Extending my UPC cable to new TV location

Jemser33

Hi, I have just mouned my TV on the wall, as I was doing this I thought it would be a good idea to bury the coaxial cable in the wall as I was at it. I bought a 10m extension length of cable from B&Q. It came with a coupling unit and was made off at each end with a moulded connector. Afer running it up the wall and across the ceiling and down the other side I had a fair length of slack left over. I coiled this up neatly and left it behind the cabinet where the UPC HD Digital box is. My signal strentth droped to approx 50% and some stations were droping out, especially the HD ones. I have removed the cable from the walls and laid it out over the floor, the signal strength is approx 75% now and the stations seem to be stable.
The question, is there a max lenght you can run between UPC wall box in the room to the Cisco Digital box. Is there a better grade of cable I should be using, or should I ake off the cable directly to the wall box and remove the coupling unit ( Its a male to male connector).
Any advice would be appreciated..
ooo Yea, what should the signal strenght be realistically.

Regards Jim.

lucernarian

Those 10m TV cable kits use terrible cable, and what you report is typical of poor cable as the HD channels are dropping out the most (As they're carried on higher frequencies, not because they're HD). Also extra/slack cable won't help as the longer the cable, the weaker the signal.

10 metres is a fair length but it should be okay with better cable. The likes of B&Q sell "satellite RG6" marked cable which is much better than those leads and still pretty cheap. You buy a couple of plugs or joiners on ebay or a local electrical wholesalers, the DIY outlets are a rip-off as are Maplins for those sorts of things. An electrical wholesalers will also have the satellite coax cable cut to the metre for you.

If possible, getting the copper-screened cables like CT100, WF100, PX100, TX100 (all basically the same thing but different brands) would give you an even better chance of success but it's hard to find and only some electrical wholesalers I've seen carry it (the internet, even ebay, will have sellers too). It's worth asking for if you do pop into a wholesaler. I don't think B&Q supply that cable unfortunately.

Using your own cable means you can make up a length to reach the wall outlet without any couplers (but you might need to use an "f-connector" which screws into the UPC outlet instead of a typical TV plug depending on what's fitted in the house). F-connectors are simple things to fit, even easier than TV plugs as they just screw on to the end of a prepared cable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sksyX32PPMc and you can use a knife or scissors with a little care and caution (same goes for making up a traditional TV plug) assuming you don't have that little cable stripper gadget!

Btw if you look around on the internet, you can find different coloured cables if that's important to you. B&Q usually only offer black. Some wholesalers will offer black/white/brown, no harm in calling them up to ask beforehand. Just make sure it's satellite/RG6 grade at least!

Jemser33

Thanks "TBC", thats good information with good examples and solutions.
I have 2 good wholesaler's in Naas so will check them out for the brands and spects you mentioned.

Rgs, Jim

Kitepimp

Hey Jemser
I found this post while researching a similiar task.
Just wondering :
a. What hardware wholesaler you got the cable from (I amnt far from Naas) and what kind of cable you got (brand / spec) if you can remember.

b. How long a run of cable you used - I think I am going to have run about 40-50 foot of cable
c. What kind of deterioration of signal you encountered (if any)

I think I am going to run it up the wall (from the living room external wall entry point) into a bedroom, lift some floor boards and drop it back down the far wall.

The reason for this is that we are lifting carpets this weekend anyway upstairs so this approach suits...

Any advice gratefully appreciated.