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DirectTV / DishNetwork with Old Cabel

post #1 of 5
7/20/09 at 6:27pm
Thread Starter 
Hi there,

My house was built in 1990, I recently get (both) the DirectTV and DishNetwork guys over to install the service for me.  But both of the installers are saying that the cable of my house is too old.  They require something like Cat-6 to get it to work with their new equipment.  They offer to rewire the cabel of my house... BUT, it's a MAJOR operation!  And it'll require knocking down several big holes on multiple walls and patching it.  I really don't want to mess with all these operation.  


I want to check with members here to see if you've experience the same situation before.  Are there any other way that I can get this to work without doing a big operation on my house?  Any tricks that I can apply?  Or I have to bit the bullet to do the hard way?....

Please let me know what you think.  Or you want any more info from me.

Thanks,
Bob

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post #2 of 5
7/20/09 at 7:15pm
The coaxial cable is RG-6.  Your house is probably wired with RG-59.  Both will carry the same frequencies but since the receivers send voltage to the dish and multi-switches, RG-6 is better because it has a thicker center conductor.  RG-59 works in most cases but it is not 100% on long runs.  Neither satellite company will guarantee an install with RG-59.

Is your old cable tacked to the wall studs?  If not, tape a new cable to the old one and pull it up the wall into the attic or down into the basement.  In some cases, you may have to knock a hole in the drywall.  Install it yourself and it will be much cheaper.  Once you patch the hole, go ahead and re-paint the room.

-Robert
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post #3 of 5
7/20/09 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Robert,

Thank you for the reply!  The way how our house setup is kind of difficult to rewire the whole thing...  Wires are cross between the ceiling of the basement and the top floor... and it's not that easy to just fish them out... I'll have to take down many area of the house.  OR I'll have to cross new wires around the house and dig new holes around different part of the house.  I just want to find a better/lazy way to get this done...  It seems like I don't have much choice here.

I'm just surprise that they don't think too much of the backward compatibility when they launch the new wire type.  I bet that I'm not the only one facing this situation.  I'm surprise that there's not even any converter or repeater available for this situation...

Thanks,
Bob
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post #4 of 5
7/21/09 at 5:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDFan View Post
I'm just surprise that they don't think too much of the backward compatibility when they launch the new wire type.  I bet that I'm not the only one facing this situation.  I'm surprise that there's not even any converter or repeater available for this situation...
 
It's not compatibility, it's physics.  When the DBS (direct broadcast satellite) systems were designed back in the late 80's/early 90's, they all needed to have a two way communiction with the dish.  DirecTV sends a 12v or 18v signal back to the dish to tell the LNB (low noise block) to pick up right hand polarized signals or left hand polarized signals.  RG-59 with its smaller center conducter had too much resistance.  The 18v signal would be 16 or even 15v.  The LNB will sometimes see that as the 12v signal and tune in the wrong group of signals.  If your coax runs are short, there should be very little, if any, voltage drop.

If you really want satellite TV, you will probably have to install it yourself.  It is not difficult.  In fact, there are forums just like this one dedicated to only satellite systems.  DBS Talk and Satellite Guys dot US are two of my favorites.  They can guide you through the installation and troubleshooting process.  And you will have to troubleshoot your own problems since it was a DIY installation. 

-Robert
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post #5 of 5
7/21/09 at 4:32pm
Thread Starter 
Woww Robert!  Thank you so much for the explanation!  I'm glad that I come here!  Thank you!  I'll look around for more info.  I thought it's just a simple switch :)
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