Introduction: POE for My Clear Home Modem (first Instructable So Bear With Me)
About: Semi-Retired.... still working on it.
Wife decided to give clear a try since our dsl was dog slow and cable was wickedly high (in cost)...
We received the modems (usb and house), the house one is easy as pie to set up, the down side is finding that sweet spot for reception.
Guys i ran all over the house with the laptop and that house modem, couldn't get ANYTHING above 2 bars.
hmmmmm
So, with it set in the window of the bedroom up against the glass, we get an average of 3 to 5 bars depending on the weather (i kid you not), this is where it goes when i hear complaints about hulu under buffering.
We received the modems (usb and house), the house one is easy as pie to set up, the down side is finding that sweet spot for reception.
Guys i ran all over the house with the laptop and that house modem, couldn't get ANYTHING above 2 bars.
hmmmmm
So, with it set in the window of the bedroom up against the glass, we get an average of 3 to 5 bars depending on the weather (i kid you not), this is where it goes when i hear complaints about hulu under buffering.
Step 1: Parts
The Idea is (was) "babe, i'm going to run over to fry's and pick up some stuff" (i can hear her logging into the joint account to watch the spending as i leave.)
The parts that are needed is.....
1) a Pelican box big enough for the modem itself (it was pretty cheap)
2) a gooooooood amount of Cat5 cable (i stopped at 50ft)
3) a female and male power socket that matches both the modem and the wall wart
4) a Telco baseboard jack for network drops
5) Soldering iron, solder, flux, and solder wick if your messy
The parts that are needed is.....
1) a Pelican box big enough for the modem itself (it was pretty cheap)
2) a gooooooood amount of Cat5 cable (i stopped at 50ft)
3) a female and male power socket that matches both the modem and the wall wart
4) a Telco baseboard jack for network drops
5) Soldering iron, solder, flux, and solder wick if your messy
Step 2: Construction
Construction:
Construction was pretty straight forward for wiring i used this as the primary inspiration for the design: www.nycwireless.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/poe3.gif
All i had to do basically was build the same thing from this webpage:
www.nycwireless.net/projects/poe-power-over-ethernet/
Then pack the modem up in a pelican case and head outside.
Step 3: Results
Building the POE adapter was pretty cool i would say its great for an amateur to make and if you ever need to run power and ethernet to a remote location through one cable its perfect for it.
While running around in the backyard i found out while in the case the reception was pretty much the same as indoors. But if i removed the modem the case (get this) and threw it up in a tree the reception was 4 to 5 constantly, mostly 5 the whole time unless the wind blew.
So for about $40 in parts i did manage to make a cheap portable housing for my modem that i can take camping, or as a mobile weatherproof wifi drop.
Hell i might even hook it up to an old DirecTv dish or a cantenna via the SMT mini co-ax inside and camp.
:)
*anyone notes any errors let me know
Update 5-20-10: havent used it since i did this back in January, i did manage to find the sweet spot in my house after using this to run around inside the house to find it. so i does have some advantages.
While running around in the backyard i found out while in the case the reception was pretty much the same as indoors. But if i removed the modem the case (get this) and threw it up in a tree the reception was 4 to 5 constantly, mostly 5 the whole time unless the wind blew.
So for about $40 in parts i did manage to make a cheap portable housing for my modem that i can take camping, or as a mobile weatherproof wifi drop.
Hell i might even hook it up to an old DirecTv dish or a cantenna via the SMT mini co-ax inside and camp.
:)
*anyone notes any errors let me know
Update 5-20-10: havent used it since i did this back in January, i did manage to find the sweet spot in my house after using this to run around inside the house to find it. so i does have some advantages.