Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that
it might not react well when the company goes full digital. He
suggested I consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost
for a two story and basement with around 9 drops?


$500?

"Kurt V. Ullman" writes:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?


It would likely cost more than a single-story with 2 drops, and less
than a five-story with 20 drops.

The cost will depend on the labor, and the labor will depend on the
structure itself (age, construction, ease-of-access, fireblocks,
attic, finished basement, etc. et alia, und so weiter).

On 8/2/2016 1:19 PM, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?


In my consulting, my main client, insisted I ether net wire their
computer to the modem. I had wired TV similarly years ago but now old
and less nimble I paid Comcast to do it since it was a business expense.
They worked for $20 an hour, supplying their own cable so it only cost
me $20. Prior to that when I got high speed internet I had strung an
ether net cable through the house and cable alone cost more than that.

So you might consider using your cable supplier. Another option with
Comcast is when you need work done you call them before hand and get the
in house insurance for a few bucks a month, get the work done and drop
it. I did this 2 months ago when a DTA supply went bad. Otherwise it
would have been spending an hour back and forth to their office,
crawling around to install it and then calling them to do installation
at their part. My wife got the insurance when she called them to get
the service and dropped it the day after the work was done.
Ended up with zero cost.

Cable companies are not fighting competition from much less costly
services like Amazon prime or Netflix and are becoming more accommodating.

On Tue, 2 Aug 2016, "Kurt V. Ullman" wrote:

Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house.

If you do it yourself, be sure you install quad-shield.

Don. www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 1:19:18 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

IDK what exactly they mean by all digital there, but here, I evolved to
all digital with 30 year old coax, no problems. I'm running TV and
cable modem. Seems to me they'd have one hell of a lot of ****ed off
customers if everyone has to upgrade. I think I'd wait and see, try it
and decide later. Maybe they figure they can pocket extra revenue by
doing your home upgrade?

On 8/2/16 2:24 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 1:19:18 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

IDK what exactly they mean by all digital there, but here, I evolved to
all digital with 30 year old coax, no problems. I'm running TV and
cable modem. Seems to me they'd have one hell of a lot of ****ed off
customers if everyone has to upgrade. I think I'd wait and see, try it
and decide later. Maybe they figure they can pocket extra revenue by
doing your home upgrade?

In fairness to the cable company (Brighthouse) they don't offer the
service and would give me the names of 2-3 people to call. So it isn't
likely to be in their self interest to have me do it.

On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 2:25:03 PM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 1:19:18 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

IDK what exactly they mean by all digital there, but here, I evolved to
all digital with 30 year old coax, no problems. I'm running TV and
cable modem. Seems to me they'd have one hell of a lot of ****ed off
customers if everyone has to upgrade. I think I'd wait and see, try it
and decide later. Maybe they figure they can pocket extra revenue by
doing your home upgrade?

When we upgraded to digital, the tech changed a few cables, mainly the
ones from cable modem to the set-top boxes and carrier owned splitters.
There was a definite "visual upgrade" in the connectors on the cable and
the cable itself was beefier. This was done at no charge.

The tech also looked at some of the cables and splitters that I had used
to run cable to other parts of the house and gave me some suggestions on
upgrades that I could do fairly cheaply to ensure the best reception. (I
have 7 (or is it 8?) TV's with basic cable runs to them, as well as a
few other unused connection points.)

On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 3:07:03 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
On 8/2/16 2:24 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 1:19:18 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

IDK what exactly they mean by all digital there, but here, I evolved to
all digital with 30 year old coax, no problems. I'm running TV and
cable modem. Seems to me they'd have one hell of a lot of ****ed off
customers if everyone has to upgrade. I think I'd wait and see, try it
and decide later. Maybe they figure they can pocket extra revenue by
doing your home upgrade?

In fairness to the cable company (Brighthouse) they don't offer the
service and would give me the names of 2-3 people to call. So it isn't
likely to be in their self interest to have me do it.

Unless there is some sort of reciprocal agreement in place between the
companies.

trader_4 writes:
On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 1:19:18 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

IDK what exactly they mean by all digital there, but here, I evolved to
all digital with 30 year old coax, no problems.

The bandwidth and isolation characteristics of RG59U aren't really
suitable for a run of any distance, so RG6/U is preferred.

On Tue, 2 Aug 2016 13:19:07 -0400, "Kurt V. Ullman"
wrote:

Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

$976,259.99 plus tax

You can use the existing cable to pull in new cables.

On Tue, 2 Aug 2016 13:19:07 -0400, "Kurt V. Ullman"
wrote:

Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

I don't know the cost but I'd wait and see how it looks when the
company is full digital. Maybe it will look great and there will be
no point to new cable.

What is the code for the cable in use now, what would they use
instead, and why is the newer better, and how much better?

If this were an appliance, people wold say one made in the 80's was
better than one made now. Is cable not the same?

I'd also worry about damage the installer might do.

On 08/03/2016 12:39 AM, Micky wrote:
On Tue, 2 Aug 2016 13:19:07 -0400, "Kurt V. Ullman"
wrote:

Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

I don't know the cost but I'd wait and see how it looks when the
company is full digital. Maybe it will look great and there will be
no point to new cable.

What is the code for the cable in use now, what would they use
instead, and why is the newer better, and how much better?

If this were an appliance, people wold say one made in the 80's was
better than one made now. Is cable not the same?

