150' Ethernet cable underground

hughva

Posts: 53   +0
I have a friend with Wild Blue Satellite internet.
His office is about 150' away in another building.
One plan is to connect via Ethernet cable buried underground. He has a Linksys router.
Is this feasible, and what kind of cable do I need?
 
Cat5e Rated at 350MHz shielded strand. This is usually thick. Are you buying cable already made-up or are you going to buy a box and terminate the ends yourself?

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I would run a switch in between the router as shown above if you plan on running more than just the one cable run.

Pictured above:

1. Trendnet TEW-691GR (N450) 5-port Gigabit LAN/WAN, 500MHz WNPU, 64MB of DDR2 RAM, 512KB Packet Buffer
2. Trendnet TEG-S16Dg 16-port Gigabit 2MB Packet Buffer, 32GB Fabric, 8KB Mac 9K Jumbo Frames
3. Trendnet TE-100-S16g 16-port Megabit 1.26MB Packet Buffer 32GB Fabric, 8KB Mac
4. Cat5e 350MHz, Shield/Strand type to each dedicated port goes to each dedicated node (network device)
 
If I was burrying it underground I'd be using good quality shielded cat5e cable, and I'd probably run 2-3 lengths of cat5e just in case one breaks down in future. Could you take advantage of cat6/gigabit ethernet cabling from your satelite internet reciever?

I'd also put it in plastic pvc piping to protect it from being squashed by the earth on top of it.

On another note, how fast is satelite internet? I've always been curious of it but I'm not aware of anywhere in the UK you can get it - I use fibre-optic broadband.
 
I would have it made. I've got the tool, but no experience, and my client has mega-bucks.
Satellite is slow and unreliable, but nothing else is available except 3G and we may end up with that.
I like the PVC idea.
This would be the only cable.
 
I'd also put it in plastic pvc piping to protect it from being squashed by the earth on top of it.

Leeky beat me to it. xD

Don't forget the PVC cleaner and glue, else moisture may yet build up inside of the pipe. Also, check the functionality of the ethernet cable before running it. lol

One issue to consider is that in much of the United States you are required to have an inspector first verify that it is OK to dig in a specific area. I believe this is to avoid the unpleasantries a ruptured gas line could present. Personally, I am quite surprised that your client isn't going with a cellular alternative. If my memory serves me right, even the most expensive monthly satellite Internet packages have a total download and upload limit. Plus, the upload time on satellite is horrendous, making it impossible to play online games with any enjoyment.
 
He's a building contractor, so I suspect he knows where to dig or not dig.
This installation is for an office computer that won't do much more than Word, Quickbooks and Excel.
Internet use won't be much more than updates and occasional downloads.
He's already run into Satellite d/l limits and learned his lesson.
 
haha Well, that's actually quite convenient that he's a contractor!

One last thing ... he doesn't intend to ever hold video conferences with his clients, does he?
 
No video conferences. I've been working with this guy for years (Web site, multiple computers, 2 different houses, two businesses 8 children,2 wacky girlfriends, ex-wife) and he's just starting to master email..
 
I would have it made. I've got the tool, but no experience, and my client has mega-bucks.
Satellite is slow and unreliable, but nothing else is available except 3G and we may end up with that.
I like the PVC idea.
This would be the only cable.

I'd still get a decent reel of cat5e shielded cable and run at least two full runs of cable. Digging it all back up 12 months later because the only cable has failed isnt much fun. :haha: A lesson I learned the hard way!

If you have the tool, and the tester, its simple enough to do. Just use an existing cat5 connector as your template - thats what I do, and never had a problem yet. I haven't purchased a cable in years, I prefer to do them myself.

On another note, you would be best with stranded wire, not solid wire - Stranded wire is used primarily for patch cabling, where as solid wire is for static placements, e.g. wiring a house behind the walls and then using ethernet sockets to connect devices to it. Solid becomes brittle with age, and can break. If its outside stranded in my opinion would be better as it has give, which is needed in an outside environment with all the variables that brings.

Any run of cable I do outside is now well protected and I run at least 3 wires for every single connection for triple redundancy. Like I said, I learned my lesson digging up my concrete driveway after my only one failed!
 
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