I know that DirecTV will only work on RG6. When I hook my receiver directly to the dish I get a decent signal. When I hook it up to the cable junction box in the back of the house I get nothing. The cables going into the house just sat CAT V type (something). It doesn't say RG6 or RGanything. The line coming out of the wall upstairs says RG6, and I'm afraid I'll have to run new cabling since I don't know what else is behind the wall. Any ideas on how to find out if the cabling is RG6 or not?
Pre existing wiring.
- Thread starter cairns
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By junction box I assume you mean the cable box that splits your incoming cable signal to the rooms of your home. You cannot split the signal from your dish in this manner. A device called a multi-switch is required for this sort of application. However, if you wish to simply route the coax from your dish to one particular location in another room using the cable line already in your home and if you can figure out the coax line that runs into that room from the cable juntion box, you can join it to the coax from the dish using something like this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=278-213
If you have more than one coax running from your dish (like the 4 outputs from a triple-lnb dish), you can join them with the coax running to other rooms in this manner. This should work as long as you don't have other cable splitters in your home. Won't know until you try.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=278-213
If you have more than one coax running from your dish (like the 4 outputs from a triple-lnb dish), you can join them with the coax running to other rooms in this manner. This should work as long as you don't have other cable splitters in your home. Won't know until you try.
Just wanted to add that it will work on RG59, you will just have a loss in picture quality as it is not a satellite grade cable. For that matter is is not digital cable grade cable but I know a few who still run fine.
I've got a multi-switch that I used. I've got my normal cable input which I am keeping for my Cable modem and my two inputs from the LMB. There are two outputs that go into the house. There are Cable outlets in the basement, mainfloor, and master bedroom. I haven't tried the one in the basement, but I could not get a signal in the mainfloor and bedroom. I haven't gone into the attic to see what kind of coax is up there. What comes out in the basement just says Cat V and the mainfloore says RG 6. Somewhere it is split since there are three outlets and only two lines going into the house.
Sounds like a splitter to me... and its not Cat V... that would be Cat 5 or network wire for those uninformed... most RG6 or 59 say CATV on them meaning Cable TV
cairns said:
sorry I should have elaborated... thats exactly what I meant... a splitter in the wall you cant see... sorry I wasnt callign you a liar or anything
So.....????? How did you resolve this problem???? The exact same problem I'm having. To repose the question: How do you unsplit a split signal. This is driving me nuts. I have every reason to believe the original installer stuck splitters somewhere between 2 studs in my walls...ugghhh 
Please don't tell me these already routed cable lines that are fixed in plaster and airtight for eternity are worthless conduits, and that there's nothing out there that will reclaim the split signal. I don't understand how a signal splitter kills the Sat signal...I mean its 2 wires (core and shield) that are simply being split into a parallel set of 4 wires essentially . And if nothing can be done about it. What is the name of the service in the yellow pages to describe people who come out to your house to run various lines thru the walls including re-routing/rearranging Telephone lines and Cable lines NOT associated with DirectTV.....are they called "conduit experts", or do I have to resort to finding an electrician to do the drilling and fishtaping along with blueprints of the house?????? Thanks for any response.
Please don't tell me these already routed cable lines that are fixed in plaster and airtight for eternity are worthless conduits, and that there's nothing out there that will reclaim the split signal. I don't understand how a signal splitter kills the Sat signal...I mean its 2 wires (core and shield) that are simply being split into a parallel set of 4 wires essentially . And if nothing can be done about it. What is the name of the service in the yellow pages to describe people who come out to your house to run various lines thru the walls including re-routing/rearranging Telephone lines and Cable lines NOT associated with DirectTV.....are they called "conduit experts", or do I have to resort to finding an electrician to do the drilling and fishtaping along with blueprints of the house?????? Thanks for any response.
I'm one of those "in wall" installers, who have over 30 years in the business. Believe it or not, we can put almost anything in the wall, with the least amount of damage. Examples would be to run wires from the attic to the basment of two story homes, through walls with firestops, without much disturbance. I just ran multiple cable in an install from a second floor attic through an insulation filled outside wall, through the first/second floor trust system and to a first floor outlet in an insulation filled outside wall. The only resultant visible evidence if one blank white box wall plate left there only for future cable runs. In one case, I wired a harness for a Bose system to the middle of a living room floor through a finished basement. The same goes with a fan in a cathedral ceiling. The resualtant installations look like they were placed, before the walls were sealed.
This is highly specialized work, and there are very very few of us around. I am a subcontractor for many dealers and companies. Sometimes the job has been passed down through 3-4 levels of sub-contractors for companies like Best Buy, Circuit City or Tweeters.
This is highly specialized work, and there are very very few of us around. I am a subcontractor for many dealers and companies. Sometimes the job has been passed down through 3-4 levels of sub-contractors for companies like Best Buy, Circuit City or Tweeters.
slacker9876 said:
I have RG59 in my house and have the dish connected to it. Picture is very good, even the HD. Eventually, I would like to rewire the house with RG6, but for now the picture is very acceptable.
If you are getting the Directv "professional" install, they are not Directv employees and a lot of them just want to get in and out as fast as they can. I know of 3 people who had installs recently and all of them had the dish connected to their existing RG59. The installers claimed that there was no signal loss. More likely they wanted to save money and time.
Pull the wall plates off.Chances are they looped the cable from one room to the next.If so you will see a splitter behind the plate.Take it out,connect the one that comes from the dish to the receiver.NOW for the other room that was split from there.You will most likely have to go to the attic and locate the coax that goes into that room.When you find it you will need to run a wire stait out from there to the multi switch/dish.
http://www.hometech.com/learn/dss.html
http://www.hometech.com/learn/dss.html
I'll agree with Tom. They looped or "Daisy chained" the cable. Run into alot of looped or Daisy chained wires, especially older house. Used to be done this way alot, especially with phone systems. Look behind the wall plate, I'll bet your phone wirng is looped also.
