4 ms·

There’s something even better than MOCA. Black electrical tape. You tape the cat5 to the end of the coax and then pull really hard and then you get great perfor

by zcw100 3y ago

There’s something even better than MOCA. Black electrical tape. You tape the cat5 to the end of the coax and then pull really hard and then you get great performance.

franga2000 3y ago
If the cables were run in conduits AND if there aren't any sharp turns AND if you own the place or got your landlord's permission.
- zcw100 3y ago
  Yes. All true. I just hate the coax in my house. It pisses me off every time I see there they installed it by just drilling a hole in the facade.
  - phil21 3y ago
    I bought a house in a locality that requires conduit for all in-wall wiring (including low voltage) by code. This annoys most people, but I love it since it means you can upgrade stuff easily in the future if you desire. This house did not have cat5 installed anywhere, but it had both coax and cat3 for the old school phone lines/intercom system. During the inspection I removed some wall plates and noted that there indeed appeared to be properly installed conduit in every box I spot-checked. Inspectors noted the same. After I moved in and got all the supplies ordered and staged to start removing coax/cat3 using them as pull strings for my expensive fancy new CAT6 wiring I found out something super fun... The builder had decided to cheat the code inspectors by installing every single box with only about a foot of conduit attached to the boxes. After that they simply stapled the wiring to the studs every so often making pulling cable with them impossible. At least it appears they did indeed use conduit for the AC power. Not entirely related to your point, but it's something that still makes my blood pressure increase a tick even remembering it enough to describe here. What went from a weekend of pulling new cable with conveniently placed pull strings turned in to a month's-long ordeal of running new cat6 through the house and then another couple weeks of drywall repair for all the holes needed to do so.
    - tguvot 3y ago
      conduits aren't that magical, especially in concrete walls. they tend to break/bend too much in plane transitions making it hard or impossible to pull anything through them even if there is pull string inside
    - jmholla 3y ago
      > The builder had decided to cheat the code inspectors by installing every single box with only about a foot of conduit attached to the boxes. After that they simply stapled the wiring to the studs every so often making pulling cable with them impossible. At least it appears they did indeed use conduit for the AC power. Did you have any recourse against the builder? Maybe through your homeowner's insurance?
- Spivak 3y ago
  I will eat my hat if anyone installing coax actually uses conduits, the kind of people doing the installation -- your cable provider gives zero shits. Avoiding "sharp turns" should be no issue since in your average home you're not gonna need >4 quarter turns that would necessitate a junction box.
  - avery17 3y ago
    Our cable provider just drilled a hole into our house through the exterior siding, through the floor moulding and right into the dining room. Hooked it straight up, no box, no wall plate. Didn't even seal the hole. They dont give a shit.
sidewndr46 3y ago
I did the same thing but actually pulled the original coax back through as well. It's just like a permanent pull cord now. The stuff is too small to be useful for anything anyways, might as well live out the rest of its life sitting in a wall cavity.
tguvot 3y ago
i believe, in usa, according to building code wires should be stapled to studs (if wiring done during construction). i tried to pull out one stapled wire, it didn't really work
- ssl-3 3y ago
  There aren't any universally-adopted residential building codes in the US. (Things like the National Electric Code and Universal Plumbing Code simply aren't at all what their titles may appear to suggest.)
  - tguvot 3y ago
    https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/electrical/nec-enforcement-maps https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/electrical/nec-e... i guess catX and coax are low voltage and covered by nec
    - ssl-3 3y ago
      Except for places that have not adopted the NEC, which are numerous and not at all difficult to find. Some places have not broadly adopted the NEC at all. For instance: In Ohio, NEC adoption is handled at a more-local level, and many places simply have never handled that at all. My point is that things like the National Electrical Code simply aren't "national" at all. Regardless of how it is named, it is a privately-published rulebook that jurisdictions can elect to use, but are in no way required to use.
      - tguvot 3y ago
        the link is literally map showing where nec is adopted
        ssl-3 3y ago
        The map is literally wrong. What is it that you are hoping to add to this conversation?
gkfasdfasdf 3y ago
If cables are running through holes drilled through studs/joists those may be filled with flame-retardant foam, which could make pulling tricky.

