# Forum Home Renovation Television, Computers & Phones  TV aerial wiring

## barney118

I have installed a 4 way splitter in my roof and down the walls to the upper storey room. I have 2 more spare in the roof so I was wondering how do I continue to the lower floor which is not built yet. I still have the gyprock off the upper storey and thinking do you install another splitter in the wall cavity to continue to the lower section for a provision when this is built. Or I could run 2 more wires from the 4 way all the way to the bottom floor. 
I am thinking of doing it by use of splitter (unless there is way to join the wire via a wall plate (which will have 4x RJ45, 1 x pay tv as well) that way This leaves 2 more TV points if needed for the upper storey later.

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## Tomo

Run all outlets in single runs from the one splitter in the roof. 
Make sure you can access the splitter in the future in case of lightning strikes. A smooth manuouvre is to position the splitter close to the manhole for very easy future access. 
Also ensure you use RG6 quad shield cable....with F type connections if possible.

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## barney118

So this means I can only have 4 outlets unles I upgrade? I was thinking of needing 5, 2 upstairs and 3 down stairs. Looking at the docket I bought RD59 is this any different?

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## barney118

A quick google and RG59 is OK for TV but not pay TV. I have 1 connection of Pay TV which is just enough to give me one point up stairs, I have the cable that connects from the pay tv box to the socket which is long enough to run in the wall or do I need to get someone out to run these?

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## Tomo

No, RG59 is designed to carry video not RF. 
Yes RG59 will carry RF, but not with the same success and reliability as RG6. Quad shield RG6 should be used as a minimum because of its superior shielding. 
You can get splitters in 2,3,4,6,8 etc, but ideally only one splitter should be in the system. 
I have been installing for 20 years and now recable rg59 on a daily basis to ensure digital TV runs successfully.

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## Naf

I upgraded to rg6 quad shield and the tv reception went from average of 35 out of 100 to 95 out of 100, it hardly pixelates anymore which it used to do if a lights was switched on/off, definitely money well spent. 
Nathan

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## barney118

Cool, thx
will redo the cables in RG6, only cost $25 for what I have done. May as well get a bigger splitter too. another days work lost. :Doh:  Can I run the pay TV cable and get someone to terminate? use the same stuff right?

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## Tomo

Yes RG6 is the cable to use for PayTV too. 
Most antenna installers will come to terminate for you. 
Remember the tip to run everything to the manhole if possible...keeps the TV dudes happier.

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## barney118

Thanks Tomo, may have to buy a reel of the stuff.

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## petersemple

We recently had an antenna installed.  All the cabling was in the house, but no antenna as the previous owners had only ever used Foxtel.  Anyway, there was a 4 way splitter in the roof already with cabling to 4 rooms.  We wanted one extra room cabled as the lounge room where we wanted the main TV was the only room that had a pay TV outlet and no free to air.  Everywhere else had both on the wall.  The installer simply added a 2 way splitter to the existing 4 way to give us 5 cable runs.  It works well and reception is fine.  We are in a good signal area though. 
Peter

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## Tomo

That can work were there is ample signal Peter, but ideally only one splitter should be used. 
Him supplying a 2 way splitter is a lot cheaper than him using a 6 way, plus the likelihood of having to change to F types instead of leaving the old screw and saddle splitter. 
If all works....all good

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## petersemple

Yeah, I can't remember the figures, but he measures at the roof, and also at the outlets and said that we were getting significantly more signal than the Australian Standard available at the outlets.  We were actually doing OK with bunny ears, but certainly noticed an improvement with a roof antenna. 
Peter

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## barney118

It must be a nightmare for multistorey homes. Upgraded to the RG6 quad, I was looking at designing the rooms to have a pay tv and normal tv to 2 walls adjacent but now will run one pay and tv to lower storey on each side of a 9.1m wide room, one for the home theatre and one near the bar  :Beer:

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## jago

> It must be a nightmare for multistorey homes. Upgraded to the RG6 quad, I was looking at designing the rooms to have a pay tv and normal tv to 2 walls adjacent but now will run one pay and tv to lower storey on each side of a 9.1m wide room, one for the home theatre and one near the bar

  LoOk at you with ya bar and TV .... LOl

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## r3nov8or

We have 2 x 4-way splitters. They are running 5 TVs in total (we have oulets for 2 more, heaven forbid).  We also have a booster of some description in the front lounge room. I was told by a good friend and TV guy to look after my antennae because I will never get another as good as it. It really is a monster, installed "back in the day". Many houses near me need tall masts on guy wires - mine's just bolted to the chimney. I think it all adds up - antennae, booster, cabling, outlets, fly leads - to a good signal on many points.

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## barney118

Looks like I need to get the F type splitter, I bought a cheapie screw job, not happy  :No: .
Do you need special tools for the F type?
Also is it possible to run 1 cable for pay/tv and normal? or need to run 2.

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## barney118

> LoOk at you with ya bar and TV .... LOl

  The bar is still a twinkle in my eye... no harm in trying or thinking is there? :2thumbsup:

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## petersemple

My understanding is that Pay TV and Free TV need separate cables.  I guess there may be ways of multiplexing the signals, but I don't think it's often done (Although the free to air channels are usually also available through the pay TV system) 
Peter

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## barney118

I suppose its best to run another cable to be sure. Thanks all, I should have started the thread first instead of the job !

