RG6 Coax grades 2

[rustyhooks]

I am looking at replacing the RG59 coax in my home. I want to upgrade to RG6. Radio Shack has RG6 for 23 cents a foot. The local building supply house has it for 9 cents a foot. What is the difference between the two? Is one name brand and the other generic? Are they of the same quality?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

One is sold by Radio Shack... what other difference do you need for the price difference?


Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[Comcokid]

Generally, many of the RG-59 "mass consumer" coax is low cost, and frequently low quality. Many RG 6 types are not much better. Depends upon what you are trying to achieve.

The questions come up:
A) Where are you putting the coax (indoor, outdoor, in the wall, in the attic)?
B)What kind of signal is the coax for(TV, Cable, CB, Satellite)?
C)Why do you feel you need to change from RG 59 to RG 6 (less attenuation/foot, environmental ruggedness, give the squirrls more to chew on, CB with a big honking linear amp)?

 

[rustyhooks]

We will use the coax for regular cable tv and high speed internet. However, while I'm undertaking this effort, it would be nice to run a better cable (assuming RG6 is better)for possible digital cable service in the future.

The thing that started all this is an intermittent cable modem connection/poor picture on lower end stations. The cable tv wiring in my house is pathetic. Splits off of splits, poor quality connectors etc. I'm OK with leaving the R59 in place as long as it's ok for the digital/broadband signal.

 

[VEBill]

The best you can do for 'future-proofing' your 75-ohm coax installation is to procure minimum 2.2-GHz rated and quad-shield. This stuff is used for satellite TV installations and is available very cheap. One thousand foot roll should be roughly Cdn$60 (~US$50) - plus or minus recent price changes.

The GHz rating might be important in the mid-term as the Cable Co.s try to squeeze more digital channels down the pipe to your set-top boxes. Old low-end RG-59 combined with long runs might eventually become a limitation.

Nice RG-6 connectors, and the tools to install them, can very easily exceed the price of all the cable in your house.

 

[ksbob]

Some recommendations and thoughts:
1. Home run all the cables to a common point and install a suitable splitter there. If possible locate it inside where AC power is available, so you can install an a signal amplifier if neeeded.

2. Use a good grade of RG-6 with good shielding. Quad shield is best (be sure you get connectors designed for it)but nothing less than 90%. RG-59 is fine for analog and digital as long as the runs are short (<25ft). Only difference between the two is attenuation (assuming same shielding).

If you're having problems with lower channels, I would suspect a bad splitter, bad connector, damaged cable or incorrect signal levels from your cable tv co. Most typical cause is corroded or water damaged fittings or cable.

 

[rustyhooks]

ksbob,

Thanks for the recommendations. Actually, Saturday I ran new RG6 (60% shielded) coax throughout the house. I came off the Charter cable Extreme Broadband 2-way splitter outside the house (at the box) and ran one leg directly to the cable modem. The other leg went to a high quality 4-way splitter and attached them to the TVs via the "home run" configuration you mentioned. My intermittent cable modem and snowy pictures on the lower channels is a thing of the past. Other than the lower grade shielding on my coax, your tips were right on. Thanks. Under the old configuration, I had four two-way splitters in the attic. I don't know what the previous owner/builder was thinking.

 

[VEBill]

"RG6 (60% shielded) coax"

60%? I hope that is a typo.


I thought that I had future-proofed my house by installing 1/2-inch conduit. Next time I'll install 3-inch conduit.

 

[rustyhooks]

Radio Shack had "60% sheilded" on their box of Coax @ 23 cents a foot. However, my local building supply had RG6 for 9 cents a foot. Printed on the side of the 9 cent a foot coax is "60%". I am going on the assumption that is the sheilding spec. I may be wrong.

 

[VEBill]

60% is pretty low. If you see ghosting on over-the-air channels used locally you'll know why.