IT help/recommendations thread

[GTI Jake]

I’m not the most technical guy when it comes to computer/internet networking kinda stuff so I’m looking for ideas from those of you who are well rounded in that field.

Issue: I built my shop roughly 200ft from my house and would like to have wifi out there. The building isn’t on Google earth yet, but heres where it sits unobstructed by trees in a straight line from the back of my house where our modem/router are.






Being a metal building it crushes my cell signal, so just being able to listen to internet radio is a struggle on Verizon so I’d like to at least be able to support that and Wyze cameras out there on wifi. The cameras were a gift, and they work ok most of the time up at the house, however I’m open to suggestions on upgrading there as well.

Anyway back to the building wifi, I called my internet provider this morning and they’d want a separate account to provide service to the shop which isn’t an option (I’m not out there THAT much). So from my uneducated perspective the two options would be a long range transmitter on the house & receiver on the shop like this

https://www.123securityproducts.com...MIy6CfxIHi6QIVAcDICh2J0wyHEAQYASABEgK3dvD_BwE

Or to just bite the bullet and dig a trench out there to run CAT5 from the house. In that case I’d also run a PEX water line out there which would be nice to have to wash cars, hands, and whatever else even if I just stubbed up a hose bib and didn’t actually add water service to the building itself.

Open to ideas and suggestions, and hopefully someone else will find this thread useful or ask their own questions here (off topic, feel free to ask away).

 

[daconchslop]

run CAT5 from the house

Cat6 or even 7 with that much run.

 

[GTI Jake]

Cat6 or even 7 with that much run.

It’ll actually be a longer than 200ft run if I bury cable, because it’ll need to run along the crawl space to the side of the house my driveway is on then down that tree line to avoid other utilities.

I didn’t even know 6 & 7 existed lol

 

[aaronc7]

Yeah I would just run the cable out there, set up a separate access point.

 

[GTI Jake]

Yeah I would just run the cable out there, set up a separate access point.

If I do that I’ll run it in conduit so if the cable has an issue or becomes obsolete I can use the old cable to pull a new one.

 

[Gptuners]

That's what I'd do. No issues with that distance for CAT5 or higher. 100 yds is the rule of thumb. (I think it's closer to 110.)

And because once you learn the rules, you can bend them, I'd run the cable now so you have immediate access, then start digging the trench later.

 

[Beelz]

If I do that I’ll run it in conduit so if the cable has an issue or becomes obsolete I can use the old cable to pull a new one.

what he said, with cat7 i think is the best option, just remember its not recommended for anything more than 100 meters (300 something feet) from there you can run an Access Point inside your shop for wireless connection

 

[GTI Jake]

That's what I'd do. No issues with that distance for CAT5 or higher. 100 yds is the rule of thumb. (I think it's closer to 110.)

And because once you learn the rules, you can bend them, I'd run the cable now so you have immediate access, then start digging the trench later.

Not a bad idea lol, that’s what the cable company does anyway

 

[StorableComa]

300ish feet is when you have to plug in some sort of signal repeater or you'll have signal loss with CAT5/6. If it'll be run away from other electrical you can skip shielded and mainly just go with twisted pair and an outside rated jacket.

You can also do a signal booster, or put up a directional/LOS Wifi anttenna at the shop with wifi repeaters. Hard wire with a switch/wireless at the shop would be best, but the most work.

 

[StorableComa]

If you wanted you could also run fiber, granted that would probably be overkill for your shop, but you'd have tons of "futureproof" overhead for when the newest speeds come out.

I know you mentioned Cell signal is crap due to the sheet metal of your shop. You can also get a Cell antenna/booster. Used them alot at my job as our factory is huge and multi level, so we installed them on the roof and ran the coax to the signal booster inside.

 

[Acadia18]

what he said, with cat7 i think is the best option, just remember its not recommended for anything more than 100 meters (300 something feet) from there you can run an Access Point inside your shop for wireless connection

This is the best answer. Run a line out there and plug it into an access point in the building.

 

[StorableComa]

Depends on how much he wants to throw at it. CAT 5e and CAT6 would work as well. Could go CAT5e STP or CAT6 for cheaper than 7. Doesn't sound like he needs huge speeds or to accommodate several bandwidth hungry devices in the shop. Plus I suppose it would also depend on if his equipment is 10/100/1000 capable too.

