Ethernet cable length

[mark in tx]

Wondering if anyone is using an ethernet cable longer than the one supplied by Roland?
They claim you can't use one longer, but ethernet cable standards allow for length up to 150 feet between devices.
I know I could just plug a longer cable in and see what happens, but that is too simple.

 

[HSG]

I have a 10' and an 8' cable connected to each other between my mac and my ioline plotter. It wasn't recommended either, but I have no problems with it.

 

[PLECKO]

I have a fiddy footer connected to my SP540 with no problems at all.

Tom

 

[Scott Reynolds]

50' is my longest CAT5. It goes to a 60" wide ink jet with no problems. Maybe I'm just lucky not to have much interference.

 

[bob]

Are you sure that they're not talking about a Centronics cable? That would be the standard printer parallel interface cable. There most definitely is a length limitation on that. Or perhaps a serial 9 or 25 pin cable? The length of these is usualy not critical but there might be some sort of special case. Ethernet cables can easily go 100+ feet with no problem. USB can do around 50' at least.

 

[Blazingsun]

Ethernet will go as far as 1000 ft with out a repeater.

 

[iSign]

how about fire wire? My 60" printer is connected via fire wire & my supplier said to get used to the 12 footer. I'd like to be able to move things around a little at some point if possible.

 

[cdsgraphic]

the longest firewire I've seen (without a repeater or booster) is about 15' - 16'. But you can get data errors if it's a low quality cable.

 

[iSign]

thanks Trevor. I guess I'll get used to the proximity between 'puter & printer

 

[cdsgraphic]

just double checked, and I did find a 25' cable here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812149012

and then I found this...

Exceeding the 4.5 meter cable length!
Unibrain firewire cables do not only achieve a very controlled 110 Ohm impedance but also provide high performance for skew, attenuation and crosstalk. These latest features were not prerequisites when the first IEEE-1394/1395 specification was issued, at the time limiting the maximum cable length to 4.5 meters. Therefore we can now secure safe operation of our Firewire cable lengths up to 10 meters!

http://www.unibrain.com/1394_products/cables/cables.htm

so I guess you can go longer, but my guess is it's a gamble if it's going to work as well

and this...

Q: What is the maximum length a FireWire (A) cable can be?
A: The maximum cable length for connecting device to device with a 400Mbps cable is 4.5-meters (14.85ft). The Firewire specification calls for 10 meter (32ft) cables that may be used in conjunction with a repeater when it is necessary to extend FireWire cables over long distances. FirewireDirect does not offer these cables at this time because tests have shown them to be unreliable in some situations. We suggest using 4.5 meter cables and hubs when needing to extend to greater distances and don't recommend 10 meter cables (if you can find them) to our customers.

 

[iSign]

thanks for looking into that. This is the first time I've ever used a firewire cable for anything & I know nothing about them.

I do know that I don't like any limitations I don't need to be bound by & I like to know all my options up front so if I start brainstorming some renovations or equipment relocations, that I can plan around real limitations, but not around false limitations.

 

[mark in tx]

Thanks for the answers, I was pretty sure a longer ethernet cable is not a problem.