cable question

[HammerHead001]

I am in the process of building a new home. I am doing all cat 6 and coax drops on my own. While purchasing the cable online I asked about the quality of RG-6. The guy said it was steel clad copper. I am unsure of the term he used verbatim but - it is obviously not solid copper.

Can this create issues? picture or signal quality or any other?

Any help or experience would be appreciated.

[doctor j]

I am in the process of building a new home. I am doing all cat 6 and coax drops on my own. While purchasing the cable online I asked about the quality of RG-6. The guy said it was steel clad copper. I am unsure of the term he used verbatim but - it is obviously not solid copper.

Can this create issues? picture or signal quality or any other?

Any help or experience would be appreciated.

Voltage drops on CCS(copper clad steel) is greater than solid copper cable.
Only a problem on longer drops (> 200ft).
This can cause channel changing issues if 13v / 18v not recognized.
Not as much of a concern with SWM systems.
Cost about 25 % more.

My $.02 worth is than if starting from scratch and buying bulk get the best you can.

I personally won't use anything except Belden 1694a in my home.

Doctor j

[matt]

Don't use copper clad steel if you are starting from the ground up, please. While it is usually OK for "short" runs, the cost to do it right it negligible.

There are a lot of proponents for Belden, and that is a quality cable. I think D* uses perfect vision, and you can get 1000ft of that for about $100. Personally I use Gepco VSD2001 for my stuff. We used it in a TV studio and I think it is a quality cable, but any of the 3 would be better than copper clad steel.

[BattleZone]

If you are prewiring a home, the difference in price to buy solid copper RG6 (let's go outrageous and call it $50) is NOTHING over the life of the house. Heck, it's nothing compared to the costs and labor to replace copper-clad steel cable once the walls are up.

You have a unique oppertunity. Don't squander it by being cheap, or you will always regret it.

Run 2 lines of solid copper RG6 and 2 lines of CAT6 cable to every room, and 2 full sets, one on each opposite wall, for "primary" rooms, for when the wife decides she MUST rearrange the furniture and move the TV. It's cheap and easy to do now, but will be expensive and may be near impossible to change later.

I've never met anyone who regretted running too much cable, but I've met dozens who regretted not running enough (or not running the right type).

[matt]

Also when you make the home run from your closet where all the rooms meet to your connection point outside, run 4 lines even if you have a SWM dish. You might need a multiswtich in your connection closet someday. Personally, I would run 6 so I would have a couple spares for OTA or who knows what in the future.

[carl6]

I've never met anyone who regretted running too much cable, but I've met dozens who regretted not running enough (or not running the right type).

Amen to that!