Wired For Functionality
(April/May/June 2020) Before I started writing copy for Hammacher Schlemmer 14 years ago, I spent six years in the IT industry as a network engineer learning about the infrastructure that supports data systems. Even though today I use the term “WiFi” despite knowing better — it requires too much energy to explain otherwise! — I’m grateful to have learned what I did about data reliability and security. I still knew the basics, but my skills had atrophied quite a bit, so I enlisted the aid of my neighbor Jason Tatum, who graciously offered his help in walking through the design, providing a list of specific equipment/materials we’d need, and then helping me with the initial installation.
Quickly, coaxial cable (for your cable TV), Ethernet cable (which you see in office buildings, when we used to work in offices), and audio cable (speaker cables for your TV/stereo) is referred to as “low voltage” simply to distinguish it from “line voltage” (your electric outlets) or the more scary “high voltage” (the electric cables you normally don’t see).
I approached this design the same way we did for other parts of the house (as explained in the Functionality pillar of our philosophy) and documented how we actually used data prior to renovation.
Internet, Home Network, and Storage
We had Comcast/XFinity Internet service and a cable modem that plugged into a 5-port WiFi router in our shared office. Comcast’s line wrapped all the way around the house from the east where it came from the service pole across the backyard to the north where it entered the exterior wall of our shared office. So, that determined the placement of the cable modem and the WiFi router.
My desktop PC, Amy’s laptop dock, and two printers were plugged into this router via Ethernet. Both printers were set up with hard-coded IP addresses, allowing Amy to print wirelessly.
Amy liked to work all over the house with her laptop and so relied upon WiFi 95% of the time and her Ethernet-cabled dock 5% of the time.
WiFi barely worked in many parts of the house due to the presence of plaster walls which had a metal mesh backing that degraded the signal.
Amy complained a lot about the WiFi signal, which limited her mobility.
Myriad USB keys and portable hard drives had multiple copies of the same data (Amy is fond of saving her entire My Documents folder over and over in multiple places).
The Solution
We’d install a central wiring panel that would house the cable modem and all coaxial and Ethernet cable, which would run from the panel to different locations in the house.
The panel would have dedicated AC power for the cable modem and switch.
The panel would not have insulation above or behind it to allow for better air circulation.
We’d wire select rooms with Ethernet, which would enable us to eliminate any existing or new wall construction that may impede WiFi.
Master bedroom - Coax and Ethernet for a future home buyer’s TV needs
Amy’s office - Two Ethernet (laptop and printer)
Boolo office - One Ethernet (for a future smart board for capturing drawing/brainstorming/notetaking as a digital file)
Mike’s office - the WiFi router will be here (connected via Ethernet to the 8-port switch in the wiring panel in the utility room)
We’d allow WiFi to work as it had in the past (Amy’s work habits) — but Ethernet would allow us to install WiFi repeaters/signal extenders if required.
*Another post will tell the story of actually building this website (and writing these posts) and how we quickly realized we needed a better storage solution for all our visual assets.
Electrician gives directions
Coax run!
Coax and Ethernet for future home buyers in master bedroom
Sister-boarding c/o Jason Tatum!
Ethernet run… AND labelled!
Two Ethernet cables for Amy’s office (front) and one for the Boolo office (back)
Telephone
We had AT&T landline service — we’d used a variety of cordless phone handsets over the years (Amy relied upon these for better quality calls for her business).
If we needed to actually fax something, we’d have to run a 30’-long cable into the guest bedroom to plug into the only phone jack in the house!
The house’s plaster/metal mesh wall construction resulted in terrible cell phone reception from Verizon, so we rarely used our cell phones for calls at home.
The Solution
We cancelled our AT&T landline service because to keep it during renovation, we’d be paying $50/mo. for essentially no service whatsoever (they would not transfer the service up the street to our rental location because they considered that “new landline service” which AT&T no longer provides in Arlington Heights. Dinosaurs do, I guess, eventually die out.
We’ll fax elsewhere if we ever need to!
