Please Help! 300' run

[jwoyame28]

First off I'm sorry for being repeative about this topic, but I need help. I don't have a clue what equipment I need.

I ordered a 3 room DirecTv system with a HD DVR. I live in a woods and the dish has to be 300' away from the house. I've made about 20 phone calls to find out what exactly is needed to install this and I get a different answer every time.

Do I need RG11? I don't have a problem using it if I have too, but I don't want to waste money on it if I don't need it. DirecTv told me that all I need is RG6, but I don't trust them. Also the local installer in Toledo, OH says I would be OK with RG6 that isn't even quad shield. A lot of you on the net say I need RG11. I'm just really confused about this.

If I do need RG11, exactly what fittings do I need? Will the fittings mount right to the LNB? How do I convert it to RG6 when I get in the house?

Do I need a powered multiswitch? Or just a grounded union block when the cables come into the house?

Do I need to run through conduit?

If I need RG11, should I get a hold of the guy coming to mount the dish and let him know? Will he have fittings for RG11?

Sorry to be a pain, but could you explain exacly what I need and where it should go. Links to the equipment needed would be great.

Thanks!

 

[HCI]

Rg6 will work fine. The cheapest way is to just put a inline amp half way in the middle of the line. They will have to be inclosed in some type of box. You may not even need one if the installer uses solid copper but you might want to put one just to be safe. RG11 will cost you way too much money so I would not go that way. You will however have to pay for the extra cable and the amps and I dought the installer is going to want to bury the wire.

 

[WTT0001]

Not a problem...

Go with Solid Copper RG6 Quad just to be safe but you would be fine with any standard RG6 cable, our company has done at least 10 that I can think of that are 250 - 350 feet from the house The inline amps aren't really needed but you can try them, pretty sure the directions say to use them within 5 feet of the receiver but not sure about that.

Make sure you use a ground block, you don't need a powered multiswitch (unless you have more than 4 lines going out in the house), Conduit is a good thing but would be semi-expensive and not "needed", the installer won't bury it for you (or the cable for that matter) so you would have to do it yourself.

Anyway, Good Luck

WTT

 

[Lynskyn]

You may want to consider using a larger dish like the Channel Master Gain Master or the new AT9 5 LNB dish for the additional gain.

 

[al]

You will suffer sporadic signal loss at that distance with a multi satellite setup UNLESS you use RG11 cable. Even with solid copper quad shield, you will have problems. Only way this would work reliably at this distance with RG6 or quad is if you are utilizing 101 only.

My own personal setup in my home had a 200' run through quad shield cable, phase 3 dish to a 5 x 8 multiswitch, and occasional signal loss (mostly on 110 and 119) until I placed phase 3dish closer to house.

It pays to do it right the first time.

 

[HCI]

You will suffer sporadic signal loss at that distance with a multi satellite setup UNLESS you use RG11 cable. Even with solid copper quad shield, you will have problems. Only way this would work reliably at this distance with RG6 or quad is if you are utilizing 101 only.
My own personal setup in my home had a 200' run through quad shield cable, phase 3 dish to a 5 x 8 multiswitch, and occasional signal loss (mostly on 110 and 119) until I placed phase 3dish closer to house.
It pays to do it right the first time.

I dont think this is true at all. Not trying to bash you but I think he want have any problem with it if he uses just RG6 and as I said earlier you may want to use the amps just in case. Hes not going to have a multiswitch either,3 rooms with 1 HD-DVR, thats 4 lines straight to the dish. Thats 1200 FEET of RG11. RG11 is just going to be a waste of money.

WTT0001 On the amp situation the ones I use though P10 say put them half way in the cable run this is so they can get the voltage there and send it the rest of the way. They do need to be inclosed in a box however.

 

[HCI]

Wanna know how much that will cost you. Check this out. This is just a quick websearch.

http://www.tessco.com/products/getProductInfo.do?sku=463476

Comes in 1000 foot rolls so you would need 2 to do the job.

 

[superjack]

First question: Is it not possible to mount your dish closer because of obstruction?

