Extending and splitting digital coaxial cable

j4tts

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Im in the process renovating my front and back room into one large room. Sky cable at the moment is coming into the front room from outside.

My dilemma is i want the option, if need be, to move the TV and STB from the front room to the end of the back room and still watch Sky TV. i would need to extend the cable by 9m to back room. I thought i do this before plasterer come in.

Could i fit face plates at either end of the room connected by a digital coaxial cable, and then if i do need to move the TV to the back room connect the outside cable to the face plate
Or extend the cable all the way to the back room and fit a splitter at the front room to feed the STB there

What would be the best way to this and at the same time hide all the cabling behind the floors or under the floor?

Any help would be appreciated. :lease:
Cheers
 
You can't "split" an LNB cable. Your choice is
1. to run another cable from the (quad-output) LNB to the second location
2. to extend the existing cable with a suitable connector and lead
3. to use an LNB switch

I've listed them in order of preference from the point of view of maintaining the best signal. When you are playing with high frequencies, any interruption to the cable can have disastrous consequences on reception.
 
yep, quad lnb is your best bet with 2 cables to each corner of the room. Don't forget about the Telephone wire too!
Cheers, Franc
 
I got the info from this page, by the way:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/split_feed.htm

Good point, Franc. Phone cable extension at both ends of the room is handy. And while you are at it you might like to consider future requirements such as extending the RF output to other rooms. Or using CAT5E for a system like the "Milestone". Or audio extensions. Or even HDMI extensions for when you get a High Definition system.

I've used these modular wall plates myself. Quite versatile:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page15b.htm
 
Oh yeah and if you're thinking of getting Sky+ in the future run 2 cables to each corner of the room. But DON'T use faceplates, Sky will not install their system to installations with faceplates (although some installers break this rule) as it comprimises the signal. Just leave 3' of cable behind the TV.

Also try to avoid unecessary bends in the cable, carpet gripper and anything that is likely to crush the coax (like when placing behind skirting boards at 90 deggre angles etc)

Cheers, Franc
 
SamRadford said:
I got the info from this page, by the way:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/split_feed.htm

I have used that website before. Very informative, but i might go for the option of having a single f-connector wall plate at either end. And when i need to connect to the back room then connect the outside cable to the first plate to send the signal to the back room.

FRANTIC FRANC said:
But DON'T use faceplates, Sky will not install their system to installations with faceplates (although some installers break this rule) as it comprimises the signal. Just leave 3' of cable behind the TV.

I'm not keen on having trailing cables when that side of the room is not going to be used, so i prefer the face plate method. Much cleaner
 
It may be neater but it can lose up to 20% of your signal strength and Sky can refuse to touch the system if you ever need a service call in the future. All you have to to with the cable is pull it back through the wall and tie it up outside when not in use. You can use the faceplate for decorative purposes by just removing the pcb and just poking the wire through the hole.

Cheers, Franc
 

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