Directv denied...Has anyone replaced there own old wiring with new in an existing setup?

[FearTheVoices]

Directv went to my moms house to install and denied her to due the fact her whole house would need to be rewired(its only 15yrs old) They said something along the lines of RG6 cable or something was needed. So my questions..

Have any of you done this before? Swapped out old cable with new? I do commercial HVAC and has fished/snaked a lot of wire but not through residential houses. What are the chances of snipping the connector off at the end wherever the jacks exist and tie the newer cable onto it and then pulling from the opposite end. The house is pretty straight forward and there shouldnt be many turns and such. Just thinking about doing it, she needs to get out of the grips of comcast and the $160 a month crap.

Second question...What exact cable specs do i need and where do you recommend to buy it for a good price(monoprice?)

thanks for any help/suggestions..

 

[Mr Tony]

sounds like she got a bad installer. I thought new cabling was included....fishing it through the walls usually isnt

RG6 rated up to 3Ghz (or at minimum 2.2Ghz) is fine.

You could snip the end or put an end on the new cable and a barrel connector to fish it through

 

[Hutch1814]

You got a horrible installer. This is part of the install, Iceberg is correct, the only part is wall fishes which varies depending on contractor/installer. I would call them back and make them do it, it's what you're paying for for the next 24 months

 

[FearTheVoices]

Thanks for for the replies but I am confused now.

They can't be horrible installers if they chose not to install because of having to fish walls correct? You both seem to call them bad installer but then say they are not required to fish walls?

Bottom line though would the service still work with the existing cable? It's not as good of a quality or something?

My mom is 63 and hates talking to these people on the phone because she has an accent since she is from europe(been I the USA for 40+ years). It's funny to hear her and then she bitches about the Pakistanis or Indians on the other end that she can't understand lol.

anyway..I am going over Friday night to install her new tv she bought. She was really excited about directv after I built it up for her and showed her the guides and stuff compared to her 10yr old Motorola Comcast box.

I will probably give directv a call myself and see what they say, they should have notes from the installer correct?

 

[Mr Tony]

If they have to fish cable from say the attic down the walls to wall plates...yes that is extra but should have been explained to your mother and how much it would be...
If they have to go a few feet (like say 5 feet) then it should be fine and should be included.

Honestly it sounds like a lazy installer.

There is older RG6 that isnt rated for high enough frequencies that Directv uses. I assume she is getting HD?
Unless the tech actually removed the wall plate and saw what the cable rating was he wouldnt know.

It all depends on setup. If there are splitters everywhere then yes its just easier to start from scratch as its a PITA to search for splitters. (Directv cant have splitters in line unless its the one from the LNB to go to separate rooms)

 

[navychop]

So maybe it IS RG-59. Not hard to fish, I've always fished my own. Maybe you could go do it for her and have the outlets exactly where you want them, and speed the install.

I HATE and will not tolerate coax hanging outside my house. But it's easiest for an installer to drill a hole thru the wall from outside. Only gets "non-routine" when he drills thru an unexpected 120 line.

 

[FearTheVoices]

She currently has Comcast hd in the upstairs living room. However! We have been slowly refinishing her base,ent for the.ast 3yrs and it is finally done(hence the new purchase!) the electrician that did the wiring did the noire basement including the coax cable. I am starting to think after your last comments that he probably told her the cable in the newLy finished basement was wrong/cheap. The cable he put in is only 2yrs old...i will take some numbers off it Friday and see exactly what it it,not here is about 3 feet of it sticking out the wall so he obviously had to have seen it.


The living room upstairs is hd as I said earlier, but she is not going to have a tv up stairs anymore in the living room. The only other tv was on the second floor which was not hd. I'll tell her Friday I'll buy the cable,patch Sheetrock, and painting just to get this done..I feel bad she ent 3k almost on a tv and now she she is stuck with this UI from 2005...

if any of this is typed wrong Or sounds messed up its cause i am on my iPad

 

[FearTheVoices]

So maybe it IS RG-59. Not hard to fish, I've always fished my own. Maybe you could go do it for her and have the outlets exactly where you want them, and speed the install.

I HATE and will not tolerate coax hanging outside my house. But it's easiest for an installer to drill a hole thru the wall from outside. Only gets "non-routine" when he drills thru an unexpected 120 line.

Its funny you say that, the basement tv line could run down the back of the house, the kitchen one she wants could be done the same way and then come around the side of the house under the deck and into the kitchen as the all is adjoining. The second floor one could go straight through the roof and into the second floor bedroom?

Many options I guess.. I'll give direct tv a call and see if maybe they can have somewhat meet me out there this weekend just for a chat to see where we could compromise maybe. I'll do this and they do the rest maybe

 

[charper1]

you are aware that the guys that come out do so because there is a workorder (for install work) and that they are contractors that work for a local or regional company; not DirecTV?

if you want something special done that isn't covered under the freebie install; you would be best to do it all yourself in advance or call a local guy you may have to pay separately to assist you.

 

[FearTheVoices]

you are aware that the guys that come out do so because there is a workorder (for install work) and that they are contractors that work for a local or regional company; not DirecTV?

if you want something special done that isn't covered under the freebie install; you would be best to do it all yourself in advance or call a local guy you may have to pay separately to assist you.

