Aerial and Cat6 and Freeview

[Tetrarch]

A little lack of planning on my part.

I've nearly finished a refurb but I forgot about a new aerial

I'm thinking of installing an aerial inside our new (slate roofed) loft but I failed to run an aerial cable. I did, however, remember to run Cat6 from the loft to my understairs where my router is and I have another Cat6 cable that runs to the TV. Is there any way I can use this cabling to run a TV signal to my Freeview Humax box?

Regards

Tet

 

[Rodders53]

CAT5E for TV usage

Hi all, first posting - can anyone tell me if you can use CAT5E cable for a tv signal from an aerial? can it be mixed with co-axial cable? I have a phone socket i don't use and wondered if it was possible to connect the aerial to one end of the CAT5 then simply fix a tv plate in place of...

www.diynot.com

There are devices that claim to do this https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1863972.pdf is an example with some figures for insertion loss and the likely need for a launch amplifier if the cable length is significant.

In the not too far future all TV will be iP delivered so you may find than sufficient? Or fit a box in the loft to receive from the aerial and distribute via the home network... HDHomerun https://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/ or an Enigma type box with DVB-T2 tuner module(s)?

Or run some decent coax such as Webro WF100

EDIT Some Humax boxes have DLNA server features and may be able to be remotely scheduled? Certainly the HDR-Fox-T2 with custom firmware is used by some to do this. (Check the humax forums).

 

[FrodoOne]

A little lack of planning on my part.

I've nearly finished a refurb but I forgot about a new aerial

I'm thinking of installing an aerial inside our new (slate roofed) loft but I failed to run an aerial cable. I did, however, remember to run Cat6 from the loft to my understairs where my router is and I have another Cat6 cable that runs to the TV. Is there any way I can use this cabling to run a TV signal to my Freeview Humax box?

If you did not fix the Cat6 cable to "internal" spaces which are now inaccessible, you may be able to -
Connect a thin steel "Draw-wire" to the end of the Cat6 - wrapping the "joint" with a layer of electrical tape to reduce the possibility of "snags".
Pull (up) the draw-wire to the loft, using the Cat6
Attach the new co-ax with the Cat6 to the draw-wire - again (re)wrapping the "joint" with a layer of electrical tape to reduce the possibility of "snags".
Pull (down) the draw-wire with both the Ca6 and the co-ax.

If the Cat6 is very loose, you may be able to use Builders Twine
but
thin steel wire is better, since it is unlikely to be rubbed through on "snags".

(An "assistant" at the "other" end - with communication between the two of you - would be of advantage !)

 

[333rocky333]

May be a daft question but what would be the consequences of just fitting coax plugs on each end, of a cat5 cable say 2 pairs for the outer amd one pair for the core pin

 

[Sureitsoff?]

Worth a try!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Worth a try!

TV antenna cables have an impedance of 75Ohm, CAT 5 has an impedance of 100Ohms.

Certainly worth a try, but don't expect miracles. I would just make use of one of the twisted pairs, but make sure it is a pair.

 

[Lucid]

I'd be amazed, and impressed, if it worked. All the theory says it shouldn't. Cat5e bandwidth is something like 100MHz, or maybe 300~350MHz if it was the better grade stuff (more wire twists, more copper). Digital TV signals operate in the 470-700MHz range. Cat5e bandwidth is nowhere close. There's the impedance mismatch; 100-Ohms vs 75-Ohms, though this is signal frequency dependent. Higher frequencies equals lower impedance, so what'll happen if you try stuffing 700MHz down the pipe will be interesting.

I think the game killer though will be shielding. Standard Cat cable doesn't have any. Coax does. Crappy coax like the stuff in those DIY TV aerial extension kits, and those moulded fly leads, doesn't have much. RFI from dodgy switch-mode PSUs and the emissions from HDMI cables can kill a digital TV signal running through a 1.5m of crappy TV fly lead. What it'll do to 20m(?) of unshielded wire core should be fascinating.

I'm routing for you though. Go-Go-Tetrarch! Yay!!!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

RFI from dodgy switch-mode PSUs and the emissions from HDMI cables can kill a digital TV signal running through a 1.5m of crappy TV fly lead. What it'll do to 20m(?) of unshielded wire core should be fascinating.

I too, have little doubt, that it cannot possibly work. I also remember, needing and buying a 1.5m coax extension - I had perfect reception, all channels showing good signals on the set diagnostics, except I just needed a little more slack on the cable, to hang the TV from the ceiling. So I ordered a short F/M extension. It was completely hopeless, I ended up making one, with some decent quality CT100, and that has worked just fine.

 

[Tetrarch]

I've had a quote (over over £700) from a local aerial installer to do the above or over £800 to effectively install the Humax PVR in the loft and then signal down digitally with an IR repeater

Thanks for the advice all - suffice to say I will be installing an external aerial......

Regards

Tet