I have built a networked temperature sensor by connecting several DS18B20 temperature sensors to my Arduino. I've tried to visualize the setup with this schematic (sorry if this doesn't make any sense, I'm not really experienced with electronics):
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
I've distributed the DS18B20 sensors in multiple rooms in our office and used existing unused Ethernet cables to connect them. The pins of the patch cables are used as follows:
- n/c
- n/c
- n/c
- 1-wire bus
- GND
- 5V
- n/c
- n/c
This wiring is probably non-standard even for 1-wire, but as I'm using an altered ISDN hub (I've removed the resistors) I'm limited to 4 pins and so I made up my own wiring. The DS18B20 sensors are directly connected to these pins of the plug, without any additional components. On the Arduino side, there's a small circuit board with the pull-up resistor that connects to the 1-wire hub.
My question now is this: what could happen if someone accidentally connects an Ethernet device to the 1-wire bus, or vice versa, a temperature sensor to the Ethernet bus? Could the 1-wire bus or the temperature sensor damage a PC or a switch?