O/T Network question

[xssiveone]

I recently ran a cat5 lan cable out to my garage. Cannot connect to my network thru it for some reason. Cable continuity tester indicates proper wiring. And I can connect thru the same port on the router with the same computer (laptop) from in the house so it would seem to indicate a cableing problem, except for cable tester which indicates that all is well. Any ideas anyone?

One possiblity that occured to me was the fact that my laptop is using a Linksys USB 10/100 network adapter. Is it possible that it doesn't send a strong enough signal to connect from that distance? Mind you, it's a distance of less then 100 feet so common sense indicates that's not the problem but when one is grasping at straws.....

[Snow]

Actually, according to IEEE standards, Cat5 is in spec up to 100 meters, which is more than 300 feet, so length is not an issue.

What kind of tester are your using for the cable? From just the info you have given here, I would start with making sure the cable is actually good. Did you cut and crimp this cable yourself or is it storebought?

[xssiveone]

Cable was installed, and crimped, by me. Crimped on the house end, and I installed a surface mount jack with punch down connectors on the other. Cable was setup to be a straight-thru cable, and not a crossed-over cable. The tester I used was one I purchased for this purpose. It has 8 LED's on it that are supposed to flash sequentially to ensure continuity and also proper order. It starts at 1, and then flashes thru to 8, so that indicates to me that it is correct. Mind you, no network wizzard here, so if you are familiar with this type of tester, and I am interpreting the results wrong, please feel free to let me know.

[Tinman]

Net working

Well the X-over cable designates the cable as a 100mb cable.
Straight thru will work for very short distances but as I found out the hard way you have to have the X-over in there to go any didtance at all.

Hope that helps.

[Snow]

You mention a jack with punchdown connectors - is the jack w/ connectors rated for CAT5 or is it from Lowes or Home Depot by chance? You may wish to try setting your network card to 10mbit instead of 10/100 autodetect and half-duplex just to see if might be connector rating related.

Btw, a crossover cable is a cable that is used to directly connect two network cards together without a hub/switch/router or for cascading hubs/switches together. A straight patch cable is used for connecting a network card to a hub/switch/router directly.

[RiskyBusiness]

Re: Net working

Originally posted by Tinman
Well the X-over cable designates the cable as a 100mb cable.
Straight thru will work for very short distances but as I found out the hard way you have to have the X-over in there to go any didtance at all.

Hope that helps.

There is some confusion in the terms here so let me see if I can help (not with the original question but with the confusion of terms).

CAT 5 cable has a twist to it. Each of the four pairs of wires in the cable has a twist and then I believe that the four pairs are then twisted. While the wires do cross in this twist, this is not what is commonly called a "cross over" or "X-Over" cable. A cross over cable reverses the order on two pairs. The cross over is used when hooking two machines up without a hub. Straight cables are used directly to a hub.
Here is a good diagram of the difference.

[beechfront]

possible short?

if your tester is simply checking continuity between pins - one by one - then it would be possible that something was shorted.

[xssiveone]

Originally posted by Snow
You mention a jack with punchdown connectors - is the jack w/ connectors rated for CAT5 or is it from Lowes or Home Depot by chance? You may wish to try setting your network card to 10mbit instead of 10/100 autodetect and half-duplex just to see if might be connector rating related.

Interesting thought, didn't realize there was a difference in jacks, thought it was only in the cable. It wasn't bought at either of those places, but it was bought at a discount/clearance center. I will check on that tomorrow when I get out to the garage.

[xssiveone]

Re: Re: Net working

Originally posted by RiskyBusiness


CAT 5 cable has a twist to it. Each of the four pairs of wires in the cable has a twist and then I believe that the four pairs are then Here is a good diagram of the difference.

Yep, somewhat familiar with twisted pair wiring. Thanks for the web page.... going to save it for later reading.

[xssiveone]

Well, finally tracked it down. As everyone kept telling me, it was an installation error... darn cheap labour anyways!!

When I installed the surface mount jack in the garage, I observed numbers adjacent to each punchdown connection point. I "assumed" (and made an ass uv me again!!) that the numbers indicated by the respective connector went to pin 1, pin 2, etc. Wrong. After tracing the connections thru in the jack with an ohm meter I realized what was wrong. Redid the jack and all is well now.

No idea why my tester indidcated it to be good tho, unless my tester is toast. It indicated good in the previous setup, and indicates good in this setup as well. My only guess here is that I had it as a crossover before, and it's now a straight thru setup. It's supposed to indicate good either way but it doesn't differentiate between the 2.

Thanks for all your help on this.

[Lord Grizzlon]

Check where you are running your cable, could be crosstalk interference near floresent lights or open electrical cables or even a fone company box for the neighborhood. Also it could be the distance. After bout 300-feet or so, u need a signal repeater.

[nutcase]

I think I might be able to shed some light on why your cable tester tested good on both setups. Those testers usually just test continuity on each of the 8 lines. I'll bet your tester probably can't differentiate the pairs. The more expensive ones can and will tell you if you have a split pair.

Just remember one thing, if in doubt, check those jacks first! Especially if you're the one that cabled them. I've beat my head against the wall more times than I can count because of them.

nut
XS1100SG

[xssiveone]

That may very well be the problem with the tester as it is one of the el'cheapo ones. The jack was an el'cheapo as well, not the better quality keystone jacks. I have put together several cables with modular plugs on them, but this was my first attempt at using a jack. Just something else to add to the learning curve.

[skippy344]

cabling to garage

Garages are for bikes, not computers!!!

Just kidding, I have a drop in my garage too. Let's us surf for parts without coming into the house and getting yelled at for leaving grease and dirt on the keyboard, and computer chair!

Do you get a link light at both ends? The laptop card should have a link light that is labeled, "LNK," as should your hub/switch.

Did you follow the EIA-B color scheme for wiring at both ends?

Orange/white, orange, green/white, blue, bluewhite, green, brown/white, brown.

Is the cable designated as "CAT-5" or "CAT-3?"

I use a Fluke 620 cable tester that verifies correct wiring, and also does TDR (Time domian reflectometer) which measures the distance from the test point to a break, or short in the cable.

Let me know; we'll get you up and surfing in no time!

greg

[xssiveone]

Thanks Greg, but it's up and running now. The installer screwed up... (yes, it WAS me) Actually not really my fault (of course it was) the jack I was using was numbered wrong.