Cable Wiring

Stupid question probably, but is the patch cord the same as the bulk? Can you cut off an end and punch down to a keystone? Curious because the patch cord at home depot is far cheaper and there's more selection.

Also 100 meters of cable must be reduced by each connection I would think. But I wonder how much.

My experience is limited there, but every patch cord I've taken apart has been stranded conductors to provide improved flexibility, while the bulk cable I've worked with has been solid conductor. I think you'd have a harder time punching down stranded conductors.

I don't think HD is where I'd go for Ethernet cables. Is that all you have available around there? If retail stores are limited, check out

Cat6a would be my choice. That's what I put into my new house last year.

What kind of house is this where you need to be concerned about the 100m limit? Wow :)

If the length does become an issue, you'll need to break up the run into two or more segments, coupled by an active element such as a switch. A passive hub wouldn't suffice, but I haven't actually even seen a hub since the very early 1990's. You're unlikely to run into a hub, but I'd be surprised if you were running into the length limit in the first place.

Sounds right to me.

I did not know that. Thanks. So it's solid wire and keystones. (and any holes I drill don't have to accommodate the connectors. )

I have had reasonable luck installing "keystones" (rj45 plugs) on stranded patch cables and I have also purchaced MANY ready made cables with solid conductors. (often for about the cost of the connectors alone, for up to 25 ft of cable - The joys of china "dumping" product in North America -)

This will be new to me. During my amateur radio days (I was NX9L at one point, lost the call sign when I didn't get the renewal mail overseas) I soldered a good number of PL259 and SO239s. One of them survived a 20 meter beam and rotator blown off the mast and dangling from the connectors I'd soldered. Punching down into a keystone jack sounds doable, just attention to detail I guess.

Since it's new to you, I'll offer a couple bits of advice.

1. Pick a wiring standard (TIA 568A or TIA 568B) and stick with it. Regardless of which you choose, you can find plenty of pro/con articles and pinout diagrams on the web. Pick either one and be consistent. Your equipment will work with either standard.
2. Untwist the bare minimum amount of wire when you're making your connections. Untwisted wires are susceptible to crosstalk and noise.
3. If practical, get and use an Ethernet cable tester to verify that all of your cable pairs have been connected properly, without reversed polarity, opens, or shorts. I've seen testers on Ebay for less than with free shipping, and in fact that's where I got mine.
4. At a minimum, you should use Cat5e cable. That should get you up to 1 gigabit. To go higher, I recommend Cat6a, which is what I used in my house last year. You'll see listings for Cat7 and Cat8, but I avoided them because they aren't official standards. Cat6a is the latest official standard.

Just maintain the twist all the way to the keystone and make the wires as straight as you can to the punch down. Don't kink them or wad them up.

Just an update.

With no available vent stack (not sure why, there's a sink and laundry drain in that area, but nothing in the attic) I decided to take the safe route and copy what Comcast did. On the ground floor they went through a window frameout area, so I put a hole an inch above theirs. In the basement they went through the concrete block brick veneer wall. I measured down 5.5 inches and put a hole through just like theirs. Except I didn't, the longest bit Home Depot had was a 12 inch, and the wall is thicker. I didn't expect that. I can't be more than an inch or so short but I didn't get through. I have the cable, keystones, etc., just as soon as I can get the hole through. I have to work from home some days and last winter I froze down there, the end of the basement where the wifi reaches stays cold. The other end is no problem.

There are extenders for drill bits. You probably only need a few inches to get through.

I suspect I need only an inch, maybe an inch and a half.

I don't see how an extender is going to work. My masonry bit is 3/8 inch. the extender socket must be bigger than that? I don't have a 1/2 inch bit. I'll probably end up buying the next size, which is 18 inches, but the cost of that is about double the cost of the 12 inch.

Depending on how fast you need it, have you tried Ebay?

I've never bought anything on eBay and am not sure how to do it safely.

Lowes had a half price sale so I bought an 18 inch bit and am waiting for it to be ready. It was cheaper than the 12.

I'm not in a hurry at this point, the temperature is dropping but I have another week or two before it's uncomfortable.

You just buy things on Ebay like you'd buy anything online. Some sellers may require that you have a Paypal account, but most don't. Ebay is very safe for buyers. If anything goes wrong, Ebay almost always favors the buyer in any dispute over the seller. I've saved hundreds, maybe thousands over they years buying stuff on Ebay. Like I just bought a new carb for my leaf blower for $10, some light bulbs for the BMW dashboard for $7. I got six of those bulbs for $7. Those prices include free shipping. At the BMW stealership the bulbs would be $7 each.

Good that their sale came along at the right time.