CareTV Temporary RJ-45 Link Setup

Date: 2026-08-20 Pacific Time · Version: v001 · Project: mom’s room ↔ garage temporary camera/network bridge

Immediate goal: working before 6 AMTemporary switches today10GbE RJ-45 upgrade tomorrow

Purpose: establish a temporary wired Ethernet path between mom’s room and the garage so the camera can be mounted, connected, tested, and recorded before tomorrow morning’s garbage pickup. This is intentionally not the final electrical or permanent network installation.

Fast practical plan for today

Use the two Best Buy TP-Link gigabit switches today as disposable/temporary RJ-45 copper Ethernet bridges.
Run the cable longer than the visual straight-line distance. Temporary cable needs slack, door/edge clearance, floor routing, and mistake margin.
Do not redo the cable path tomorrow if it works. Swap the temporary gigabit switches for the two all-port 10GbE RJ-45 switches arriving tomorrow.
UPS units are for ride-through and clean power, not a substitute for the electrician installing a proper outlet at the garage switch point.

Estimated cable lengths to buy today

Mom’s dresser to room switch point

Buy/use: 25 ft Cat6A RJ-45 copper Ethernet.

This is longer than the visible dresser-to-floor distance, but it gives enough slack to route behind/around the dresser, keep the switch on the floor or lower wall area, and avoid tension.

Camera to garage switch point

Buy/use: 50 ft Cat6A RJ-45 copper Ethernet minimum.

If the path goes into the garage, up/over the door, then back to the same switch point, choose 75 ft if there is any uncertainty. Extra slack is better than being 6 ft short at 2 AM.

Room-to-garage link

Use the shortest safe Cat6A run that actually reaches.

For a temporary drop across/through the garage area, 50 ft is the safe default. Replace with a permanent in-wall/secured run later.

UPS placement

Use one small UPS in mom’s room and one small UPS at the garage switch point. Put only the switch, camera power/PoE injector if used, and tiny network gear on these UPS units. Do not load them with heaters, tools, vacuums, or large appliances.

Temporary note: a big orange extension cord is acceptable only as a short-term emergency workaround. The electrician-installed outlet at the garage switch point is the correct permanent fix.

Video frame sheets

Frames extracted from the uploaded iPhone videos to document the route, dresser/network area, garage/door context, and garbage-pickup target.

Contact sheet from IMG_0641 showing mom's dresser/network area

IMG_0641 — dresser and existing equipment area.

Contact sheet from IMG_0642 showing dresser, wall, doorway and cable on floor

IMG_0642 — dresser side, wall/door transition, visible temporary cable routing.

Contact sheet from IMG_0643 showing room entry and outside garbage pickup target

IMG_0643 — room entry context and garbage-pickup target outside.

Individual frames

IMG_0641_frame_01_001s.jpg

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IMG_0642_frame_01_006s.jpg

IMG_0642_frame_02_012s.jpg

IMG_0642_frame_03_018s.jpg

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IMG_0642_frame_06_036s.jpg

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IMG_0642_frame_10_061s.jpg

IMG_0643_frame_01_012s.jpg

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IMG_0643_frame_03_038s.jpg

IMG_0643_frame_04_051s.jpg

IMG_0643_frame_05_063s.jpg

Tonight test checklist

Power both switches and confirm link lights on both ends of the room-to-garage cable.
Connect camera Ethernet and confirm camera receives power if a PoE injector/supply is required.
Find camera IP address from the router/client list or camera tool.
Open the camera stream locally and leave it running for at least 15 minutes.
Start recording software and verify files are actually being written.
Before sleeping, play back a test clip and confirm timestamp/angle captures the garbage pickup area.