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BOAC
26th Apr 2007, 19:03
I need to link a router to a socket downstairs by RJ45 cable. My ***** builder was asked to run a double phone line in the wall of an extension but only ran a 6-wire phone wire (to a double socket). He also failed to leave any space in the wall for me to get another cable down (no conduit :mad: ).

Can I use the 6-wire phone cable to connect to an RJ45 socket, retaining an extension phone on the remaining wires? As far as I can see I need 4 wires for the RJ45 and 3 for the extension phone, so it looks like no, but will it be possible, and will I suffer on speed as a result?

All Ahead Full
26th Apr 2007, 19:28
I would suggest using a couple of ethernet over mains adaptors instead, these use the houses wiring circuit to transmit your signals, and they do work quite reliably.

As to using the existing, the network side requires 4 connects, not sure about the pgone line, I thought that needed 4 as well.

BOAC
26th Apr 2007, 20:18
Yes - I looked at the 'mains' option in Maplin the other day. Sounds like the only option.

born2fly_au
26th Apr 2007, 21:46
Where is the downstairs socket compared to the upstairs one? If it is directly below then you shoud be able to attach a draw wire to the upstairs cable and drag it back down through the wall and then attach another cable to the end of the draw wire and pull both cables back up again.

If you have a brick external wall there is normally a gap between the frame and the brickwork with enough room to get a cable through using a length of builders string and a sinker or another small weight on the end of it. If you can get hold of a length of plastic striping that they use on particle board flooring to join it together that stuff is excellent for getting into tight places. Just drill a small hole in the end of it to attach the cable and drag it through the wall.

If you are thinking of using the existing cable you only need 2 wires for the phone but you will more than likely end up with all sorts of interference using the same cable as the phone line.

Also if you are looking at using the adapters that plug into the power points be careful as from what i hear they have to be both on the same circuit to work.
hope it helps. Allen

BOAC
26th Apr 2007, 22:10
AllenHe also failed to leave any space in the wall - no chance of even getting a thin piece of wire down, I'm afraid. Plasterboard more-or-less straight onto existing brick. Only other option is to cut the wall and bury the wire.

I hate the builder.:mad:

boguing
26th Apr 2007, 22:57
In standard Cat 5 networking, only four wires are actually used (the greens and the oranges) (sounds like an order at The Fat Duck).

So your six conductors will be fine.

BUT you need the crimp tool to do it, and a magnifying glass of a fair size.

I have the tool and a copious quantity of plugs. PM an address and I'll post them to you with instructions.

Experience tells me to avoid new technologies if you can use good old copper.

born2fly_au
26th Apr 2007, 23:23
If you specified to the builder it was required and he didn't do it and if you paid extra for it to be done then i would make him come back and do the job as you requested, especially if it was quoted in the price. His stuff up make him fix it, I would.

The only other option is go for a wireless network. Make sure it is 802.11g and set it to WPA or WPA2 if running windows XP and use a very long pass-phrase at least 12 letters or more. Also make sure the hardware is upgradeable by firmware updates. with some hardware i believe you can also reduce signal strength to prevent it going too far a field
Allen

BOAC
27th Apr 2007, 07:42
Ah! If only! I have already recovered £9500 of the £10,000 'remedial' costs from that builder (had to get QUITE heavy to get that much:) ) so I've had it there.

Re wifi - it is a wireless router, but a previous thread shows I lose significant speed via wifi so I am RJ45'ing to the desktop. Hence the desire to run the new cable.

slim_slag
27th Apr 2007, 08:03
Instead of going down the wall from above, can you go up the wall from below?

Parapunter
27th Apr 2007, 08:31
Wireless router with en route booster box should fix your woes. Pick one up in pc land for buttons.

BOAC
27th Apr 2007, 09:13
Thanks guys, but answers are no - solid floor and problem is not signal strength. Previous problem here (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=240874)

born2fly_au
27th Apr 2007, 11:18
Final option.
Can you run the cable through the wall with the electrical cable. Are they run in conduit? The regulations are a lot different in the UK compared to australia and i can only base my ideas on our regs. I also have similar problems getting wires where i need them too. I had to go for the wireless option.
Allen

airborne_artist
27th Apr 2007, 12:15
Could you run some ethernet cable to a wifi access point elsewhere in the house, that gives a better signal to the downstairs PC?

boguing
27th Apr 2007, 12:15
I feel a tad ignored... Just use pins 1, 2, 3 and 6 with four of the six conductors you already have in the walls. Am very happy to lend you the special crimp tool.