I'd also worry about damage the installer might do.




Running new coax cable is not rocket surgery yet most DIYers **** it up.

Most people buy the cheapest coax cable, splitters, wall plates,
use romex staples to fasten cable to floor joists, crush the cable jacket
and exceed minimum bend radius. Then they call the cable company and
complain that their video is pixellating and the audio is dropping out.

This is a job probably best left to the cable guy.

On Wed, 3 Aug 2016 04:38:56 -0400, Sam wrote:

On 08/03/2016 12:39 AM, Micky wrote:
On Tue, 2 Aug 2016 13:19:07 -0400, "Kurt V. Ullman"
wrote:

Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

I don't know the cost but I'd wait and see how it looks when the
company is full digital. Maybe it will look great and there will be
no point to new cable.

What is the code for the cable in use now, what would they use
instead, and why is the newer better, and how much better?

What I meant was, What are the little numbers and letters on the old
cable? And for that matter is it good quality, like Sam points out.
I can read letters and numbers and it might give a brand name? Doesn't
good quality cable have a brand name? Maybe some cheap stuff does
too, so check out the brand's reputation.

If this were an appliance, people wold say one made in the 80's was
better than one made now. Is cable not the same?

I'd also worry about damage the installer might do.


Running new coax cable is not rocket surgery yet most DIYers **** it up.

I believe it.

Most people buy the cheapest coax cable, splitters, wall plates,

For cable, iirc I used mostly cable I found in a dumpster outside an
office building being remodeled near downtown Brooklyn. It was in
good condition, bright white, few bends, none sharp, and the opposite
of flimsy. But for splitters, I probably bought cheap.

For two wall plates, I ran the cable into a switch box and drilled a
hole in the existing wall plate, put a rubber grommet in the hole, and
attached the F-connector after I ran the cable through the hole.

For one, plate I bought a new blank plate and did the same thing.

And it's been 25 years since i've seen the kitchen's and I can't
remember what I did.

15 or 20 years later I regretted not running speaker wires and it
would be much harder now because the holes are filled with cable, and
I don't want to drill more holes. I would have been willing to have
bigger holes. But now I have enough wireless speakers to make me
happy.

use romex staples to fasten cable to floor joists, crush the cable jacket
and exceed minimum bend radius.

I didn't use staples at all, I didn't crush anything, and I didn't
bend anythign sharply. What is a typical minimum bend radius?

Then they call the cable company and
complain that their video is pixellating and the audio is dropping out.

I didn't have any problems. I did find that after every 2 splitters,
I needed a signal amplifier, but high quality splitters wouldn't have
changed that, would they have? I have two famous-brand amps, one or
both with a built-splitter and they've been running 24/7 for 32 years
with no problems. Pretty impressive, I think.

After 25 years, the TV 8 feet from me now went through a period when
the picture was terrible (but I checked and it wasn't the amp), and
fidding with the wires that show did'nt help. There's an A-B switch
and a set-top digital to analog converter, in case I don't want to
watch what's being recorded in the other room. I think I used to
have a splitter used as a combiner, but when the trouble started, I
changed to the switch, but it didnt' help. next step was to look at
the wire into the attic, but it seems to have gotten better without
that.

I rarely go in the attic anymore. I got so fat I couldn't squeeze
between the ladder and the wall above the door to the closet. So I
decided to lose weight so I could go into the attic. Well that
didn't work, so I removed the clothes bar from the closet and cut
slots in the shelf so the ladder legs could go 3 or 4 inches into the
shelf, and now there is room for me, and the ladder is far less likely
to fall over (as it did once when I was in the attic. I had to jump
down, onto the ladder lying on the floor. Lucky I didn't break my
ankle. I put a wired phone in the attic and started leaving the
front door unlocked when I go up there. )

This is a job probably best left to the cable guy.

Probably, but people economize on that too, and that's one reason I
mentioned damage. And even the best people do damage once in a while.

On Tue, 02 Aug 2016 19:56:19 GMT, (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:

trader_4 writes:
On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 1:19:18 PM UTC-4, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

IDK what exactly they mean by all digital there, but here, I evolved to
all digital with 30 year old coax, no problems.

The bandwidth and isolation characteristics of RG59U aren't really
suitable for a run of any distance, so RG6/U is preferred.

But what would be a distance? Because I don't use homeruns, the
longest run is about 30 feet.

On Tue, 02 Aug 2016 17:15:16 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 2 Aug 2016 13:19:07 -0400, "Kurt V. Ullman"
wrote:

Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that it
might not react well when the company goes full digital. He suggested I
consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general cost for a two
story and basement with around 9 drops?

$976,259.99 plus tax

That's over 100,000 a drop. I'm sure he can do better.

In ,
Kurt V. Ullman typed:
Had some problems with cable and when the guy came out, he mentioned
that I had the coax they installed when they built the house and that
it might not react well when the company goes full digital. He
suggested I consider rewiring the house. Any idea as to a general
cost for a two story and basement with around 9 drops?

Really hard to say, of course, without knowing the house layout, whether
there are open sheetrock walls, etc.

But, for whatever it's worth, I once had someone wire a 2-story small office
building for Internet for $400. I think I paid for the wire and the junction
boxes etc. -- not sure. And, I think it was bout 12 drops altogether. But,
the building has open sheetrock walls and dropped ceilings on each floor, so
running the wires and the drops was not too difficult.