Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

I'm running a cable about 50' long, from my router to my son's Xbox. (I know what you're going to ask. Why not go wireless? The kid can't afford the 100.00 upgrade.) Anyway, things work fine if I use a cable about 10' long. Trying to go that extra distance is giving me fits. I read that CAT 5e is good up to 100 meters. Any ideas why my hook-up isn't working? Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer.
1 posted on 01/02/2008 4:55:58 PM PST by mark3681
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies ]


To: mark3681
Any ideas why my hook-up isn't working?

No. I'd check that you have the right conductor pair on each contact. I'd also do a continuity check on all conductors. Worse comes to worse, I'd use two smaller cables and a hub in between.

2 posted on 01/02/2008 5:00:25 PM PST by battlecry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

I think you have a bad cable. Should be virtually no difference between a 10 footer and the 50 footer unless you have a bad driver on the network interface card. Can you try another long cable? Can you try another port on the router? And is that a standard 100BaseT interface port on the XBox?


3 posted on 01/02/2008 5:01:56 PM PST by Rummyfan (Iraq: it's not about Iraq anymore, it's about the USA!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

Are you sure both cables are physically the same too, IOW one is not a crossover is it?


4 posted on 01/02/2008 5:03:21 PM PST by Rummyfan (Iraq: it's not about Iraq anymore, it's about the USA!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681
Did you buy the cable or are you making it?

Go here, pay the $7.. and get it over with.

5 posted on 01/02/2008 5:03:36 PM PST by kingu (No, I don't use sarcasm tags - it confuses people.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

The 100m figure is for an active network — switches or hubs that are powered and repeating an amplified signal from one network node to another. Your router and XBox are nodes, and apparently they don’t have a strong enough signal to talk at 50 feet. Either that, or the cable itself is bad.

I’d try the 50ft cable between a PC and the router. If that works, then the offender is the XBox, since obviously the router is pulling its weight. If the PC doesn’t work, then it could be any of the three — the cable, the router, or the XBox. The only way to know would be to try a different 50ft cable, or put a quality switch in place — shorter cables from router to switch and from switch to XBox. Even a $20 switch should work fine: http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4774329


8 posted on 01/02/2008 5:10:51 PM PST by Kellis91789 (Liberals aren't atheists. They worship government -- including human sacrifices.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

Basic troubleshooting Zen says, try another 50 foot cable. A new one.


11 posted on 01/02/2008 5:11:04 PM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (Great spirits will always encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681
I’d guess it’s a bad cable.. I have run a couple 50 footers periodically for various things and never had an issue..

Though, if you have a laptop, you could try hooking it up to that cable and see if it works, on the off chance there’s something wrong with the xBox.. xBoxes are known for having problems. Though my xBox (purchased on the first day of availability) has worked flawlessly.. and I’ve not heard of any problems with the NIC.. usually it’s the DVD drive..

12 posted on 01/02/2008 5:11:29 PM PST by tje
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

In the absence of a hub, switch, or router a crossover cable may be necessary.


17 posted on 01/02/2008 5:19:20 PM PST by reg45
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

A time-domain reflectometer would be handy for testing that cable right now.

On a more practical note - for long cable runs where the wire is near an exterior wall - or running outside the house: if you live in a thunderstorm-prone area, consider installing Ethernet surge protectors at both ends.


19 posted on 01/02/2008 5:36:49 PM PST by HAL9000 (Fred Thompson/Mike Huckabee 2008)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

I had some connectivity issues with my (original, not 360) Xbox a few years ago, when I did the exact same thing (ran a 50’ Cat5 cable rather than springing for the wireless bridge). I think it took the third cable I made for it to work well. There are differences in cable quality, but it could also have been something I did in making the cable, although I have a fair amount of experience making those cables.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a wireless bridge. I didn’t pay a bunch of extra money for the Xbox specific one; a generic wireless bridge worked just as well and you can find them for under $50, and probably even cheaper used. I don’t know how well they work with the 360 (if that’s what you have); my router is now next to my 360 and a 5’ cable works fine.


21 posted on 01/02/2008 5:38:41 PM PST by Turbopilot (iumop ap!sdn w,I 'aw dlaH)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681
Ethernet Wiring

Your answer is here. ...somewhere.

22 posted on 01/02/2008 6:23:07 PM PST by TexasCajun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681
The first thing I'd do is to swap the cable. You may have gotten a bum purchase, so I hope you kept the receipt. Then, tell your kid to cool his heels while you invest in a $10 cable tester on eBay. Cheap, but effective, and I can pinpoint problems on a client site without farting around with a toner and pinging shit until next week. I keep several in my shop and vehicle. And check your router config. There's a reason why 'plug and play' is also nicknamed 'plug and pray'. Something, somewhere, is gonna tank when you least expect it.


23 posted on 01/02/2008 6:30:33 PM PST by Viking2002 (Waterboarding the Left every chance I get.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681
Did someone say "CAT5???"


24 posted on 01/02/2008 6:30:54 PM PST by Hegemony Cricket (Although most dead people vote democrat, aborted babies, if given the choice, would vote Republican.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: devolve

Lol, cable trouble!


25 posted on 01/02/2008 9:43:27 PM PST by potlatch ("Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we might as well dance!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: mark3681

The Xbox uses an ethernet Physical Layer chip that might have holes in its cable length capabilities, specifically in their adaptive equalizer. I’ve seen the errata posted for those chips.

Test using 10BaseT on your router, don’t use the Xbox. If you can send data back & forth to your router, the cable is good. 10Mbit is more robust than 100Mbit ethernet.

If the cable works but not at the length you’re using, it will be cheaper to start cutting a few meters of cable and refitting the RJ45 — you were just going to throw the cable away, right?. Make sure you retest again on the router.


28 posted on 01/02/2008 11:42:56 PM PST by Kevmo (We should withdraw from Iraq — via Tehran. And Duncan Hunter is just the man to get that job done.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson