how to? installing coax lines

[engineerdoe]

Sept 22, 2017 13:51:33 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I got this one - link

the brand was highly recommended by a few friends whose technical opinions I trust, but they were all in the 25 mile range of products. I'm farther out. this one had great reviews as well. 

I'll be installing it outside on a lot point on the back roof. the house faces south, so that should aim the antenna north toward Boston. we'll see how it goes this weekend, I guess. 

Thanks.  I have some PBS channels I'm trying to get from another state so this range would work well for me.  Now to figure out how to position the antenna to get the ABC station whose broadcast antenna is north-east of me when all the others are south-east.

[chiver78]

good luck! 

[CCL]

Sept 22, 2017 7:52:34 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Sept 22, 2017 0:05:51 GMT -5 CCL said:

As long as your signal is strong you should be able to use a splitter to separate the incoming line. Run one to the antenna, then from antennae to the line that feeds the tvs. The second line from the splitter connects to your modem, then wireless router. Then you set up the fire stick on your network, enter passwords, etc. and you should be ll set. We have a better tv signal now than we ever did with Comcrap. 

this confused me. my installation instructions for the antenna say coax goes from the antenna to the amplifier and from the amplifier to the tv. I would imagine I could take the line from the amplifier and feed the whole house <somehow> but I can't mess with the line coming in from the street because internet.

My amplifier/signal booster is part of the antenna. I have 1 line coming into the house. Then I put a splitter on it, which splits it into 2 lines, 1 to router/internet, the other to the antenna/tvs.

I've never had 2 lines coming into the house. Comcrap would probably charge me double for that lol. I suppose if the signal coming in is weak you would need 2 lines, but mine is plenty strong enough even being split.

I've never seen a router that has a coax connection to run the tv too. Or is it connected via Ethernet or something? I'll have to look that up just to educate myself.

[CCL]

Sept 22, 2017 13:51:33 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I got this one - link

the brand was highly recommended by a few friends whose technical opinions I trust, but they were all in the 25 mile range of products. I'm farther out. this one had great reviews as well. 

I'll be installing it outside on a lot point on the back roof. the house faces south, so that should aim the antenna north toward Boston. we'll see how it goes this weekend, I guess. 

That antenna is completely different from mine. Mine's a little flat thing, about the size of my tablet.

[chiver78]

Sept 23, 2017 16:38:57 GMT -5 CCL said:

Sept 22, 2017 7:52:34 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

this confused me. my installation instructions for the antenna say coax goes from the antenna to the amplifier and from the amplifier to the tv. I would imagine I could take the line from the amplifier and feed the whole house <somehow> but I can't mess with the line coming in from the street because internet.

My amplifier/signal booster is part of the antenna. I have 1 line coming into the house. Then I put a splitter on it, which splits it into 2 lines, 1 to router/internet, the other to the antenna/tvs.

I've never had 2 lines coming into the house. Comcrap would probably charge me double for that lol. I suppose if the signal coming in is weak you would need 2 lines, but mine is plenty strong enough even being split.

I've never seen a router that has a coax connection to run the tv too. Or is it connected via Ethernet or something? I'll have to look that up just to educate myself.

why would you need to run coax from the router to a tv? the tv would have coax from a wall jack, usually

[chiver78]

Sept 23, 2017 16:53:56 GMT -5 CCL said:

Sept 22, 2017 13:51:33 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I got this one - link

the brand was highly recommended by a few friends whose technical opinions I trust, but they were all in the 25 mile range of products. I'm farther out. this one had great reviews as well. 

I'll be installing it outside on a lot point on the back roof. the house faces south, so that should aim the antenna north toward Boston. we'll see how it goes this weekend, I guess. 

That antenna is completely different from mine. Mine's a little flat thing, about the size of my tablet.

yeah, I live too far away from the broadcast cities to do something small and delicate lol...

[gambler]

you can use an a/b switch, the only issue will be you will need to move the switch from one position to the other(physically). i have my  internet on the A side, local antenna on B

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Sept 23, 2017 16:38:57 GMT -5 CCL said:

Sept 22, 2017 7:52:34 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

this confused me. my installation instructions for the antenna say coax goes from the antenna to the amplifier and from the amplifier to the tv. I would imagine I could take the line from the amplifier and feed the whole house <somehow> but I can't mess with the line coming in from the street because internet.

