What Cable do UPS use?

gabhan16

Is it standard coax or something different and can I get it myself?

Thanks!

*Sorry UPC not UPS

zg3409

UPC use standard cable. "Satellite" grade cable is usually a bit better for long runs. You can buy really cheap leads in pound shops

lucernarian

Satellite cable is much better than the cheap-ass thin leads with one layer of screening (e.g. those TV extension lead kits).

Especially for the HD channels on UPC. There was a thread here recently about one poster who initially used cheap cable and then suffered dropouts on his UPC box.

steveon

UPC use CT100 only ....they do not use RG6 which a lot of people use for satellites.

whowantstwoknow

House built before the whole of HD etc...

Currently have UPC connected which feeds through the house on the existing standard coax cable put into the house 15+ years ago :rolleyes: and may drop UPC in the future and use FTA + saorview

For another reason I have to head up to the attic and feed new electrical cables from attic down to a room where I should get close to the existing cables feed by the UPC connection.

So my question is: Would it be worth my while to feed a suitable cable from the attic to this location near the existing cables so I can in future have the option to switch the TV feed (using my own dish+aerial)? What sort of picture feed would I possibly get at the tv end where the decoding will happen?

If its feasible I'd be grateful if somebody could recommend the type of cable to use for this. Hope to do it over the weekend?

Thanks

W.

steveon

It would definetly be in your best interest to change the cabling if you can and perhaps run a few spares as well if possible.

Minimum, grade ct100 or eqivalent.

zg3409

Hey. we are trying to help but you need to give us a little more information.

How many TVs do you have in the house or do you expect to have in the future?

If buying TV cable go for satellite grade or CT100 if you can find it. Proper electrical wholesalers are best.

Without knowing your reply I will guess.

If you have the time, money and interest this is how I would wire/rewire for the future:

1 Cable per TV for saorview, this can be split and fed va other rooms eventually reaching attic. You can split it using any cheap Y splitter. This goes to a TV aerial inside the attic or on the roof.

1 more Cable per TV for satellite box without any record/pause facility in the futue

1 more Cable per TV with record such as sky+ or freeview.

The two last cables need to be seperate runs all the way from the TV to the attic and eventually run to the dish. You CANNOT split satellite cables.

To further complicate things some newer boxes have a computer network cable connection allowing you to watch internet TV (such as RTE player, BBC player, channel 4 on demand etc) It's basically a web browser. Some new TVs have it too.

In theory you could use wifi instead of a computer cable but wifi is dodgy for streaming TV and it's not ideal.

So in my case I would run:

3 coax cables to TV in living room plus 1 (8 core) Cat5E computer cable

2 Coaxes min per other room with TV.

You can buy white stick-on mini-trunking which can be painted which helps hide the wires.
Hope I haven't confused you more.

ronan45

steveon wrote: »

UPC use CT100 only ....they do not use RG6 which a lot of people use for satellites.

Might i butt in here. I want to change the position of my upc box/tv to the far side of the room. The UPC wire wont reach so i need about 30 feet of UPC cable and the push connector to join the 2 wires. Is there anywhere that sells that cable ready to go? I tried a few places and they just told me they sell standard tv cable

whowantstwoknow

zg3409 wrote: »

Hey. we are trying to help but you need to give us a little more information.

How many TVs do you have in the house or do you expect to have in the future?

If buying TV cable go for satellite grade or CT100 if you can find it. Proper electrical wholesalers are best.

Without knowing your reply I will guess.

If you have the time, money and interest this is how I would wire/rewire for the future:

1 Cable per TV for saorview, this can be split and fed va other rooms eventually reaching attic. You can split it using any cheap Y splitter. This goes to a TV aerial inside the attic or on the roof.

1 more Cable per TV for satellite box without any record/pause facility in the futue

1 more Cable per TV with record such as sky+ or freeview.

The two last cables need to be seperate runs all the way from the TV to the attic and eventually run to the dish. You CANNOT split satellite cables.

