ethernet cable against the elements?

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Muffin Man

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ok, so i needed to share my internet connection between two rooms at home, but i didnt have a wireless connection setup yet (this was done today and i didnt plan ahead cuz i didnt know), but i plan on buying a wireless pci card or usb adapter or something, idk yet.

so as something temporary, i am currently sharing my connection between two rooms through an ethernet cable that i had to run through the outside of my building from one window to another (i know that might sound stupid >.<)

right now, the internet connection is running fine, but i want to know if the cable is likely to wear out in like a week or two against the weather, rain and cold temps primarily, and sometimes thers like crows and hawks and **** that come around and they might start pecking it or something.
 
It will be fine for a while. If you were really worried you could run in in some conduit or pvc pipe.

Short term solution just fine.

For a permanent outdoor solution I have ran insulated cat5 in conduit running for over 5 years now. :)
 
no lol, i dont plan to keep it like this for that long, ill definitely have moved out by then and my parents soon after probably. i wasent too worried, but conduit looks promising if i ever need it.

thx :)
 
I usualy run cat5e that has a additive in the outer sleeve to protect against UV damage, that is where the most damage comes from. Second one, the cable moving a lot can also cause damage to the sleeveing and possibly cause the inner wires to break, thats also rather common. If ran in the groud, pvc conduit is a must, but along the side of a building, just for short term, regular cat5e is good enough.
 
Most cables have it now in days. Just look at the specs of the cable or call the manufacture of it and ask them if it has a uv protective coating on it. When I had to order cabling for out door security cameras we had to make sure it had that coating, other wise, with in a year of contact with sunlight, it would be come brittle and break apart when the cameras would rotate.

But almost all Cat5e has a uv protective coating on it.

(Been trying to post this for ever now...)
 
Most cables have it now in days. Just look at the specs of the cable or call the manufacture of it and ask them if it has a uv protective coating on it. When I had to order cabling for out door security cameras we had to make sure it had that coating, other wise, with in a year of contact with sunlight, it would be come brittle and break apart when the cameras would rotate.

But almost all Cat5e has a uv protective coating on it.

(Been trying to post this for ever now...)

Thanks.
PS: To the OP, if you really want to have something around the cable then grab some wiring loom like this:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=207 (Australian shop as an example).

But you should be fine.
 
ooh, yesterday when i read Hefe's suggestion of conduit, i didnt know what it was, so i googled it and the first image under a web search was this, so i thought this was it, didnt read description
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11638469/FMC_Flexible_Metal_Conduit_UL_1_Standard.jpg

it looked pretty flexible thats why i liked it better than pvc pipe, but i searched it again to now find that it is also just a fancy pipe :p

so it sounds like it should be good even if its just temporary. if i decide to leave it there a little longer, i might then look into some wire loom (thx for that ^).

also thx c0rr0sive, i had completely forgotten to factor in sunlight too. >.<
 
You could just run a strand of strong wire or cable along side of the Cat5 and then secure the Cat5 to it. There used to be a plastic coated steel cable on the market that was used for clotheslines (as in hanging clothes on to dry) that would work great to support and protect the Cat5.

Found some:
ClotheslineShop.com: Metal Clothesline Wire, 950 lbs,
 
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