My amplifier/signal booster is part of the antenna. I have 1 line coming into the house. Then I put a splitter on it, which splits it into 2 lines, 1 to router/internet, the other to the antenna/tvs.

I've never had 2 lines coming into the house. Comcrap would probably charge me double for that lol. I suppose if the signal coming in is weak you would need 2 lines, but mine is plenty strong enough even being split.

I've never seen a router that has a coax connection to run the tv too. Or is it connected via Ethernet or something? I'll have to look that up just to educate myself.

If I understand Chiver correctly, she is trying to use Comcrap ONLY for internet access and is trying to use the antenna to catch the "free" tv signals out in the air.  Comcrap won't share their cable/line with free stuff, so she must have 2 lines coming into the house:  one for the Comcrap and one for the antenna.  Now she is trying to figure out how to get the antenna line into several televisions.  There will be no Ethernet connection for the antenna -- it is simply grabbing the tv signals from nearby stations so no internet connection for the antenna line.  She will use her Comcrap wifi for Netflix, Hulu, etc., but that is all separate from the antenna purpose.     

[chiver78]

exactly. and I think we figured out how to roughly accomplish that. apparently my roommate used to play music with an A/V dork (his words) that he's going to call this week to come do the work. hopefully this will be all set soon!

[bookkeeper]

How many tv sets are you wanting to serve with this off air antennae? Depending on your signal strength, you may find it more economical to buy a second indoor antennae for an upper floor than to run new coax cable through your house.  The indoor off air antennae run about $20.  RG-6 coax cable runs about $.20 a foot.  The longer your cable runs are and the more connections you make on that coax cable, the less signal strength you will have.  Don't cheap out and buy RG-5 cable, the RG-6 is heavier and will carry your signal better.

Another poster claimed that there is no electricity in coax.  That is true until you plug in the amplifier.  Then it is energized with low voltage electricity.  Be sure to make tight connections that are waterproof in any outdoor situation.  Silicone caulk is what you want to use with any outdoor coax connections to insure the waterproof connection.

Also make sure that you have this entire assembly electrically grounded.  You can run a ground wire from a coax grounding block to a copper pipe, to the electrical panel or to a ground rod outdoors.  A grounding block looks just like a barrel connector, with mounting holes and a screw to hold the ground wire.  Ungrounded tv assemblies can result in interference from appliances, such as microwave ovens, hair dryers, and the neighbor's garage door opener. It can also carry a lighting strike or other electrical mishap straight to your electronics.

Your shopping list should include a coax crimping tool, F-connectors, RG-6 coax cable, a grounding block, copper wire for the grounding block, and any barrel connectors you may need to accomplish the install.  I personally don't care for the twist on or push on F-connectors because they eventually pull apart.

If you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore or similar outlet, be sure to shop there.  You may find what you need for cheap!

DH and I had a side hustle installing satellite dishes in the '90s when the small ones were first out.  Sorry I am too far away to bring my tools on over!

[chiver78]

wow, thanks for all the detail. the first quick answer is two tvs on the first floor. there is a tv upstairs, but he most likely wouldn't use it much even if connected. there's also a Sling subscription for most of what we watch. I just like the local news once in awhile.

will reread the rest of your post later on. just passing through right now!

[CCL]

Sept 22, 2017 8:36:10 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

If you have 2 sources you need to switch between them. Can't connect them together. A splitter isn't a switch or isolater.

You are correct about leaving the incoming line alone. It caries tv, internet and phone signals which are separated in the modem (their box). Some modems have the router for internet built in. There should be a coax connector for tv. That's where you can split it to many tv's.

This confused me. I thought he was talking about a coax from the router. 

Regardless, hopefully you got everything connected and are enjoying your new antenna.

[chiver78]

I forgot to report back last weekend. the AV guru came by and reminded me that I'm looking to basically install a lightning rod on my house, and that it does need to be grounded. so I have an electrician coming out this weekend to do that. if we can't figure out the best angle to point the thing after everything is wired up, we'll bring back the AV guru to help. I'm hoping it isn't too difficult.