[jsjames]

I'm in the process of getting my basement remodeled.

I need to purchase the wiring ASAP.


This is what I have that will require wiring;

A living room/Home Theater

Bedroom


I have picked out some things at Smarthome.com

8680D48P QuickNetwork Panel (1x4 Coax, 4x8 RJ-45 Phone Jacks)(In Stock) HOT DEAL! $109.99 This is the "Home run" panel.


86826-200 2 Cat 5E, 2 RG-6 w/Spiral Wrap, 200-ft. (plus 10.00 shipping)(In Stock) $132.80

I am thinking of running this twice to the spot of the TV. To cover future Antenna, Direct TV, Cable, Phone lines and Cat5 networking. And running once to the back bedroom.


8556GW Gold Plated Snap-In F Conductor (White)(In Stock) $3.39 $13.56

8555O Snap-In 8 Conductor Category 5 (Orange)(In Stock) $5.59 $11.18

8552W Snap-In 6 Conductor Phone Jack (White)(In Stock) $2.99 $5.98

9013 RG6 & RG59 Cable Stripper (In Stock) $14.95

The rest are the things iI'll need for the wall plates.


What are your thoughts on the products i've got above and the wiring? Is it enough? Is it over kill?


Oh, will the Cat 5 cables in the wire above work for phone lines also? I wont need to also run a phone line will I?


I've also picked out 175 foot of Acoustic Research Pro Series 14/4 Four Conductor In Wall Speaker Cable from Audio Advisor.


Any input would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,

Jeff

 

[tebbens]

How fast is ASAP ?

If you have time, you may want to research this a little more.


The most important part right now is the cable.... I went to that

site and they don't have any specs for the cable... is it good ??

I would stay far away from the speed wrap stuff.... get a full

jacket !


You don't need to buy everything now... just get some good

cable, and the gang boxes. Mount the boxes where you want

and home run everything. When your finished with the remodel,

then buy the rest and connect everything up.


I used Belden cable.. 7876A and 1702A.

Carlon super blue dual gang boxes for the big cable,

and single for the dual cat5e.


Yes, you can use cat5 for phone lines.


Matthew

 

[jsjames]

Well, remodleing starts in 2.5 weeks. So, I need to order something soon.


Can I ask why you say to go with a full jacket on the wire?

Where did you get your Belden cable?



Thanks,

Jeff

 

[tebbens]

When you get a chance, read the 'My Experience' thread in this forum.


You have a little time. If your interested in the Belden cable, try going

to http://bwcecom.belden.com/college/college.htm Click on Featured

Products, then Home Automation.


Call Belden and ask for a local distributer in your area. I bought from

GrayBar in Albany, NY. Since I live close enough to them, I had it

drop-shipped directly from Belden. Make sure you get the cable

on a reel. It pulls/feeds much easier... you'll have to buy or make

a cable/reel caddy.


I would suggest going with a full jacket because its easier to work with,

it pulls easier and protects better. Make sure you order enough cable !

For 9 drops in a 4000sf 2 story house (aprox 60' x 50') I used about

500'.


Decide on how many drops and where.

Decide on the cable you want and order it.

Buy some gang boxes or low voltage boxes.

Wait for the remodeling to start.


When you have access to everything, decide on the

shortest route to your home run location from all your

drops. Remember, try to stay away from the 110 lines

and if you have to cross them, try to cross at 90 degrees.

Mount the boxes, cut the holes and run your cable.


Matthew

 

[jsjames]

A few more questions,

When I run conduit (PVC) down the inside of my walls, can all the Speaker

wire, RJ-45 and Cat5e run in the same conduit? Or will that cause interference?


Also, I want to put gang boxes for my Speaker wire, Cat5e and Rj-45. Can

these boxes be right next to my Outlet boxes? Or should they be 16"-20"

apart?


Jeff

 

[bb80301]

FWIW, here are some alternative thoughts:

- You can get good quality RG6 and Cat5e cable at Home Depot. Will be way cheaper than what you described.

- Home Depot also carries Leviton structured wiring trim plates/modules with coax, ethernet, telephone, speaker, etc. They also have the blue junction boxes.

- I'd put in 2 coax runs & 2 Cat5e runs to each location from the home run hub. This will support satellite over 1 coax, antenna/cable/modulated video over the other, up to 1GB ethernet over one Cat5e and several phone lines over the other Cat5e (a phone line is one twisted pair; Cat5e has 4 pairs). You could put in more for future-proofing, but this should probably be enough.