BOAC
27th Apr 2007, 12:49
boguing - not ignored and thanks! I was, however, under the impression that I would have 'noise' problems if I used the same wire. Are you reckoning it will be ok? I have sourced the modular bits for a double BT/RJ45 socket which I am HOPING will be a screw connect or I might take you up on the crimping offer:)

boguing
27th Apr 2007, 13:25
Cat 5 cable has four pairs of conductors, each pair being twisted at different rates to minimise noise. So, yes, there is a risk of noise.

However, I have used BT wires (when I was out of Cat 5 cable) in my own house without any noticeable problem.

More than worth a try.

BOAC
27th Apr 2007, 15:21
Probably going to try the 'boguing' line as I really need a 'wired'link to the router for my desktop due to speed issues. I have located a 'modular' RJ45 socket which has 'IDC' connectors. Wiil a RJ45 crimper handle these?

boguing
27th Apr 2007, 16:52
Nope. This is for the plugs - thought you'd just put a plug on each end of the built-in and much damned BT wire. Then just plug into router and pc. If the ends are coming out of pattresses in the plaster, you can tidy up with one of those plates with a single hole in them.

Keef
27th Apr 2007, 21:53
I'd go with boguing's fix - but I'd have a look at sneaky possibilities to pull a Cat 5 wire first. My youthful amateur radio experience made me a dab hand at running cables where folks least expect it...

A telephone-and-Cat5 pattress plate on the upstairs wall would look quite neat.

The landline telephone will, these days, work happily with just two wires - you need another "master socket" if you want the upstairs one to ring. Just connect the two wires to pins 2 and 5 in the upstairs and downstairs phone sockets.

BOAC
28th Apr 2007, 06:57
Thanks Keef - I will be when the time allows. I have explored ever which way to get a new wire down, including poking a hole through the ceiling in the wrong place which I now have to patch:{ . One more remote possibility left to try but I do not hold out any hope. Teaches me to stand over a builder while he does the work 'to spec' instead of going off to work.:mad:

Thanks for the tip on 'ring'. The modular stuff has a master/extension module option. If you need a web link to the stuff PM me, but Maplin have a limited range you can look at.

Lost_luggage34
29th Apr 2007, 02:29
Just a quick addendum - the TLC website details how to use one pair and a master socket for a telephone extension.

It works as I've had to do it in the past and I know you are familiar with TLC BOAC from previous discussions !

BOAC
29th Apr 2007, 07:38
Thank you LL34 - will look:ok:

Edit - To ask for a PM with the link if you would be so kind - I can only find a ref to using 3-wires on an extension socket?

Lost_luggage34
29th Apr 2007, 12:36
Have done ! Suspect you are aware of much if not all of it already.

BOAC
7th May 2007, 19:50
One last go today at getting a new wire down and it is hopeless! The plasterboard is simply stuck onto the wall, and no matter how I try to get down I am kneee deep in the stuff.

So, on to the telephone wire - BUT as a Bank Holiday interlude I have moved the 3Com wireless router into the attic to check the 'basic' wifi signal from an elevated position.

Now, apologies for mixing threads here, but I recall someone telling me 'elsewhere' that mixing a PC Card from one manufacturer (Asus) with a router (3Com) will not give good results. Indeed I have a 'poor' signal strength with that config. Oddly my laptop (HP with OEM wifi) gives a good signal alongside the PC and shows 'good' (3/5 bars) right out to my gate a few dozen feet away. Perhaps the Asus card is rubbish? Anyone any opinions of Asus? Are we that flakey in this wireless world? Should I bother to put a 3Com card in instead of the Asus?

NB I will be trying the telephone wire connection soon but am at 'half-way house' at the moment.:)

bladewashout
7th May 2007, 20:17
Why not get bold:

Get yourself a wall chaser, put a 30mm channel into the wall about 30mm deep, dig it out with a hammer and steel, coat the channel liberally with some PVA adhesive and stick in some 20 or 25mm conduit and drop your own cable down from upstairs. Connect into the backbox with a conduit connector (20mm).

Glue the conduit into the recess with a hot-glue gun. Slap in some base coat plaster leaving about a 2mm depth.

