I need help

[_zmei_]

My dad and I have been trying to set up our cat5 were not sure what were doing I have a picture of the setup were not sure what to plug in the infrastructure is there it's just none of it is connected

[Electronics Wizardy]

What do you mean by setup cat5? What do you wan tto plug it into?

 

THat looks like mostly coax, you need a modem to convert that into cat 5

[infered5]

It definitely looks like you're missing some stuff here.

 

I'd gander one of those coax cables comes from your ISP. It'll need to run through a modem and router (your ISP provided those if you don't get your own), and the router has ethernet connections on it. The modem only has three connections, the coax data in, ethernet data out, and a power connector. The router typically has much more, and the router is the actual "brains" of your network and typically also gives out the wifi connection - hence the antennas. It's likely you have a combo unit that takes in coax and does everything in a single unit. If not, take care to ensure it's all hooked up in the right order.

 

Check to see which coax line is marked from your ISP. It'll either be a completely standalone one that hopefully wasn't plugged into whatever coax mess you have, or is labelled from your ISP as being your data line. If nothing is labelled, you'll have to set up your modem and router and plug in each coax until you get a public IP given to you in your router's web interface. Connecting to the wifi and loading up a webpage (like https://lttstore.com) will also serve as a test.

 

The wall mounted 2x4 has a green plate called a patch panel. If you run your Cat5e to there, it would need to be terminated to get usable RJ45 female plugs which can go to your router, or a switch if you need the extra ports. This will require a punchdown tool which are about $10 at your local hardware store. The female RJ45 will use a Patch Cable (usually only 2 feet or so long) to your switch or router itself. These are cheap online or at your local Microcenter, home improvement store, or DIY if you have RJ45 male connectors and a crimping tool.

[_zmei_]

3 hours ago, infered5 said:

It definitely looks like you're missing some stuff here.

 

I'd gander one of those coax cables comes from your ISP. It'll need to run through a modem and router (your ISP provided those if you don't get your own), and the router has ethernet connections on it. The modem only has three connections, the coax data in, ethernet data out, and a power connector. The router typically has much more, and the router is the actual "brains" of your network and typically also gives out the wifi connection - hence the antennas. It's likely you have a combo unit that takes in coax and does everything in a single unit. If not, take care to ensure it's all hooked up in the right order.

 

Check to see which coax line is marked from your ISP. It'll either be a completely standalone one that hopefully wasn't plugged into whatever coax mess you have, or is labelled from your ISP as being your data line. If nothing is labelled, you'll have to set up your modem and router and plug in each coax until you get a public IP given to you in your router's web interface. Connecting to the wifi and loading up a webpage (like https://lttstore.com) will also serve as a test.

 

The wall mounted 2x4 has a green plate called a patch panel. If you run your Cat5e to there, it would need to be terminated to get usable RJ45 female plugs which can go to your router, or a switch if you need the extra ports. This will require a punchdown tool which are about $10 at your local hardware store. The female RJ45 will use a Patch Cable (usually only 2 feet or so long) to your switch or router itself. These are cheap online or at your local Microcenter, home improvement store, or DIY if you have RJ45 male connectors and a crimping tool.

What would I most likely want to run the cat5 to because I belive we have it setup to go throughout the entire house from one point but I'm not sure if that would be the patch panel or what. Also would I need to run the cat5 to the patch panel via an rj45 connection or via the small single wire connectors(I'm not sure what they're called) also we do have a separate modem and router.

[Falcon1986]

1 hour ago, _zmei_ said:

What would I most likely want to run the cat5 to because I belive we have it setup to go throughout the entire house from one point but I'm not sure if that would be the patch panel or what. Also would I need to run the cat5 to the patch panel via an rj45 connection or via the small single wire connectors(I'm not sure what they're called) also we do have a separate modem and router.

I'm still confused about what you're trying to do.

 

Are you trying to set up ethernet over coax (i.e. MoCA) or run ethernet to the same locations as coax terminations?

 

Patch panels make it easy to bring together ethernet coming from multiple locations. The termination here can be via a keystone (which you have to punch down yourself) or via an RJ45 coupler. But keep in mind that patch panels are not switches, so each incoming cable will have to be linked via ethernet to individual ports on a switch or router.