Limit to the length of CAT5 cable? Please help

[robotcholi]

Is there a limit to how long CAT5 cable can be? This is my problem:
I crimped(spelling?) about 8 CAT5 cables today and they are around 70-80 feet long. For some reason all of them won't work. I then crimped 2 short ones just to test it out maybe I crimped the other 8 wrong but the 2 short ones worked fine (i am very confident that the ends are good and no loose connections). I've checked all my wiring and they all matched perfectly. I am so clueless right now and sad Can someone please be so kind and enlighten me. I am desperate. Is there anything that can stop the flow of electron maybe? Please help. Thank you so much in advance.

Robot,

 

[Colt45]

/digs deep into the "useless sh!t" region of his brain

uh 300ft i think, which would be 150ft for crossover.



dont quote me on that thouggh

edit wait.. crossover would still be 300ft wouldnt it be.

now all the sudden 100ft is coming to my mind.. hell i dont remember AT ALL

 

[fatbaby]

It shouldn't exceed 100 meters. Though shielded or double shielded cable can exceed 100 meters.

 

[chiwawa626]

Originally posted by: fatbaby
It shouldn't exceed 100 meters. Though shielded or double shielded cable can exceed 100 meters.

Yeah thats what i hear...

 

[theNEOone]

different cables go different lengths. check the quality.

 

[jteef]

also, if you're trying to do 100BaseT or gigabit ethernet, you really need to have the twists right down to the end, which is really hard to do by hand.

 

[N8Magic]

Yup, check the quality of the cable and also look to see if their is any obvious electrical interference around the cable as that will shorten the effective length as well.

Do you even get a link light?

 

[Staples]

The standard length for UTP is 100 meters/328 feet.

 

[Marshallj]

A little over 300 feet, although a pro I know says that they routinely get away with MUCH longer distances than 300ft.

 

[narzy]

the pro you know goes out of standard and voids his clients warrenty's, not a pro I want working on my stuff.

 

[Soybomb]

Originally posted by: narzy
the pro you know goes out of standard and voids his clients warrenty's, not a pro I want working on my stuff.

Ditto, no one should pay to have a cable plant installed and have someone screw them over like that.

13 minutes was too long to wait for a response in networking 'eh?

 

[robotcholi]

Thanks for all the help so far guys, i really appreciated but it doesn't really help me figure out the problem yet. I did get a link between the router and computer because the ethernet card LED lid up when i plugged in also windows xp also confirmed that cuzz it will say unplug as soon as i unplugged the cable. I routed these wires on top of an office which has light fixtures and heating and cooling systems or ducts and those insulation thingy but i think those things couldn't be the culprit for interferring with the electron flow. I bought the 500 ft. box from Fry's and put the ends in myself using that thing look like a plier(don't know what it calls) but it designs to crimp the ends of CAT5 cable. I did it for 2 short ones and they worked fine but somehow the long ones wouldn't work. I don't have the box here to see know how long it recommends but i think any decent CAT5 can handle 70-80 feet easy. This is wierd... I appreciated any inputs no matter how out-there it is so I can tinker with tommorow. Thank you so much for all of yours helps.


Robot,

 

[robotcholi]

Originally posted by: narzy
the pro you know goes out of standard and voids his clients warrenty's, not a pro I want working on my stuff.

what do you mean pro narzy? I didn't hired any professional if that is what you mean. I am an immature but setting up a small networking is within my ability.

 

[sohdahere]

So the longer they are the lower the performance?

 

[d33pt]

i bet what you did was make the pairs 1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8, when 1-2, 3-6, 4-5, 7-8 should be the correct pairs. For short runs, the first way would work, but when you go longer, you'll get dropped connections and lost packets.... surprised no one mentioned that. alot of newbs make that mistake when making cables.

http://www.siriuscomputers.com/rj45.htm

 

[robotcholi]

Originally posted by: N8Magic
Yup, check the quality of the cable and also look to see if their is any obvious electrical interference around the cable as that will shorten the effective length as well.

Do you even get a link light?

yeah I think i got a link N8Magic . The LED on the ethernet card lid up when i plugged in and blinking too and windows xp also seemed to confirmed that because when i unplugged, it said so. Thanks for your help. Too bad I don't have the box here to see its quality but it is quite decent i think because it costed me 60 bux for 500 ft. box

 

[Anubis]

ive got it runnin in 200 feet lengths at my house and it works fine

 

[Marshallj]

Originally posted by: narzy
the pro you know goes out of standard and voids his clients warrenty's, not a pro I want working on my stuff.

