T. Bennett Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 I apologize in advice, because I can only imagine this question has been asked many times, but can't find it....What is the maximum length you can run cat5 effectively, or more appropriately, if I run cat5 from my last controller to a neighbors (approximately 150ft) porch to another controller, will I run into problems? I don't know if there are limits, but imagine there is...Thanks in advance, and Happy Holidays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 The RS-485 spec allows almost a mile (4000 feet if I recall). The LOR limitation to that is if you are trying to power something via the Cat-5 cable (such as an ELL). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Farmer Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 I have 2 runs at about 200ft, running at 115K. no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Bennett Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Thanks or the input guys. I'm not powering anything through the cat5, only data. Essentially extending my network to his house. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gc75067 Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 100m is the "supposed" limit to cat5e.. sometimes you can get away with a little longer but thats as far as the specs say that it should work.. now thats to one controller, not full loop.. once you connect to a controller i believe, if it works as network switches, it acts as a repeater which allows you to daisy chain the controllers to almost an infinite length Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viennaxmas Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 The 100 m / 300 ft rule applies to Ethernet network connections. LOR uses a differential serial protocol and the maximum length between the USB dongle and the last controller is 4000 ft. LOR also offers a repeater which allows to extend the range... Keep in mind that the controllers are not acting as repeaters, they simply loop the signal through. Depending on the quality of your cable you may not get a reliable signal over the entire 4000 ft... If you do E1.31 then the 300 ft rule applies between the switch port and the device. My experience is that this is a pretty hard limit - a 347 ft run did not work anymore. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsholla Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Take a look at this post. http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/26388-how-long-can-the-cat-5-cable-be/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiplorenzo Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 According to network rules, 300 ft is the longest it can run without a repeater being added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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