That is usually how it goes. Back in the CATV days this was how most electricians did this. Some (like to one who did my dad's house) ran them all in the attic, so if not you may want to check if you have no luck in wall.
You're probably all right on the money here, but just now I eagerly popped the wall plate off only to find one of those new hard blue plastic receptacle housings/chambers that is nailed down behind the receptacle to the studs and placed before the drywall was hung, and there's no way that baby's coming out unless I start ripping drywall...grrrr, tempted but not stupid. Any rate, if i could just get that blue plastic housing out of the wall and see whats behind it, I'm almost certain thats where the splitter might be, but is it worth it? I know a home wiring guy is gonna charge major bucks to fish these cables again. I have no attic, just a sloping flat roof with no crawl space, so that options out. Not looking good, other than using existing wiring to be my fishtape. Thanks guys, I know that splitter isn't far off, and I'll brush up on my DIY drywall repair skills. I HATE CABLE.
Not so,
Here is how you would remove the nailed in closed 2x4 wall box installed before the drywall was placed.
I have developed a technique for removing existing closed in wall boxes that are nailed with two nails in the studs, without damaging the drywall. You first have to determine on which side the stud is located. With a jab saw, carefully cut the top and bottom corner away from the stud all the way to the back. Fold the side into the cavity of the box. Using a pair or heavy electician's pliers grab the top of the box at the loose end near the cut corner and rotate the end into the box. This releases the top nail from the box. Do the same for the bottom. Using a large screwdriver, bend the nail up or down away from the box. Carefully pull out the box with the electrician's pliers. After the box is out, take off the existing cables, and pull out and discard the nails.
The orange "old work" Carlon open box bracket sold for about $1.30 at Home Depot ot Lowes is ideal. I've been making these for over 10 years from the blue closed "old work" boxes for over 10 years, before the ready made ones became available. I just cut the backs off with a band saw. I still do this, since Carlon has revised the "old work" boxes to fit a regular rectangle, instead of the weird cut out pattern. They have not yet done this for the orange brackets, though. The nice thing about the new "rectangular cut out pattern" is that it fits almost perfectly into the space from a removed existing box.
In the case, where the hole was improperly cut in the wall for the box, I carry pieces of 4x6" 1/4 inch plywood, with a space on the long side cut out in the size of the "old work box." I slip this in behind the wall and glue it in with fast setting carpenter's glue.
The 2x4 inch of opening provides plenty of room to fish wires even through insulation.
That technique, however, requires a lot of experienced skill.
Here is how you would remove the nailed in closed 2x4 wall box installed before the drywall was placed.
I have developed a technique for removing existing closed in wall boxes that are nailed with two nails in the studs, without damaging the drywall. You first have to determine on which side the stud is located. With a jab saw, carefully cut the top and bottom corner away from the stud all the way to the back. Fold the side into the cavity of the box. Using a pair or heavy electician's pliers grab the top of the box at the loose end near the cut corner and rotate the end into the box. This releases the top nail from the box. Do the same for the bottom. Using a large screwdriver, bend the nail up or down away from the box. Carefully pull out the box with the electrician's pliers. After the box is out, take off the existing cables, and pull out and discard the nails.
The orange "old work" Carlon open box bracket sold for about $1.30 at Home Depot ot Lowes is ideal. I've been making these for over 10 years from the blue closed "old work" boxes for over 10 years, before the ready made ones became available. I just cut the backs off with a band saw. I still do this, since Carlon has revised the "old work" boxes to fit a regular rectangle, instead of the weird cut out pattern. They have not yet done this for the orange brackets, though. The nice thing about the new "rectangular cut out pattern" is that it fits almost perfectly into the space from a removed existing box.
In the case, where the hole was improperly cut in the wall for the box, I carry pieces of 4x6" 1/4 inch plywood, with a space on the long side cut out in the size of the "old work box." I slip this in behind the wall and glue it in with fast setting carpenter's glue.
The 2x4 inch of opening provides plenty of room to fish wires even through insulation.
That technique, however, requires a lot of experienced skill.
Mike 500,
Thanks! I'll try that! and let you know how it fared out. I might even take a crack at fishtaping to another location, but doubt that will be successful. In any event, hope I find what I'm looking for behind there......a blasted splitter. Many thanks for that specialized esoteric bit of information that could only come out of a forum where all the expert heads meet in one central location. :up
Thanks! I'll try that! and let you know how it fared out. I might even take a crack at fishtaping to another location, but doubt that will be successful. In any event, hope I find what I'm looking for behind there......a blasted splitter. Many thanks for that specialized esoteric bit of information that could only come out of a forum where all the expert heads meet in one central location. :up
It won't be behind the blue box.It would have been in it.If you don't find them behind the wall plate(in the blue box) then do as Slacker said and look in the attic.With blown in insul it can be tough to find the coax sometimes.
Wow, you guys are giving me some bad news, but at the same time saving my arse from a hair-pulling experience! Many, many thanks for that useful info as well! The final verdict: take the hit and do it right once and for all, ..I'm going to hire an electrician and wire this house up with brand new dualin' coax jacks meant for dual signal satellite to feed my HDTivo, and while I'm at it, reroute the phone lines to come out of the same jack so I don't end up with the dalmation effect with wallplates scattered at every direction. Just like Kenny said, sometimes 'you gotta know when to fold 'em!'
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