Wiring terminals 300 ft. from the computer

[Greg Pavlov]

> In article <11774 at bsu-cs.bsu.edu> jennifer at bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Jennifer Freeman) writes:
>...multi-user Unix Box running on a 386 or a 486.  One of the proposals is to
>locate the computer about 300 feet away from where the bulk (10-14)
>of the terminals will be.
>What type of wiring would be needed for this?  Would shielded be
>good enough?  Would some kind of line boosters be needed?  We have some people
>with knowledge of micros, but not in wiring multi-user systems. Any suggestions
> 
 The "official" limit is in the 50-75 ft range (I don't remember the exact no.
 and the context), but I you can go nuch higher.  The longest successful runs
 I know of were in the 1300-ft range (most of it through an elevator shaft, no 
 less).  

 So you will probably be ok, tho I doubt that anyone will "guarantee" such an
 installation.  But I would also look at a twisted pair ethernet/terminal ser-
 ver solution as an alternative.  It may not cost that much more - you need to
 purchase port card(s) for the UNIX box and a substantial amount of wire and
 connectors, so you are faced with a pretty large expense in what you described
 The terminal server solution should yield quicker screen writes and may be
 more efficient cpu-wise, while the solution overall should be more amenable to
 future expansion.

  greg pavlov, fstrf. amherst, ny