ethernet

[ethhanners]

Hello So I know the Ethernet cable is old and not used much but does anybody know of any uses for it other then the standerd ones I have at least a mile of it and no use

[grumpydoc]

I have 20 or 30m of old Cat5 cable that gets used for general project/breadboard hookup. I don't think I've got through more than a couple of metres in the past year though so a mile will last you quite some time.

The insulation on it isn't great for soldering though, melts and runs up the wire rather easily.

[Monkeh]

Old and not used much.. much to the detriment of home networks everywhere.

If you think wired connections are useless, a reality check is desperately needed.

[David_AVD]

Maybe the OP means 50 Ohm (coax) Ethernet ?

[grumpydoc]

Maybe the OP means 50 Ohm (coax) Ethernet

That's easy then since it was mostly RG58.

[IanB]

Hello So I know the Ethernet cable is old and not used much but does anybody know of any uses for it other then the standerd ones I have at least a mile of it and no use

What kind of Ethernet cable? There are (were) 10BASE5 coax, 10BASE2 coax, or 10BASE-T twisted pair.

The 10BASE2 is RG-58 coax and could be useful wherever you need a 50 ohm connection.

10BASE-T varies in usefulness depending on whether it is for fixed installation (solid core) or patch cords (stranded core). The solid core cable is readily used for jumper wires, breadboarding and any number of assembly uses.

[grumpydoc]

There are (were) 10BASE5 coax

Thankfully I never encountered 10Base5 live.

We used to have 10Base2 when I started work in IT - occasionally a BNC would fall out but usually not all the way making the location of the break less obvious.

Fortunately the cable was just thrown on the floor between workstations so it was fairly easy to walk along the segment and check connections. Sometimes we even got lucky and everyone up to the break still had a network connection but usually the lack of termination would break the whole segment.

[Dongulus]

This

[Monkeh]

Unsurprisingly, she does not look very happy in that.

[IanB]

Thankfully I never encountered 10Base5 live.

10Base5 was far more reliable than 10Base2. We used those thick yellow cables to connect between minicomputers under the raised floor of the computer room, or to run along corridors hung from the wall or ceiling. The drop cables from each computer were also very solid and secure.

On the other hand, 10Base5 was a mess. A rat's nest of RG58 cables with BNC connectors snaking round the floor of the office. If anyone tripped over it and pulled a connector the whole office would lose the network. CAT5 and structured cabling couldn't come too soon.

[David_AVD]

I sure don't miss the mess of coax, BNC connectors, T pieces and terminators.  Troubleshooting could certainly be a pain in the rear end.

[peter.mitchell]

if its cat5, you can use it for inductors and transformers, surprisingly, q doesn't get *too* bad.

[notsob]

OT - I once had to fault find a RG58 ethernet installation, found massive reflections on a section of coax, the very clever installation person had secured the coax approximately every metre with a staple gun (must have been a big gun as the coax was severely crushed at each staple)

[Bored@Work]

Thankfully I never encountered 10Base5 live.

It was fun. You called the electrician/plumber if you needed a new station connected, so he could come and install a tab on the garden house so the magic Ether could reach the new station.

[GreyWoolfe]

Unsurprisingly, she does not look very happy in that.

Can you blame her?  All that weight on and to the side of head and neck. And CAT 5 as a fashion statement?  I'd rather go back to bell bottoms and Nehru jackets