Finish with some finishing plaster when the base is dry, get yourself a proper plasterers steel. Rub over about a day later with a sander and you'll never know you were in there.

When we renovated our house, I stuck in about 30 cat5 outlets doing the above, and once you have got a couple under your belt, you'll be happy to do them wherever you like! A floodwired house is a happy house...

BW

Keef
7th May 2007, 20:59
Done that, but it requires an element of boldness and only works if you haven't already papered the wall.

Cheat. Put the WiFi router in the attic, where it can "see" down into all the rooms...

BOAC
7th May 2007, 21:05
Yes - all my previous attempts at 'neat' plastering are sticking out like the proverbials:)

It is the 'seeing' into the rooms that I am having the problem with.:confused: I would have expected a 'super' wash-down of signal, but no.

Keef
8th May 2007, 10:23
Ah! If you can mount the WiFi unit in the attic on its side, so that the antenna is horizontal, then it will "squirt" downwards into the rooms below.

If the antenna is vertical, the signal comes off it horizontally (mostly).

Meanwhile, the telephone...

Connect the two available wires for telephone to pins 2 and 5 in the master socket. That doesn't pick up the separate "ring" line. If you want the added one to ring, then buy a "master" socket to go on the end of those two wires.

BOAC
10th May 2007, 12:23
Well, my pack of 'goodies' should arrive tomorrow, so in time I will know if the telephone wire will 'work':ok:. Exciting, innit?:)

oldbeefer
10th May 2007, 12:39
BOAC - are the rooms on outside walls? I only ask as I had a similar dilemma which I overcame with a 30cm / 1/4in masonry bit through plasterboard, breezeblock and brick. Couple of RJ45 plugs and some cable and the jobs a good'un. I must get round to fixing the cable to the outside wall sometime.

BOAC
10th May 2007, 12:59
Hi 'ob' - sadly not, and to add to my woes the inner wall cavity behind was 'foam filled' by a previous owner which removed another option. If my rogue builder is ever found with a 3ft spirit level 'loaded' you'll know who to blame.:) When I looked 'deeper' into the telephone cable (and TV aerial) run from the loft I found them both buried deep in a large 'wodge' of plaster behind the board and gave up drilling down through after my 14" masonry bit reached the end stop.:ugh:

oldbeefer
10th May 2007, 13:41
Bugger!................

BOAC
10th May 2007, 16:58
ob - just found this at the bottom of this page (http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Networking/Networking.htm)- it may be of interest:eek:

BOAC
10th May 2007, 19:06
This is a request for help from boguing/lost luggage - or anyone in fact!

So far so good - telephone 'ringing' on the new 'BT' modular connector and internet connection also fine there. I have now to connect pins 1,2,3 and 6 on the RJ45 module (damn- its going to look smart:) ). TLC do not provide a pin numbering guide for the socket back, and I have trawled the internet for one. I have 2 rows of 3 IDC connectors, all with colour flashes alongside but no numbers. Does anyone know how I identify 1,2,3 and 6?

Ta all.

Edit: added 2 pics, one with and one without flash.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/boacphotos/Picture007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/boacphotos/Picture008.jpg

OK - I haven't trimmed the ends of the telephone wires yet..................:ugh:

rickity
10th May 2007, 20:25
Nothing is ever easy is it. The question is have they colour coded the correct pins, in which case all you ould need to do is follow the colour coding i.e. white/orange - pin 1, orange - pin2, white/green - pin3 and green - pin 6. my guess is that its 1,2,3,6 on the left hand side bottom to top
Thinks I would be very tempted to con check them with a meter first. pin 1 should be the far right of the bottom (rj45) plug as you have photoed.
Rickity

BOAC
10th May 2007, 21:17
Thanks Rickity - pending further advice, a meter job seems a good idea! I'll try to tie up the wiring diagram for the plug with the pins and the contacts and .................................

