Antenna, dish etc. cable (1 Viewer)

[DanMU]

Eventually I'll probably set up a satellite dish and go HDTV but for now I'm using one or two antennas and feeding TV and FM signals to a TV, two SVHS VCRs, a computer (soon two) with TV/FM card (both computers) and a HT receiver. I'll be running antenna cable to two or three locations and splitting further from there to several components. Of course, signal degradation is a concern. I've heard that RG-6 is much better than RG-59 (which I now have), so I'll definitely use RG-6. Doing some research I see that there are different qualities of RG-6 available. Some cheaper stuff uses copper covered steel core, whereas some uses pure copper and you can even get silver core for a premium. I saw 500' of RG-6 at Home Depot selling for $38 and wonder if that would be OK. My runs will be around 50 feet, but then there's the splitting, mostly near the end of the run. My first (two-way) split will be after maybe 25 feet. I figure the Home Depot stuff is the cheapest grade, but don't know. I'll be running the cable from the antenna through a wall into my attic, splitting it there and then through ceilings and along molding to the equipment. Home Depot had black and white (they were out of the white when I was there), and I'd get white if I had a choice because it would look better in the house. Can anyone coach me on the basics? Thanks!

 

[RayJK]

I have about 400'of HD RG6 cable run in my place. Unless you live next to a transmission tower any of them will work just fine. What is more important is how you plan your runs and having a really good amplifier. I would try to keep the splitting to a minimum and use separate runs if possible. There are many good amps that you can get that will take your input and give you anywhere from 3 to 8 or more outputs. The good ones aren't cheap or you can go to Radio Shack and get an inexpensive one that will do the job but just not as well.

Something you may want to look into (I don't know if it will work) is getting a good single input/output amp and then feeding that into a 5x8 powered multiplexer. If this works without having the Sat wires hooked up it will provide you with the multiple outputs you need plus you'll be ready for whenever you get a Sat.