To further complicate things some newer boxes have a computer network cable connection allowing you to watch internet TV (such as RTE player, BBC player, channel 4 on demand etc) It's basically a web browser. Some new TVs have it too.

In theory you could use wifi instead of a computer cable but wifi is dodgy for streaming TV and it's not ideal.

So in my case I would run:

3 coax cables to TV in living room plus 1 (8 core) Cat5E computer cable

2 Coaxes min per other room with TV.

You can buy white stick-on mini-trunking which can be painted which helps hide the wires.
Hope I haven't confused you more.

Thanks for that. I suppose my main problem is that running trunking in the house would be a definite no no!!! Hindsight is a great thing but I had a chance to re-wire a good part of the house 5 years ago but with any renovation project other aspects of the project seemed more important at the time :mad:

I've used the power points to extend the network at home for now. Didnt realise sat cables need to be direct. so bringing such cables to the existing coax cables and joining would be a waste of time?

cheers
W.

zg3409

>Didnt realise sat cables need to be direct. so bringing such cables to the existing coax >cables and joining would be a waste of time?

In theory you can combine an ordinary aerial and ONE satellite cable on to the same cable and then split them at each end. But only if you are stuck.

You would need a two splitters with 3 connections. One marked TV, another marked SAT. It will also need to include the words "power pass". Powercity probably have them but it depends as their stock changes.

With only 1 satellite cable you will not be able to record satellite channels.

For the other person asking questoins:
TV cable is TV cable. UPC and satellite normally use better quality cable. UPC normally uses screw on connectors called "F" type. Normal TV uses push on connectors. The cable is the same more or less. If you need to extend UPC you may need a back to back joiner for "F" type. Everywhere sells them. You may need a cable with threaded "F" at both ends. The better the cable the less chance of channels freezing etc on digital.

ronan45

Thanks ZG all good i picked up a length of satellite cable and the connections and extended the cable. Dead Simple. One more question if i may, can i take an extra feed of that UPC signal? Where the Tv was i wanted to put in a small 14"tv so effectivly run 2 UPC boxes of one signal cable.

zg3409

Yes you can split UPC. However you will end up with less than half the signal going to each TV afterwards. This is fine if you have a very strong signal.

Best to look at the analogue channels (without the UPC box). If they are snowy to start with (especially discovery channel) then splitting the cable will make things worse. On digital you will notice more freezing from time to time.

Another thing if you complain to UPC and they send someone out to improve reception they will disconnect all DIY connections. They only guarantee a signal good enough for 1 TV at each of their TV points. They charge 5 euro extra per month per extra TV point. To be fair they normally run a whole new cable per TV point meaning you get twice the amount of signal if you pay extra.

So yes, any splitter will work but metal ones with screw threads are better. Don't buy a 4 way if you only need a 2-way and don't buy one with a built in "booster" as they normally make things worse.

Kitepimp

Hey all where would be a good place to get good quality cable around Dublin city / naas?

franlynch

zg3409 wrote: »

>Didnt realise sat cables need to be direct. so bringing such cables to the existing coax >cables and joining would be a waste of time?

For the other person asking questoins:
TV cable is TV cable. UPC and satellite normally use better quality cable. UPC normally uses screw on connectors called "F" type. Normal TV uses push on connectors. The cable is the same more or less. If you need to extend UPC you may need a back to back joiner for "F" type. Everywhere sells them. You may need a cable with threaded "F" at both ends. The better the cable the less chance of channels freezing etc on digital.

I am a bit confused - I need to extend the UPC Cable coming in to the house to the UPC Box and was told that I need F to Pal - am I right in thinking I can just get a longer F cable from any electrical shop - sorry but alot of this goes over my head

Kitepimp

I found these guys very helpful as I didnt have a clue, also willing to cut cable to size some places only sell 100m reels and sorted me for right terminators

http://www.temple.ie/iopen24/contact_us.php

franlynch

Thanks Kitemap - I'm living in Cork though and need it by Thursday - lastminute.com should be my user name I think