 fartnesscomputersoc dot comPremium
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside | Use old coax? When I had my cable internet installed 3 years ago, the cable company put probably 20 ft worth of cord from the wall to my cable modem. I want to cut down on cord clutter and found a 2 ft coax cable from probably 1990, if not from before. Would have been used on a splitter in a dry ceiling for cable TV. Does coax cable degrade over time or is today's coax a better quality than 20+ years ago? Is it ok to use this for my cable modem? I don't want any degradation in service. |
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 JabbuPremium
join:2002-03-06 | RG6 is today's standard, tri-shield.
20 years ago was rg59 with minimum shielding, if any at all with crimp fittings, I would not recommend it for reliability. |
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fartnesscomputersoc dot comPremium
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside | When did it become a standard? I found some cables laying around that are a bit newer but a little longer.
I see that is what this new cable is by the markings. Google reviews show it to be some excellent top notch stuff. The old cable that is 2ft is black and has no markings. Other than that, the connectors essentially are the same on both cables. At least, they screw in the same.
I wonder if this is why service was a tad bit more unpredictable growing up. We first got cable modem service around 1999 or 2000. Likely old lines but they did run a new drop to the house, just for the cable modem, as per my request. At the house I'm in now, the cable company didn't even know it existed, since the former people living here NEVER had cable, EVER. A brand new line was ran from the street to my house. I'm still pissed that the electricity comes in to the right side of the house, and the cable wire comes into the left side of the house. I don't know why they didn't run the cable line near the electric line (unless interference?) since it looks like crap having two separate lines coming into the house like that from the street. |
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 JackarinoPremium
join:2006-12-28
Allendale, NJ
kudos:1 | reply to fartness
I would stay away from 20+ year old coax.
Like Jabbu said, its most likely RG59 which is not up to par for today's standards.
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 Hayward K A R - 1 2 0 CPremium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
kudos:1 | reply to fartness
2-9 ft likely not to make any difference.
But long runs now that both digital(originally only SAT required RG6) R59 still not a good idea for ether on long runs.
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Reviews:
 ·Choice Cable TV
| said by Hayward:But long runs now that both digital(originally only SAT required RG6) R59 still not a good idea for ether on long runs.
A bit off-topic but wanted to comment on this. My cable TV service drop is about 200 feet long and it is RG59 cable in use since 1997 before digital cable. I have digital cable TV wth HD channels and 15 Mbps Internet service running over that drop and over an even older cable TV network (as far as the cables and taps are concerned). My TV and Internet services operate just fine over that old drop. I once had problems with both TV and Internet services that required a visit from a technician. I hinted him about replacing the drop due to its age and he said they don't do it unless they find a problem with it. It turned out to be a problem in my inside cabling after their service drop. A piece of quad-shielded RG6 cable one of their technicians gave me years prior, oddly enough. Thank goodness they didn't charge for the visit considering it wasn't their fault. |
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Hayward K A R - 1 2 0 CPremium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
kudos:1 | Maybe OK for cable even in the digital age, but satellite uses an entirely different freq spectrum that is more requiring of RG6 over especially long distances
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