Internet to my detatched shop

bp2008 said:
A while back I wrote a short wiki page on fiber optics, intended to get people started on the learning curve. Fiber Optic Networking Primer

If you don't mind buying a brand you've never heard of before, there are a number of Chinese networking brands now that have been getting generally favorable reviews from servethehome and most of them have pretty great prices. For example this $94 switch (-$30 coupon = $64) has eight 2.5 Gbps PoE+ ports (120W total budget) and one SFP+ port capable of 10 gigabit speed over fiber optics. Not that long ago I was buying regular 1 Gbps PoE switches with no SFP slot for that price.

This one is probably a better fit for a shed or shop with a few IoT devices and cameras: $40 (-20% coupon = $32) for eight gigabit PoE ports. There are a few conflicting data points in the description such as the PoE power limit per port (15.4 vs 30 watts) and the SFP slot speed (SFP+ is 10 Gbps, SFP is only 1 Gbps or 1.25 Gbps as noted by many SFP transceivers). So I'm not sure exactly what they put in this cheaper model.
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Check these switches out. They get really good reviews. This one is $28.00 plus a 10% off coupon. Could use them for cheap media converters. And, it's POE which would be perfect for my four shop cams.

 
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Keizer said:
Check these switches out. They get really good reviews. This one is $28.00 plus a 10% off coupon. Could use them for cheap media converters. And, it's POE which would be perfect for my four shop cams.

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Depending on cheap switches, is a great way to cause yourself heart burn. Stick with known good brands.
 
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Well I've made some head way on this project. I ended up digging the ditch by hand because I have a water line in the same area and didn't want to hit it with my Bobcat backhoe. Home Depot had a sale on 1.5" ABS drain line so I bought enough of that to use as conduit.

What's a good fiber optic cable to use? Something that will be tough enough without having any metal sheathing so I don't have to worry about grounding. I want to go with OS2 LC to LC single mode fiber. I think that would be fine for what I'm doing.

Would something like this be fine since it's in conduit?
 
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TonyR said:
FWIW, underground / outdoor conduit WILL accumulate water over time.
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Maybe the outdoor stuff should be used then since it will be in conduit. What causes the water getting into the conduit? Condensation?

I'm making sure that if I ever have to feed cable through this conduit in the future, it will be easy. It will have three spots where there will be a radius. I'm making my own by heating the conduit with a heat gun and putting a slight bend over several sticks of the pipe.
 
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The redneck in me wants to just continue this conduit right through the foundation vent. The cleanest way would be to use a roto hammer and drill through the foundation stem wall. Drilling a 2" hole through 6" of concrete does not sound fun. Plus I don't want to hit any rebar. 20240924_151459.jpg
 
Keizer said:
The cleanest way would be to use a roto hammer and drill through the foundation stem wall. Drilling a 2" hole through 6" of concrete does not sound fun.
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I used a core drill that attaches to an angle grinder. The pipe is gray PVC, forgot the exact size, probably 1-1/2". Luckily didn't hit any rebar. I've got 3 pipes like this running out of the crawlspace in different directions.
CrawlspaceTowardPumphouse_01 (Large).JPG
 
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I may not understand why a fiber connection is desired so I apologize if this is a worthless comment. I agree with Tangent from Sept 6 reply that "... A point to point wifi link is also an easier option..." I connected my shop (about 150 feet from the house) to the house network, with a wifi link and it was quite easy and not very costly. The TP-Link CPE 210 WiFi antennas (2 required) cost about $43 each plus unmanaged switches and cables are not much either. In fact, the ethernet cables running from the switches to the cameras in the shop were a major cost factor. I place the two antennas inside the buildings pointing towards each other and connections are easy. The WiFi signals have to pass through two wooden walls. Metal sidings on the buildings might require the antennas to be placed outside the walls. I am not an expert on this stuff but it was not difficult. I also installed a similar WiFi network on a cattle ranch to monitor the spring calving inside the barn which is over 200 feet away from the house with 4 cameras over the pens in the barn and a PTZ camera outside on a 17 foot pole, works great. I've attached the block diagram of my home network here.

WiFi Networking Equipment for Home & Business | TP-Link has some good videos on this kind of WiFi application.

For what it's worth, Duane
 

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EganMontana said:
I may not understand why a fiber connection is desired so I apologize if this is a worthless comment. I agree with Tangent from Sept 6 reply that "... A point to point wifi link is also an easier option..." I connected my shop (about 150 feet from the house) to the house network, with a wifi link and it was quite easy and not very costly. The TP-Link CPE 210 WiFi antennas (2 required) cost about $43 each plus unmanaged switches and cables are not much either. In fact, the ethernet cables running from the switches to the cameras in the shop were a major cost factor. I place the two antennas inside the buildings pointing towards each other and connections are easy. The WiFi signals have to pass through two wooden walls. Metal sidings on the buildings might require the antennas to be placed outside the walls. I am not an expert on this stuff but it was not difficult. I also installed a similar WiFi network on a cattle ranch to monitor the spring calving inside the barn which is over 200 feet away from the house with 4 cameras over the pens in the barn and a PTZ camera outside on a 17 foot pole, works great. I've attached the block diagram of my home network here.

WiFi Networking Equipment for Home & Business | TP-Link has some good videos on this kind of WiFi application.

For what it's worth, Duane
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I wasn't really looking for the easiest option. I just prefer hard wired when possible. Point to point would have been fine I'm sure but I'm glad I went fiber optic.
 
The Home Depot I went to didn't have a core drill available in the size I needed. I ended up just going through the foundation vent. I did what I think is an eloquent job by using a galvanized steel sandwitched gasget for the vent penetration. Then I added a small rock landscape using one of my favorite trees (Dwarf Alberta Spruce) to hide it all.
 

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Run a pull string or pull rope through the conduit to where you want the fiber to terminate and use it to measure the actual length you need the fiber to be.
 
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I see the newish Buffalo pasture on the Reservation is using cameras to monitor the security of the Buffalo pasture. They appear to be sending thier signals wirelessly with a mini dish shaped device. looks something like this.
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