Help me wire my house...

[justinbaker]

new member here, and looks to be alot of good info on this site

anyways im going to order dishnetwork, but i need to wire my house first.

I know i could let them do it, but i dont want cables running on my baseboards and what not. I want to fish the line through the walls.


here is the layout of my house.

I want The HDtv with dvr and the tv with dvr to share the same box (722)
then have the other 2 tv's wired as well.

so what im wondering is how this all needs to be done so its ready to go for the dish installer. And what side of the house are they likely to install it?

and what else am i overlooking/forgetting


thanks!!!

 

[osu1991]

The dish will need to see S to SW. I would pick out a closet or the garage and make a home run from each location to that location, so you have access to the cables.

I would run 4 rg6 to the main hdtv, ( 2 for the satellite, 1 for the OTA and 1 for the back feed). I would run phone and/or ethernet to that location as well while your doing it. I would then run 2 rg6 to each of the other rooms from wherever you central location is and then run at least 2 and maybe 3 outside to the dish location.

 

[delta_charlie]

Hi, you might want to try and get the installer to come out and survey for LOS (Line of sight) first. The dishes will have to be mounted with clear view to the south east and south west depending on what services you plan to get.

Talk to the installer and find out how they plan to run the coax. Perhaps if you are not happy with the proposal you can reschedule and maybe get a different installer that might be more willing to work with you. Or do the inside work your self after learning how the installer wants to do it.

Hope that helps, DC

 

[justinbaker]

The dish will need to see S to SW. I would pick out a closet or the garage and make a home run from each location to that location, so you have access to the cables.

I would run 4 rg6 to the main hdtv, ( 2 for the satellite, 1 for the OTA and 1 for the back feed). I would run phone and/or ethernet to that location as well while your doing it. I would then run 2 rg6 to each of the other rooms from wherever you central location is and then run at least 2 and maybe 3 outside to the dish location.

damn really that many. i know im ignorant when it comes to satellite, but 1 cable from the dish wont work?

 

[osu1991]

You are looking at more problems if you use 1. You would have to use diplexers and separators to split and combine all the signals. The 722 has 2 sat tuners, 1 over the air tuner, and then the backfeed for the other tv's. It is much easier if you have individual runs for each of those. You can use 3 and use a dish separator to separate the satellite feed at the receiver, but i would still use separate wire runs for the antenna and the backfeed.

 

[justinbaker]

You are looking at more problems if you use 1. You would have to use diplexers and separators to split and combine all the signals. The 722 has 2 sat tuners, 1 over the air tuner, and then the backfeed for the other tv's. It is much easier if you have individual runs for each of those. You can use 3 and use a dish separator to separate the satellite feed at the receiver, but i would still use separate wire runs for the antenna and the backfeed.

so what is the OTA tuner for? wont i get all the channels i need from the satellite


again sorry for the noobish questions

 

[Symbol]

ota(over the air) is to pick up local tv stations in digital near you using a local tv antenna,people use ota to get their local channels in HD or if dish doesnt provide your local channels

 

[Laddyboy]

ota(over the air) is to pick up local tv stations in digital near you using a local tv antenna,people use ota to get their local channels in HD or if dish doesnt provide your local channels

And gives you the ability to record 4 channels at once if you have a 722k. You also need to take into account that sometimes cables fail. It's better to run too many cables than not enough. I ran an extra cable to each location in my house and had to use the extra living room cable a couple weeks ago when the Dish cable to the 722 receiver there failed for some reason. I just switched to the extra cable and all was well. I'll try to find out what went wrong when I have some time later this fall.

 

[justinbaker]

And gives you the ability to record 4 channels at once if you have a 722k. You also need to take into account that sometimes cables fail. It's better to run too many cables than not enough. I ran an extra cable to each location in my house and had to use the extra living room cable a couple weeks ago when the Dish cable to the 722 receiver there failed for some reason. I just switched to the extra cable and all was well. I'll try to find out what went wrong when I have some time later this fall.

so couldnt i just use some rabbit ears (like i do now for my local HD) instead of running an extra OTA cable?

