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OT - Question about TV COAX Cable

Old 01-07-2003, 07:26 AM
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Default OT - Question about TV COAX Cable

I'm attempting to run a cable TV outlet to my kitchen by tapping into the line on the adjacent wall for the family room. I am having an issue with poor picture quality with the set that is in the family room. I used RG-6A cable to make my connections, thinking that is what was used in the rest of the house. After checking things out more closely, I realized that the previous owner had wired it with RG-59. I have read that the RG-6A is the preferred way to go, but rewiring is out of the question because the basement is finished off and I'm not about to tear a bunch of drywall out for this. I also noticed that they used a lot of splitters where the cable runs into the house. There is a two-way going into a pair of four-way's. I'm very suspicious that I am dropping a lot of my signal strength here because of the attenuation with the splitters, but I wanted to make sure that the RG-59/RG-6A coax is not also contributing to the problem. Is there any problem with mixing the cable types? Would a signal booster help out with the use of the splitters, or is there some other route I should try? The previous owner ran cable outlets to almost every room in the house, which explains the use of all of the splitters.

Any advice is appreciated.
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Old 01-07-2003, 07:42 AM
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You should of put a distribution amp/splitter on the system if there is more then One splitter. You dont want to put a splitter after a splitter the resulting signal loss or "db"s would be loss as to degrade the picture,, use RG-6 Belden. sometimes you can pull in your new cable by splicing in the old, its the old telephone splice.
Keep in mind this JUST for PULLING in the new wire. You strip both cables to the core the bend them 90 the twist in opp direction wrap with tape. Now provided he hasnt stapled the cables you should be able to pull the old out and the new in.

always use a good quality connectors and crip tool
NO RADIO shack stuff.

Lowes and Home Depot have them.

Oh if you do buy a Distribution AMP you need to Know the
Frequency Range 2-1300Mhz some need to be higher,another question do you have
Cable internet Or two way communicating cable boxes.
Ask you cable company If you dont Know.
the amp has to be a GOOD one if you need it at all
a good two way splitter with 4 out provided by the cable company
should solve you problems,
My system comes into the house then splits one to a two way then one for the cable modem


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Old 01-07-2003, 07:50 AM
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The RG6 with the RG59 should not be your problem. You have to watch the RG6 wire, there are some RG6's that test below RG59. Wire to use is RG6 Quad Shield. Back to your problem. Need more info.
Do you have total of 8 outlets?
Signal coming in from cable company?
Do you have a amp to boost signal?
Only 1 TV have bad picture?
Is TV with bad picture a big screen?
Same bad picture on all channels?
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Old 01-07-2003, 07:53 AM
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Default don't use an amp...until you've checked everything else

I just finished construction on my new home, and I ran RG 11 from the pole to the house, without a break, from there it goes into a ChannelPlus distribution box, then RG 6 quad shield throughout the house.

Mixing Rg 59, and RG 6 quad shield shouldn't cause anymore of a problem, because the better cable is downstream. Is it possible to scrap the little splitters, and use a distribution box ?

http://www.multiplextechnology.com/c...ucts/5558.html

Using an amp on an already poor signal will only amplify the noise.

Last edited by blue-llama; 01-07-2003 at 07:58 AM.
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Old 01-07-2003, 07:54 AM
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Ok I will try and keep this short and sweat I have to get to work but if you still need more info later drop me a line (978) 985-0639.

First off is the image on one side of the wall ok and not so good on the other? If so they you just have a bad end. Make sure your ends are all properly installed. The white part on the cable should be flush with the shoulder on the inside of the end. Make sure there is no small piece of ground wire that is jumping over to the center post.

Ok from there it is all match. Your signal coming into the house is probably 10db at best and has to be at leaste 0 db by law. When I do some ones house I insist that they give me a DB read on their meters so that I know exactly what I am dealing with. I then check it against my meter.

If you look at your spliter you will see the DB loss going through it. Most 2 way splitters are 3db and most 4 ways are 7db loss. This is called insertion loss if you ever cared to know .

To get the ideal picture on your TV you are shooting for 5db.

So lets assume that you have 10db coming into your house. Take off 2db for the two way, then 7 for the 4 way and you now have only 1db.

Then there is a wire loss. The loss over RG6 is I think 1db per 100 feet RG59 is 3db per 100feet. So if you have a 10db signal coming into your house then you are ok assuming your run is under 100 feet.

So start out by checking all your ends. A poor end anywere in the house can effect your overall signal in the house if it is done real bad.

Then do the math as best you can

If you determin you need one then call up the cable company and get the amp that they use. This can be important as they sometimes require it. If they do not then get the SPAUN amp. I have had people freek when they see the picture quality after going through the SPAUN amps. Looks like a DVD

Hope that helps

Jon
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Old 01-07-2003, 07:57 AM
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Oh ya mixing cable is not a problem. You can get just as good of a picture over RG59 as RG6 you just need bigger amplifiers is all.

Jon
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Old 01-07-2003, 07:58 AM
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Best setup uses a single splitter with many taps on it. Each connection loses a portion of signal strength, so fewer is better.

A distribution amp is usually normal procedure with more than five runs. Place the amp as close to the "pole" as is convenient (where the main line hits the house is a good place). Use a QUALITY distribution amp - don't get it at the hardware store, find out what your local cable installers are usingand either buy it from them or buy the same unit from a local jobber.

Step 1: rewire the "splitter zone" with a single multitap splitter and use RG6 cable with good ends (I use Sealtites - a ring stripper and a Sealtite tool cost around $25).

Step 2: Go ahead and tap for your other set as planned.

If you have reception problems then the amp is necessary.

No biggie.
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Old 01-07-2003, 07:59 AM
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At typical cable TV frequencies RG6 has less attenuation that RG59. However, for the cable lengths in an average size home you probably would not notice a difference except perhaps at the higher channels (unless your signal level is below what it should be at your service tap).

My guess is the cascading splitters is causing the problem. Best move is to eliminate all the splitters and splices and home run the cable from the source to the TV outlet. Lacking that, if there are rooms where you do not need an outlet, try disconnecting those and replacing the splitter with a low attenuation barrel connector to form a straight splice. Your goal is to remove as many pieces as you can and create a direct path to your TV location. The more you remove the less signal loss you will have to contend with.

Amplification should be your last resort since doing so will bring the complexity of equalization of the signal and having to attenuate the lower frequencies in order to have an even signal level across all of the channels. Cheap, consumer oriented amplifiers would probably not have this flexibility.
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Old 01-07-2003, 08:34 AM
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SROBAK: I have not seen signal loss through splitters like that in years bro What you have to do Budman is look at your splitters and see what it says your losses are. Then do the math

Jon
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Old 01-07-2003, 08:59 AM
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All the advise given is helpful I would like to add a couple of thoughts.

Make sure that the wire and ends have no problems check it for continuity. Clean up your splitters or distribution area the best you can without a lot of work. Now comes the hard part call the cable company and demand that they send out a tech not a installer or rookie. They should make it right for no charge! If you end up with a AMP please make sure it is the first device in line. Remember garbage in = garbage out. One of the hardest things to get a cable tech to do is to change out the multi-tap at the pole or box. Like Jon said if you don't have at the very least 0db in (in your case you need more) then insist that he change out the multi-tap to give you a higher level at the house. Another thought on wire. You will be fine with the 6 or 59 just keep in mind that some cable (without proper shielding or bad connections) will act like a antenna and allow local stations to come in on top of the cable signal. Good luck
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