Anybody know where you can get a reverse polarity ethernet cable?

[HeroOfPellinor]

My parents have a 7-8 year old DSL with a modem from Alcatel. It's pretty cool because they got it back when they gave you a static IP so they still have theirs. The problem is that they want to hook up some wireless devices, but the Alcatel modem uses reversed polarity to the LAN. I'd never heard of this until Netgear support informed me of it and said they'd send out a cable right away. :roll:

Anybody know where you can get a reverse polarity cable? Is there any other way to connect the modem to the router? I heard that a hub would take care of it automatically, but I tried one and it didn't help.

 

[Dantoo]

"reversed polarity" doesnt sound right as there is no "polarity" in a cat 5 cable. There are just 4 pair of wires, each pair twisted around each other.

I suspect (but do not know for certain) that you need a crossover cable. This changes the wiring ever so slightly from one standard to another. This allows you to directly connect 2 computers without a hub as the output from one is then directed to the input of another and vice versa. Crossover cables are readily available at moster computer shops.

 

[Tostada]

Any cable place will make you a crossover cable (which you could call reverse-polarity, but I'm surprised Netgear would call it that). They're just regular network cables with the data pins flipped, and they're easy to make. A lot of DSL/cable modems use crossover cables. They are required to uplink one hub to another or to connect two network cards without a switch; otherwise you have the ports trying to both transmit on the same wire.

If the DSL modem requires a standard ethernet cable to connect to your network card, then it will require a crossover card to connect to the uplink port of a hub/switch.

http://cablesolutions.com/left...0Cables&sub2=Crossover

 

[Wolfshanze]

If you'd like a Network crossover cable Cyberguys sells them pre-made for you exactly the way you are requesting.

 

[Looney]

You don't even have to get them to make them for you.. they should be available just off the shelves of BB or CC. Unless you want them extremely long i guess.

 

[Terumo]

Heck, with just 2 computers, a hub isn't even needed for cross-over cables, a router box would do. Cheaper and no hassles.

 

[RalphTheCow]

Office Max has premade crossover and straight cables.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: Terumo
Heck, with just 2 computers, a hub isn't even needed for cross-over cables, a router box would do. Cheaper and no hassles.

Huh?

 

[Gunbuster]

Are you sure you didnt just forget to go in the router in enter the PPOE dialer info?

If you have the realllllyyyy old Alcatel DSL1000 it only speaks ATM so you are pretty much screwed and stuck using the ATM NIC that is in your rents PC

 

[Terumo]

Originally posted by: Tostada

Originally posted by: Terumo
Heck, with just 2 computers, a hub isn't even needed for cross-over cables, a router box would do. Cheaper and no hassles.

Huh?

So what's the question?

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: Terumo

Originally posted by: Tostada

Originally posted by: Terumo
Heck, with just 2 computers, a hub isn't even needed for cross-over cables, a router box would do. Cheaper and no hassles.

Huh?

So what's the question?

What are you saying? "A hub isn't needed for cross-over cables" doesn't make any sense. Did you mean to say, "Go buy a router instead of a $5 cable"?

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I even asked the Netgear support if they meant a cross-over cable and they said no. My experience with their support is the reason I don't buy Netgear any more.

I'll try a cross-over cable anyway. But if that's the case, shouldn't the hub have managed that?

 

[Terumo]

Originally posted by: Tostada

Originally posted by: Terumo

Originally posted by: Tostada

Originally posted by: Terumo
Heck, with just 2 computers, a hub isn't even needed for cross-over cables, a router box would do. Cheaper and no hassles.

Huh?

So what's the question?

What are you saying? "A hub isn't needed for cross-over cables" doesn't make any sense. Did you mean to say, "Go buy a router instead of a $5 cable"?

This is why I replied, and to defuse a myth that cross-over cables must be connected to a hub to work. My home network is setup like that -- no hub (yeah, it's connected to a router). Beyond 2 computers, either a hub or router is needed though.

Anybody know where you can get a reverse polarity cable? Is there any other way to connect the modem to the router? I heard that a hub would take care of it automatically, but I tried one and it didn't help.

BTW, sometimes folks can't use wireless. Where I live there's too much interference. :|