If you live in an older home that hasn't been wired for cable, don't worry. You can install it yourself. While you're at it, why not run some phone lines as well?
Materials needed:
Jigsaw
Reciprocating saw
Drill, with 1-1/2" spade bit and long 1/2" bit
Wire stripper
Phillips- and flat-head screwdrivers
Fish tape
RG-6 coaxial cable
Crimped or threaded F-connectors (also referred to as cable connectors)
Cable splitter
Cable clips
2-pair D-station phone cable
Phone line junction box
Safety glasses
- Plan your installation by sketching the area where you want the new cable and phone lines.
- Measure the distance to the wall where you want to install the wiring. Transfer the measurements to the basement below the room, and use a long 1/2" drill bit to drill into the void behind the wall. You may want to use heating ducts to help you get your bearings. Be sure to keep your drill bit straight so that you don't drill through the floor.
* If you don't have basement access, you can drill into the wall from the attic above.
- Measure and mark for the proper location for the cable jack, and use a spade bit to cut a hole in the wall at that point (figure A). Use a flashlight to look behind the wall for any obstructions such as electrical wires, water pipes or other utilities (figure B).
- Use a low-profile mounting bracket as a template to mark the wall, and use a saber saw or reciprocating saw to cut out the hole for the mounting bracket (figure C).
- Have a helper push the cable up through the hole. You may find it helpful to use fish tape, a stiff metal wire used by electricians for installing electrical cable.
* Use the best cable and connectors you can find, because they will affect the quality of the picture. This is especially true of powered satellite dish systems.
- Slide the mounting bracket over the cable, and secure the bracket to the wall (figure D).
* Surface-mounted mounting brackets allow you to use a smaller opening than would be used otherwise. If you are installing the cable in drywall, use a drywall-mounted junction box.
* You may want to use a double outlet, which will allow you to run the wiring to the VCR and TV and back out into main wiring. That way, you can watch a movie from your VCR on any TV in the house.
- Attach an F-connector to the end of the coaxial cable.
- For crimp connectors, trim 1/2" of insulation from the bare wire in the center, and trim another 1/16" of black insulation away from the foil shield and metal braids below. Slide an F-connector over the end of the wire, and crimp it in place.
- For screw-on connectors, trim 1/2" of black insulation away from the foil shield and metal braids, and fold the wires and shield back over the remaining black insulation. Trim away the remaining insulation from the center wire, and screw on an F-connector. - Attach the F-connector to the back of a cable faceplate, and attach the faceplate to the mounting bracket (figure E).
- From the basement, attach the cable to the floor joists using cable clips.
- Use F-connectors to attach the cable, along with cables from any other rooms, to a cable splitter. Attach one cable to the input jack of the splitter. Drill a hole through an outside wall leading to the exterior cable line. Thread the input cable through the hole, and attach it to the main line using an F-connector. Caulk around the hole to prevent moisture and insects from getting into your home.
If you're installing cable to a room upstairs and don't have access to an attic, you can still install the cable.
- Use a long 3/8" or 1/4" drill bit to drill through the top of the wall. Install the cable directly above a room where you've already installed an outlet so that you can splice into that cable. Angle the bit so that it goes into the void behind the wall upstairs where you want to install the cable.
- Measure, mark and cut out a hole for the mounting bracket or junction box.
- Push a fish tape through the hole and into the void. Have a helper pull the end of the fish tape out through the bracket hole and attach a piece of cable to it. Then, pull the fish tape back through the hole in the wall.
- Remove the faceplate from the cable outlet below, and thread the fish tape up to the hole in the wall. Pull out the end of the fish tape, and attach one end of coaxial cable to it. Pull the cable back through the junction box, and splice it into the cable using F-connectors and a cable splitter.
Phone line installation is very similar to cable installation. However there are a few exceptions.
- Use the cable installation procedure to run a phone line to one of your rooms.
- When you have the phone lines in position, strip off four inches of the exterior insulation, and then strip 1/2" of insulation from each of the four wires.
- Attach the four wires, based on their colors, to the back of a phone jack (figure F). Then, attach the phone jack to the mounting bracket in the wall.
- Install a phone line junction box on a floor joist so that it is near the wall where the main phone line enters the home (figure G).
- Run the phone lines from all the rooms to the new junction box. Use cable clips to hold the phone cable to the floor joists above.
- Strip four inches of sheeting from each cable, and strip 1/2" of insulation from each wire. Attach the wires to the junction box based on their color coding.
- Connect the system by attaching the phone cable from outside onto the junction box.
* If your existing phone cable is more than 30 years old or is showing signs of deterioration, you might want to replace it. Newer lines produce less static and allow faster Internet connection speeds.
- Check the system with a phone tester. Plug the tester into a phone jack; if the green light glows, then the installation is correct. If the red light glows, then the connection is backward. No light means there's a bad connection somewhere.
* You can also use a phone to check the wiring. If you hear a dial tone and can dial phone numbers, the connection is correct. If you hear a dial tone but can't dial other phone numbers, the connection is reversed. If you don't hear any dial tone, there's a bad connection.
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