Plotting on a Sim Build in Oregon

[Mekongmike]

Question: I only have 10 Mpbs of fiber optics to my house. My SIM will be in a single bay of my garage about 50' or more from where the fiber optics comes into my office. I talked to my Tech guy who installs the fiber optics and he said that my best bet would be to run either CAT5 or CAT6 cable from the office to the garage for the Internet. Will this distance and 10 Mpbs be enough to play online golf with the SIM?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Mekongmike

[BGCurtis2nd]

Cat 6 cables, provide lower crosstalk, a higher signal-to-noise ratio, and are suitable for 10GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet), while Cat5e cables support only up to 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet). I ran a 200 ft. CAT6 ground bury out to my shop and never had any problems with it as far as speed and internet connection.

[Mekongmike]

Great news BGCurtis2nd...! That helps relieve me a lot. I'll concentrate on Cat 6 as he offered both.

Thanks,
Mekongmike

[GoldenSim]

Hi Mike - I'm not the most tech guy on the forum, and one of the other guys might want to comment on this, but before you start running dedicated Cat6 cable, you might want to look at the option of an internet over powerline adapter. If you're not familiar with the technology, it uses your existing power lines to transmit data. Quite a concept if you're not familiar with it, but it works!! You buy a device which you plug into a router in your house, and then into a regular outlet, and then in your garage you plug in another adapter which can either be a wireless transmitter, or can be plugged into a router for wired distribution. I use a product from a company called Tenda (http://tendacn.com/en/product/forhome-5.html). I'm very impressed by how it works. We have internet to our house, and this is where the first device is plugged in. It then works through the wiring to the main house panel, through to a sub panel in our shop (which is 150' away) and then the second device is plugged into an outlet from that panel. I have used it for over 12 months, and after much testing, we get 95%+ bandwidth and limited downtime. It may be worth a look to save running cable.

[Mekongmike]

Wow...that setup sounds very interesting. I have been loathing running that Cat6 cable through the attic or under the house.

You are running a very long distance with success. What Tenda unit are you using? I see they are very inexpensive for the benefit.

If I installed the kit and it didn't produce then I could always run the Cat6.

Any other input on this subject from anyone else?

Thanks GoldenSim,
Mekongmike

[Jtangm04]

Power lines are a great option but it really depends how the wiring and your house is set up. I tried doing this at my home and unfortunately didn't work out too well. Some electric sockets had great bandwith speed s however my garage where my golf Sim is did not so I had to go with the Cat6 cable option. I agree that it is definitely worth the try doing the power line first and if it doesn't work out then go with a Cat6 cable.

[Mekongmike]

Thanks for your input Jtangm04...!

I thought about that last night.

- The garage bay that I am going to use for my SIM is an add on.

- The original power to the house is underground from the pole about 40 yards from the house. The line had to go to the main original breaker panel on the outside of the two car garage.

- When the extra garage bay was added adjacent to the existing one they placed a meter box on the outside of it since I'm assuming that the old meter box was beside the original two car garage.

- When they placed it the new meter box had some breaker options beside it in the same panel. There are a couple of breakers in use that say "Garage Outlets" and "Garage Door Opener and Lights".

- The original breaker panel is obviously tied to the newer meter/breaker panel.

How does this setup sound? Would it create any kind of problem?

Again, I could try out the GoldenSIM's method and if it doesn't work then I could go to Cat6.

Thanks Again,
Mekongmike

[GoldenSim]

Hi Mekongmike

Sorry for the delayed reply, I was in the City getting some putting surface samples for my new build!

I have the AV1000 Gigabit Powerline Adapter kit, with an additional N300 for wireless connectivity (which I doubt you need).

As mentioned, mine goes through a panel and a sub panel before reaching the outlet I used. I was amazed when it worked, but it does.

I think each install can be unique, and some will work and some will not. And I imagine that sometimes there is no logic we can figure out behind the results.

My local IT guy kindly said that I could try the units and if they did not work, he'd take them back, and as they were such a low cost option it seemed like a no-brainer.

I'd give them a try, as if it works, it'll be a major cost saving, as it was for me.

One thing you may want to ask Tenda (or any other supplier) is what their view is, and if there are any factors to consider. My setup has very low bandwidth (only 20mbps down and 2 up) so if you are running at higher speeds, I'm not sure if that will be an issue.

I'm keen to hear how it goes. Good luck!

[legendsfan]

I’d recommend an Orbi router setup or one of its competitors. You’ll get at least 10x faster speeds. May not be important for Golf setup but if you will use it for gaming or streaming movies you’ll want it. Almost no reason to hard wire anymore with these mesh wireless networks that can be installed

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-orbi-1-ac2200-home-wifi-system-white/5778800.p?skuId=5778800&cmp=RMX&extStoreId=289&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=8f38897a-8104-49e2-9063-ab9159474253&ksprof_id=401&ksaffcode=pg264881&ksdevice=m&lsft=ref:212,loc:2&gclid=CjwKCAjw4sLVBRAlEiwASblR-0hRFtppYs5PLXTUAN4rAX_K3lmEvA9T5rpbVmpNNLhu9DifK3rvqhoCGxUQAvD_BwE

[Mekongmike]

Thanks for the info legendsfan! You too GoldenSim!

I only have 10 Mbps of fiber optic coming into the house as we are way out in the country.

Now I have two suggested options. Are you saying that the Orbi router setup is stronger and potentially better than the Tenda AV1000 that GoldenSim is talking about?

I'm not a Techie so I'm trying to get this in my head.

Thanks,
Mekongmike

[legendsfan]

Yes the Orbi is way faster but if you have relatively slow internet speeds it may not matter.

[Mekongmike]

Not sure what you mean when you "it may not matter." Our fiber optics into the house is only 10 Mbps. Are you saying that since it is slower than, say 30 Mbps, then choosing the Orbi or Tenda unit will not matter?

Thanks,
Mekongmike

[weakhead]

Here is good article on powerline adapters:

"And it’s not just distance. While powerline signals can jump across circuits, doing so causes signal attenuation (measured in decibels), which weakens the connection."

"Other factors can affect powerline performance. You don’t want to connect a powerline adapter to a surge protector, power strip, or outlets that are behind AFCI circuit breakers. (These will be labeled as “AFCI” or “Arc Fault” in your breaker box.)"

[Mekongmike]

Thanks for your input weakhead! Now I'm more perplexed. I'm still leaning towards the Orbi.

Mekongmike

[Mekongmike]

SkyTrak is running their $300.00 of sale for "Masters Week". I just purchased the SkyTrack Launch Monitor, Hard Case and Game Improvement Package for $1,944.90 at Rock Bottom Golf:

https://www.rockbottomgolf.com/search.php?search_query=promo-skytrak

Just a heads up...

Mekongmike

[JohnnyJedi]

Also, TGC $200 down at https://www.skytrakgolf.com/simulation/golf-club

[Mekongmike]

Thanks Johnny! I had already made that purchase a few weeks ago.

Mekongmike

[JohnnyJedi]

NP, I just did it also, both, Same package & TGC I am also noob on this but I got it all on its way --- I think... lol..

did you ever pull the plug on the PC?