125M Is this true in regards to a new Install?

ethan103 · 05-08-2012, 17:56

My friend who is a neighbour of mine is getting a 100Mb installed soon and i wanted to find out about somehing.

I heard years ago when I had my install that the length of the copper wire from the box outside the house to the modem can affect performance if it's too long?

I wanted to know is this true as I cannot remember what I found out a few years ago :S

My friend has two options,

1). Copper wire straight through the wall and to the router and then Ethernet wire up stairs.

Copper wire would only be 0.25 - 0.5m.

Ethernet wire would be 10m.

2). Copper wire running up the wall into the bedroom directly above the box.

This would mean copper wire is 4 - 4.5m and Ethernet is 5m.

So would option 1 be better than 2?

Or does it not really matter ?

RB2004 · 05-08-2012, 18:09

Yep coax signal degrades over distance, but the extra length inside your house is normally nominal.

But if you are worried option 1 would be better.

BenMcr · 05-08-2012, 18:12

It doesn't matter and the wire VM use isn't copper

Telly_ · 05-08-2012, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

It doesn't matter and the wire VM use isn't copper

Please tell us all what it is then.

BenMcr · 05-08-2012, 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telly_

Please tell us all what it is then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RG-6

Quote:

CATV distribution coax typically has a copper-coated steel center conductor and a combination aluminum foil/aluminum braid shield

grim reaper · 05-08-2012, 19:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RG-6

it's still copper

as for the OP's post 4-5 metres of coax is nothing and won't have any effect on the broadband ... the engineer will set the levels so that the modem/super hub can run correctly .... in my old house i had a coax run of more than 30 metres and still had full speed on my connection (30mb/s)

also bear in mind that ethernet cable is also copper and thus suffers losses over distance in the same way as coax does ... however as it is data that is sent over the ethernet cable there is no need to worry about signal strengths etc .... as long as the data reaches the router that is all that is required

BenMcr · 05-08-2012, 19:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by grim reaper

it's still copper

No it's steel, with a copper coating

Sirius · 05-08-2012, 19:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telly_

Please tell us all what it is then.

So from that i can gather your not an engineer for Sky then

I think you will find it is a coax cable consisting of steel and copper that has the capability to carry far more than old fashioned outdated twisted pair common to adsl connections.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable

Quote:

Coaxial cable design choices affect physical size, frequency performance, attenuation, power handling capabilities, flexibility, strength, and cost. The inner conductor might be solid or stranded; stranded is more flexible. To get better high-frequency performance, the inner conductor may be silver-plated. Sometimes copper-plated iron or steel wire is used as an inner conductor.

Quote:

RG-6 is available in four different types designed for various applications. "Plain" or "house" RG-6 is designed for indoor or external house wiring. "Flooded" cable is infused with heavy waterproofing for use in underground conduit (ideally) or direct burial. "Messenger" may contain some waterproofing but is distinguished by the addition of a steel messenger wire along its length to carry the tension involved in an aerial drop from a utility pole. "Plenum" cabling is expensive and comes with a special Teflon-based outer jacket designed for use in ventilation ducts to meet fire codes. It was developed since the plastics used as the outer jacket and inner insulation in many "Plain" or "house" cabling gives off poison gas when burned.

To put it simply it beats the pants of a copper pair and the average house is no more than 150 meters average from a node so signal loss is far less than on copper pairs

grim reaper · 05-08-2012, 19:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

No it's steel, with a copper coating

yes but as any electrician that knows his stuff will tell you, electric current actually travel on the outer edge of the cable ... so in this case it will be travelling on the copper

also steel suffers even more losses than copper does ... which is why VMs coax has the copper coating

of course gold is the best conductor but it's not finacially viable for VM (or any other company) to use gold cable ..... besides i reckon cable theft would leap through the roof if they did

Sirius · 05-08-2012, 19:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by grim reaper

yes but as any electrician that knows his stuff will tell you, electric current actually travel on the outer edge of the cable ... so in this case it will be travelling on the copper

also steel suffers even more losses than copper does ... which is why VMs coax has the copper coating

of course gold is the best conductor but it's not finacially viable for VM (or any other company) to use gold cable ..... besides i reckon cable theft would leap through the roof if they did

boroboi · 05-08-2012, 21:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by grim reaper

even ethernet needs a repeater after 100 metres or so.

also bear in mind that ethernet cable is also copper and thus suffers losses over distance in the same way as coax does ... however as it is data that is sent over the ethernet cable there is no need to worry about signal strengths etc .... as long as the data reaches the router that is all that is required

Even Ethernet needs a repeater after 100m or so.

Skie · 05-08-2012, 22:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by boroboi

Even Ethernet needs a repeater after 100m or so.

"Ethernet" requires a repeater only when used over a transmission medium that exceeds its maximum length in one run.

ethan103 · 05-08-2012, 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by grim reaper

it's still copper

as for the OP's post 4-5 metres of coax is nothing and won't have any effect on the broadband ... the engineer will set the levels so that the modem/super hub can run correctly .... in my old house i had a coax run of more than 30 metres and still had full speed on my connection (30mb/s)

also bear in mind that ethernet cable is also copper and thus suffers losses over distance in the same way as coax does ... however as it is data that is sent over the ethernet cable there is no need to worry about signal strengths etc .... as long as the data reaches the router that is all that is required

Are you sure?

Me and my fiend will be doing a lot of gaming so it's more a matter of latency than speed.

But I guess I'll take your word for it

Stuart · 05-08-2012, 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by internetuser

Are you sure?

Me and my fiend will be doing a lot of gaming so it's more a matter of latency than speed.

But I guess I'll take your word for it

Bearing in mind that the signal travels along the cable at something approaching the speed of light, I don't think an extra five metres will make much difference.

Pierre · 06-08-2012, 06:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

No it's steel, with a copper coating

Nobody likes a pedant.

Copper is the generic term for the cable.

Yes, there may be different compounds but we all call it copper. Ask any engineer/ tech and they'll call it copper.

It's a HFC network not a HFS or a HFCCS network ........