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pred02
join:2005-08-21
Brookline, MA
| New Comcast installation: home may not be prewired for Cable
Our house has not had cable TV since probably 2000. We had first DirecTV, and now we have Dish. Given that FIOS is ages away from our area, we are switching our single family home from ADSL to cable.
We had our basement renovated a couple of years ago, at which point I put in a structured media closet which has all the video, Ethernet, and phone wiring for the house. With FIOS in mind, we left a conduit that goes from the media closet to the front of the house (where all the utilities come, ie phone, electrical, gas).
Prior to 2000, we had analog cable which had two coax cables come in (a channels, b channels). This cable is still left unterminated on the side of the house and I believe runs under the front lawn. I believe this coax was Cablevision's.
Is the installer going to reuse the old cable that comes off the front of the house, or run a new one from the street? Also, I presume it's not impossible for him to run the cable through the conduit to the structured media closet. That's all he needs to do really, no drilling, stapling anything. | |
tshirt
Premium,MVM
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA
 ·Comcast
1 edit | Have him test the signal level on the existing cable, if it is good than reusing it is fine, if not they will rerun the cable as needed.
pulling a new cable through the conduit should be easy, if the conduit was correctly done (large enough diameter, no sharp bends or blockages)is there is exist cable or a pull string in it.
If not, you should borrow, )rent or buy a "fishtape" from the home depot type store, not that expensive) and run it through the conduit before he gets there.*
"fishing" is no longer a standard install practice, but most installers will do it if you help, have already drilled any holes (conduit is better  ) and have it ready to go.
Anything you can do to make his job easier will go a long way towards getting it done the way you want.
* The other method that MIGHT work is have someone, hold a vacuum cleaner nozzle tight to one end of the conduit, and you feed a very light weight string in the other (small piece of plastic bag/paper at the endof the string improves suction, but not to big or it could get stuck!  ) once the thin string is through, pull a heavier, high test piece of cord through for use as a pull string. Fish tape is probably the best choice | |
Phugg
join:2004-09-30
Riverbank, CA
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to pred02
I as a tech would get your line through that condiut. I prefer to think of every house like my own, "would I let that go in my do house ? " is a good way to think about it.
On the conduit ... if you have no line in there in could be difficult. One trick I have seen used is simple , Shop Vac string and a small wad of paper ... attatch twine to paper wad it up and suck it to the other end with the vacume. | |
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