 

[Thumper]

It’ll actually be a longer than 200ft run if I bury cable, because it’ll need to run along the crawl space to the side of the house my driveway is on then down that tree line to avoid other utilities.

I didn’t even know 6 & 7 existed lol

Check out CAT8 LOL

No seriously, CAT 7 wouldn't do much for your application since it's main benefit is higher speed and while it is advertised to have the same 100m length limit applicable to the Ethernet standard, the higher speeds it offers are only applicable when used within 50m, after that and up to the maximum 100m it functions at the same 10Gbps as CAT6. That said as others mentioned you need endpoint equipment at each side supporting 10Gbps to get that speed, otherwise you'll still get the standard 1Gbps that most consumer grade hardware supports over your CAT5(e) anyway.

300ish feet is when you have to plug in some sort of signal repeater or you'll have signal loss with CAT5/6. If it'll be run away from other electrical you can skip shielded and mainly just go with twisted pair and an outside rated jacket.

You can also do a signal booster, or put up a directional/LOS Wifi anttenna at the shop with wifi repeaters. Hard wire with a switch/wireless at the shop would be best, but the most work.

100 meters is the standard, that's 328ft. Note that while this is the advertised limit operating at the maximum length can introduce signal degradation to 'acceptable limits' as it were. I would never design a system to run 100m between boosters/switches/etc.

If you plan to avoid digging the trench and laying cable (ha ha ha) which would be the preferred method but optional wireless solutions do exist however I would not use wifi repeaters. If you wanted to go simpler you would want to look at a wireless bridge. This is a single point-to-point link over the air. You put one on your house and one on your shop, they must be aimed with clear line of sight at each other and securely mounted to avoid wind movement. You then connect a wireless router to the bridge at the shop.

You will have slower speeds than a cable but it depends on what you will be doing in the shop. I mean, if you plan to stream 4k video out there, or plan to have dozens of devices connected out there go with the cable and CAT6/7 for the bandwidth. And plan for a pair of new switches with 10Gbps ports (one on each end). If you have a LOT of wind, go cable. If you just want to brag about the speed and capacity of your shop internet.....go cable. I'd go cable.

If you do go cable I would address the length concerns by installing a switch or booster in the crawlspace of the house so you would only have the 200-ish ft from the house edge to the shop edge. Run a cable from your existing router/switch to the point in the crawlspace where the cable will exit. Install a booster there and then attach the cable to run to the shop from there.

 

[GIACUser]

Just to add one more option. in my job as as IT Director of a university I did deploy Wireless Bridge systems. The inexpensive ones currently on the market have max transfer speeds of 300mb which should be fine for your needs. Regular omnidirectional wifi hardware is limited in broadcast power so their distance capability is limited by that. These bridge systems are very directional (point to point) and are allowed by FCC to operate at higher power (longer distance) and they consist of a high powered transceiver at both ends. It requires a clear line of sight and they work quite well. Things that hurt their performance are strong rain and trees or other obstacles in the line of sight. These systems can support distances of at least a mile or more. We used them quite a few times with complete success to go across land/property we did not own (can't trench) to get out campus ethernet to buildings near campus.

Note - You do need clear line of sight between the two points AND you need power at both ends. Of course you would need power at both ends to run ethernet out there and put a wifi router on the end of it. Wireless bridge solution is a replacement just for the cable you might otherwise run, it does not provide connectivity for your devices. Just like running a cable out there you have to put a wifi router out there or a repeater if you are running a mesh network in your home.

Bottomline, cable would be your #1 choice and provide the very best connection for you. A wireless bridge is a solid #2 choice when you can't or don't want to trench which requires a lot of effort/expense and you have a clear line of sight.

I don't have any experience with this product but this is an example Wireless Bridge

 

[GTI Jake]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I got a $300 quote for the trench which is definitely fair since that’s not much more than it would cost to rent a small trencher which wouldn’t be ideal anyway.

When we lived in Ohio I ran a similar trench and the small rental equipment I used really struggled even after I removed the governor lol, so needless to say the red clay down here (it’s like modeling clay) would make something like that useless.

I could rent the mini excavator I used building the shop again, but similar cost and as much as I enjoy operating equipment it’s probably best to just sub this one out.

Before I pull the trigger on that I’ll have to talk to the wife and weigh the Bridge option as well.