Attempting to run coax from loft

[The Natural Philosopher]

I have even chased through 8 feet of concrete floor screed to lay a loudspeaker cable and extend a TV aerial...

Do the job RIGHT. And its neat and done for life.

[Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)]

Cable is clipped to the inner wall and then plastered over generally. Don't even bother trying to shift it.

So why not just do the job properly and put the correct installation outside? When the analogue is turned off, you will have to do a proper job, so you might just as well do it now. Loft mounts are seldom satisfactory due to reflections.

Bring the cable down the wall and in, assuming you have no more convenient route through a soil stack cover etc. If you need to come from back to front, then bring the cable into, across the loft and then out doen the front. If you use brown H109 or WF100, it will be almost invisible against red brick.

[Gogs]

Oh no Dave, I dont agree with that, lets just say you have only half the story, defo a cowboy job in more ways than one

[Gogs]

Just looking for info on routing/fishing the cable, thats the part I have no experience off.

I have a bit of knowledge with regards to digital TV signals and already know what signal strength I can achieve with the aerial in or out.

It is a BlakeDMX10 I'm using and even the weakest channel is still pulling 60% on a Samsung IDTV which seem to be very sensitive, Panasonic kit will read about 85%. All the rest are pulling about

80-95%

I do have the wall bracket and 6ft cranked mast should I decide to put it outside, now that you mention outdside installations would you just secure the bracket with plugs and coach screws supplied with certain kits or use something else.

Also are them u-bolts enough to hold them masts and aerials, doesnt seem to be the best idea to me.

Even if I mount it outside, the cable will be running through the loft as I refuse to just throw it over the house, not very clever as someome suggested.

Options are (regardless of indoors or outdoors install)

A: Through loft and down, following route of current coax.

B: Through loft and out front of house, right down and in through brickwork.

Obviously prefer option A, but it seems to be a bit more hassle than had expected.

[The Natural Philosopher]

More disfigurement from the Gadget Cowboy...;-)

[Gogs]

I will need to go up a ladder anyway if I mount outside and dont have a problem with going up a ladder and drilling a few holes.

However I would not need to drill any holes up a ladder if just leaving in loft and running cable down front of house as I can get the cable out the front without drilling, would only have to drill at ground entry level.

Like yourself though I am not a fan of running cables outside on the other hand I am not to keen on cutting holes in the plasterboard.

I took out the leccy socket in the bedroom below and poked a rod downwards to see if would just drop down but just hitting wood.

Would not be the easiest thing to try and drill downwards in this situation, guessing would probably need to life the carpet, floorboards to feed from one leve to the next.

Weighing up the pros and cons I'm starting to favour the way I would not ideally want the job done

[dennis]

Put the digibox in the attic. Get a video sender and install the transmitter in the loft. No need to run any wires except mains which you could get from the lighting circuit as the box and sender take less power than a lamp. It wont give the best picture but it depends on what you expect.

[Dave Stanton]

Ok its your cable, sounds like you already have some of the answers .

Dave

[Gogs]

Wreck the wallpaper in the process, I am most likely going to run it down the wall.

[Gogs]

So the box takes less power than a lamp but what is going to power the digibox you have advised to put in the loft ;)

Running mains into the loft is probably going to prove even more hassle, my mate managed to take a feed for lights up there but not so sure mains would be so easy.

It's not just a digibox as such I have, kit consists of IDTV, Twin tuner PVR and digital DVDR.

[meow2222]

The feed for the lights IS the mains. I expect this is a communication glitch, but just in case you genuinely didnt know that, maybe best leave the mains alone.

'1 amp' 'lamp'

NT