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Post Info TOPIC: Aggravated - Non-working Ethernet in my DRV


RV-Dreams Family Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 195
Date:
Aggravated - Non-working Ethernet in my DRV


Boy.  You can say that I am being quite particular, but:

 

Since I make a living running LOW-Voltage (aka Ethernet/Cat5/6) cable, as well as being a field engineer with over 30 years experience,

I was OVERJOYED to see Ethernet jacks in my basement, next to my cable/satellite input, in my stereo closet, and most importantly by my living room TV.

 I thought  I could be a slick-boy, and take my mobile antenna with  POE, and route it through the ethernet port by my sewer/water area, and then patch it to the living room for my go, and verizon Millenicom modem.

 

Imagine my surprise today, when I finished wiring my new external antenna from the outside to my living room, via the jack in the sewer dump area, and to the living room via the stereo closet, AND it didnt WORK!

The  WFR mobile, hooked up to my new Go2 didn't respond.

 Well after saying it couldn't be the antenna, I decided to test the connections, and pulled out my (Very) expensive cable certifier.

Amazing,  I was trying to send a signal, and Power over ethernet (as designed by the WiFiRanger people) FROM the Go2 to my antenna.

BUT the stupid jacks weren't wired correctly.

two of the 4 jacks in the stereo closet only had one pair of wires terminated.

Two of the 4 jacks had  two pairs wired.

AND NONE of them had ALL 8 wires (4 pairs) correctly connected.

 

Am I the FIRST and only person in the RV-World that has ever thought of using the built-in ethernet jacks for something that complicated?

 

I swear.  Three hours later after testing, it works, but I can't believe the quality issues this poses.

If it had been a coax cable connection from the cable, or from the satellite, I bet hundreds of people would have complained by now.

As it stands, I am seriously thinking of sending a bill for my time and materials to the factory for fixing this annoyance.

 

... Footnote.  4 hrs later, I am working with my mobile antenna connected via my outside jacks correctly running poe (power over ethernet) via the ports that werent wroking before....

 

Now, if I can only configure this stuff the right way, I'll be happy...

 

cheers.

 

 

... Now all I need to do is figure out WHICH one will be our primary lan, and how to make sure it gets my ip list, etc...

and so I can change all the usual suspects (ip range, assigned stuff, etc..)

cheers 2...



-- Edited by cheryls-other-half on Wednesday 10th of September 2014 08:15:12 PM

Edited by moderator: Removed questionable wording.  Terry



-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Wednesday 10th of September 2014 09:21:57 PM

__________________

--------MitchB----------

The formerly silent and lurkier half of CherylbRV, but now on his own ID, and now ONTHEROAD...

 



RV-Dreams Family Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 3721
Date:
RE: Pissed OFF- Non-working Ethernet in my DRV


I had not heard of an RV pre-wired with Ethernet. Are you sure it was a factory job and not something added later?

__________________

Bill Joyce,
40' 2004 Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid
Journal at http://www.sacnoth.com
Full-timing since July 2003



RV-Dreams Family Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 195
Date:
Frustrated....was: Aggravated - Non-working Ethernet in my DRV


Bill J said: Ethernet wiring inside a RV?

Maybe I'm just extremely lucky.  Maybe they WERE special ordered.  But the wires were run from the bedroom to the outside (water input) INSIDE the frame, and were neatly taped together at the end.

The Ethernet cover plates were wired with the same square screws covering the coax (tv/satellite) connections and all the other locations  in the RV requiring screws (Including the audio outputs in the basement, etc..)


 

It is next to my cable/satellite box, and also shares a outlet with 2 telephone (cat 3) connectors.

It runs from my 'water input box' to my bedroom closet where the stereo/satellite equipment is, terminating in a quad jack (on the wall.)

At that location there are 4 jacks, labeled  "outside, basement, liv room, bedroom).

I jumper-ed (1foot patch cable), from outside to living room to connect the WiFi Ranger Mobile Antenna to my router.

 (I still have about 20 1 foot cables left from when I was down-sizing-- They are useful for my work!)

 

I do think it was very neat not to have to run cable myself, and now that I am calmer, and a day past the incident, I can only say:

Need it repaired? Not sure that it works?  Call me!

Mitch B.

 

And my final complaint (as a low voltage professional with over 20 years experience was:)

If you are ALREADY wiring a (room/house/RV) with cat 5/cat 6 cable AND you are going to connect a voice  phone line:

You will NOT save ANY money in the long term by being cheap, and using phone cable (4 wire-Cat 3) instead of Ethernet cable (Cat5 8wire)

in your installation.

It will only exasperate and frustrate the rare person like me, who opened the cover plate, and was disgusted to find he could NOT install ANOTHER ethernet port to replace the phone wire he would never use, BECAUSE the company that installed it in the first place made the decision to save about 2cents per foot on wire instead of "future-proofing' for future customer satisfaction!

(in other words, if the company had run two ethernet wires instead of one ethernet wire and TWO phone wires, I would be happy, and they might have saved money by using two wires instead of THREE!)  (it's technical, and not worth explaining!)

Sigh... Another day, another Lesson learned.

...(and here's your payoff!)

...ESPECIALLY from the fact that over 10-15 years ago I coached people just starting with email to NEVER EVER EVER EVER hit send or save on a message that they wrote or responded to when they were angry or frustrated, because it would one day come back to BITE them, and make their life difficult.

... and what did I do last NIGHT????  same thing.

OK... Cheers to all



-- Edited by cheryls-other-half on Thursday 11th of September 2014 07:01:51 AM

__________________

--------MitchB----------

The formerly silent and lurkier half of CherylbRV, but now on his own ID, and now ONTHEROAD...

 



RV-Dreams Family Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 1107
Date:
RE: Aggravated - Non-working Ethernet in my DRV


Bill, New Horizons runs Ethernet as standard these days. Not always in the past, though.

The standard runs terminate in the comm closet (inside the entryway closet in a Majestic). They come from the TV areas, the roof (if a Mobile is installed), from the Morningstar controller (or MidNite controller) if solar is installed. Anything else is customer specified. If you order the automation package then you get a Go2 as part of that (not a Mobile) and a tablet for control. The customer can modify any of this, of course. My runs are: two from TV area, one from outside utility area, one from solar controller. I'll add my own roof run - there is conduit to the roof from the comm area.

The standard (high end) Denon AV receiver can be hardwired or it can handle wifi. As can the standard Samsung TV. In my case I'm adding a DTV Genie. I'll put a switch into the entertainment center. I'll also have a NAS and perhaps a separate media server in the comm closet (hardwired). I dropped the Ethernet to the bedroom TV area since I don't have a TV there (it is prewired for one, though). I figure a wireless Genie is better should I need one.

__________________

Jack & Danielle Mayer
PLEASE USE EMAIL TO COMMUNICATE

http://www.jackdanmayer.com,
2009 Volvo 780 HDT, 2015 New Horizons 45'Custom 5th, smart car
New Horizons Ambassadors - Let us help you build your dream RV.....

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