 

[osu1991]

Sure if it works, most people can't get by with rabbit ears though and require an attic mounted or exterior antenna

 

[justinbaker]

Sure if it works, most people can't get by with rabbit ears though and require an attic mounted or exterior antenna

well i have had pretty good luck, as long as its they are lined up perfectly.



ok so i just got in my attic to see what im up against.

about 4 feet down from the roof. there is a 2x4 brace that im gonna have to deal with. Support wise, am i ok to drill through that? im hoping HD or lowes sells like a 5 foot drill bit

 

[Laddyboy]

well i have had pretty good luck, as long as its they are lined up perfectly.



ok so i just got in my attic to see what im up against.

about 4 feet down from the roof. there is a 2x4 brace that im gonna have to deal with. Support wise, am i ok to drill through that? im hoping HD or lowes sells like a 5 foot drill bit

Yes OK to drill through. Long bits are so very very expensive. They sell bit extenders, depending on the size of bit required. I'd try to rent or borrow one instead of buying. I rented a large bit and a 1-inch drill years ago at Southern Rentals or something similar to that when I need to drill a large hole through concrete. Can you run the cable outside? I'm fortunately in having a ranch style and can use the basement for runs.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I asked my wiring guy what he could 'bundle'. Normally they won't charge much more if the bundle a few coax and ethernet in one pull.

I went with 2 coax and 2 ethernet to each drop, but you may want something else. I ended up using 1 coax for Dish and 1 coax for OTA.

You definatley want to 'home run' everything to one location ( garage , closet, basement ) and definately want an ethernet. I think the phone is obsolete, but you might want a second cat5 just in case. (which could do phone in a pinch).

What would be nice is if they would put them all in a patch panel. It would look nicer than just having them end up in a box.

 

[ryotgz]

I guess my installer was lazy. He used the existing coax from the Cable Co. and used the one line for both 722 inputs and the output to the 2nd TV.

 

[whatchel1]

You have an attic you would be much better off to put a good antenna in it rather than count on getting your OTA signal via rabbit ears. It is always better to have more & stronger signal with a good antenna. Besides the WAF (wife acceptance factor) is a good thing (even if not married yet). They ladies tend to not like the funny antenna thingy setting on top of the "TV" that much.

 

[ryotgz]

You have an attic you would be much better off to put a good antenna in it rather than count on getting your OTA signal via rabbit ears. It is always better to have more & stronger signal with a good antenna. Besides the WAF (wife acceptance factor) is a good thing (even if not married yet). They ladies tend to not like the funny antenna thingy setting on top of the "TV" that much.

Not to thread jack, but what type of attic antenna do you recommend?

 

[whatchel1]

Depends on area

Not to thread jack, but what type of attic antenna do you recommend?

Can't really suggest anything since I don't know what is needed in your area. Some areas only need a UHF antenna some need UHF & VHF. Also are all the stations in one direction or spread out in different directions. Try running a location search on antennaweb.org or tvfool.com to find out what stations are in your area and where they are located.

 

[ryotgz]

Can't really suggest anything since I don't know what is needed in your area. Some areas only need a UHF antenna some need UHF & VHF. Also are all the stations in one direction or spread out in different directions. Try running a location search on antennaweb.org or tvfool.com to find out what stations are in your area and where they are located.

Distance ranges from 8.4 miles to 15.8 miles
Two are VHF & Five UHF

I currently have this antenna and it does OK on about 3 of the stations, the others are kinda iffy.

 

[whatchel1]

VHF

Distance ranges from 8.4 miles to 15.8 miles
Two are VHF & Five UHF

I currently have this antenna and it does OK on about 3 of the stations, the others are kinda iffy.

What chs in VHF and is Rat Shack your only choice in the area?

 

[ryotgz]

What chs in VHF and is Rat Shack your only choice in the area?

B & F are the VHF channels

Rat shack is def not the only choice. Home dpt, lowes, bestbuy, etc.