mgmt, and termination points (data, video, voice) would remain. I now consider that part of the structure.
As far as the equipment goes, most of that is just networking gear and most people already have that stuff. Routers, WAP's, cable modems. etc are cheap today and need to be upgraded periodically anyway. If the buyer wanted it, and that seemed to be a big deal to them, then I would probably leave that stuff and by myself the latest and greatest.
I work in the I.T. industry and have many friends in the same field. Im lucky that most of this didn't cost me much (if anything) and probably wont in the future. I bought 2 Chatsworth racks on ebay locally for $75. Sold one and got my money back, so it was basically free except for the gas and time I used to pick it up.
I agree that it might play a role in selling. Its a pretty big wow factor and the right buyer would see this as a huge benefit. But its like a swimming pool. To some its a big deal, to some its not. It really doesn't increase the real value. Its all perceived value.
My wife thinks im insane
But I dent hear her complaining when she re-arranges the living room and 5 seconds later is able to watch TV on the new wall.
Ronnie
If I ever move, the rack, wire mgmt, and termination points (data, video, voice) would remain. I now consider that part of the structure.
As far as the equipment goes, most of that is just networking gear and most people already have that stuff. Routers, WAP's, cable modems. etc are cheap today and need to be upgraded periodically anyway. If the buyer wanted it, and that seemed to be a big deal to them, then I would probably leave that stuff and by myself the latest and greatest.
I work in the I.T. industry and have many friends in the same field. Im lucky that most of this didn't cost me much (if anything) and probably wont in the future. I bought 2 Chatsworth racks on ebay locally for $75. Sold one and got my money back, so it was basically free except for the gas and time I used to pick it up.
I agree that it might play a role in selling. Its a pretty big wow factor and the right buyer would see this as a huge benefit. But its like a swimming pool. To some its a big deal, to some its not. It really doesn't increase the real value. Its all perceived value.
My wife thinks im insane
But I dent hear her complaining when she re-arranges the living room and 5 seconds later is able to watch TV on the new wall.Ronnie
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Nice Rack!
Very nice, Ronnie. I'm debating between using a patch panel or not. To me, the benefits of patch panels are the ability to remain flexibility in case of changes very quickly. However, a house's wiring configuration is basically static. I just ran all of the wires to the single distribution point and make them all live. I'm curious why you chose the patching route?
Is it so all you need is a single 24 port switch instead of two? I'm thinking of just getting two gigabit 24-port switches and hooking everything into them. So all you have to do is plug in and it's live. The cost isn't all that much more, either.
My second question, is where the coax amplifier(s) and splitter(s) are for the F-panel..
Great job.. it looks phenomenal, and I was thinking, "sheesh, he must've spent quite a bit on that thing!"... but I should know better..
Is it so all you need is a single 24 port switch instead of two? I'm thinking of just getting two gigabit 24-port switches and hooking everything into them. So all you have to do is plug in and it's live. The cost isn't all that much more, either.
My second question, is where the coax amplifier(s) and splitter(s) are for the F-panel..
Great job.. it looks phenomenal, and I was thinking, "sheesh, he must've spent quite a bit on that thing!"... but I should know better..
Quote:
Maybe in your house it is .
| Originally Posted by miltimj Very nice, Ronnie. I'm debating between using a patch panel or not. To me, the benefits of patch panels are the ability to remain flexibility in case of changes very quickly. However, a house's wiring configuration is basically static. |
.Quote:
So you're saying you rerun cable all over the place each time you move furniture? You might want to rethink your planning process...
I prefer to run the cable everywhere I think I'll ever need it, and connect it all in at once (in the case of data/phone/coax).
| Originally Posted by QQQ Maybe in your house it is . |
I prefer to run the cable everywhere I think I'll ever need it, and connect it all in at once (in the case of data/phone/coax).
I seem to recall we were talking about patch panels which have nothing to do with re-running cable or moving furniture .
A common scenario might be if you owned an 8 extension phone system but have 14 phone jacks an don't want to buy an extra extension card when you know you don't want more than 8 phones. So you terminate all your jacks to a patch panel and choose the 8 jacks you want live. You also know your wife is going to move the furniture around at some point and want the phones on one of the other jacks. With a patch panel it's just a more convienent swap.
That's one scenario, there are countless others. Just for the record, when I design a system I always want all the jacks live. If a person sees a telephone jack they should be able to plug a phone in and know it will work. But I DIY that wants to wire really thoroughly and understands what they are doing might not mind knowing he;s got to swap a wire.
Anyhow, not trying to convince you to do a patch panel, the first response was tongue in cheek. People are constantly swapping stuff here cause they are hobbyists. I personally prefer patch panels and would never do it any other way.
.A common scenario might be if you owned an 8 extension phone system but have 14 phone jacks an don't want to buy an extra extension card when you know you don't want more than 8 phones. So you terminate all your jacks to a patch panel and choose the 8 jacks you want live. You also know your wife is going to move the furniture around at some point and want the phones on one of the other jacks. With a patch panel it's just a more convienent swap.
That's one scenario, there are countless others. Just for the record, when I design a system I always want all the jacks live. If a person sees a telephone jack they should be able to plug a phone in and know it will work. But I DIY that wants to wire really thoroughly and understands what they are doing might not mind knowing he;s got to swap a wire.
Anyhow, not trying to convince you to do a patch panel, the first response was tongue in cheek. People are constantly swapping stuff here cause they are hobbyists. I personally prefer patch panels and would never do it any other way.
Unfortunately, the one scenario you mention doesn't apply, both for Ronnie's home (he explicitly states that he will always have no more than one line), and for practically every other house in the world (how many homes have 8 extensions).
I dread saying that I'm curious about the "countless other scenarios" since it's clear you're just trying to play devil's advocate, and I'm not interested in playing that game, as I asked a simple question of Ronnie.
The one thing I am interested in hearing your response on, however, is why you always use patch panels, yet also always want all of the jacks live. You're essentially saying that you just want a patch panel sitting there in use and never modified which obviously defeats the purpose.
Oh, and if you're running new cable because of moved furniture, etc, you're going to be terminating it at... the patch panel. (Or you could run everything you'd ever need and terminate them all as live)
I dread saying that I'm curious about the "countless other scenarios" since it's clear you're just trying to play devil's advocate, and I'm not interested in playing that game, as I asked a simple question of Ronnie.
The one thing I am interested in hearing your response on, however, is why you always use patch panels, yet also always want all of the jacks live. You're essentially saying that you just want a patch panel sitting there in use and never modified which obviously defeats the purpose.
Oh, and if you're running new cable because of moved furniture, etc, you're going to be terminating it at... the patch panel. (Or you could run everything you'd ever need and terminate them all as live)
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