- That QuickNetwork panel doesn't sound like a very good deal to me. The 1x4 video distribution is just a 4-way splitter -- worth less than $10. Ethernet distribution should be done by terminating your Cat5e's with RJ45 jacks & using a router/switch (which that unit doesn't have; they sell it as a $400 option -- stand-alone Linksys of Netgear units cost approx. $70). Phone distribution can use a simple punch-down panel (which that unit also doesn't have).

- Can also get 12 ga. speaker wire at Home Depot. This is better than 14ga., particularly for long runs. I use Sound King brand speaker cable from Parts Express: www.partsexpress.com -- pick "Sound King" in "Search by Brand Name" box. It's good (oxygen-free copper rope lay wire in thick insulation) & cheap.

- It's pretty common practice to have your electrical box on one side of a stud & your low voltage (coax & Cat5) in a box on the other side. I have this all over my house & have never noticed any interference. It's more important to pay attention to how you lay your cables. Make sure that you don't get too close to A/C with your low voltage wiring when running parallel. When crossing, do so at a perpendicular.

- As suggested above, you don't need to worry about the termination stuff (wall plates, video distribution panel / splitter, ethernet router/switch) until your ready to finish the job. At his point you really just need to focus on getting the cable & routing it to the junction boxes.


Another advantage of buying stuff at Home Depot is that you can easily return whatever you don't use (or change your mind about). You can also get more if you run out.


Hope this helps -- and maybe saves you some money.


Regards

BB

 

[jsjames]

I like all your suggestions.

But what should I use for the home runs? What "box" should I buy?

What I need is a box for my TV Cable, cable Internet, future sat, Antenna, Cat5 and phone lines to come into and distribute to the house.


Also, should I run the 12 gauge wire twice to each location or just once? I was reading that the 14/4 was better for future upgrades.



Thanks,

Jeff

 

[bb80301]

Hi, Jeff -- looks like we're in real time here. I just finished editing/correcting my post & saw that you've already replied to it!


If you want a neat box to put everything into, you can get one from Worthington Distribution. Look for OnQ enclosures at www.worthdist.com under Structured Wiring.


It's not really necessary, though. Coax splitters usually have little holes in them to use screws to mount them to the wall with. You can also mount an ethernet switch/router to the wall. Just terminate the Cat5e's with RJ45's & plug them in, along with the cable modem, which goes into the uplink jack. I'm not sure if there are wall-mountable cable modems. Mine isn't.


Re: speaker wire, you generally need 2 pairs to each room/location -- one for left & one for right. Some people use 4 wires to each speaker to provide for bi-wiring (separate amplification and wiring for the tweeter & driver components of your speaker). I don't think it's likely you'll need this capability in remote locations.


Hope this helps.

BB

 

[woodworm]

bb,


You hit all the important points that I went through doing this same

project.


Jeff,


While your at Home Depot, grab a roll of velcro. It comes in 1" wide strips

and works great for mounting a cable or dsl modem and it makes great tie

wraps for cable bundles around the head end. Also, while your

planning your distribution panel, remember to have enough 110 outlets

nearby. Even using power strips I filled up a quad. Many of the low

voltage power supplies have the plug built into the converter so you can't

get to the plug right next to it on the strip. My head end is in a closet so I

just hung a large piece of plywood and fastened everything to that. I

found the folks at www.hometech.com to be of great help and

also found many odds and ends there as well.


Good luck and have fun!

 

[ddruker]

I agree 100% on the home depot sourcing for cabling, junction boxes, etc.


Other sources of odds and ends are eBay and Worthington distribution.


I saved a huge amount of money over normal retail by purchasing most of the electronics (patch panels, ethernet switches, video distribution, etc) and Leviton Quick Port Modules via eBay - I think I averaged about 25% of retail.


Speciality items that I could not find on eBay came mostly from Worthington Distribution, which has the best prices I have seen anywhere for home automation stuff.

 

[robertmee]

While you are at Home Depot, you can pickup the Leviton structured panel boxes. They are similar to the OnQ panel linked in an earlier reply, but once again you can save on some shipping. Home Depot also carries Leviton 1x9 punch down blocks for phone, and RJ45 punchdowns for network distribution. Don't buy the Leviton all-in-one phone/data/video board. It's a waste and not very flexible.


I would recommend ChannelPlus gear for your video distribution and modulation needs.


As also mentioned, Worthington.com is a great inexpensive source for almost everything you will need. If you go with the Leviton or OnQ panel, worthington also has custom brackets for non-Levition/Onq stuff that will allow you to use the nylon pushpins to mount equipment. It's what I used for channel plus modulators.


Good Luck