He's a veteran in the field, has tons of experience and knows what works and what doesn't... unlike 17 year old kids who post on Anandtech and claim to be be know-it-alls (hint hint)

 

[Marshallj]

Originally posted by: robotcholi
Thanks for all the help so far guys, i really appreciated but it doesn't really help me figure out the problem yet. I did get a link between the router and computer because the ethernet card LED lid up when i plugged in also windows xp also confirmed that cuzz it will say unplug as soon as i unplugged the cable,

Are you sure you wired the ends up right? There's an "A" and a "B" way to wire the cables. Which one did you pick?

 

[robotcholi]

Originally posted by: d33pt
i bet what you did was make the pairs 1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8, when 1-2, 3-6, 4-5, 7-8 should be the correct pairs. For short runs, the first way would work, but when you go longer, you'll get dropped connections and lost packets.... surprised no one mentioned that. alot of newbs make that mistake when making cables.

d33pt, I think 1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8 or 1-2, 3-6, 4-5, 7-8 makes no different in term of order I think. There are 8 matching wires(colors coded) within the CAT5 cable that they twisted into 4 pairs. The colors are 4 pairs of BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, and ORANGE. It will work just fine as long as you match them at both ends. Let's say you do BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, ORANGE at one end, you'll have to do the same order at the other end and it'll work just fine. It worked with my two short ones i made but all 8 long ones around 70-80 feet each didn't work. Still scratching my head... Thanks for your input.

 

[Indolent]

Originally posted by: Marshallj

Originally posted by: narzy
the pro you know goes out of standard and voids his clients warrenty's, not a pro I want working on my stuff.

He's a veteran in the field, has tons of experience and knows what works and what doesn't... unlike 17 year old kids who post on Anandtech and claim to be be know-it-alls (hint hint)

Yeah, it might work for what he is currently using it for. But, the point of standards is so it can be upgraded easily if needed in the future. Like from 100mb to gigabit ethernet.

 

[robotcholi]

Originally posted by: Marshallj

Originally posted by: robotcholi
Thanks for all the help so far guys, i really appreciated but it doesn't really help me figure out the problem yet. I did get a link between the router and computer because the ethernet card LED lid up when i plugged in also windows xp also confirmed that cuzz it will say unplug as soon as i unplugged the cable,

Are you sure you wired the ends up right? There's an "A" and a "B" way to wire the cables. Which one did you pick?

What do you mean "A" and "B" way Marshallj? I tried one way with 2 short ones and it worked so i assumed if I made them longer but same way then it should work too but they didn't

 

[Mucman]

Don't crimp your own cables... they won't be to spec.

 

[Indolent]

Originally posted by: robotcholi

Originally posted by: d33pt
i bet what you did was make the pairs 1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8, when 1-2, 3-6, 4-5, 7-8 should be the correct pairs. For short runs, the first way would work, but when you go longer, you'll get dropped connections and lost packets.... surprised no one mentioned that. alot of newbs make that mistake when making cables.

d33pt, I think 1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8 or 1-2, 3-6, 4-5, 7-8 makes no different in term of order I think. There are 8 matching wires(colors coded) within the CAT5 cable that they twisted into 4 pairs. The colors are 4 pairs of BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, and ORANGE. It will work just fine as long as you match them at both ends. Let's say you do BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, ORANGE at one end, you'll have to do the same order at the other end and it'll work just fine. It worked with my two short ones i made but all 8 long ones around 70-80 feet each didn't work. Still scratching my head... Thanks for your input.

What you need is a link tester to test each wire individually to make sure they match up correctly and there isn't any little cuts anywhere in the line. Not sure how else you can do it if this isn't available.

 

[N8Magic]

Originally posted by: robotcholi

Originally posted by: N8Magic
Yup, check the quality of the cable and also look to see if their is any obvious electrical interference around the cable as that will shorten the effective length as well.

Do you even get a link light?

yeah I think i got a link N8Magic . The LED on the ethernet card lid up when i plugged in and blinking too and windows xp also seemed to confirmed that because when i unplugged, it said so. Thanks for your help. Too bad I don't have the box here to see its quality but it is quite decent i think because it costed me 60 bux for 500 ft. box

Hmmm.

Theoretically, if you get a link light then it should work. Perhaps all of the wires are not crimped down into the connector properly then. The only other thing I can think of right now is to reterminate the ends of cable with new connectors. If all else fails you could cut the cable in the middle and throw a cheap hub in there to repeat the signal.