Cable TV

Thread Starter

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
Good Morning gentlemen.

A friend of mine wants me to do him a job. Which is to set up cable TV in a building.
What I would like to know is that from where and how I can get the necessary equipments for this.
I want to buy good and quality items and items that I do not want to touch after the setup is complete, meaning minimum headache relative to maintenance.
Number of channels is 20.
So people, tell me are there any one in here that could supply me the necessary equipments.

Now don't start asking stupid questions, I know how cable TV works and I know the items that are needed.
I just like to find a good supplier from whom I can purchase the things I need.
Any one in here or do you know a reliable source where I can get the items.

First of all I like to start with the Modulators from 69.25 to 335 MHz, total of 20. I prefer digital ones and Good reliable items.
Next thing I need to get this going is a good cable TV combiner, at least more than 20 channels including internet capability. Yes, they want to give a net connection via the cable.
So please throw in some ideas to where I can find 'em.
Any ideas that might you have concerning a cable TV distribution and if any of you have done this, then I would love to hear on how I can improve the system.

PS.. I am not kidding....

 
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Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
Are you going to set up a mini cable TV company? Why?

My cable TV company provides hundreds of stations from all over North America (including time shifting) and has many other channels. My high speed cable internet is very fast. Its cost is reduced whenever I cry for a discount.
 

SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
He's trying to tell you that you should move to Canada, which obviously has a superior selection of television stations than where you are now.

What he's not telling you is that in Canada you will have to shovel six feet of snow out of your driveway every morning for six or seven months out of the year.
 

SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
It is not hard to find reliable suppliers.

It seems to be hard to find a way to get the equipment into the Maldives without having to pay boatloads of money to the shippers and customs people.
 

Thread Starter

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
It is not hard to find reliable suppliers.

It seems to be hard to find a way to get the equipment into the Maldives without having to pay boatloads of money to the shippers and customs people.
Oh yeah!!! about that...:mad:. They'll be there.
But it's not a problem cause I;m not the one paying..kekekeke :p
So If he doesn't pay, his building will be incomplete.
I'm in the clear.

I just need to find the source and start the deal.
 
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SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
Do you have a spectrum analyzer that has a readout in dB? You're probably going to need one.

You should go with RG-11 for longer runs (up to 600 feet) and RG-6 for runs under 150 feet.

Depending on the size of the building, you may need to use distribution amplifiers where you can adjust the tilt. What I mean by "tilt" is that the high frequencies need to be amplified more than the low frequencies, as the higher frequencies are more attenuated by the coax. By the time the signal goes through the distribution amp and through a bunch of coax, the signal level will be more even across the band.

You're going to have to calculate the dB loss for the cable you're going to be running for the lengths you'll be running them. You will then need to adjust the tilt at the head end amplifier and use intermediate amps so that every termination point is getting about 0dB signal across all frequencies. You may need to use attenuators in some paths.

Ideally, you should have no more than 1 splitter between an amplifier and the head end. If you stack splitters, you will have problems.

You should probably get on this website:
http://www.cabl.com
It's just for professional cable people.
 

Thread Starter

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
The cable is already been laid out, I really donno what kinda cable they had used, :confused: possibly RG6, cause this is what every wanna be uses here to distribute cable.
And Sgt, what u said about amps and termination problems, I know these things, :cool: but the best part is no body here ever uses those things, :eek:cause they really have no knowledge what so ever about the theory behind cable distribution and the about the HF losses.
Why you may ask .
It is that they are too proud about it and those are the big guns who deals with these kinda things, but in reality these big guns have no knowledge about cable frequency bands, cable loss, line amps and such.
They have never studied them, they know what they know because of the amount of money they gobble and imports these units and play with them.
And sometimes these guys fleas with the customers money and hides for a long time abroad. The problem is the government. They don't have law against these kinda things and also no body is there in the government that has the capacity to truly understand these things. Who ever is there will be far worse then the one dealing with cables. The cable TV authority knows **** about cable TV's, this is the reality we are living with.
The things they know about cable TV's are cause they can buy them and play with 'em but these rascals have no idea where and when an amp or a attenuator should be used for maximum performance.
Every thing will be used but still the cables have lots and lots of problems,
cause it is not done the way it should be done.
In the capital city we have too cable company's and they are the big guns in this country cause they have huge building and loads of money,they made from the huge installation and monthly payments and all.
And other parties are their children, they think when they know how to tune a TV and terminate a cable they can distribute cable TV in buildings and hotels. I have seen almost every building and hotels which have cable TV installed and I feel sorry for the owners who has no idea that their cable TV systems are outdated and actually they are bought one fifth of the price he thought and paid. This is what goes on here non stop and every day...we have low life's who can do house wiring for quarter of the price of professionals and bribe some certified electrician to sign the documents so that the owner has no idea what he is getting into. And believe me I have rectified and renewed a lot of so called good wirings after 6 months of usage.

