Questions regarding wiring....

[Mark]

Hello all,

I'm new, still getting my bearings and reading through all the old
posts......

I'm getting ready to cut into my first floor ceiling to install recessed
lights. I figured since I am in there I might as well run some wiring that
the previous owner of the house chose to run outside. I want to add some
wires too.

I will be running a bundle from the first floor (not attic, concrete slab) up
to the ceiling, parallel to the ground for about 10 feet, and then up another
wall through the second floor into the attic. I would like to bundle the
following, the wiring starting on the first floor from behind my audio/video
wall unit: -2 Coax cables for my DirecTV/Tivo box
-4 pair of speaker wire for speakers elsewhere in the house
-Telephone ne wire so my Tivo can stop using wireless (I dont know what kind
of cable to buy yet)

So I have two questions:
1. I would like to eventually allow people in the upstairs rooms adjust audio
volume. Do I need to run something for an IR signal? Or should I just run the
speaker wire right into a control switch for each room? Can I use Cat5 or 6
for this? Something else? I see fiber alot too but Im unsure why I would need
that. Perhaps if I use Cat cable I can install more robust features in each
room upstairs? 2. If I bundle all this together will I be creating
inteterference that will affect the sound in the speaker wire? I know to
avoid power lines as best I can. There may be a short area where I need to be
parallel with power, I know thats bad, is there anything I can do to
minimize? My routing options are limited!

All comments appreciated. Thanks!

Mark
(remove nospam in email to reply directly)

[wkearney99]

Just make sure you follow local building codes.

Consider using conduit.

Always pull at least one spare bit of string and leave ways to get around
hard corners. Access panels really help.

> I will be running a bundle from the first floor (not attic, concrete slab)
up
> to the ceiling, parallel to the ground for about 10 feet, and then up
another
> wall through the second floor into the attic. I would like to bundle the
> following, the wiring starting on the first floor from behind my
audio/video
> wall unit: -2 Coax cables for my DirecTV/Tivo box
> -4 pair of speaker wire for speakers elsewhere in the house
> -Telephone ne wire so my Tivo can stop using wireless (I dont know what
kind
> of cable to buy yet)

CAT5 is an all-around good choice as it allows use for up to 4 telephone
lines or twisted pair ethernet. It's possible to 'share' a CAT5 cable
between 10/100BaseT and 2 telephone lines but given the cost of cable it's
often not worth the hassle.

Also consider that some audio distribution systems use CAT5. These
generally use all pairs in the cable. You usually home-run them from each
location back to the central distribution point. Systems like A-Bus put an
amp (decent for most small-medium rooms) right inside the keypad. So
speaker wire is only needed from the keypad up to the speakers. If it's a
larger room or one that might need a "lot" of amplification then you might
also want to home-run the speaker wires. Or consider some other in-room
amplification, from the keypad to an in-room or nearby amp and then to the
speakers. You'd get CAT5 distribution but also greater output and most
keypad systems allow this.

> So I have two questions:
> 1. I would like to eventually allow people in the upstairs rooms adjust
audio
> volume. Do I need to run something for an IR signal?

Keypad systems allow local control. Some also pickup in-room IR and
retransmit back to the central distribution point. Russound, Niles and
others allow varying degrees of this. Alternatively you can install
separate IR distribution networks. Either on their own wire or piggybacked
on coax for cable TV. The coax systems seem overpriced.

> Or should I just run the
> speaker wire right into a control switch for each room? Can I use Cat5 or
6
> for this? Something else?

It depends on what the rooms require. If they're small rooms then most
keypad systems will handle them. If you want "more" sound then home-running
the speaker cables or using in-room amps is something to consider. There's
the balancing act of how much it costs to run the wire and not use it versus
not running the wire and wishing you had.

> I see fiber alot too but Im unsure why I would need that.

Most home situations won't see much benefit to fiber. That and the central
distribution, handling and wall-plate costs of fiber are not trivial. Most
copper networking is more than capable of running the relatively short
distances found in nearly all home applications. I'd only use fiber for
very specialized equipment or for running Ethernet to an outbuilding to
cover the distance and avoid lightning issues.

Also consider the possibility of having an intermediate distribution frame.
IDFs are a common thing in office networking situations. You pull line from
the central location to equipment in the IDF and then fan out from there to
rooms that need it. Most home situations will not need this. But if, for
example, you had a 'great room' at the far end of the house (over a garage
typically) and you needed a LOT of amplification for it. Pulling speaker
wire all the way across the house might present real problems with lost
signal and/or noise. Pulling CAT5 to a local keypad and then running the
pre-amp signal to an IDF that had a local amplifier and THEN onward to the
speakers might be a good idea. If it's a multi-channel amp it might also be
used to handle other nearby rooms in a similar manner. Some keypad systems
allow a "local source" so the IDF might also have something like a local DVD
player. It all depends on just how fancy you need it to get.

> Perhaps if I use Cat cable I can install more robust features in each
> room upstairs? 2. If I bundle all this together will I be creating
> inteterference that will affect the sound in the speaker wire? I know to
> avoid power lines as best I can. There may be a short area where I need to
be
> parallel with power, I know thats bad, is there anything I can do to
> minimize? My routing options are limited!

There is almost always more than one way to run wire. It's always best to
avoid running AC near signal-oriented stuff. Look for alternative ways to
feed the electric so that it can remain distanced from the audio.

-Bill Kearney