Even in the age of digital technology and the total penetration of the Internet into all spheres of life, many apartments receive a television signal via cable. The wrong attitude to its installation can negatively affect the quality of the received signal, even in the case of choosing the most modern and expensive material. In the article we will tell you how to connect a television cable in different ways, we will give recommendations to beginners.
Features of the cable
The television cable “comes” into the apartment from the floor board and is routed through the television receivers available in the house. In order to properly wire the TV cable around the apartment, you should follow some recommendations.
The main elements of a TV cable in a stripped and completely bare form
To avoid interference with the signal, it is recommended to place the cable away from the electrical wiring. A telephone wire or cable for the Internet does not interfere with the normal passage of a TV signal, and therefore the general laying of these communications in one cable channel is allowed. If it is impossible to avoid the joint placement of the electrical cable with the television, then you should purchase a TV cable with a core diameter of more than 1 mm with a double protective screen.
Throughout the apartment, the cable should be pulled in one piece, avoiding any connections and twists that affect the quality of the picture. Crossing the cable with electrical networks is not recommended, but if this cannot be avoided, then the intersection should be arranged strictly at an angle of 90 °. Read also the article: → "".
Cable distribution by rooms to ensure shielding and high quality contacts and is carried out using factory-made splitters. Do-it-yourself devices are unlikely to be able to give an acceptable signal quality. You should also exclude the connection of a television cable with sharp bends or in a bay - the quality of the picture on the screen can suffer greatly from this.
It is better to lay the section of the line going from the floor box to the apartment in an expanded cable channel, taking into account the possible inclusion of an alarm or an additional telephone line. To facilitate maintenance, splitters should be placed in places with free access.
Models of television cables may be different, but the general principle of connecting them is unchanged. How to choose the right cable
Even the most modern TV receiver and cable plugs cannot produce an acceptable image with an insufficiently high-quality cable. High-frequency TV signal currents flow a little differently than home electrical currents. The higher the frequency of the current, the closer to the edges of the main wire it flows, therefore, in the cables used in the military or space industry, in order to avoid a critical decrease in the quality of the TV signal, they are treated with a silver or gold composition.
Choosing a cable to connect
When choosing a material, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- all designations must be present on the outer shell;
- the resistance value of the product should be 75 ohms, because all television receivers are designed for this value;
- the outer diameter must be more than less than 6 mm;
- the main core and the shielding braid must be made of copper.
In the latter case, manufacturers often sin by striving to reduce the cost of products as much as possible by making the central core of steel and simply coating it with copper sputtering, braiding from copper alloys, and shielding from foil. Read also the article: → "".
TV cable marking
Consider the marking on the example of the Chinese television cable RG 6U, the most common in our country.
An example of marking a Russian-made cable with an indication of the main characteristics and technical conditionsHow to connect the cable to the plug
You can connect the plug to the cable on your own, especially since the TV signal voltage is too low to cause any harm to health. Even an unplugged cable is cut without fear of electric shock. There is no harm in shorting between the braid and the main core either. For different sizes of cables, different plugs are produced, therefore, when choosing a cable, you need to pay attention to its diameter. F-plugs are the most commonly used.
First you need to cut the cable, which can be done in two ways:
- with braid bend;
- without twist.
The most reliable method is considered to be cutting with a twist, but if it is not possible to install the plug, then the second method is used. The cable is cut with a scalpel or a sharp knife: the outer sheath is carefully cut along the length without damaging the screen. When the cut is completed, the insulation is folded back and removed.
A phased scheme for crimping a television cable with a braid bend and a 3-5 mm main core release The copper braid and shielding foil are wrapped. In general, three types of shielding can be applied in TV cables:
- aluminium foil;
- copper braid;
- aluminum foil with copper braid.
Aluminum foil is often coated on the inside with polyethylene for reinforcement purposes. It is unlikely that it will be possible to strip the film without damaging the foil, therefore, to improve the contact of the screw-on plug with the foil, its bent part is slightly wrapped back so that the uninsulated piece of foil faces outward. If the cable diameter is too small, the end entering the plug is wrapped with electrical tape.
The insulation from the main core is removed in the usual way for many, similar to the removal of insulation from electrical wires, without damaging the core itself. Then the plug is wound onto the foil, and the excess of the main core is bitten off with wire cutters or cut off with a knife, leaving a length of about 3 mm outside.
