Ooops - I used Belden 1189A - Will it work?

[Dirk_McGherkin]

I picked up 3 boxes of Belden 1189A to wire my office for satellite and wonder if I made a serious mistake.

The system is up and running with a Dish1000, 3 DPP44 switches cascaded, and 8 receivers planned.

3 of the receivers are running now straight off the dish, I haven't connected the switches yet, and the signal is in the mid 90s.

But then I googled "Belden 1189A" and my jaw hit the keyboard when I saw that it was only sweep tested to 1 GHz.

My longest run is just under 200' and it has a mid-nineties strength. Am I going to run in to problems?

I'd hate to pull new cable (nearly 3000 feet in all) but if that's what's required for long-term reliability then that's what I'll do.

Tech specs for the cable: http://bwccat.belden.com/ecat/pdf/1189A.pdf

Thanks in advance.

Dirk

 

[bhelms]

I have used the 1189A cable for OTA and in-ground applications and I like it a lot. I am particularly interested in the quad shield that I believe is an advantage where downlead interference/multipath or proximity to power wiring might be a problem. (Those shouldn't be an issue in a DBS system unless you're also diplexing an OTA signal.)

I also noted the lack of data past 1GHz for the 1189A type. I don't think that means that it won't carry the DBS signals sufficiently, just that it wasn't tested for the higher range as it was designed and tested for the lower frequencies. I have never tested this type for DBS, but I wouldn't hesitate to try it.

When I compared the 1189A loss with the Belden 1694A that is spec'd to 4.5GHz, I noticed that at 1GHz the 1694A was better than the 1189A by just 0.65dB. Even with an expected greater rolloff at 2.2GHz with the 1189A, your system will probably have more than enough signal strength to still function reliably.

Use your existing DBS-rated cables from the LNBs to the first switch. That's the path where I think the signal strength might be the most critical.

Then reconfigure to use the switch and the rest of your system that was wired with the 1189A to see if it will work. Test at least one receiver this way, preferrably one with a longer run. (Make sure you're powering the switches, is that output port 1?) I think you'll be OK. If I were you, I'd at least want to try it out before I paniced!

Please report back and let us know!

Good luck and BRgds...

 

[lakebum431]

I think the biggest thing to remember is that just because it isn't swept to 3GHz doesn't mean that it won't do it. They just testing it at 1GHz. Most likely you'll be fine, but I do not have any experience with this exact cable.

 

[RandallA]

"I think the biggest thing to remember is that just because it isn't swept to 3GHz doesn't mean that it won't do it. They just testing it at 1GHz."

That's correct but I would at least test to see if a channel in the higher frequencies comes in OK.

Go to channels: USA Network, History Channel, Bravo or CourtTV. These channels are on 119 on TP2, they come in the high frequency so you could test and see if you have any problems with those channels.

 

[Dirk_McGherkin]

Thanks guys for the info. I called Belden's tech line (800-belden1) and he said even though it wasn't the best choice, it would definitely work and said he'd trust it up to 3 GHz and not to worry.

bhelms & everyone else: is belden 1694A the preferred cable for commercial applications including riser rating, or what's the best? For years I've either used Belden whatever or the ~$50 per 1000' from Perfect 10.

 

[bhelms]

I've never used the 1694A, but it does spec.-out better than the 1189A, so I expect it will be a good bit more expensive. It uses solid copper in the center conductor vs. CCS (At the higher frequencies I really don't think this makes any difference due to "skin effect", but it does have lower DC resistance so power makes it to your remote switches or LNBs at a higher voltage, if that matters. CCS is actually stronger, tho'!) and a presumably superior foam insulation for better dielectric properties. What's "best" for commercial applications is usually interpreted as best for overall product life cycle cost - that's initial installation cost plus eventual replacement cost if/when that becomes necessary due to upgrades requiring higher preformance, or replacement due to breakdown. I suspect either Belden product is overkill for most commercial applications. Others might disagree. I've also heard the Perfect cable mentioned before. Check with some of the suppliers, or ask an installer. I paid $.119/ft for the 1189A last summer for 200', IIRC. I thought that was a good price, but obviously not for a large q'ty! I paid considerably less for "Andrews" cable sold by Channel Master, dual shield, 3GHz, made in China. It worked OK.

Where you're talking about "riser rating", do you mean in a heating/AC duct? In those applications you need plenum-rated cable. Belden makes variations of at least the 1189A for plenum applications, IIRC, and possibly the 1694A as well...