Have you bought an antenna with a cable too short to reach your TV? Or are you simply trying to extend your cable a little longer to reach a TV in another room? You can just buy a longer cable but what happens when your cable is permanently attached to the base of the antenna?
In this article, we will give you a step by step guide on How to Extend Your Antennas' Coaxial Cable.
While we recommend that you allow a professional to take care of this during the initial installation process, we also understand that it is not a requirement and this simple process can be a major benefit for multiple situations for instance, outdoor camping, tailgating, party hosting, etc.
With a few simple products and tools you may or may not have around your home, you can easily extend your antennas' coaxial cable in order to reach your TV with cheap and easy fix.
For under $20, you will need to purchase 2 items:
Coaxial Cable (whatever length is needed, preferably 50" or less)
Coaxial Cable Coupler (sometimes called cable extension adapters)
7/16-Inch Wrench
Brand Shown in Picture
Adjustable Wrench
Brand Shown in Picture
What is a Coaxial Cable Coupler
A coaxial cable coupler is type of cable adapter capable of joining two coaxial cables together. While couplers come in several styles and are used primarily in home electronics, common situations in which one would use a coupler would be:
- Someone trying to extend the coaxial cable that they are using for cable television. Whether you are extending your antenna cable because it is too short or the cable that is ran from outside, into the splitter inside of your home (as seen in many apartment buildings, hotels, etc).
- A person is trying to get a cable from one room to another room to connect to the internet and it is too short. A coaxial cable coupler can be used to add another cable to the first to make it longer.
How to install Coaxial Cable Coupler
Attach both ends of the coaxial cable, one side at a time, into the coaxial cable coupler, then screw cables until secured.
Once both ends of the coaxial cables are connected to the coaxial cable coupler, use a 7/16 Combination Wrench or a Standard Adjustable Wrench to lightly tighten the cables to the coupler.
Using a coaxial cable coupler is probably the easiest way to extend your coaxial cable without losing much strength in your broadcast signal. This setup can even be used outside but it is recommended that you at least weatherproof your new connections.
If you want to weatherproof your connections, we have provided a short step by step guide that will keep moisture and excess heat from your damaging
If you didn’t do this to your connector, you might want to open up your connection every once in a while to check for sign of water on the inside of the connector.
A sure sign of trouble is rust on the inside. Over time the water will work its way thru the connector to the braid of the coax, which will in turn start rusting. This will change the properties of the coax, and negatively impact the signal your antenna delivers to your TV.
Weatherproofing your Coaxial Cable Connection
If your coaxial cable connection will be outside, we recommend that you follow these steps first before the steps above.
To weatherproof your coaxial cable connector, you'll need
Coaxial Cable RR6 Weather Seal Boot
Brand Shown in Picture
Electrical Tape
Brand Shown in Picture
Start by placing your a rubber coaxial cable weather seal boot on each ends of coaxial cable. It should look something like this:
Now follow the steps above on "How to Install a Coaxial Cable Coupler."
Next, start by wrapping your connection in electrical tape from one to the next.
Work your way to the end and make sure that you also start and cover at least 1 inch of the cable going into the connector as shown below.
With two or three extra wraps, work your way back to the middle and repeat the process to the other end. Once you are finish, your cable connection will be able to withstand the different weather conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment