Coaxial Cable - what specs should I be looking for?

I recently had a Comcast tech out to diagnose an issue I was having with a DVR repeatedly freezing. It turned out he had a degree in music production so we actually had a great conversation about music, studios in this era of home studios, etc.

Anyway, when he was a looking at a splitter box that fed off the line that comes into my house from the outside, he noted that this black line is an older capacity cable line. He said it's good enough for now, but said if I ever had the chance I should consider replacing it.

I have a friend who does a lot of contracting work, and we traced that cable through the basement and up through the house to where it comes in, so we have a plan to replace it with new coaxial cable.

When I went to buy the cable from an electronics distributor, I saw a wide, wide variety of coaxial cables with varying references to conductor area, wire gauge, Max Strands x Strand Size, etc.

Can someone school me on what might be the best cable for use in this case? Thanks!

 

Interesting question I'd be curious to read the answer to. However, this should be in Hardware, I think.

 

My rule of thumb: RG 6 is good. It has better sheilding and bit heavier 18 AWG conductor. RG 59 (20 AWG ) should be replaced.

 

Can you see any markings on the existing cable? If it is an "RG-6" type, there isn't much to be gained by replacing it:
RG-6 - Wikipedia

Here is quality RG-6 if you need:
Belden 1694A Cables at Blue Jeans Cable

If it's a long run (over 100'), you might consider RG-11 which has a bit less signal loss. The trade-off is it's thicker and may bind if you're running through tight quarters.

 

I thought of that, but the forum is Audio Hardware so since this is a visual application I placed it here...

And yes, the run will be over 100 feet.

 

I just went down and checked the cable that the tech suggested replacing. On the side is the following specification/identification:

RG 59/U 22 AWG TYPE CL2X/CATV 75 C (UL) E100316

 

When I rewired my house some years back, I had the electrician run two runs of RG6 from a wiring closet to each room which might ever need video. I used the cable Apesbrain recommended, in fact: Belden 1694a has great bandwidth. Your major expense will be the labor of installation; makes sense to spend a little more and get great stuff. ( You might want to pull a run of Cat 6 as well; it's cheap, and I don't trust the security of wireless networks--I have a wired network at home.) Leviton makes a neat wiring closet to organize your video, phone and Ethernet systems.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IYXBKS...t=&hvlocphy=9010692&hvtargid=pla-307093599547

Another advantage of 1694a is that if you have some left over (you probably will) you can make some excellent audio interconnects by terminating the cable with Canare RCA plugs like this one:

Canare RCAP-C53 RCA Crimp Plug fits Belden 1694A or 9116 or 9066

I don't pretend to be a 'golden-ear' audiophile that can hear the difference between interconnects, but I'm satisfied that these interconnects make an excellent connection both electrically and mechanically.

Also, the run from my satellite dish to my wiring closet was about 100', so I did use RG11 for that run. Thicker and stiffer than RG6, but did the job wonderfully.

 

I run a 60-year old motel. A few years back, we switched our Comcast TV from analog over to digital. Part of our agreement was for them to replace the entire RG59/U cabling over to Cat6. They did not do what we agreed to. The next few weeks were a nightmare, as was spending 45-minutes of my time dealing with their "Comcastic" customer service.

Since I had 30-days to cancel the agreement, I did.

I had a company come out and rewire the entire building with Cat6 cabling, and signed a two year agreement with DirecTV.

Their digital picture was flawless and I could just dial their 800 # and get right through to tech support, and I have more channels including 16-premium channels, for less money.

Your current company has probably converted over to digital, which uses more bandwith than the older analog systems.

That is why you are having issues with your old coax. Besides that, it is OLD.

 

Def get rid of the rg-59. You'd be surprised at the issues it causes. Also when you do replace the cable make sure you use a fitting with a compression tool to prevent leakage. I generally try to eliminate 59 whenever I can in a customers house.

 

Great info - thanks!!!

 

Swap it out to RG6 but if you still have DVR problems, install an amp down in the basement where the cable comes into the house. It used to be that the optimal power was about 5-15 dBm at your DVR input so make sure the amp has variable gain and is bi-directional (so you can communicate back through it).

 

I do know one of these is installed in the basement...

 

Use RG6 Quad Shield cable. RG11 is really only used for very long runs such as the major trunk cables running the entire height highrise apartment buildings, off of which RG6 is used to run laterally on each level.

RG59 should be replaced with RG6 whenever is can be.

 

Instead of having a great conversation about music, the Comcast guy should have replaced the RG59 with RG6. If you're paying for digital cable service and DVR service, it's on the company to properly install or replace the lines, especially if they have to come out and service something. Also, especially with older wire, splitters can knock down the signal and they should be replaced if old. That's what you're paying them for.

 

I don't know if they would take responsibility for the entire line running from entry to the house by our garage, through garage walls, down into the basement, and then across to the splitter. I'm pretty comfortable with simply leaving the old line in place - as it's stapled in some pretty inaccessible locations - and doing the entirely new run with my contractor friend.