Wrong Cables Used in New Build

Lee_Harris

Hello,
My wife and I have just bought a new build property and have recently gone through the snag list.

We have since found out that CCTV cable has been used for all 4 TV ports instead of TV cable. This means that the cable is not powerful enough to support all the channels and in bad weather the whole signal is lost.

The current suggestion is to put a booster in place to improve the issue but it's not guaranteed to work and will more than likely increase our electricity bill.

We are not happy about this issue as we had to pay for extra ports which now don't work. Am I well with in my rights to ask for the correct wire to be installed even though these means having to rip open all the walls and floors the cables run through?

Any advice is welcome.

System

What spec did you request for the extra cabling?

dimbo61

TV cable !
Sky and most of the other TV channel providers are moving towards broadband for TV supply.
Think sky Q and Netflix streaming

G_M

If you paid for this, and it was clearly TV cable you paid for, then clearly you can require tthe installer/developer to re-install with the correct cable.


And make good any damage.


Can they not tie the right cabl to the end of the current wron ones, and then pull it through? That's what my sparkie did when he re-wired my house, rather than cutting into plaster etc.

noh

What is "CCTV" cable?
Do you know the specification of the cable that has been used?
Usually with new builds the coax cables from the various rooms are routed to the loft and are left un-terminated. It is then the buyers responsibility to get an aerial and distribution amplifier fitted.
I doubt that with a properly specced and installed aerial and distribution amplifier that it would make any difference, over the relatively short runs used, whether "CCTV" maybe RG59 or "TV" maybe RG6 cable was used.
Who installed the aerial and has a distribution amplifier also been installed?

Tiexen

sounds like:


RG59 cable has been around for a long time. This cable used to be what most people used for their cable TV connection and is very commonly installed in older homes and commercial buildings. However, many modern signal requirements have made this cable less popular in the last few years. RG 59 has a smaller conductor than RG 6, which means that it can't achieve the same signal quality as RG 6. The way its shielding is designed also means that it doesn't keep Gigahertz level signals inside the conductor very well. This is why RG 59 probably isn't a good choice for your TV or internet connection.

GrumpyDil

:(That said, unless you can show that you specified a certain type of cable i suspect you will find it very hard to argue the point as odds are that you have an aerial cable, just not the latest spec.

As regards the cost of running a signal booster it uses a very small amount of power so I can't see that having any noticeable impact on your bill. We have a masthead amp to boost the initial tv signal and a distribution box to feed the signal to 6 outputs and that seems to work ok.

ComicGeek

That's annoying, as the cost of RG 6 is very similar now to RG 59. However, it is a thicker cable and it can be more difficult installing RG 6 if routes aren't considered early on - a lot of contractors still install RG 59 to make their installation easier, or just use whatever is left on their vans.

But unless it is a really large house with long cable runs (and installed close to other electrical cables) you shouldn't lose the signal completely - what are you using in terms of digital aerial? Without a decent aerial, even the best cable won't help much. Most new builds wouldn't include a digital aerial, but would expect you to fit this yourself.

stator

CCTV cable can be very poor, but you need to find out exactly what cable has been installed. Who has told you it is CCTV?

If you have one aerial and want multiple TV points, then you really should have an amplified splitter. A passive splitter would give you a weak signal in all rooms. You want something like this: https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-ldl204lr-4-way-distribution-amplifier/1213x

If the cable they really used is poor then you should ask them to replace it with WF100 or better. This is the standard cable used for freeview installations and isn't that expensive. In most cases it should be possible to pull the new cable through the wall using the old cable. But if there are tight corners this won't be possible.

A_Nice_Englishman

Presumably all the cables from the aerial and the room sockets terminate in the loft space?

Connect the cable from the aerial directly to that from one of the room sockets using good quality connectors. If that provides good reception of all channels under all weather conditions you know the aerial and cabling are adequate.

As others have said, you will need a distribution amplifier to run four outlets from one aerial.

Did the builders arrange the whole lot including the aerial or just the cabling?

ToasterScheme

A_Nice_Englishman wrote: »

As others have said, you will need a distribution amplifier to run four outlets from one aerial.

^^Worth saying again.

You're asking for trouble trying to run 4 TV ports from a single feed without an amplifier at all. This sounds like what your set up is.

That sort of thing might have worked in the olden days when a weak analogue signal meant a few speckles. But a weak digital signal means nothing at all.

If you're not actually using all four ports I'd be tempted to go up to the loft and disconnect any that you don't need. Sharing 1 between 3 will be better than 1 between 4 and might just give you what you need. [Still assuming you don't already have an amplifier in the loft.]