I can go on and on...
I am making a few headlines and I'll be naming a lot of people.
and believe me I have the guts to do this cause no body here can beat me in my game.
One way or the other, I will put an end to these things.

So for now...I have my family to look after and for that I need work.
that is why I am asking from you guys to direct me to a good supplier :D

 
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SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
If you use cheap components, you will have nothing but problems.

If the contractor ran the cable, they probably used the cheapest crap they could get; RG-59. RG-59 looks similar to RG-6 unless you put them together. Then you'll notice that the RG-6 is slightly larger in diameter than the RG-59, but the real difference is the center conductor.

RG-59 has a very small-diameter center conductor (don't have the specs offhand, but it's pretty small.) Compare an RG-59 to an RG-6 and you will see what I mean.

If you use cheap splitters, the first time you have a lightning strike near the building you will wind up having to replace them all. The burst of energy will magnetize the toroids in the cheap splitters, and they don't work properly after that.

Make sure that the feed coming from the cable co. is grounded to earth ground near where the electric co's power comes into the building. This will help to avoid damage by surges on the cable co's system.

The larger cable installation companies around my area use Electroline amplifiers and Antronix splitters/taps.

Examples of Electroline amplifiers: http://www.mjsales.net/items.asp?FamilyID=176&this_Cat1ID=265&Cat2ID=35
Examples of Antronix splitters/taps: http://www.mjsales.net/items.asp?FamilyID=290&this_Cat1ID=265&Cat2ID=93
 
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loosewire

Joined Apr 25, 2008
1,686
Try looking at some U.S. army surplus catalogs,maybe the guys
know about buying army surplus.The system you talking about
is the thing most people won't buy.If it is around it would be cheap.
Sitting in storage some where. They set up temp bases and move,
and update the next time,leaving the old stuff,you just have to find It.
Try e-bay or craigs list you may find some one wanting to make a
buck,selling you some thing they don't understand.
 

retched

Joined Dec 5, 2009
5,208
I think the point is to find parts of high reliability and replaceability should anything go wrong. If you design with military surplus and something breaks, you may not be able to procure a replacement in the future.

This is a standard, often repeated task. There are thousands of cable TV studios and millions of coax systems and layouts for subscribers. You will want good equiptment with warranties.
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
What he's not telling you is that in Canada you will have to shovel six feet of snow out of your driveway every morning for six or seven months out of the year.
Ho, ho, ha, ha! Eh??
In Canada hardly anybody lives more than 20 miles north of the US border so the climate is the same or milder than northern US states.
The great lakes keep my part of Canada mild. Buffalo NY is on the southern side of Lake Ontario and it gets hammered with plenty of snow every year.

This winter it snowed only a few times, half an inch to 2 inches. It got cold in December then got mild in February. Today the daffodils and tulips are blooming, the grass is green and growing and my maple tree is covered with flowers. My wife and I are tanned already.

I think the cold stops criminals and homeless bums that are all over the warmer US states.
 

Thread Starter

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
Thanks ya all. :p
I haven't got a reply from the emails yet. I am trying the Indian company Bertus suggested and Cisco brand, I have located a source with the help of the happyganl in china. I may be visiting china to purchase the leds that I have been wanting to test, so I am thinking of checking the cisco brand too.

Sgt is right as always. Problem arises after a heavy thunder shower in these buildings, and islands and the from time to time customers will be complaining about noisy pictures.

I have to check the cables, but as I haven't actually done this I may not know just by looking at a RG-6 and RG-59. I know what they are but haven't got that much experience in identifying them by sight instantly.
I have to measure them or have a sample with me to be sure.
I have corrected Cable distribution problems in main trunk and termination related problems, cause I know the basic theory in which they operate.
Most of the time these buggers never terminate an unused output.
So for now I'm just waiting.
 
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shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
Hi R!f@@, would you please have mercy on us old people on the forum? Please turn you text color back to BLACK. The blue is killing my eyes! Thanks in advance, cary
 
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