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## Tomo

It is best to run separate cables for free to air and payTV. 
On installs where we couldnt get a coax down the wall for Foxtel, such as downstairs internal walls, we used the free to air cable for both signals if the cable was good enough quality. This method is called diplexing. 
A RG6 crimping tool costs about $100 and a set of cable strippers about $20 give or take. 
Dont be tempted to crunch the connector on with a pair of pliers.....

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## petersemple

> A RG6 crimping tool costs about $100 and a set of cable strippers about $20 give or take. 
> Dont be tempted to crunch the connector on with a pair of pliers.....

  And at that point there it may well be cheaper just to get somebody in to do the work - unless you are going to use the tools over and over. 
Peter

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## Tomo

I agree Peter. 
Money would be saved if everything was pre-run to a convenient location and the tech was well informed before arrival what was required. 
What I mean by this is full disclosure is great. 
I had a chap one day would asked my service call fee. On arrival he had a Bunnings antenna, cable, mast, connectors and wanted it all installed from go to whoa for the service call price.

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## barney118

F CONNECTOR CRIMPING TOOL FOR RG59 & RG6 CABLES (eBay item 200576752795 end time 17-Mar-11 17:25:43 AEDST) : Electronics< $40 any good?

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## Tomo

That crimper will do the job.

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## petersemple

And if you really need to, I have stripped with a knife before.  It takes a lot longer and you need to be careful, but for a few connections where time isn't an issue and you don't have a decent stripper of the correct size (or are too lazy to go and find it) it works. 
Peter

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## Tomo

Yes you are correct Peter. 
A nice sharp Stanley knife will do the trick. 
Be careful not to leave a short between the out braid and the inner conductor.

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## barney118

Bought one of these tools. Any picks on what a cable should look like prioir to crimping? They do cut really easy with stanley knife but what do I do to the wire/foil layers cut them back with an off set?

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## Tomo

This may help. 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT6oEL7_bDs&feature=player_detailpage]YouTube - Coax cable RG6 stripping and crimping tutorial[/ame]

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## Armers

I was going to refrain from commenting but lol that vid is so bad..

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## jago

Canadiens  :Cry:

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## Tomo

Gotta admit, I didnt watch a lot of it...sorry.

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## Pugs

also for foxtel you will need to use compression fittings

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## Tomo

Crimp connectors will work fine. They were used for the first 15 years of PayTV and still exist in millions of installs. 
Compression connectors were adopted because of half witted installers who failed to use self amalgamating tape to waterproof the coax connections. 
Compression connectors are waterproof.

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## Armers

Also because of the different types of cable, and yet only one type of crimp connectors, i go around today pulling off the crimps by hand due to slightly smaller cable.  
You don't have to use compression connectors for Foxtel, but don't feel hurt when the tech cuts them off and re terminates for you. There are plenty of crimps still on the network and as per telstras rulings they are still to code. But the ammount i've cut off because of dodgy terminating is still high.  
You will find that the Digital Ready scheme and the ADTIA are pushing towards compression fittings as they are a better connector, same with using F-Type fittings on wall plates over PAL pushin plugs.  
Its not policed so do whatever you feel is nessary, or whatever your wallet allows. Hey its only TV  :Biggrin:  
Cheers

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## Tomo

Yet a correctly terminated Crimp F type will preform just as well. 
At half the price. And when you go through hundreds of connectors a month it makes a difference.

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## Armers

man when you're doing 4-5 bags of 50 a week then you can talk  :Biggrin:  and at those numbers i would choose compression over crimp!

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## Tomo

I do those numbers. 
Go ahead throw money away

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## barney118

just to confuse things, whats the difference between a 2400 MHz and a 900 MHz splitter? Also looking at getting a new splitter they also mention power pass all ports vs only one?

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## Vernonv

> A smooth manuouvre is to position the splitter close to the manhole for very easy future access.

   I know this is probably a bit late, but it might assist someone in the future ... when I recently re-did our TV cabling I put the splitter behind the TV (i.e NOT inside the wall/roof) closest to the antenna and ran all the other feeds back into the wall from there. That way if I ever have a problem I don't even need to go into the ceiling.

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## barney118

bits and pieces arrived. When fitting a F type connector on RG6  quad does only the white piece go into the middle, ie do I peel back the foil so it slides in or doesnt matter?

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## barney118

Found this

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## chrisp

Peel back the loose shields (i.e. the outer 3 shields in 'quad shield').  You can tear off the 'loose' foil between the wire shields if you want, but the inner foil is usually bonded to the centre insulation so just leave it as it is.  Be sure to cut the end of the insulation cleanly so that there are no shards of foil to short out the connector.

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## bsece

maybe you guys can really help me.. i have to design a master antenna for 5 storey building commercial with approximately 8 rooms per floor.. what should i consider first? please give me a reply asap! tnx

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## PhilT2

These systems are pretty basic and usually the people who supply the gear in your part of the world will do this for free if you buy the equipment from them. You will need a signal strength meter to do this successfully.

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