Newbie Dish Question

[lyu370]

Well I got fed up with Comcast and dropped them a while ago. Been watching OTA, but miss some of my favorite channels. So I heard about the upcoming dish offer and was thinking of going that route.

In the mean time, can I re-use my existing inside wiring with the dish? Or will I have to re-wire everything. Initially it'll be just one HD set, I'll be adding a second HD set upstairs later. I currently have two cable feeds coming into the house, one for the first floor, one for the second. Have DSL for Internet, so no problems there.

Thanks.
Andy

 

[sunelec]

You should be able to reuse what you have if it's RG6. Dish will do install for free and probably will have to add on to what cabling you have in order to hook up to the dish. Then use your house wiring to run to the receivers. Due to being installed free it's probably best to do both receivers at the same time.

 

[KE4EST]

Yes as sun said, as long as it is good RG-6 no prob. Any splitters in-line will also have to be removed.

 

[lyu370]

Has to be RG6 huh... Looks like I'll need to replace the cable on the first floor, looking at the connector that attaches to the wall jack where the cable comes in looks pretty cheap. The cable upstairs looks like it might be RG6, and the connector is labeled PCT-DRS-6 so I might be good there.

Was hoping to reuse everything, but I think I'll have to be pulling up some carpeting to run some new cable. Only have one splitter, in the box outside that splits the cable between the downstairs run & the upstairs run. I know Comcast replaced the outside cable that goes to the upstairs jack earlier this year, but not sure what they used. I suppose Dish will replace it if necessary.

 

[vaiorx450]

You need not only RG6 but also it needs to be on dishnetworks approved accessory list. If your cable is not on their list it will have to be replaced.
i

 

[Todd Humphrey]

Just because your house has cable NOT approved by Dish does not mean they will have to replace it. 95% of all pre-wired homes do not use cable on "The List". As long as it is good RG-6 with a 60% braid, an installer will use it. I do not know what pressure or repercussions corporate installers are under to install all new cable, but as an independent installer who works directly with a local dealer, I am only required to provide a quality installation and make sure the system will work for many years to come. That is my warranty to my retail client.
I have had to replace cable that was on "The list" because it was not installed correctly. It had to sharp of bends and was pinched by electrical staples.
An experienced installer can look at the cable, the installation methods, and determine if the cable meets your needs, regardless of some stupid list that has cable on it where some is not even UL approved.