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Topic :Splicing a TV Cable
I've just managed to cut my satellite cable with my lawnmower. Pretty dumb, huh? Is there a way to splice the two ends together, so that I can watch my TV again? I've tried stripping the cable down to the copper wire in the middle, and twisting the two ends together. That didn't work. What do I need to do? I hope you're not going to tell me I need a whole new cable! :-) |
I have a small dish satellite which sits about 200 feet from my house. When running the cable I was too cheap to run a continuous line from the dish to the house, so I used the two 100 foot cables I already had. After doing so I had 2 small problems: 1.) minor signal loss. The signal went from 97% down to 92% (not a big problem, still well within resonable limits) 2.) After 2 big rainstorms my signal was down to 15% (water entered the connections) Here's what I would recommend you do:
Go to your local Radio Shack and buy 2 new coaxial screw-on cable ends and one threaded coaxial cable junction. If you can get them in gold, do it because it will help keep signal loss to a minimum.
When you get them home, use a knife and strip off 1 inch of the outer black wire covering making sure not to cut into the next metal layer. When the black sheath is removed, you will be left with a silver braided wire surrounding the next layer. Pull the braiding back on the wire. You should now be left with foil. Peel the foil off to expose the next layer of insulation underneath. Using the knife strip off 1/2 inch of the insulation to expose the copper wire at the very center. You can now go back and trim off most of the silver braided wire...be sure to leave a little exposed to make contact with the connector. Now, take one of the cable ends you bought and push it on the cable as far as it will go...then turn it clockwise until tight. If properly done the copper wire will be in the middle of the connector and about even with the end of the connector. Follow this procedure with the other side of the wire then join them together with the cable junction.
Now we have to address the problem of water entering the cable. I originally used a water proofing tape that was recommended for sealing the cable splice. It failed after a month. To fix it I took a 6 inch piece of rubber garden hose and unscrewed the cable end from the junction, slid the hose over it and re-attached the cable together. Once together I slid the hose over the entire connection and filled the hose with silicone caulk...worked like a charm, no problems in 2 years.
If you have anymore questions, or this isn't clear...please feel free to write me again. |
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