Date   : Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:04:28 +0100
From   : pete@... (Pete Turnbull)
Subject: Econet over UTP ?

On 29/04/2009 15:04, Rob wrote:
> Has anybody tried running standard econet over UTP (category 5) cable
> over a reasonable distance (20M or so)?
> 
> As it happens, there is a cat 5
> cable running all the way up there already, but it's currently
> carrying ethernet, so that only gives me two spare pairs of cables.
> Should be enough for econet's clock and data lines, but I don't know
> if econet will work without an earth connection as well, and I'm 90%
> certain it is UTP and not STP cable, so no shield to use as earth...

I've run Econet over Cat.5 often enough, but used spare pairs as an 
earth.  Econet is actually ground-referenced, so I'm not sure if it 
would work properly, but unless you're unlucky with an external earth 
loop (by virtue of the two machines being earthed themselves) or a lot 
of electrical noise it might.  Certainly worth a try, and I doubt if you 
could damage anything.

-- 

Pete                                           Peter Turnbull
                                               Network Manager
                                               University of York