RJ45 outlets

I always fit doubles. I think most of mine have come from CPC when I happen to be doing an order for other things, but I think B&Q are actually a little cheaper. B&Q do inline surface mounting ones too.

Not the answer you wanted...but consider if you really need ethernet bearing in mind the following...

Adrian

You could try Solwise.

In message , John Laird wrote

do a few modular ranges (from quite cheap, to quite expensive).

It's standard to have modules, blanks and faceplates sold separately, although you can get complete faceplates that are non-modular. They're nearly all a standard size outlet though to fit standard back-boxes. RW Data, now called Hellerman Tyton, used to have what they called a window sill mounting outlet, designed for surface mounting and very slim. The link on their website

And by the way, you'll be looking for Cat 5e now, not Cat 5

Phil

What is says on the box may not be what you get in reality. Then of course there are all security implications of wireless...

A notion perpetuated by those that haven't really weighed up the relative risks. Neighbours snooping your downloads, or vans full of hackers parked outside? You should probably pay cash for everything otherwise you might let others find out where you bank. PS don't mention any sensitive information when using a DECT phone.

The keywords being "relative risks". *You* might not carry sensistive information on *your* computer don't store any passwords or other account details, don't have records of financial transactions that may contain CC numbers etc but I would put in a class of your own, numbering 1.

Yes you can take steps to make the wireless side secure from abuse and from being monitored but most systems do not come "out of the box" with those facilties enabled.

Don't be fooled into thinking you'd see some one parked up outside. The range on the bits of rubber supplied with most wireless LAN kit is pretty low but bung on a decent arial and the range increases enormousely. I know of links working over 16km, indeed this house has two links one 4.3km the other 3km...

I know of no kit that can track and decode a DECT conversation. Can you post references please.

Shame on me - I've bought more than a few patch cables there. Their web page provides the usual glum news. An RJ45 socket runs about 50p in bulk. I am essentially trying to wire a socket. They want £4 for a neater surface box (a small piece of plastic) and £3 for the keystone jack to go in it. Hmm, how much of a lash-up is a £2 coupler and a 50p crimped plug ?!

The way prices are dropping, wireless access points may well end up cheaper than wiring. At the moment, I am working on the cheap with a 20m patch lead which cost me about £8. I'm trying to work out how to wire it in for less than twice what it cost...

Thanks for the pointers (and for the poster who mentioned Solwise too).

Lots of luverly links, ta. They're still all looking a bit "professional" if you know what I mean. What a company can stand and what I can afford are different things. Look at it another way, you can just about buy a 5-port hub for a tenner. I have a moral objection to paying over half that for what amounts to one passive RJ45 socket.

Yeah, yeah, I know ;-)

Your opinion my opinion. So be it... (But compare wireless to broadband out of the box)

The two brands / five models of kit we have put in this year, have all been secure out of the box, it would take positive action to render them insecure; they've gone on forklifts to the CEO's house. We even tried out the easy install disk that ships with one of the most popular products expecting to pick it to shreds, but it was v.good for the man on the street.

You are right about the long range antennae, and on the diy side it is quite easy to make your own that is good for a couple of miles, so if the hacker ditches his van he could get a home made spiral wire wound waste pipe mounted on a long stick and wander the hills pointing it at various likely targets hoping he's within the beam.

The most impressive antennae demo so far (still makes me smile) is a modern variant of speaking through two tin cans connected by string, except the

Get two large tin cans, 4" diameter dog food cans are ideal and mount a suitable connector on the circumference near the back. Connect both to PC cards then get colleague to go to furthest end of carpark / industrial estate / 'over yonder', point tin cans at each other, fire up messenger / netmeeting and chat away.

We were fortunate to have an omni on the building to cover the warehouses on the ind estate, so great to point at from all over while tuning; plus the gsm engineers downstairs couldn't beat our £ per mile ratio.

The most infamous antenna on the web is the Pringle can, a great one can be found here.

One of the advantages for wireless is you can often forget about buying a base station and ISP account -- you'll find the card works fine all by itself in many built-up areas...

Nobody mentioned Screwfix :-)

I agree the wall box is huge - and it seems wasteful to throw it away and use a slimmer one - but this kit is cheaper than buying all the bits seperately.

HTH Dave R

P.S. you need a decent punch down tool as well - so your idea of running a patch cable with a hub at either end is good for just a single connection - you need to be doing several sockets before buying all the bits seems to cost in.

Nimans is where I get that stuff, in white plastic anyway.

Brass/chrome/brushed stuff? tough. You will pay through the nose.

Until you find that there is so much metal in your house that it doesn't work...and many things interfere with it...

Like upstairs UFH with a foil reflector

CJ

Remember you aren't suposed to bend CAT5 very much, 2 or 3cm radius at the most.