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Coax Cable Not working - Suggestions please!

T

Towelie88

Newbie
Hi All

I just moved into a new flat and want to set up my zgemma h2h box. Unfortunately the virgin line and the xgemma box are 4 rooms away from each other.

There is a Coax cable that currently comes out behind the tv and runs under the floor into the basement (directly below the room with the virgin line), unfortunaltely for some reason it has been cut, why I do not know.

As my housemates are not ok with me running a new cable all the way around the flat. I need to find a way to get this old cable working again. I ran the Virgin line into the basement (checked and this is working fine). I then added a new F-type connector to the old severed cable and joined the two together.

No signal on the Zgemma :(

When it is plugged into the zgemma, I can touch the end of the wire in the basement and feel an electric current. I'm guessing that daisy chaining of the two long cables isn't good enough. Is there some kind of signal booster I can use?

What would be a good way of testing the old cable?

Any assistance would be appreciated!
 
Towelie88 said:
Hi All

I just moved into a new flat and want to set up my zgemma h2h box. Unfortunately the virgin line and the xgemma box are 4 rooms away from each other.

There is a Coax cable that currently comes out behind the tv and runs under the floor into the basement (directly below the room with the virgin line), unfortunaltely for some reason it has been cut, why I do not know.

As my housemates are not ok with me running a new cable all the way around the flat. I need to find a way to get this old cable working again. I ran the Virgin line into the basement (checked and this is working fine). I then added a new F-type connector to the old severed cable and joined the two together.

No signal on the Zgemma :(

When it is plugged into the zgemma, I can touch the end of the wire in the basement and feel an electric current. I'm guessing that daisy chaining of the two long cables isn't good enough. Is there some kind of signal booster I can use?

What would be a good way of testing the old cable?

Any assistance would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
Technetix HDU-400 Virgin Media Signal Booster eBay item number:

222683145755
 
if it's normal tv aerial coax, this isn't suitable for VM, you need the correct cable

if it is indeed VM cable then you need compression fittings to join the two together

even then you may need a signal booster to get a proper signal because of the length of cable involved, the shorter the better
 
pabloescaban said:
if it's normal tv aerial coax, this isn't suitable for VM, you need the correct cable

if it is indeed VM cable then you need compression fittings to join the two together

even then you may need a signal booster to get a proper signal because of the length of cable involved, the shorter the better
Click to expand...

Thanks, What's the best way of telling if it is indeed regular tv aerial coax? It has an F-type connector by the tv.

The two cables are currently joined together with a compression fitting. I have no idea how long the cable itself is. As I can only see a small amount of it in the basement, and the other end by the tv.
 
I'm not really following this ....

did you put the f connector on the coax? - if you did, it must have already had a screw type end already on it?

what colour is the cable?

what colour is the vm cable coming into the basement?
 
pabloescaban said:
I'm not really following this ....

did you put the f connector on the coax? - if you did, it must have already had a screw type end already on it?

what colour is the cable?

what colour is the vm cable coming into the basement?
Click to expand...

Sorry I wasn't clear. It has an F-type connector coming out by the tv. it had been cut in the basement for some reason. I just stuck an f type connector on this end and linked it to the virgin cable with a coupler.
 

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that looks like VM cable

how did you join it to the piece near your TV - is the coax near the TV of the same type?
 
pabloescaban said:
that looks like VM cable

how did you join it to the piece near your TV - is the coax near the TV of the same type?
Click to expand...

it is a single cable, It comes out of the wall by the TV with an f-type connector, runs under the living room floor and comes out in the basement about 15 meters away where it has been cut as you can see in the image.

If I get myself one of those boosters, is it best to put it where the two cables join in the basement? Or by my router where the VM line comes into the house?
 
I wouldn't buy anything until you can verify that the feed into the building is still live - connected to VM network, pointless trying to boost signal in a dead cable :(y):

does anyone else living there have a VM service?
 
pabloescaban said:
I wouldn't buy anything until you can verify that the feed into the building is still live - connected to VM network, pointless trying to boost signal in a dead cable :(y):

does anyone else living there have a VM service?
Click to expand...

It definitely works. I took the Zgemma down to the basement and plugged it in to the vm line cable. Picked up channels as expected.

The previously cut off cable in the basement is definitely the same one that comes out behind the tv. I plugged it into the zgemma box at the tv and then touched the end in the basement and could feel a faint electric shock, then unplugged the zgemma and it the shock dissapeared.

It seems like it should work.. But isn't.
 
Towelie88 said:
It definitely works. I took the Zgemma down to the basement and plugged it in to the vm line cable. Picked up channels as expected.

The previously cut off cable in the basement is definitely the same one that comes out behind the tv. I plugged it into the zgemma box at the tv and then touched the end in the basement and could feel a faint electric shock, then unplugged the zgemma and it the shock dissapeared.

It seems like it should work.. But isn't.
Click to expand...

why would the zgemma by putting a voltage down the cable?

you really need to do a continuity test on the cable, if it is the same cable, the outer sheath could be maybe cut somewhere,
 
the cut off end that you touched needs connectng to the incoming cable with compression fittings for you to try it properly
 
Towelie88 said:
the two cables are connected using a coupler like this -

http://cpc.farnell.com/productimages/standard/en_GB/CN16232-40.jpg

is that what you mean by a compression fitting?

Also, I'm not sure why the zgemma is sending a voltage down the cable, but I can definitely feel it!
Click to expand...

thats just a female-female F coupler
are you using screw on males ? or compression ones?

screw on http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-signal/rw6-022-c-zinc/f-male-twist-on-rg6u-zinc/dp/CN16028

compression http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-signal/rw6-083c/f-compression-plug-rg6u/dp/CN16032
 
I chopped the end off a spare f cable that came with my router and poked the raw wire through it. Bit of a bodge but thought it might do the job.
 

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Towelie88 said:
I chopped the end off a spare f cable that came with my router and poked the raw wire through it. Bit of a bodge but thought it might do the job.
Click to expand...

so you havent got a good mechanical connection really with that plug?

you really need to sort that first, then go from there
 
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