questions about running coax cable

I need to run more coax cable in my house. There are only 2 outlets and I need a lot more. I was going to run Belden 1694a RG6 with this leviton video splitter.

Is the Belden 1694a ok for using in a house, or should I try to use the same coax as the cable company uses to bring the signal to my house? I know very little about video splitters. Is the one that I chose ok? Do i need to get the video amplifier? I have read posts where people suggest running having 2 runs of coax to each room, but I didn't see what to do with it when it was brought to a central location. I know you can just use a patch panel for cat 5 but is that leviton splitter ok for coax, or is there another piece of equipment that would be better.

I have the paladin compression crimper and a bunch a sealtite connectors. I am also running cat 5 to each room, but i have a decent idea of how to do it.

Feel free to post any suggestions that you may have.

RG6 should be fine. Most cable companies run crappy RG59 indoors. Amp probably won't be necessary depending how strong your signal is. So try it without the amp first, an amp will only make the signal worse if its not needed.

General guidelines... Run to a central location and only split once. Daisy-chaining creates excessive signal loss. Hub and spoke is the better topology. Only split and connect to drops you are actuall going to use. Amplifiers should only be used as a last resort. An amplifier should not be installed between the source and your cable modem (assuming that's your Internet connection method.) It's better to have the cable company come out and test your signal and turn it up at the tap instead of amplifying internally (if possible.) If you're using compression tips make sure they match your cable type. They're not interchangable.

I don't know who your provider is.


But in my experiance, Good Companies [ Like Time Warner and Brighthouse ] will come out and do any wiring you need [ they won't go into walls, I don't think. They'll drill through them to get into the house, but they won't rip plaster down and set the cable in the wall ] for free, or for a small fee that would be cheaper then what you'd spend on that splitter alone.



I think with Time Warner they would charge 10 dollars...but they would completly rewire the house if you wanted them to. Amplifiyers and everything included if you require one.



If there is a defect in your line, they'd do it all for 100% free to boot.

Wow that coax is expensive.... If you want I can get 1000 feet coax for 1/3 of that... But you shouldn't need an amplifier, unless you're running a couple hundred feet, but it mainly depends on the source.

Thank you so much for all your comments.

-rcolbert - Thank you for the great advice. Really smart idea about not connecting drops that I won't use. When you talk about non interchangeable ends, are you referring to RG-6 vs RG-59 or something else?

Null - That coax is expensive. I have searched posts here and at hometheater forum. Some ppl say just to get quad shield. Other ppl say not to get the stuff they sell at home depot. I wasn't really sure and I knew that Belden was good and the 1694a is what they recommended on hometheater forum. Do you think it is overkill?

I also have another question? When i go to home depot all teh blue plastic junctions have these huge nails that look like they go into studs. I cannot see a way to attach them to a stud without making a huge hole in teh dry wall. Is there a special kind of junction box that i need to use? I need something to attach to the wall plates. Any pics or links showing what i need would be appreciated.

spatula said:

Thank you so much for all your comments.

-rcolbert - Thank you for the great advice. Really smart idea about not connecting drops that I won't use. When you talk about non interchangeable ends, are you referring to RG-6 vs RG-59 or something else?

Null - That coax is expensive. I have searched posts here and at hometheater forum. Some ppl say just to get quad shield. Other ppl say not to get the stuff they sell at home depot. I wasn't really sure and I knew that Belden was good and the 1694a is what they recommended on hometheater forum. Do you think it is overkill?

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Well I think it might be, I'm not a pro, but I have done a few Dish installs with my dad, and I can get a roll of 1000ft of RG6 coax for 85, and it seems like good stuff, but again I don't know too much about the stuff.

EDIT: About the wall plates, putting in a junction box in an already built house is probably overkill, if not nearly impossible, normally just using nice drywall screws to hold the wall plate on works fine.

spatula said:

I also have another question? When i go to home depot all teh blue plastic junctions have these huge nails that look like they go into studs. I cannot see a way to attach them to a stud without making a huge hole in teh dry wall. Is there a special kind of junction box that i need to use? I need something to attach to the wall plates. Any pics or links showing what i need would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

Is there some reason your gung ho about doing this?


I mean, unless you don't have cable, theres no real reason to deal with the expense and time.


if you have cable they'll do it for cheap as shit, and sometimes even free if the wiring does not meet their current standards.


Brighthouse upgraded my coax cause it was no longer to their standards. So they required the entire house for free, including amps and dedicated dropline for the cable modem.

Those big blue boxes that you are talking about, the j-boxes, are made for "new work". You will want what they call "old work" boxes. These just install by cutting a correctly sized hole in the drywall for the JBox, and the wings will open when you turn down the screws. If there is a Lowes near you, they have a bigger selection of JBoxes around, including low voltage ones made for coax , telephone and ethernet (they are orange in color I believe).