Next nightmare....... how do I know whether I'm looking at RJ45 568A or 568B? Who thought this lot up?:ugh:

rickity
10th May 2007, 21:35
BOAC
not sure that the difference between 568b or 568a matters too much providing its the same at both ends. i.e. tx on 1&2, rx on 3&6, pins and cable ids given are 568b and work for me on any ethernet.
below is a cut and paste from my info, looks like the picture wont post easlily but hope it helps.
Rickity
T-568B Color Code for RJ-45 Plug
Eight-conductor data cable contains 4 pairs of wires. Each pair consists of a solid (or predominantly) colored wire and a white wire with a stripe of the same color. The pairs are twisted together. To maintain reliability on Ethernet, you should not untwist them any more than necessary (like about 1 cm).
There are two wiring standards for these cables, called "T-568A" and T-568B" They differ only in connection sequence, not in use of the various colors. The illustration shown is for T-568B. The pairs designated for 10BaseT Ethernet are Orange and Green. The other two pairs, Brown and Blue, can be used for a second Ethernet line or for phone connections.
Note that the Blue pair is on the center pins and conveniently corresponds to the Red and Green pair in a normal phone line. The connections shown are specifically for an RJ45 plug (the thing on the end of the wire). The wall jack may be wired in a different sequence because the wires are actually crossed inside the jack. The jack should either come with a wiring diagram or at least designate pin numbers that you can match up to the color code below.
Pin Number Designations
There are pin number designations for each color in T568B as well. The pin designations are as follows:
Color Codes for T568B
Pin color pair name
--- ----- ---- ---------
1 wh/or 2 TxData +
2 or 2 TxData -
3 wh/grn 3 RecvData+
4 blu 1
5 wh/blu 1
6 grn 3 RecvData-
7 wh/brn 4
8 brn 4
Note that the odd pin numbers are always the white with stripe color.

BOAC
11th May 2007, 08:01
Found this in a search (at least it has pin numbers!)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/boacphotos/RJ45Module.jpg
and it would SUGGEST my module is from bottom left anti-clockwise:

B/B-W = 1/1
Or/Or-W= 2/2
G/G-W = 3/3
Br/Br-W = 4/4

To make it clear what I am trying to do. I need to plug a 'commercial' RJ45(B?) cable into this socket to connect to the 'puter. I can sort the other end out where I connect to the router once I have the pins right.

Anyone brave enough to confirm? I then need to wire 1,2,3 and 6 if I have this puzzle cracked? Hoping that means:-

Solid Blue
Solid Orange
Solid Green

But where is 6??:confused: . Then it gets even more confusing:


According to the EIA/TIA-568B RJ-45 Wiring Scheme:
Pair#2 (white/orange, orange) and Pair#3 (white/green, green) are the only two pairs used for 10BaseT data.

Pair#2 is connected to pins 1 and 2 like this:
Pin 1 wire color: white/orangePin 2 wire color:orange

Pair#3 is connected to pins 3 and 6 like this:
Pin 3 wire color:white/greenPin 6 wire color:green</B>

There has to be an easier way........................:ugh:

Edit to add: I think the little light has just come on in my head:mad:

1/2/3/4 on the diagram refer to the cable pairs? I think I read somewhere that the wires with white flash are odd numbers? Is there perhaps a glimmer of hope? I used to think 6.5 hour air-refuelled trips in a single-seat interceptor escorting the baddies through the Iceland/Faroes gap were difficult - just think if I had had to wire a RJ45 as well..............:)

Keef
11th May 2007, 19:48
Never done it, but if you examine a Cat 5 plug - one where you can see the colours of the wires...

Mine always came connected :(

rickity
11th May 2007, 21:26
BOAC
re reading most of the above I think I begin to see the problem, that is you have 6 wire cable which hasnt the same colours and uses as the cat5/rj45 cable that has been referred to but all is not lost. I see that blue and red (or orange) are already used for the telephone connection. next step is to see if any of the other 4 wires are twisted in 2 pairs, if they are connect any pair to the bottom left 2 contacts on your plug next to the orange rectangle and orange triangle, this will become your tx + and - which should be connected to pins 1 and 2 on the rj45 connector going into your router, or what ever your connecting to. the other pair should be connected to the top left 2 connections next to the green rectangle and green triangle rx + and -, the other end will connect to pins 3 and 6 of the rj45 connector.
pc rj45 white/orange pin1 -wall connector bottom left- outofwall - pin1 rj45 router
pc rj45 organge pin2 - wall connector next one up - outofwall - pin2 rj45 router
pc rj45 green/white pin3 - wall connector nextone up - out of wall -pin3 rj45 router
pc rj45 green pin 6 - wall connector top left - outof wall - pin 6 rj45 router
if you cant find any twisted pairs in the telepone cable then just use the wires as you like as long as you end up connecting through a pin1 to a pin1 etc. although without twisted pairs it may suffer in performance.

