KVM Extender over cat5

[tekgeek]

I have my repair shop in the basement and my room is upstairs
which gives me 2 flights of stairs to go up and down everytime
I work on computers... I get bored waiting for scans or installs
so I go back upstairs to go do stuff

I thought about getting a kvm over cat5 extender but I need it
to be in a config where I have 4 or 5 computers plugged in, in
the shop but also let me control my computer from my desk upstairs

I found this

but it seems to be like a 800 dollar plus setup
I have looked up many other setups that are either not in the config
I need it or way too expensive ...

I am just wondering if anyone knows of a cheap solution that would
allow me to do something like this

 

[DarDar]

Yup you could get
1)a standard kvm and 2)a vga+usb over ethernet extender

set the kvm up as normal and send the vga+usb to the upstairs room with the extender.
When you want to switch to a different pc on the kvm, just send the keyboard shortcuts.

The vga/usb extenders usually cost around €100-150. The vga/ps2 models tend to be cheaper again. The advantage of the usb is that you may be able to connect a printer or shared drive at the remote location and have it connect to each machine as cycle through the kvm. Model depending of course!

Most of the vga extenders i have seen allow for a local console also.

 

[wimwauters]

Put some searches in on eBAY for specific model numbers and let them email you when something comes up, you might get lucky?

Old 9 foot PS/2 KVM cables used to cost $100 each: I got 7 of them with the Compaq KVM switch for $150-ish back in 2007

 

[mraikes]

I have my repair shop in the basement and my room is upstairs which gives me 2 flights of stairs to go up and down everytime I work on computers... I get bored waiting for scans or installs
so I go back upstairs to go do stuff

.....snipped.....................

I have looked up many other setups that are either not in the config
I need it or way too expensive ...

I am just wondering if anyone knows of a cheap solution that would
allow me to do something like this

RDP, VNC, Logmein . . .

I use a KVM on my workbench but when I want to work from somewhere else (like my couch), I set up one of the above. I didn't realize it was possible to extend KVM over cat5, but now that I'm aware of it - I still wouldn't bother.

Sure, it takes a minute or two to setup (and later remove) one of the remote access tools, but probably no more than you spend walking up and down stairs, and the price is right.

 

[meanderer]

KVM over cat5 has the advantage that you can see BIOS and work into BIOS level (providing you can reboot the computer remotely somehow) any Remote control software would not be able to do that, some can reboot to safe mode with networking at best (teamviewer, the one I am testing) However, due to their specialized nature they tend to be expensive.