We decided to use WiFi calling on our phones for voice service; we’d also considered a Wilson Amplifiers product that would boost the incoming Verizon signal, but the signal strength coming into the home is poor to start, which would have meant a waste of money for little-to-no improvement in Verizon signal.
Television & Audio
We only had one TV in the family room (we removed the TV from our bedroom over a decade ago). It has an Ethernet port in its rear. It also has WiFi, but it was located directly beneath the WiFi router in the office upstairs, and thus, could not acquire a signal. In order to directly connect the TV to the router to take advantage of today’s streaming services, we’d have to drill holes and run an Ethernet cable.
We cancelled our cable TV subscription years ago because we couldn’t tolerate paying for hundreds of channels of drivel we never watched.
We watched the same DVDs for years.
We also had a “modern” antenna that allowed us to watch an occasional newscast or sporting event, depending upon what channels the antenna can pick up. We rarely used it at all.
I listened to music at maximum volume while playing drums (ear plugs, yes) in the family room.
We had four speakers hard-wired to the stereo receiver. Two tall Klipsch and two smaller Klipsch. One tall behind my drum throne; the other I’d literally manhandle into position directly in front of my bass drum while the two smaller speakers sat on the ground pointed toward me. A truly primitive setup. But totally immersive.
We had a pair of hard-wired speakers hidden behind the couch in the living room that allowed us to set it on a zone to play music while entertaining guests.
When Amy would cook in the kitchen, she’d listen to music on a CD player/radio because her phone couldn’t get reliable WiFi coverage. We would occasionally listen to NPR while doing bills, paperwork, or going through old boxes.
Neither of us had any behavior around listening to Podcasts.
The TV Solution
We will mount the TV above our new gas insert fireplace and will run Ethernet to it for streaming content.
The TV will connect to stereo equipment which will sit in newly built shelves to the left of the fireplace. This includes HDMI and optical cables for sending the TV’s audio signal (sourced directly from its Internet connection) back through the A/V receiver and then out to the speakers.
We also ran extra coaxial cable to the built-in shelves to accommodate a future home buyer — in the event that coax-based television still exists in 20-25 years!
And we ran both an Ethernet and coaxial cable to our master bedroom for the same reason — a future home buyer may want a TV in their bedroom.
The Audio Solution
We will install five ceiling-mounted speakers — front/left/right and two rear for the TV.
We’ll retain the four Klipsch speakers for my drumset — I’ll be expanding the speaker connections for our receiver.
We will run the speaker cables to the audio cabinet to the left of the fireplace.
We will purchase a Sonos wireless speaker system that will allow us to either stream music from the Internet or from our stereo for entertainment purposes.
Cable in-place above fireplace awaiting drywall
Speaker placement set and audio cables stage… ready for drywall!
Coax, Ethernet, HDMI, optical, and audio cable to the left of fireplace (we’ll post about the insulation later!)
Security
We’ve always considered the best security system to be neighbors who keep an eye on what happens at our house while we’re away, so we never invested in one.
However, when our architect and designer asked us about a doorbell, Amy and I sort of looked at each other… “you know, we never thought of that.”
The discussion evolved to center on whether we wanted a doorbell camera, but we decided that a camera looking at visitors to the front door didn’t fit our aesthetic, but while we landed on a conventional doorbell, the question started me thinking about adding cameras to other areas of the home’s exterior.
The Solution
We ran Ethernet cable to certain locations outside the house for the eventual placement of motion-sensing security cameras that do not require a dedicated AC power source — that's the real advantage of low-voltage devices.
Those cables will terminate in my office, where they will plug into a network video recorder that captures and stores footage.
The camera placement will be ideal for catching fruit-stealing raccoons in-the-act as well as burglars who hide in our backyard from the police…
(we experienced a “Cops” episode a few years ago when a fugitive was hiding behind our air conditioner while the police were searching for him after a foot chase!)
Ethernet (one for WiFi router; one for printer; four for security cameras)
One of four camera locations… this one will cover our deck
So, thanks to Jason Tatum and ABT, we will have a reliable, functional data, audio, and security network!