• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Running cable for digital cable - Things to keep in mind? - Now with Pics

H

Hossenfeffer

Diamond Member
The music director for the theatre I'm working for just ordered digital cable for her kids. The cable folks came and apparently installed a box in the garage and ran a jack to the living room.

They want lines run upstairs to each of the kids rooms. Will need to run a line under the house, out the back, up along the drain and in through a drilled hole in the outer wall. From there, I'll take it into the boys room, splice it and take it into the girl's room.

They're also having a cable modem installed (in home office above the garage). Again, there's no jack installed. I "could" run a cable (with no connectors on it) through the ceiling of the garage into the office (where the modem will be) and let the cable guy crimp on a couple connectors.

Had a long day of performing and such today so I'm not exactly capable of much coherent thought. Any thoughts on running the cable and/or is there anything I should watch out for/keep in mind?

Took some pics of the layout as I'm also configuring a wired/wireless network for em. Could post em if anybody's foggy or needs more info.
 
Tried getting some folks at AT&T to tell me what the specs/regulations/recommendations might be for a cable jack, let alone a cable jack to be used for a cable modem. Will be running the cable sometime this week and want to make sure I've got all the bases covered.
 
Thoughts for running digital cable:

* Use RG-6 rated cable. Don't buy the super-cheap stuff at Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, etc. Buy the good stuff. Radio Shack does sell some good RG-6 cable, properly shielded, etc, but I don't believe it's cheap. Rule of thumb, if you can bend the center conductor easily with your finger, it's crap and you shouldn't use it. Also, if the store will let you, cut 1/4" of the outer shielding away. If the braided shielding is light and flimsy (think floss) pass on it. If it is proper metal, something where you can't easy count all the pieces, that's good stuff.

* Use 5-1000 mhz rated splitters. Again, don't buy the cheap crap you find at most electronic stores. A 5-600 or 5-900 mhz will not support the reverse path for the digital side. Anything else may work for a while, but I can guarantee that you WILL have problems later on down the line.

* If you do crimp your own fittings, make sure the dialectric (the white foamy stuff) is flush with the inside of the fitting. Make sure there is not any extra braided shielding hanging out of the end of the fitting.

* DO NOT USE SCREW ON FITTINGS. (repeat x 2)

* Try not to bend the cable at a 90 degree angle. Bend it gradually if at all possible.

* Try not to staple into the wire itself. It'll probably still work (if you pull the staple out, obviously) but it could cause some problems later on.

* The fewer the splits, the better. Try to run each line to one center location. "Home run it."

Any other questions? This is what I do for a living. 😀 A far cry from my engineering studies, but hey. 😛
 
I can give you a few hints from personal experience.

Use good cable, RG-6 is recommended.

Do not buy splitters at Radio Shack or Wal-Mart. See if your cable company will give them to you or recommend a brand and type to buy. I had a 1 to 3 splitter from Radio Shack or Wal-Mart that was rated for digital on the package. I kept having trouble with channels on the digital cable dropping out or not connecting. I finally called the cable company and that was the only thing he replaced and the picture is greatly improved and the channels don't drop out anymore. I was surprised to learn there is that much difference in splitters.

When installing the cable do not bend it tightly. Give the bend a fairly large radius. Think of a coffee can and don't make the bend any smaller than that. A too tight of a bend will affect the cable characteristics.

edit/
Praetor beat me too it. I bow to his expertise.

Uh, while you'r here a question if I may.

I have a cable modem and three TV's. Currently I have a 1-2 splitter with one side to the modem and the other going to a 1-3 splitter. Would I do better(signal strength and reception) and would it affect the modem if I went with a 1-4 splitter?



 
It would effect the modem, yes. To what degree... ehh, it depends. More than likely, your signal strength probably good enough to support a modem off of a 4-way splitter. I only say this because you have a 3-way splitter running off of a 2-way and I'm assuming (w/o checking signal levels or seeing the picture) this is running fine.

However, if the signal is below, let's say ~8 dB on the digital, I'd say leave it the way it is. But without a proper meter, there's no way to check for sure.