by zcw100 3y ago

There’s something even better than MOCA. Black electrical tape. You tape the cat5 to the end of the coax and then pull really hard and then you get great performance.

franga2000 3y ago

If the cables were run in conduits AND if there aren't any sharp turns AND if you own the place or got your landlord's permission.

zcw100 3y ago
Yes. All true. I just hate the coax in my house. It pisses me off every time I see there they installed it by just drilling a hole in the facade.
- phil21 3y ago
  I bought a house in a locality that requires conduit for all in-wall wiring (including low voltage) by code. This annoys most people, but I love it since it means you can upgrade stuff easily in the future if you desire. This house did not have cat5 installed anywhere, but it had both coax and cat3 for the old school phone lines/intercom system. During the inspection I removed some wall plates and noted that there indeed appeared to be properly installed conduit in every box I spot-checked. Inspectors noted the same. After I moved in and got all the supplies ordered and staged to start removing coax/cat3 using them as pull strings for my expensive fancy new CAT6 wiring I found out something super fun... The builder had decided to cheat the code inspectors by installing every single box with only about a foot of conduit attached to the boxes. After that they simply stapled the wiring to the studs every so often making pulling cable with them impossible. At least it appears they did indeed use conduit for the AC power. Not entirely related to your point, but it's something that still makes my blood pressure increase a tick even remembering it enough to describe here. What went from a weekend of pulling new cable with conveniently placed pull strings turned in to a month's-long ordeal of running new cat6 through the house and then another couple weeks of drywall repair for all the holes needed to do so.
  - tguvot 3y ago
    conduits aren't that magical, especially in concrete walls. they tend to break/bend too much in plane transitions making it hard or impossible to pull anything through them even if there is pull string inside
  - jmholla 3y ago
    > The builder had decided to cheat the code inspectors by installing every single box with only about a foot of conduit attached to the boxes. After that they simply stapled the wiring to the studs every so often making pulling cable with them impossible. At least it appears they did indeed use conduit for the AC power. Did you have any recourse against the builder? Maybe through your homeowner's insurance?
Spivak 3y ago
I will eat my hat if anyone installing coax actually uses conduits, the kind of people doing the installation -- your cable provider gives zero shits. Avoiding "sharp turns" should be no issue since in your average home you're not gonna need >4 quarter turns that would necessitate a junction box.
- avery17 3y ago
  Our cable provider just drilled a hole into our house through the exterior siding, through the floor moulding and right into the dining room. Hooked it straight up, no box, no wall plate. Didn't even seal the hole. They dont give a shit.

sidewndr46 3y ago

I did the same thing but actually pulled the original coax back through as well. It's just like a permanent pull cord now. The stuff is too small to be useful for anything anyways, might as well live out the rest of its life sitting in a wall cavity.

tguvot 3y ago

i believe, in usa, according to building code wires should be stapled to studs (if wiring done during construction). i tried to pull out one stapled wire, it didn't really work

ssl-3 3y ago
There aren't any universally-adopted residential building codes in the US. (Things like the National Electric Code and Universal Plumbing Code simply aren't at all what their titles may appear to suggest.)
- tguvot 3y ago
  https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/electrical/nec-enforcement-maps https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/electrical/nec-e... i guess catX and coax are low voltage and covered by nec
  - ssl-3 3y ago
    Except for places that have not adopted the NEC, which are numerous and not at all difficult to find. Some places have not broadly adopted the NEC at all. For instance: In Ohio, NEC adoption is handled at a more-local level, and many places simply have never handled that at all. My point is that things like the National Electrical Code simply aren't "national" at all. Regardless of how it is named, it is a privately-published rulebook that jurisdictions can elect to use, but are in no way required to use.
    - tguvot 3y ago
      the link is literally map showing where nec is adopted
      - ssl-3 3y ago
        The map is literally wrong. What is it that you are hoping to add to this conversation?

gkfasdfasdf 3y ago

If cables are running through holes drilled through studs/joists those may be filled with flame-retardant foam, which could make pulling tricky.