Ya I realize that..I was a contractor for many years. My original question was basically about doing it myself and how
much the Cable cost and where to get it. Then we got into this discussion

 

[charper1]

OK, with some of the questions and confusion it didnt sound that way. to avoid any possible install quality discussion down the road its hard to NOT do their freebie install, but I hear ya if you want something special.

 

[mjitkop]

Ya I realize that..I was a contractor for many years. My original question was basically about doing it myself and how
much the Cable cost and where to get it. Then we got into this discussion

FearTheVoices, I sent you a private message with a link to a web site that I suggest for purchasing RG6 cable. I'm too lazy right now to go and read the forum rules to see if posting a link to a web site is considered advertising.

I'm glad I found this thread because I am thinking of rewiring my house too before I call DirecTV to get HD finally. Apparently, if they have to fish through walls, they won't do it. I will probably do it myself then before making an installation appointment.

Thank you.

 

[Hutch1814]

FearTheVoices, I sent you a private message with a link to a web site that I suggest for purchasing RG6 cable. I'm too lazy right now to go and read the forum rules to see if posting a link to a web site is considered advertising.

I'm glad I found this thread because I am thinking of rewiring my house too before I call DirecTV to get HD finally. Apparently, if they have to fish through walls, they won't do it. I will probably do it myself then before making an installation appointment.

Thank you.

They'll do it. It's just not standard installation. It's something that cost extra.

 

[charper1]

FearTheVoices, I sent you a private message with a link to a web site that I suggest for purchasing RG6 cable. I'm too lazy right now to go and read the forum rules to see if posting a link to a web site is considered advertising.

I'm glad I found this thread because I am thinking of rewiring my house too before I call DirecTV to get HD finally. Apparently, if they have to fish through walls, they won't do it. I will probably do it myself then before making an installation appointment.

Thank you.

Links to items are OK

MONOPRICE.COM 1000ft RG6, Quad Shield, CL2 Bulk Cable - Black | RG6 Bulk Cables

 

[upsss]

Directv went to my moms house to install and denied her to due the fact her whole house would need to be rewired(its only 15yrs old) They said something along the lines of RG6 cable or something was needed. So my questions..

Have any of you done this before? Swapped out old cable with new? I do commercial HVAC and has fished/snaked a lot of wire but not through residential houses. What are the chances of snipping the connector off at the end wherever the jacks exist and tie the newer cable onto it and then pulling from the opposite end. The house is pretty straight forward and there shouldnt be many turns and such. Just thinking about doing it, she needs to get out of the grips of comcast and the $160 a month crap.

Second question...What exact cable specs do i need and where do you recommend to buy it for a good price(monoprice?)

thanks for any help/suggestions..

You may consider Dish Network (Directv's competitor). Their new system will work with RG59 cable except where the Main receiver "Hopper" is installed and Dish will wire that receiver with RG6 without extra charge.

Fishing new cables by pulling them with the old cable may not be that simple, especially if they are the original cables installed when the house was built. Most of the time these cables are stapled to the stud next to the wall plate. In addition, many times multiple cables run through multiple holes in the stubs and you may not be able to pull the cable with the connector.

 

[FearTheVoices]

You may consider Dish Network (Directv's competitor). Their new system will work with RG59 cable except where the Main receiver "Hopper" is installed and Dish will wire that receiver with RG6 without extra charge.

Fishing new cables by pulling them with the old cable may not be that simple, especially if they are the original cables installed when the house was built. Most of the time these cables are stapled to the stud next to the wall plate. In addition, many times multiple cables run through multiple holes in the stubs and you may not be able to pull the cable with the connector.

Dish is always my choice over directv and I have it myself. I actually just upgraded from the 922 to the hopper system today and love it . However, there are trillions of trees blocking her view of dishes satellites, absolutely no chance of dish ever pretty much. Directv though has a perfect Line of site with nothing In the way at all

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

directv is not required to wall fish, if the customer requests it it is at the discretion of the tech whether he wants to attempt it or not. Some techs are not comfortable wall fishing. Alot could go wrong in different circumstances, dont forget if something goes wrong, its on the tech, not the company. The contractor i work for via comcast does not do wall fishing period. Comcast offers it for close to 60$ a line, but my contractor is back its techs to refuse to do that particular work, it comes down to whose insurance covers it, and as posted previously, wall fishing is not part of a "Standard" install anywhere.

 

[FearTheVoices]

She texted me last night and said Comcast wants $110 to put the connectors at each end of the new cable downstairs and
liven up one of the dieting jacks in the kitchen!

I am going to call directv today and see if they can meet me out there Friday evening

 

[FearTheVoices]

Called them up this morning and they are going to send a supervisor out tomorrow between 12-5. Hopefully the guy will be able to figure something out.

 

[navychop]

Dish is always my choice over directv and I have it myself. I actually just upgraded from the 922 to the hopper system today and love it . However, there are trillions of trees blocking her view of dishes satellites, absolutely no chance of dish ever pretty much. Directv though has a perfect Line of site with nothing In the way at all

If you're getting 110 & 119 with D* maybe you could get WA with E* 110/119/129.