Hope this helps

Rickity

BOAC
11th May 2007, 21:57
Ignore the colours in use on the phone module, and yes, it is 'standard' 6-wire telephone cable untwisted. I am aware of the potential loss of performance but you will see the problem my dear builder gave me from this thread.

So in essence you are saying that the left row, bottom to top goes pin 1,2,3,6? That is one bizarre way of numbering!! I would never have guessed that assignment.

rickity
11th May 2007, 23:23
Thats what the colour codeing seems to suggest, great if you're wiring to twisted pairs cat5 type cable, damed confusing for what you're trying, think the makers are trying to be oh so helpful connecting to the "odd" sequence in the rj45 plug itself for you, go for it, providing the telephone wires are sorted you should'nt do any damage, it just wont work!! Still would be nice to meter it to confirm beyond doubt.

rickity

BOAC
12th May 2007, 07:23
Ta - off to see No 1 son this PM to use his RJ45 crimper and his IT brain to help!

oldbeefer
12th May 2007, 17:13
So, BOAC - did it work?

BOAC
12th May 2007, 18:09
Steady lad! Just back and we have the pin numbering sorted. It was 568B and runs 3,6,1,2 from bottom left to top left. It will be a few days before I get to wire it up due to some flying, so you'll ALL have to wait!:)

Onwards and upwards (or should that be downwards?)

BOAC
20th May 2007, 17:38
Some good news and some bad news. Finally back in the land of home and I have the RJ45 connection working - BUT the speed is poor. I guess that is the result of using untwisted wires.

Thanks to all for the help in trying this, and I'll leave the swanky RJ45/BT plate on the wall. My laptop is giving me a 5 bar wifi signal while the desktop alongside is showing only 2, so I guess the next step is to buy an extension aerial for the desktop to improve the speed, since the dinky little aerial on the PCI card is right at the base of the rear of the PC.

A useful exercise for me, anyway, in 'education':).

Keef
20th May 2007, 18:34
Before you tinker with "alternative antennas" on the PCI card, try plugging a USB WiFi into a USB extension cable, and move it around a bit to see what signal you get. My daughter thought she was going to need an RJ45 cable from her study to the lounge (other end of the house), until an RF "sweet spot" was found.

The USB WiFi hides behind a picture on the wall, and gives four out of five bars.

BOAC
20th May 2007, 20:17
The laptop is as good a guide as any? I've had a 'wander' around with the USB but No1 son informs me he has a gash extension aerial knocking around - just hope it is the right connection = RP-SMA

Bushfiva
21st May 2007, 00:50
Is it too late to suggest a couple of ethernet over powerline boxes? Netgear, for example? I'm putting a couple in my place because faster than wifi is always faster than wifi: up to about 85Mbps on a 200Mbps connection. Also supports QoS very easily, so streaming stuff can be given the priority it deserves.

BOAC
21st May 2007, 06:57
Bush - I have ruled that out for the time being as I think the wifi reception can be 'made good' and apart from the fairly high cost I understand there can be problems with ring main layouts/adjacent interference and others. Looks promising, though - and whatever happened to b/band via the National Grid in the UK?

Keef
21st May 2007, 11:48
whatever happened to b/band via the National Grid in the UK?
Hopefully consigned to the dustbin of technology where it belongs. It would mean an almost total clobbering of most of the MF/HF frequency spectrum (denied, of course, by those who stood to make lots of money out of it).

But anyway...

If your laptop gets a good WiFi signal when parked next to the desktop, the desktop is going to do likewise sooner or later - the only question is where on the list of "things to try".

BOAC
21st May 2007, 12:14
My feelings too. Started with the 'swanky' wall plate, and next will be the extension aerial, I feel. At the moment I'm running a USB wifi plugged in the front bottom panel and that is only giving a 'low' signal strength:confused:

Eee! Its a right mystery, this wireless stuff:)

Wader2
21st May 2007, 12:58
Maybe too late for BOAC but a tangential solution and one we used to run the mandatory phone line from the telephone to the Sky Digibox.

Ran the cable around the roomand used a blunt prodder to 'feed' the cable under the skirting. It is trapped twixted skirting and carpet. If there is no skirting gap then you could add a quadrant and hide the cable behind that.