Try it and see if it works for a few days. 😛

<edit>

Err, yeah. I should explain the wherefore and why behind this. Decent splitters lose 3.5 dB off of a 2-way splitter and 7 dB (x2) and 3.5 (x1) off of a 3-way and 7 dB (x4) off of a 4-way. You'd most likely be seeing an improvement on 2 of your TVs, since they're at ~10.5 dB loss (+ however much you lose because of the type and length of cable) off of the original signal. With a 4-way, those TVs would only be losing 7. A definate improvement.
 
If 50' is enough, PartsExpress has some good Carol Command RG-6/U cable with rubbber boots to cover the ends if any of the connections are going to exposed to weather. Search for part 100-876. It's very good cable for the price.


 
Thanks for the lead on Parts Express. I took some pics of where the run will go, might post them after a nap. I would estimate that I'll need 75-100ft to get down through the crawlspace, under the house and then up to the second floor so I may just need to pick up a 100-500 ft spool (or talk to a tech around here and have him cut off a random length 😉 )
 
ugh!!! my dad and i wired up our house not too long ago for coax and cat5 in a couple of bedrooms. I think we used screw on connectors and crimp ons. Long story short, my timewarner modem craps out at least 15 times a day, and the number is slowly increasing. I first thought it was a problem with XP, so i ditched that in favor of win2k...then went to win2k advanced server. No luck fixing the crashes, however win2k handled the crashes much better.

Where i'm at now: can't figure out where we went wrong. Timewarner says there must be a significant signal loss somewhere in the line. From the trunk line that comes into our home, i have a splitter that splts off my cable modem line that runs to my interface panel, then to my PC. From the original splitter, it runs to an amp for the regular house TVs. I've tried adding on filters to the line, including a loop back filter that was SUPPOSED to fix my problem...but still no luck.

holler if you have any ideas. I can't afford a cable tester ($+500) and my dad refuses to have a tech come to the house.

-=bmacd=-
 
Could make sure the splitter isn't the problem. Could change the connectors to a crimp on rg6 variety (looking to do the same).
 
bmacd
What kind of modem do you have? Many have an address that will show the signal strength they are getting.

For my 3Com modem for example.
http://192.168.100.1/signal.html

Downstream Value
Signal to Noise Ratio 38 dB
Power Level -5 dBmV

Upstream Value
Power Level 48 dBmV

List what type of modem you have, it's possible that someone can help you find the signal strength page if it has one. Then you could try running a different cable to your modem and see if it raises your power level.


 
Got some pics of the setup. The main thing I'm doing is running from the garage (I assume), down through the floor into the crawlspace, out through the mesh vents (directly center in the picture), up through the deck along the drainpipe and in through the wall. From there, I would split the signal for each of the bedrooms (above the awning).

The setup in the garage

Up through ceiling to office. Will take the line for the cable modem this way

The cable box?

View from crawlspace, would run cable directly through one of the mesh vents

Up through deck on south side

Entry point from outside

Could also consider going all the way up and in through the ceiling

Interested in knowing where I plug the line in. The cable box (not sure on what to call it) was apparently installed recently. Should I just run the cable, crimp the connectors and let the tech screw the things in?
 


<< i'm going to be wiring my house with Cat5 (maybe cat5e) this summer...

any recommendations there? >>



Here is an excellent article I found on Slashdot a few months back that I love to reference. 🙂 I'm planning on using some of the ideas found here when I buy/build my own house.
 
Is what I think is the cable "box" the box or does it have something to do with the phone system? Where might someone plug in a new cable line?
 


<< Is what I think is the cable "box" the box or does it have something to do with the phone system? Where might someone plug in a new cable line? >>



No, that's the "box" or enclosure. All it does is keep all of the fittings, splitters, etc, from being weather-worn. It's a rather old design, too. At least, old compared to what we use out here. <shrug>
 
just use a slitter on the line. Over here, we have a line that's piped into our basement and we run a splitter from there. We only see telco boxes on the sides of houses anymore.

And my cable modem is a toshiba PCX2000. I purchased another modem, but TW will not add another MAC address to their system. Sucks to be me.

-=bmacd=-
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top