Connecting the cable to the antenna
Connecting the TV cable to the antenna should be carried out with the obligatory observance of the rules for switching electrical appliances, guided by the diagrams available in the technical data sheet of the TV. To complete the work you will need:
- splitter;
- antenna cable;
- antenna amplifier;
- wire cutters;
- a sharp knife or scalpel;
- soldering iron.
The antenna amplifier is used when the signal is not strong enough or too weak. A splitter is useful for connecting several TVs to one antenna at once. Read also the article: → "".
The cable is connected directly to the TV antenna using screw clamps.
The cable, splitter and amplifier must be installed next to the routed cable. In an individual house, the best place to place all appliances is the attic. The end of the cable coming out of the antenna is connected to the amplifier through a special terminal. From the amplifier, the signal comes to the splitter, to which the television receivers in the house are connected. When connecting to a satellite dish, you will need to use a receiver to which a cable is connected via the antenna connector. The preparation of the cable is carried out in the same way as cutting it before connecting it to the plug.
Council number 1. Before connecting the TV, you must carefully check all the connections of the switching devices and the reliability of the installation of the plugs in the appropriate sockets. If the image is noisy or the signal is too weak, adjust the antenna amplifier settings.
Connecting to a splitter (splitter)
Nowadays, no one can be surprised by the presence of a TV in every room. A small problem is to feed the TV signal to all receivers, since in most cases the signal source is the same. The solution to this problem is to use an antenna splitter. The quality of the picture when connecting TV receivers through a splitter may deteriorate somewhat, but the connection process itself is not difficult and takes just a few minutes.
The step-by-step connection scheme can be represented as follows:
- choosing the location of the splitter and fixing it in it;
- removing plugs from used connectors;
- cutting and connecting TV cable.
Connecting the cable in the shield
When laying or connecting the cable, it is not allowed to twist it into knots and bays, kinks or sharp bends that sharply degrade the quality of the received TV signal.
Tip number 2: The cable section that goes first from the shield to the apartment should be placed in a wide cable channel.
In the case when the cable connection in the ladder box must be carried out by soldering, the length of unshielded sections should be minimized, since their presence and length directly affects the quality of the signal and image. At the end of soldering, it is recommended to cover each contact under a layer of varnish - it is able to prevent the occurrence of foci of corrosion damage and the ingress of dust particles between the contacts. Dust adhering between the contacts causes the signal to deteriorate with increasing humidity: the image reproduced by an analog TV will snow heavily, and when transmitting a digital signal, the image will simply disintegrate into pixels with an unpleasant squeak.
Connecting a TV cable in the driveway is not difficult FAQ
Question number 1. Is the F-plug for digital for digital TV signal transmission, or only for analog?
Despite the fact that this type of plug has been used for a long time, both its connector and characteristics allow you to fully enjoy not only analog (by the way, in the near future, permanently stopping broadcasting) television, but also digital and satellite TV signal.
Question number 2. What to do and what to do if the cable diameter turned out to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the internal thread of the plug? Indeed, in this case, reliable compression will not work.
Question number 3. If you install the plug in the appropriate socket, the TV cannot be placed close to the wall. What is the way out of this situation?
In this case, you should use an angled plug, which can be bought at almost any store selling electrical household appliances.
Question number 4. In old Soviet-made TVs, the cable was connected to the plug by soldering. How to connect a modern type of cable to it?
If the signal quality deteriorates or the cable needs to be replaced due to poor contact, the plug and cable can be connected as before by soldering.
Question number 5. How can I connect several TVs to an antenna or cable TV network at once?
To connect several television receivers, you can use a special device - a splitter, also called a "divider" or "splitter".
Using splitters to connect multiple TVs to one TV cable Typical connection errors
- Not everyone knows that the foil in the cable is covered by some manufacturers from the inside with polyethylene, which cannot be cleaned even with a scalpel. Plastic, even with the highest quality cable stripping, will prevent the creation of high-quality contact with the plug. To avoid signal distortion, it is recommended to wrap part of the folded foil in the opposite direction so that the conductive side is outside.
- A typical mistake is getting the thinnest wires of the braid onto the main core of the cable when it is being compressed. Doing so may result in poor quality or intermittent signal dropouts. A common mistake when installing and laying a cable is placing it in the same plinth with electrical wiring. You can’t do this, otherwise the interference created can significantly spoil the mood when watching TV.