Home networking

[slowmotion]

Under £3 gets you a network cable tester. You will need a couple of short straight-through leads to plug the tester into the sockets, but you can get tooled up for a few quid more. eBay is your friend....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RJ45-Cat5...096295&hash=item3d356667d9:g:1aEAAOSw4CFYrTDA

You can get Cat 5e cable on there too.

 

[winjim]

Not necessarily. I’d be taking the faceplates off, and seeing whether the cables went up or down, to give you a clue as to which direction to look.

Then (I’m assuming you don’t have any proper network test equipment) I’d be getting a multimeter and an old bit of cat5 cable, and seeing if the longe and bedroom are directly connected.

And if you pop the master socket cover plate, you’ll be able to see if any additional extensions are wired in.

I’ve seen houses with ethernet distribution in cupboards under stairs, or loft/eaves spaces, or airing cupboards etc.

OK, good call, we might be getting somewhere. I've taken the faceplates off. The socket in the lounge is not actually fully wired up, only pins 4 & 5 are connected. In the master socket, there are two cables, each with two wires connected. So does this mean that the RJ45 sockets are not ethernet but just extensions to the phone line?

Bedroom has a sleeping toddler in it so can't get to the socket for the time being...

 

[slowmotion]

OK, good call, we might be getting somewhere. I've taken the faceplates off. The socket in the lounge is not actually fully wired up, only pins 4 & 5 are connected. In the master socket, there are two cables, each with two wires connected. So does this mean that the RJ45 sockets are not ethernet but just extensions to the phone line?

Bedroom has a sleeping toddler in it so can't get to the socket for the time being...

With only two terminals connected, I very much doubt it's Ethernet.....

https://www.cableorganizer.com/telecom-datacom/network-instructions.htm

 

[winjim]

So if I use an RJ11 to RJ45 adapter, do you reckon I can plug the router into the socket in the lounge?

This is the point where I wish I knew where all my old network cable bits were.

 

[slowmotion]

So if I use an RJ11 to RJ45 adapter, do you reckon I can plug the router into the socket in the lounge?

This is the point where I wish I knew where all my old network cable bits were.

I'm no expert, but I'm reasonably sure that if you want a functional Ethernet connection, you need four cores of the cable connected correctly to terminals in an RJ45 faceplate/socket. There are a total of eight poles, four or which are unused. My guess is that the previous owner used Cat 5 cable to wire his phone extensions. Are you sure that the sockets with two conductors connected are RJ45?

Edit: Sorry, you posted while I was editing this.

 

[winjim]

I'm no expert, but I'm reasonably sure that if you want a functional Ethernet connection, you need four cores of the cable connected correctly to terminals in an RJ45 faceplate/socket. There are a total of eight poles, four or which are unused.

I mean just as an extension to the phone line, which it looks like it might be, just with an RJ45 socket.

 

[bruce1530]

Yep, for a connection to meet the cat5 (etc) spec, it needs all 8 pins connected, but to run “normal” 100Mb/s ethernet, you only need 2 pairs (pins 1,2,3,6). Gig needs all 4 pairs.

But phone extensions just need 1 pair, conventionally on pins 4/5. Two different wiring conventions, but if you have no bell wire connected (generally not needed these days, but it’d be on pin2), either time of MAU (the RJ45-phone adaptor) may work.

When you say that in the master socket there are 2 cables each with 2 wires connected; is this in addition to the BT incomer (which in a modern master socket will be connected to the “back bit”, whereas your extensions will be connected to the plugin module, so easy to isolate for testing.

 

[bruce1530]

So if I use an RJ11 to RJ45 adapter, do you reckon I can plug the router into the socket in the lounge?

Probably. Try it and see. But see what sort of connection speed you get, and then try it straight into the (internal) master socket with the extensions isolated. You may find your broadband is significantly faster - mine sits at 70mb/s on the master socket, but drops to about 60 when I connect the extensions.

 

[slowmotion]

Yep, for a connection to meet the cat5 (etc) spec, it needs all 8 pins connected, but to run “normal” 100Mb/s ethernet, you only need 2 pairs (pins 1,2,3,6). Gig needs all 4 pairs.

But phone extensions just need 1 pair, conventionally on pins 4/5. Two different wiring conventions, but if you have no bell wire connected (generally not needed these days, but it’d be on pin2), either time of MAU (the RJ45-phone adaptor) may work.

When you say that in the master socket there are 2 cables each with 2 wires connected; is this in addition to the BT incomer (which in a modern master socket will be connected to the “back bit”, whereas your extensions will be connected to the plugin module, so easy to isolate for testing.

Top man Bruce, you take over. You know much more than I do.

 

[winjim]

When you say that in the master socket there are 2 cables each with 2 wires connected; is this in addition to the BT incomer (which in a modern master socket will be connected to the “back bit”, whereas your extensions will be connected to the plugin module, so easy to isolate for testing.

Yes that's right. My current assumption is that it's an extension each for the lounge and bedroom.

Probably. Try it and see. But see what sort of connection speed you get, and then try it straight into the (internal) master socket with the extensions isolated. You may find your broadband is significantly faster - mine sits at 70mb/s on the master socket, but drops to about 60 when I connect the extensions.

I'll see if I can dig out a suitable cable or adaptor. Thing is, I need the router to be within reach of the STB which only works on a wired connection. So I have to either put the router in the lounge, or get some powerline adaptors.

Speed in the old house was about 4Mb/s so frankly anything will be an improvement, it does need to be good enough for HDTV though.

 

[srw]

I want to get the internet to talk to my telly.

WiFi.

 

[winjim]

WiFi.

The telly itself will do WiFi but the STB needs a wired connection to the router.

 

[bruce1530]

If there’s no option to pull in a cat5e cable, easiest option might be powerline

 

[winjim]

If there’s no option to pull in a cat5e cable, easiest option might be powerline

Technically it would be pretty easy. The cable is there in the wall, it would just need the lounge and bedroom sockets connecting properly, and some sort of patchbay putting in next to the master phone socket, but for our uses it's probably not worth it.

 

[winjim]

The Ethernet looking sockets in the other rooms may be for phone not network

It's worth pointing out here that I think you were correct after all...