How do I Wire a Home for Satellite TV?
By Allen Teal
Although most satellite television providers offer free installation of new systems or will reinstall your system if you move, there may be times when you will find yourself needing to wire your house for satellite television. Wiring the house is different from installing the satellite receiver. Once the house is wired for satellite television, the dish can be installed and hooked up to the house television wiring system. Before starting the wiring process, decide where you would like your satellite television hook ups to be located.
Step 1
Measure the distance from the nearest outside wall to the location of the end of the first satellite cable you will be installing. Crawl under the house or go into the basement and measure that same distance to make sure that you will not be drilling into a floor joist when making the hole for the cable to enter the room. Make this hole as close to the wall as possible. If your house is on a slab, you will need to drill through the wall down close to the floor for the cable opening.
Step 2
Drill the hole using a bit as close to the size of the satellite cable as possible without being smaller than the cable. If you are going through the basement or crawl space, go to the basement or crawl space and drill a hole in the outside wall that is along the most direct route from the location of the satellite receiver. If you will be running multiple satellite television cables from one or more dishes, you will need to make this outside opening large enough to accommodate all of the wires that will need to pass through it.
Step 3
Feed the wire from outside the house through the opening into the room, crawl space or basement, depending on the style of your house. Leave enough wire outside to reach from the opening to the location of the satellite dish. Go into the basement or crawl space and pull the wire through the opening into the room.
Step 4
Push the wire through the hole and up into the room. Repeat this process starting at the outside until the wires have been routed into each room that will have a connection. Go into the room and pull enough cable into the room to allow you to be able to reach the satellite receiver box. If you plan to be able to rearrange the room later on, you will need to pull enough cable to allow for the changes you'll be making.
Step 5
Remove any excess cable wire by cutting it off with wire cutters. Use a coax stripper to remove the outside coating and the inner coating over the core. This tool will cut away the coatings in such a way that one quarter inch of the outer shielding under the outer insulation will be left intact. A quarter inch of the conductor should be exposed, also.
Step 6
Twist a screw-on type of coaxial connector onto the end of the cable with your fingers. You can use a crimping tool for this with a crimp type of connector, but for the novice the screw-on connector is much easier to attach and will function well. You can use this same type of connector outside, but if a technician installs your dish, the technician will use her own equipment and connectors.
Step 7
Fill the outside openings with some type of caulk or silicon sealer. This can be purchased in a squeeze tube or you can use a caulking gun with a tube of the sealer made to fit the gun. In the crawl space or basement, use a hammer with wire staples to attach the cable to the floor joists to keep it from hanging down and being in the way. Use one staple for each 3 feet of cable. When the satellite dish or dishes are installed, you can attach the connectors inside the house to your receivers to complete the installation.
Warnings
- Never do outside electrical wiring when lightning is present.
Writer Bio
Allen Teal was first published in 2002 in the "Adult Teacher" and "Adult Student" books for the Assemblies of God Sunday School department. He has also been published on various websites. He received an Associate of Arts in business from Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo.