running vga cable through walls

tottenham_hs · **19th April 2007, 06:27 PM**

Hi. I am looking to extend my mce over 10m using a vga cable that will run under the house then up through the wall. Is it safe to just use a vga extension cable from ebay or do i need some special behind wall insulated cable. I also am planning on running the basic pc audio cable this distance as well. Running these two cables through walls is safe or is it a fire hazard ?

THanks

jgriffin · **19th April 2007, 10:04 PM**

Certainly not a fire hazard, but VGA cables were not originally designed to run this long, and you will get signal problems with a cheap cable this long. A decent cable should be fine, just think of all the projectors in boardrooms around the country!

tottenham_hs · **20th April 2007, 01:44 AM**

is running a usb cable behind walls over this distance a fire hazaed?

ExtremePC · **20th April 2007, 09:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgriffin

Certainly not a fire hazard, but VGA cables were not originally designed to run this long, and you will get signal problems with a cheap cable this long. A decent cable should be fine, just think of all the projectors in boardrooms around the country!

Umm, hang on VGA cables are mean't to be used for long runs its all the others that are not. I've personally run standard 30m runs of VGA(shielded) with no signal booster and the noticable PQ has been as good as if it were a 3m run.

ExtremePC · **20th April 2007, 09:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tottenham_hs

is running a usb cable behind walls over this distance a fire hazaed?

Not at all, but USB does have a max run length of only a couple of metres for USB 1.1 and a little less for USB 2.0. To get it go further you will need a USB "repeater" or a boosted usb cable (built in repeater)

DDH · **20th April 2007, 10:37 AM**

I have VGA over 15m to a projector to go around the room, works just fine.

Be sure to get quality shielded cable as said above and you'll be fine. Personalyl I just went to the local Dick Smith bought the cable a couple of 15 pin D connectors and soldered it up on-site after poking the cable through small round holes in the wall, not holes large enough for the D connector. If you know, or can hire, someone with some half decent soldering skills then its a real option.

tottenham_hs · **20th April 2007, 05:08 PM**

would i need to house the usb repeater cables in a pvc fireproof pipe to make sure it's safe or are these cables right to be underneath the house and behind walls?

DDH · **21st April 2007, 02:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tottenham_hs

would i need to house the usb repeater cables in a pvc fireproof pipe to make sure it's safe or are these cables right to be underneath the house and behind walls?

USB is 5V max 500mA, if you short these out the PC or USB hub will die first. Almost zero risk. Given that its standard to tun 240Vac at 30A in walls with no conduit it would extreme overkill to place USB or any other computer cables in them to mitigate fire risk.

A conduit is more use just in case you want to pull another different type of cable later, more convenience than safety.