RF Cable?

JF1980

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I'm going to install the cabling for my HD box this weekend. Any ideas where I'll be able to pick up decent RF cable for a reasonable price? I'll need to run two 35-40m lines around the house to my living room and then an extra 20m line to the main living room as my dad has just brought a HD box to replace his standard box.

I was looking at this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=278&doy=12m1#overview

But at £1.49/m it's going to cost me a fortune! Any cheaper places in London where I would be able to pickup tomorrow? Do I need high quality cable or does it not really make any difference?

I'm also going to replace the standard single feed LNB with a quad feed model. Anything I need to know about alignment or is it just a case of removing the old one and sticking the new one in it's place?

Thanks :)
 
Think I just answered my own question. Screwfix do 100m reels for either £16.97 or £32.30 -- is it worth getting the more expensive cable?

They also have a satellite finder for £14.
 
Personally, I think it's worthwhile getting good RF cable. Those 100m rolls are designed for builders putting in lots of short runs, whereas your 40m long runs are going to suffer a fair amount of loss. Then you've got RF shielding to deal with, all of which adds up. Unfortunately, the general rule is the longer the run, the better the cable has to be.

Either way, don't forget you'll need matching F-connectors for both ends. The screw-on variety are the easiest (especially if you can't solder) and there are lots of specific sizes to exactly match the cable. Some proper outdoor tape is needed on the LNB end too in order to keep out the rain.

Other tips when replacing the LNB... don't move the dish! A knock in any direction and you could lose everything. A £14 satellite finder is unlikely to help either (and it has to be a digital model).
 
You are probably going to need the dual cable in any case, (which Maplin does stock) otherwise you will only have one tuner working.
 
You dont need dual cable (Shotgun) it cost's more but it will look neater. As said above make sure you get a quality cable.

CX100 (Foam dialectric) Over 30 meter runs
CT100 / H109F for runs shorter than 30 meters

When installing the cable be carefull not to over bend, kink or dent the cable and dont hammer the clips in to tight as this will have a bad effect on your signal.

Good luck :)
 

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