VERY dim questions...

[andy from embsay]

Doing up house, and intending to 'future proof' the network I'm putting in by putting 4xcat5 and 1xcoax to pretty much every room. If I've understood everyone on here I'll need a cat5 for each 'function' in the room - so if I've got phone and data I'll need 2 - thereby having 2 spare. Couple of daft questions - why 4? What else apart fron data, audio and phone might I want? And (even dafter) - what do I do with the spares? Do I put a blank box in or have a bigger box with some blank terminals on?

Told you they were dim...I should probably get a grown-up to help me!

thanks

[Otto-Mate]

Andy

Have you read through the wiring guide, it should give you some ideas...

http://www.wordpress-1219309-4387497.cloudwaysapps.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=2

It's common to run 2 coax to each room too, you may want to send video from a CCTV camera back down to your Node Zero for example, although that can be done over CAT5 too.

Some examples of what you might use your CAT5s for are...

Data Network
POTS Phones
VoIP Phones
AV Distribution
Alarm/Security sensors
IR Distribution (change channel on the Sky box from the bedroom etc),
Curtain control and other low voltage devices
Heating Control
Bus Lighting for future upgrade (www.cbus.com etc).

HTH.

M.

[andy from embsay]

Yep - read the wiring guide, but wasn't sure what else I might need! To be honest most of the other functions you mention aren't really what I can see us needing, but you never know so I'll probably bung a few extra Coax wires in to the reception rooms!

So - what do I do with the spare cables (or have I missed that in the wiring guide!).

Thanks again - learning lots here!

[toscal]

Have a look here www.abitana.com.
Also it is possible to use a special splitter so you can have ethernet and phone through one cat5 or similar cable.
Its always better to have more sockets than you need at present. And try and allow for future expansion of the system. So you can add more sockets etc. at a later date if you want.
Rooms that are often overlooked are the bathrooms and cloakrooms. Will you need outlets in these rooms????.
To give you an idea of what you can do. I have an Abitana system, and distrubute TV to 3 TVs. Audio via the PC in the office to the lounge, the music is accessed via a wireless touchscreen in the lounge. My pinnacle showcenter in the lounge conencted to the media server in the garage. RS232 Serial data link from the house pc in the garage to the homevision controller in the dining room. Also telephone and fax come out to 3 sockets in various places. I've also had security cameras connected, these then become a home channel on the TV. This was to show a client what can be done before the install in his house.

[andy from embsay]

Have had a look at the abitana stuff - perhaps a bit more expensive than what i was going to do (but more flexible). Was certainly wanting a local audio source (my wife's i-deck) from our bedroom to the ensuite, but I think I can sort that stand alone.

can you select tracks etc via your touchscreen? I have a soundbridge that i was going to wire into the lounge and then play through an AV amp, and maybe have the option to pipe that to the family room next door, but that's not something I'd die in a ditch for as it's rare we'd want to play the same music in both.

what's a homevision controller do?

Cheers

[UKAutomation]

Homevision is a home automation controller that let's you control your house via X10 using the tv/web browser/etc. It's a powerful piece of hardware and is a bit like a home automation program on your PC but it's running in a stable hardware environment (the homevision).

Did that make sense?!?! :-)

[andy from embsay]

Yep - thanks!

[toscal]

The touchscreen is essentially a wireless monitor. It uses the Remote desktop client. So if you can see it on your PC monitor you can see it on the touchscreen, there are a few exceptions but for 90% of the time it doesn't matter. I use winamp with the sound comming from the PC into the Abitana system and the touchscreen to select and search for tracks. When I get time though I will be installing a Sonos system.

[sonix]

Can you provide more details about this touchscreen (i.e. cost and where to buy one)?

Sounds interesting.

Thanks.

snx

[toscal]

The touchscreen is a Viewsonic V110 airpanel part of their smart display product line. I think they call them Tablets clients or something similar now. I paid 400 dollars for mine on ebay. Came complete with multivoltage power supply, and desk/charging stand.
There is a 15inch one for sale now on ebay. Just do a search for 170069150262. They maybe more, just do a search for Viewsonic Airpanel.
Your PC has to have XP with SP2.
Good luck.