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I was wondering if it's possible to use some kind of adapter to plug my network cables into my phone lines (since I'm not using them anyways) instead of having to run ugly network cables all over my house?
Would there be any signal loss plugging RJ-45 cables into RJ-11 outlets?
Would there be any voltage on the line even though I don't have a land line connection? (I'm assuming they just disconnect the wires completely from their system)
I'm sure I saw this in a MacGyver episode, just can't remember which one.
I love having network cable all over. I've even gotten red ones for the tree this year.
Well, I'm gonna say three things.
First, it's possible if your phone jack has all 4 wires, many newer homes only have the center two, you need 4 wires for the network. 1 2 3 and 5 are the ones you need.
Second, the signal loss is going to be massive. Your packet losses will probably approach 100% for anything further than 10 feet. You might get lucky and have braided wire, which has better HF attenuation, but most homes use solid copper.
Third, if your network is autonegotiate, it will run at the lowest possible data rate. Phone line is only good up to a few MHz, so even at 10BaseT it is going to be lossy.
http://www.homepna.org
Example: http://www.smarthome.com/6407E/Corin...-Bridge/p.aspx
Or you may be able to use your power lines: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...ine-Networking
gg
Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured. If those phone line bridge products actually work, they're a bit expensive... I could probably get a wireless router & NIC for about the same price. They should really build new homes with RJ-45 jacks in all the rooms. ;)
Nb. If you do not have experience with wireless routers, beware: if you are in a room on another floor 30+ feet away, expect your speed to drop 40%+ vs. the cable. Of course, you continue to pay the full rate to your provider ;) they LOVE wireless.Quote:
Originally Posted by cpjust
I don't trust wireless anyways. That's why I'm sticking with cable.
Anyone close by can intercept the packets or use your bandwidth... (although I'm sure encryption makes this a lot harder), but I don't have time to become a wireless expert, so I choose to be on the more paranoid side of things. :D
I agree that wireless is less secure, but its more convenient, especially if you have a lot of systems hooked up.
Well, they can still drill a hole through your wall and hook up your ethernet cables...
But really, nothing is 100% secure, but wireless is secure enough.
Enable wireless security, say, WPA2 and enter a long key. Then you can enable mac filtering if you want. A perfectly safe wireless. Enough for homes uses anyway.
You can monitor the logs and see if any MAC address or computer that isn't yours logs in, too. Just boot 'em.