If not, then you shouldn't have any trouble with quad RG-6. I would install the cable and conduit myself. First of all, the installer is NOT going to provide that much cable and would probably laugh rather than bury it. If you're sure you're going to stick with satellite, I would do the cabling myself. Just rent a good trencher (a shovel is a very bad idea for a run that long). The pvc is not necessary unless you think the wire is somehow at risk to be cut by digging. Good RG6 will last many years underground. If you do put it in conduit, I would go with a diameter large enough to easily push and pull the cable (at least 4 strands) through, although at 300' this may be quite a task. Despite what another post said, DO NOT split the line in the middle. Never cut such a long run in the middle unless absolutely necessary. You will probably start off with a phase III dish and may eventually be upgraded to the AT9. I prefer to mount the multiswitch at the house, especially with such a long cable run. This will also give you more flexibility in the future as far as changing out mulitswitches or adding tvs. I'm not familiar with the AT9. I'm not sure how many lines feed from the lnb(s) into the multiswitch. If it's more than 4, I would go ahead and bury the extra line with the others so you are ready for the upgrade. The setup may operate fine without assistance from an in-line amp or power inserter. I would try it first. If it works you're good to go. If not, I would start with an in-line amp. If that's not enough, you can buy power inserters to send voltage to the lnbs. Please don't cut your cable in the middle except as a last resort.

Hope this helps!

 

[HCI]

Just done some more rerearch. I have a Skywalker book that has rg11 for $109 for 1000 feet.

 

[HCI]

First question: Is it not possible to mount your dish closer because of obstruction?
If not, then you shouldn't have any trouble with quad RG-6. I would install the cable and conduit myself. First of all, the installer is NOT going to provide that much cable and would probably laugh rather than bury it. If you're sure you're going to stick with satellite, I would do the cabling myself. Just rent a good trencher (a shovel is a very bad idea for a run that long). The pvc is not necessary unless you think the wire is somehow at risk to be cut by digging. Good RG6 will last many years underground. If you do put it in conduit, I would go with a diameter large enough to easily push and pull the cable (at least 4 strands) through, although at 300' this may be quite a task. Despite what another post said, DO NOT split the line in the middle. Never cut such a long run in the middle unless absolutely necessary. You will probably start off with a phase III dish and may eventually be upgraded to the AT9. I prefer to mount the multiswitch at the house, especially with such a long cable run. This will also give you more flexibility in the future as far as changing out mulitswitches or adding tvs. I'm not familiar with the AT9. I'm not sure how many lines feed from the lnb(s) into the multiswitch. If it's more than 4, I would go ahead and bury the extra line with the others so you are ready for the upgrade. The setup may operate fine without assistance from an in-line amp or power inserter. I would try it first. If it works you're good to go. If not, I would start with an in-line amp. If that's not enough, you can buy power inserters to send voltage to the lnbs. Please don't cut your cable in the middle except as a last resort.
Hope this helps!

Hes not going to have a multiswitch. It'll be built in.

 

[al]

Hes not going to have a multiswitch. It'll be built in.

If I were to run 300' of cable, I would want to take future possibilities into consideration.

My previous post endorsing the RG 11 was focused on two things. First, the Phase 3 does have a built in multiswitch, and could be prone to voltage losses at that cable length.

Second, jwoyame28 may add an additional multiswitch in the future. If he upgrades to AT9 dish, and needs more than 4 connections, will need the Zinwell 6 x 8 switch, which of course, is unpowered, and will be more prone to voltage loss than a powered 5 x 8.

If there is no way to shorten the length of the run, the idea of running cable prior to installer arrival is a good one. There are places to get RG11 at a resonable cost. If RG11 is out of the question, I would run solid copper quad. I would not, under any circumstances, run copper clad cable that length.

In any case, best of luck with your new Directv system jwoyame28!

Al

 

[HCI]

I just got home from doing an 8 rec install. Just a normal dual lnb and 3X8 multiswitch
The switch was 125 feet from the dish. The house was around 5000 square feet and the dish had to be mounted on the side of the house the cable was NOT stubbed out on. I ran just regular dual solid copper not quad, to the multiswitch and I am not sure if the cable in the house was solid or copper clad. The longest run from there was around 150 feet, I am not sure because of the way the house was built and it depended on how they ran the wire but it had to be around 150.

On all the tv's Transponder 1-94 Transponder 2-98 Transponder 3-92 Transponder 4-72 "This is a weak one in our area". All the others were the same. I did not even power the multiswitch.

 

[Stargazer]

I prepped mine by having one wire per satellite which is a total of three and ran some extra wires just to be on the safe side for backup and future use. The wires run 200 feet on a Dish Network SuperDish system. I have two DP-34 switches that are cascaded. It uses fewer wires than having one for each receiver/tuner.