Repairing a cut Virgin Media broadband cable

[Lower]

Just had an apologetic phone call from our gardener to say she's cut out broadband cable where it runs behind some bushes at the front of our house.

Am i correct in thinking its just coax that i can repair with F type connectors or is it more complicated than that?

If it is a simple F type connector repair, what should i do to weatherproof the joint?

 

[SUNRAY]

It may be coax, in which case F types will work. A double layer of self amalgamating tape followed by a double layer of plastic tape will be fine. Others, such as Sky installers etc, may come on and say you don't need the plastic tape but all professional aerial riggers or telecom engineers do as the rubber tape perishes with water/rain/wet mud.

Adhesive lined heavy duty heatshrink sleeve is even better.

However check the cable before you make any plans as it could also be fibre optic or twisted pair.

 

[bernardgreen]

Adhesive lined heavy duty heatshrink sleeve is even better.

+1

 

[Lower]

It may be coax, in which case F types will work. A double layer of self amalgamating tape followed by a double layer of plastic tape will be fine. Others, such as Sky installers etc, may come on and say you don't need the plastic tape but all professional aerial riggers or telecom engineers do as the rubber tape perishes with water/rain/wet mud.

Adhesive lined heavy duty heatshrink sleeve is even better.

However check the cable before you make any plans as it could also be fibre optic or twisted pair.

Thanks for your reply.

It end up in a splitter inside the house with two coax connections, one going to the tivo box and one to the router. I'm fairly certain the splitter connection is just a F type so i'm hoping that the cut cable is just coax.

Thinking about it, the cut section is after a external brown box on the wall that feeds a now redundant landline connection, so i might just be able to replace a whole section of cable to avoid a joint. Hoping its a quick repair or i'm going to have a lot of moaning from my 11 year old son!

 

[aptsys]

Normally Virgin use a different cable up to the isolator, triple screened and much larger in diameter.

Just call Virgin out for a repair.

 

[Lower]

Normally Virgin use a different cable up to the isolator, triple screened and much larger in diameter.

Just call Virgin out for a repair.

I'll see what i've got when i get home tonight. I'm hoping it's a quick fix that i can do and not a virgin fix as that way i'll avoid the paint from my wife and son about the lack of netflix and youtube!

 

[Sally2000]

Virgin have a standard method for repairing cuts in the cable. Call the (awful) helpline and book a repair. Be careful how you fix it because if you get it wrong it will not only affect your own broadband but also your neighbours connected to the same street cabinet. This can and does happen!

 

[Lower]

It turned out to be standard coax as the double cable coming from the street had already been split into two. So a couple of F type connectors and a coupler and we were up and running again.

Download speed was back up to 200mb+ with a 10 ms ping, very low jitter and no packet loss so i'm assuming the joint is good.

I've wrapped the joint in a layer of plastic tape for now with some self amalgamating tape on its way. Thankfully, the joint is in an area that's quite sheltered by a roof overhang so it'll be fine for a few days. I just need to make sure its properly waterproofed as its adjacent to a small hedge that gets watered periodically in the summer.

Thanks for all help.

 

[Sally2000]

I trust you used the proper crimped connectors. Screw on plugs can be unreliable.

 

[Lower]

No, i used screw on as i haven't got crimps for f type connectors as i so rarely use them.

The connectors are a very smug fit on the cable so i'm comfortable they've made a good connection. If we have any problems, i'll know where to start looking!

 

[Sally2000]

Yes they will be a snug fit now, but they do age badly particularly if damp gets in or the cables are moved. Virgin would be very unhappy to know you have used them. Let's hope they have no need to find out

 

[Lower]

Yes they will be a snug fit now, but they do age badly particularly if damp gets in or the cables are moved. Virgin would be very unhappy to know you have used them. Let's hope they have no need to find out

I've wrapped the joint in electrical tape, then two layers of self amalgamating tape and then another layer of electrical tape, so hopefully damp won't be an issue!

 

[Keithmac]

I'm surprised they didn't bury the cable when they installed your broadband, ours is underground all the way up to the front wall.

 

[Lower]

I'm surprised they didn't bury the cable when they installed your broadband, ours is underground all the way up to the front wall.

They have buried it up until it arrives at the front of the house. Its then clipped to the wall and runs around the perimeter of the house until it enters the lounge. The gardener had managed to catch it with the hedge cutters, pulling it off the wall and cutting it.