Tim Long wrote:
> I would like to set up a small home network of 4 to 5 computers
> scattered throughout the house, including 2 in the shack. I am
> connected to the internet through a cable modem and a PC running
> Smoothwall before I get to this machine. Should I use CAT5? Wireless?
> Thin Ethernet if I can find cards with BNC connectors? Will computer
> noise bother the reception? Will the RF bother the network?
My recommendation --
Use an 802.11g wireless LAN.
I used to have CAT5 Ethernet for my 5 desktop PCs, but the long ethernet
cables act as antennas for the circuitry in the router / switch, and you
wind up with some huge modulated carriers in the middle of many of the
HF ham bands. To get rid of this noise, you must filter EVERY ethernet
cable at BOTH ends! I couldn't afford the filters or the space to bring
that many ferrites and cable loops to my 8-port switch.
My family currently has five desktops and three laptops on a wireless
LAN using an inexpensive D-Link hub. I have one VERY SHORT filtered
ethernet cable between the DSL modem and the D-Link, which sit next to
each other in the center of the house.
I run 1500 watts output, 160 - 10 (except for the WARC bands, where I
don't have an amplifier). All of my antennas are within 100 feet of the
hub and computers. I no longer hear ethernet carriers and if there's
any junk from the wireless LAN, it's so low I am not bothered by it
compared to other stuff, like PC power supplies. If I bothered the
internet access, I'd hear about it from my family immediately!
I now have a bunch of useless 50-foot lengths of CAT5 cable still lying
behind desks, tables, benches, etc. I built up my wireless adapter
collection by watching the weekly specials at Circuit City, Best Buy,
and CompUSA, and also found some stuff at Amazon. With astute shopping
you shouldn't have to pay more for the WLAN parts than you would for
pre-assembled ethernet cables.
One plus of the WLAN, of course, is the remarkable freedom you get with
a laptop. On the other hand, you may have to establish ground rules for
when/where laptops can be taken in the house if you have kids.
Caveats:
I don't do any serious VHF/UHF weak signal work here, so I have no idea
if the 802.11g causes any problems in that part of the spectrum.
I've had a little more difficulty keeping the WLAN from "losing itself"
than I have the ethernet setup. Occasionally I have to "repair" the
wireless connection to one or more PCs. It's infrequent enough that I
haven't taken the time to figure out the source of the difficulty.
Regardless of advertising claims, the practical limit for 802.11g
indoors is about a 50-foot radius from the hub. It varies primarily
with the number and type of interior and exterior walls the signal has
to go through. My house is a rambling contemporary consisting of three
rectangular footprints offset from each other, so in some cases I am
shooting through exterior walls as well as interior ones. BTW,
refrigerators are a pain! Try to locate your hub so you avoid shooting
through big masses of metal.
There are a number of "newer" WLAN technologies that claim (and deliver)
greater distances and higher speeds than 802.11g. To the best of my
knowledge, they are all non-standard at this time, and run the risk of
becoming obsolete as soon as the "next" WLAN standard is chosen. Buyer
beware.
Bud, W2RU
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