Running about 200 feet of ethernet?

Question

Ok, I would like to run a cable from my house, two doors down (we have permission from neighbor) and i have been told this is legal as long as all three property owners agree. anyway i would like to do this for many reasons such as playing a lan game on pc or xbox. Running an Ethernet that far, would i need some kind of signal booster on each end? And if anyone has any knowlege whether this is actually legal (Missouri). Ummm yea.... thats about it

Answer 1

Ever heard of Wi-Fi?

Answer 2

Well doesn't matter where you live, the provider is going to view it as stealing. You don't pay for the service, the service is provided at a particular address, and you don't live there. However, any cable run loses signal over footage. Roughly about 1-10 percent per 50 feet. Depending on how strong the signal coming into the main connection is and how many connections feed off of this is where the problem lies. Think of it like using a splitter on cable television in your home. The more splits you make the weaker the signal. The more cable you have the weaker the signal. So yes that much footage of cable you would probably see weak signal and need a boost.
Even with a boost, you're going to see slow speeds, locking, and lagging. As for running ethernet this far, I don't recommend it. Ethernet cables are RG6 grade and this type of footage requires RG11 grade.

Answer 3

Do *not* run Cat-5 outside between buildings. This is a very good way to get your gear fried.

There are 2 big problems to overcome:

1) If there is a ground potential difference between the houses (which is almost certainly the case), you'll get some pretty major current flowing through the cat-5. Quite possibly enough to be an actual hazard - I know people who have gotten knocked on their butts by touching gear that had a grounding loop issue.

2) If there's a thunderstorm (you got those in Missouri, right? :), induction effects from a nearby (in this case, with 300 feet of cable, "nearby" means "within a mile") could generate enough current/voltage in the wire to kill your gear.

The only safe way to run that is using fiber - which will require a media converter at each end. They're a bit pricy, but it beats the alternatives.

Answer 4

Ethernet should be able to go ~300 feet without a booster. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be legal so long as all of the property owners agree to it.

Answer 5

I think the signal limit for CAT5 ethernet cable is around 300 feet but it gets progressively weaker the longer it is. Whether it's legal in your area or not I have no idea but it would seem wireless would be so much easier if you were to do this.

Answer 6

I am not from MI so I don't know legal implications. However, I will say that you will definitely require Signal BOOSTERS as signals will definitely degrade for that distance. Better try for Wireless connectivity. Linksys and other cos have Wi-Fi Access Points.

Answer 7

the maximum length for cat 5 ethernet (10bastT) is 100 meters, or approx 300 feet. so it will work fine.

Answer 8

No booster needed, but if you are leaching onto your neighbor's internet service you are stealing services (not from your neighbor, but from the ISP). It isn't your neighbor's right to give permission to you to steal internet service by tapping into his line.

Answer 9

I don't know if it would be legal or not, but the best way to find out is if you asked your local provider.

Answer 10

yeah wi-fi and dude, thats stealing internet, how about you pay to have it installed in your house.