I am planning to distribute cable and DVD from a central wiring location. The longest run is ~160ft and I will be using best quality quad-shielded RG6.

Do I need, or would anyone recommend utilizing a tilt compensator? What are the pros and cons of compensation?

Are you going to modulate it or are you trying to run video if the latter is the case Use high quality rg59 due to impedance it should be rg59 . also what about audio if your running video ?

Thanks.
I was not going to modulate the signal. I have not yet thought about audio. Your recommendation?

BTW: I thought RG6 would provide better signal than RG59. Would you explain the impedence issue?

S.E.Samuels:

Both RG-6 and RG-59 are 75 ohm cables. You are running what is called base band video. Technically, one should use coaxial cable with a solid copper center conductor when running baseband video. Most coaxial cable uses copper clad steel (not solid copper), which is fine for cables TV and satellite distribution but not so good for baseband video distribution. Many people still use it anyway and you can definitely get away with it with minimal compromise, personally I don't. One of the interesting things is that a really good solid copper cable can also be used just fine for cable and satellite.

Anyhow, you can use RG-59 or RG-6 for baseband video. Personally, I prefer RG-6 but RG-59 can absolutely be used and it is not wrong to do so. There are other requirements for a good baseband video cable in addition to the center conductor that i won't get into here, but don't assume just because it is solid copper that it is appropriate.

The cable I use is Belden 1694A. This cable is somewhat of a reference in the broadcast industry. It is a little pricey for some. There are many others that are appropriate as well and I am sure other people here can give you some model numbers.

Now to answer you first question - a tilt compensator is typically used when one is referring to broadband video (cable TV), not baseband video and no you do not need one.

You do however, need a video distribution amplifier and again, this is completely different from a broadband video amplifier.

You can find these from www.extron.com, Niles Audio and others. Here are some examples [Link: extron.com]

This message was edited by QQQ on 05/04/02 23:16.24.

S.E.Samuels,

I definitely agree with QQQ that a cable with solid copper center conductor is the way to go with composite(baseband) video. We've used several manufacturers of RG-6 composite video cable is not as expensive as the Belden cable, and works just fine.

Elan makes the Z880/Z881 video controller that is an excellent composite video switcher/controller. Designed to work with an Elan system, or standalone, it's an 8x8 IR controllable switcher.

As far as the audio, do you just want to listen through the TV's, or are you wanting to do distributed audio through speakers in those rooms? Elan and several other manufacturers make a balanced line driver that distributes audio over Cat5. This make work to distribute audio to the TV's, if that si what you're looking for.

Thanks
I will just need audio through the existing TV sets.
SES

CCS(Copper Clad Steel) is not fine for satellite distribution. The reason for this doesn't have anything to do with the signal, it's the fact that the receiver must supply power down the cable to operate the LNB. CCS has considerable voltage drop compared to solid copper and can cause problems with LNB operation - Remember the LNB gets 2 different voltages to switch polarity, if the voltage drops off where it can't get the higher voltage it won't switch, causing groups of channels to have no signal. Adding a in-line amp with only make the problem worse - OHM's Law, the more current drawn, the more voltage drops.
Dish Network tried to address the issue in the new Pro series receivers by increasing the voltage output to 19.6V (All this is distance related) runs under 100ft aren't really effected by this. Solid copper RG-6 in general will support out to about 200ft before signal drops below min. You can add an in-line amp for more distance. CCS RG-6 in general will support out to a little over 100ft before voltage drops below min. Adding an amp will do no good since it's not a signal problem. There are solutions for this when the cable is already installed and can't be replaced. One example would be a powered multi-switch installed closer to the dish than the receiver. It powers the LNB's instead.

Brad Humphrey
The Sky's the Limit

We use rg6 quad shield for all sat / hd /rf / catv.
We use rg59 for video composite coper shield also.
We run rg59 in dual runs for s video and terminate them
with bncs and bnc to s connectors . (not all s if they pay for it we run s)



This message was edited by kabster on 05/08/02 02:07.06.

Just to throw in my two cents' worth, the only advantage of a steel core is for physical strength, just like with ACSR* power wiring, like you see overhead on high-voltage power transmission lines.

*ACSR = Aluminum Conductor, Steel Reinforced

The reason that the steel core is thought to have no detrimental effect on RF is because of what is known as the "skin effect". As frequencies go higher, the current tends to travel on mostly the outer surface of conductors, rather than throughout the cross-section of the conductor.

In fact, television transmission lines are often made of copper tubing instead of solid copper. The "coax" is made of a tube-within-a-tube, separated by insulator spacers and the space between filled with an inert gas.

There are those who believe that the skin effect even occurs with higher audio frequencies, but a 20kHz audio and a 20kHz radio signal are not the same, and the skin effect in audio is not considered to be a reason to use a tubular conductor.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Brad H:

You make some good points although I don't think there is any harm done using CCS if you know what you are doing. I can see some instances where this might be a problem for a DIY or your average brain dead DirecTV installer (no offense meant but most of these guys are unbelievable and from obeservation I bet that almost 99% of the time they only hook up to the channel 3 input to the TV) and you are certainly correct that solid copper is superior. It has been years since we have done an installation without a powered multi-switch.



This message was edited by QQQ on 05/08/02 10:25.48.

Hey here's a point on the audio if you can find it. on long runs I use a RG-59 flex this means that the center conductor is stranded - This makes it easy to solder on RCA jacks and will carry the audio signal without alot of lose of sound

QQQ, I know what you mean about brain dead satellite installers, I clean up after them often in my work. Unfortunately, this is how the satellite companies want it now, cable(like) installers putting in cable(like) boxes, cheap as they can. People who really care about there equipment and it's performance and getting quality work are in the minority. The few people who do care about there audio, video, or control/convenience systems is what keeps us professionals in business.
BTW I've seen CCS coax go 200ft before as well, it all depends on how thick the copper layer is. Don't expect CSS "China wire" RG-6 to go much over 100ft for satellite without giving you problems, the copper is very thin on these wires and you can see it. This is generally the cheapest of the RG-6 cable as well, so it's a favorite of budget installers and the like.

Brad Humphrey
The Sky's the Limit

Brad H:

Don't get me started on DirecTV/Dish installers. I've got too many stories to tell.

Like the installer who followed the outline of the fireplace and stapled the coax up and over the mantle from one side to the other while the client wasn't there.
Or the fact that if any real install is required they end up charging the customer $600.00 (after they have sucked the customer in with their "BS better read all the clauses" free or $99.00 install offer) after the customer decided not to go with a legit installer who started off by giving them an honest estimate.

Luckily, our target client is quite high-end now, so we don't have to compete against these guys.

This message was edited by QQQ on 05/09/02 16:19.37.

Come on guys the dish/dtv installers kind of keep us custom installers in buisnes lol
All our work is done by refferal only and were booked a month in advance.
Clients have a lot of influance forced on them from salesmen , hopefully they are smart enough to pay for it only once and have it done right by us.



This message was edited by kabster on 05/11/02 00:41.14.

Hey, I wonder about one detail for those of you who use RG-6 for video or audio -- all the RG-6 I have seen has an aluminum foil shield with aluminum braid or as few as four aluminum drain wires, so soldering to an RCA connector is out. I first discovered this approach on someone else's install when one color kept cutting out on a projector due to a faulty adaptor. I always look at RG-6 for video or audio as an uninformed choice or a choice forced by existing cabling.
Why use a wire that requires an adaptor? Dual RG-59 and adaptors for S makes sense because you can use BNCs, known for excellent connections, and end up with a much longer run.
I don't see any reason for RG-6 for video and a few reasons against it.

Comments?