Keef
21st May 2007, 13:02
Eee! Its a right mystery, this wireless stuff:)

Nah, it's totally consistent and always follows the rules of radio propagation - except when I'm within 1000 miles of it.

If you have a "USB extension lead" (matching plug and socket on the two ends) then plug the USB WiFi into that and move it around a bit...

BOAC
21st May 2007, 14:00
Wader - had that 'flash' too, but cannot get a wire down to the skirting board.

Keef - I'm using the lappie as a bell-wether (comes from bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a wether) in order that this animal might lead its flock of sheep) - thoughts of builder come to mind - please pardon the evil thought, Keef :)

BOAC
30th May 2007, 09:31
Sorry to re-open this, but I would appreciate someone 'wot nose' advising on the length of telephone wire in use v. the loss of signal.

If I can shorten the actual distance the signal has to travel on untwisted wire could I expect an improvement in speed or does ANY untwisted run degrade the signal regardless?

I should advise that progress is going to be patchy on this issue for me as Mrs B has some significant medical issues which are taking my focus.

boguing
30th May 2007, 09:43
I've only used it up to twenty feet, but this was on a 10 Mbit/sec network in the olden days.

I'm afraid it's going to be empirical - but the shorter the distance, the less interaction can take place.

BOAC
30th May 2007, 12:23
Ta again, boguing - I guess the plan will be to run RJ45 from router as far as I can to the drop point for the BT wire and see if that improves things.

Tinstaafl
30th May 2007, 14:14
Any chance you could use the phone wire to pull a cat5 cable through? Perhaps not the whole way but maybe in segments (if you can access the wire at various places) that could then be joined with a coupler? Not ideal but probably better than the phone cabling.

It's also possible to get WiFi repeaters/extenders. Stick one of those somewhere with a good signal that's between the WiFi router & the poor signal area.

BOAC
30th May 2007, 15:00
Thanks Tins, but the earlier part of the thread covered my excellent builder and the wifi bit is/will be ok.

rob-d
31st May 2007, 08:08
Hi BOAC,

I was reading the earlier posts in this thread. Could you just use the existing rj45 cable your builder put in to pull two new cables through from upstairs to downstairs?

Gulfstreamaviator
31st May 2007, 12:15
Great plan but the cable will normally be fixed in several points.

Best to get on site before the final fix, and lay your own cable......

BOAC
31st May 2007, 13:48
Appreciate the inputs all, but in order to keep this thread on topic, as you can see:

There was NO RJ45 cable put in

There is no room behind the plasterboard to run any

The existing BT cable was kindly embedded in plaster over much of the drop.

Tinstaafl
31st May 2007, 15:20
Oh, I missed the 'embedded in plaster' bit when I originally read this thread. What a bugger of a way to wire a house!

We're soon to start renovating our little house by building a second block down the back, connected to the original premises with a hall. Part of our specs. is that the skirting board area in all rooms have a cavity & be accessible so that wiring can be laid at any time.

BOAC
31st May 2007, 15:59
What a bugger of a way to wire a house! - yes - one of the reasons we threw him out - and I squeezed £10,000 out of him to pay the next builder!

Lost_luggage34
6th Jun 2007, 01:18
Apologies BOAC - been on-call for the past few weeks.

I will dig out some figures re. cabling as I feel sure I have them.

BOAC
6th Jun 2007, 08:04
No probs, LL34 - Mrs B has taken a turn for the worse medically so I am a little busy there. I will advise any progress. I have a length of RJ45 cable now to try and reduce the length of 'BT' wire in use. Just need the time and focus.

BOAC
16th Jun 2007, 15:51
To close this: I managed to grab 1 hour in the attic, and (the OBVIOUS) idea of running most of the distance in RJ45 as opposed to the whole distance in phone wire - doh! :ugh: has now given me an 'up' of around 230k and a 'down' of 7-800k on a 'potential' 1mb link, so I reckon I have cracked it!:ok:

An extension wifi aerial 'borrowed' from number1 son did not, incidentally, improve the wifi speed on the desktop. Laptop still buzzes on wifi, though.

Thanks again to all helpers.

Lost_luggage34
16th Jun 2007, 18:50
Glad you got a satisfactory solution - sounds pretty decent.

I still haven't managed to find my documentation re. different cable gauges/types and there relative performance despite trawling in the attic.

I am determined to find it - I paid a lot for the course !