Need to Trench Internet Cable in......Any Ideas?

[joshuabardwell]

I simply open up the ground with a square shovel. Insert about 8" and rock back and forth to open a shallow trench. When done all the way, put cable in and stomp to close the ground back around it. Places the cable at an avg of 6" down or so.. leave a little slack at each end for ground movement.

This is what I do too. It's tedious as all get-out, but it gets the job done.

 

[DT86]

This is what I do too. It's tedious as all get-out, but it gets the job done.

That's all Comcrap Cable does here from the pole to the house, but it's more like 2-3" instead of 8".

 

[94BULLITT]

I need to run 150+ ft of internet cable from house to shop. Actually its been laying on the grass since last winter and still has not been mowed in two. Before I have driven twenty miles and rented a little gas powered trenching machine to do something like this, but I am feeling lazy. Is there anyway I can do this with some kind of hand disc tool that you just roll across the ground. Only need it a few inches deep. Anybody ever trenched with a chainsaw. There is a youtube video about it.......but not sure if I want to try it.

Get a second wireless router and create a bridge. You will not have to worry about running the cable then.

Or you could buy a wireless bridge.

 

[bigtiller]

Well, if you just want it under the sod, a sidewalk edger would work a lot easier than a garden spade.

 

[Larry Jones]

If you don't disturb it, by next summer it should be pretty much self buried in the thatch.

 

[cletus99]

Well, if you just want it under the sod, a sidewalk edger would work a lot easier than a garden spade.

That's what I used to run an extension cord from a pool pump one time. Worked pretty good.

 

[Mendonsy]

I use these for wireless bridge connections up to 1/4 mile on customer sites. They work great and do not interfere with anything else. They are $180 a pair at provantage.com.
ENH500

 

[joshuabardwell]

I have heard good things about the EnGenius products, although I haven't used them myself. For that niche, my company uses a product like the Ubiquiti NanoStation. Looks like more or less the same product. As long as you have clear line of sight, and distance is not too great, a wireless bridge setup like this should work very well--as well or better than cable in most cases. The bridge link may give you as little as 70 Mbps or maybe as much as 150-200 Mbps. A Cat-6 Ethernet cable could give you up to 1 Gbps if the distance was less than 100 meters, but realistically, few home installs will need more throughput than the wireless bridges can provide, and the ease of installation is a real boon. If you are trenching power anyway, then it should be a simple matter to stick data and phone in the same trench, but if the question is trench data or no trench at all, give wireless a serious look.

airMAX | Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.

 

[94BULLITT]

I just use a old router with DDWRT on it setup as a wireless bridge.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I just use a old router with DDWRT on it setup as a wireless bridge.

This is okay for some applications, but having used DDWRT before, there are certainly some down-sides. I don't know about you, but I had to reboot my DDWRT every now and then. And the directional antennas on the radios extend range significantly over a typical router. For the most part, these bridges are set-it-and-forget-it, but they sure do cost a bit more than an old router that you had sitting around anyway.