# Low voltage help



## aggie13_03 (Sep 23, 2010)

I'm installing the low voltage in my new house which is under construction. I have a few questions for anyone that has experience. 

1. I read that you should supply 4 coaxial cables to the satellite service. My current house only has one then it splits in the attic. How many should I run to wear my dish will be?

2. I'm running Cat6 and RG6 Coaxial to every room(some rooms get two drops). Is there anything else I should run?

3. I plan on running everything to a closet and making a distribution center out of that closet. Should I just leave it bundled in the attic above that closet until the Sheetrock and paint has been installed?

4. Any other comments or tips are welcome. 

Thanks


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## phanagriff (Dec 23, 2011)

Not much help, but would check to see what the dish calls for. Usually if the dish has three simultaneous signal feeds, one for each tv, then you would need three cables and maybe power as well. Get info from your potential provider dish network, Hughes, however to help answer that question. All the rest sounds great. You didn't mention any wire for stereo or alarms.
Good luck.


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## bassguitarman (Nov 29, 2005)

When my son and I did a rewire on my home a few years back, we did something that has come in very handy. You cannot predict what type of wiring the next technology will require* (if any)*.

We left a 1/4" nylon rope as a pull device in each wall that was difficult to reach. When I have had to modify the wiring, I just tie on and pull the new wire into place.


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## smokinguntoo (Mar 28, 2012)

bassguitarman said:


> When my son and I did a rewire on my home a few years back, we did something that has come in very handy. You cannot predict what type of wiring the next technology will require* (if any)*.
> 
> We left a 1/4" nylon rope as a pull device in each wall that was difficult to reach. When I have had to modify the wiring, I just tie on and pull the new wire into place.


This^^^.

Accidents happen too. Cousin's bay house on Boliver. They ran hdmi from the wall where the tv is located to a cabinet on another wall where the electronics are all located. They overloaded the shelf where the receiver is located and when it dropped down it broke the hdmi cable. We looked at soldering a new end to the hdmi, but that is NOT AN OPTION. Next trip down with a new 25 ft. hdmi cable, we'll be in the attic with a fish tape threading the new cable down both walls. About a six packs worth of trouble.

You might consider making a provision for hdmi cabling. Particularly if the tv and the control box are at differing locations. The hdmi end is about an inch wide so consider when drilling the holes.

If the installer had done the above in each wall. . . Case closed. That technology changes so quickly that you never know what is coming down the pike.

We'll also be running a 50 amp RV plug down to the parking area so I can hook up the RV and not have to run the genset!!! Yea!!! He saw the need for that addition when building and left the open spot on the panel box and ran wire from it to the attic. Shouldn't be too bad unless we wait 'til summer.

SG2


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## BATWING (May 9, 2008)

**Not sure on the Co/Ax. Many mfg's will have wireless soon so keep this in mind. I think Comcast already offers wireless receivers. I cant see running more than one run to each end-point. You can always put a HDMI 4-port to run multiple monitors.

CAT6: If you are going to run CAT6 then be sure to get CAT6 Faceplate, connectors and RJ45's. You can do 10/100/1000 mps on Cat5e.

**Running fiber is the next stop for throughput.


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## aggie13_03 (Sep 23, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. I thought about leaving some rope or string as well. Luckily my attic is pretty open (except for a few areas) so if I want to add a drop later it won't be a huge issue.


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## BATWING (May 9, 2008)

aggie13_03 said:


> Thanks for the replies. I thought about leaving some rope or string as well. Luckily my attic is pretty open (except for a few areas) so if I want to add a drop later it won't be a huge issue.


Yes! Get a spool of that blue/white nylon pull cord and use on all runs.


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## aggie13_03 (Sep 23, 2010)

The multiple runs would be on different walls in the same room. We don't know how furniture will be arranged or if we decide to change it, I want options. 

I only used WiFi in my last two houses, but wanted to have the option in this house. , plus faster speeds and possible future uses that I haven't thought of.


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## caz (Oct 23, 2006)

Pre wire for speakers also, 16/2 to each speaker ran next to where your light switches will be for that location for a volume control. then a 16/4 from there to where your amp will be. You could also run a cat 6 from the volume control to where your amp is if you plan on using Nuvo or a higher end volume control music server type of equipment. 
If you plan on having tv s mounted on the wall, run a tube from each tv location down to where your satellite or cable box will be for each room so you can run your hdmi cords after dry wall. I would also have and electrical outlet installed up high where your TVs will be if you plan on mounting them, makes it easier to plug them in right behind the TV. Install the outlet and tube either at the top 3rd or bottom 3rd of the TV space, if you put them right in the middle it will be in the way when you try and mount the bracket for the tv mounts. If you want security cameras you will have to run cat 6 to each camera location home runned back to your low voltage can. 
I would also run a tube from the attic to any hard to access rooms in case you need to run something later it's there and ready and makes it easier. 
If you want security you will have to wire your house for that also. 
Run everything you need, install the can between the studs and just run the wire down inside the can before anything is drywalled.


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## texas trout killer (Jun 11, 2013)

I did this for my sister when they were building a house. I bought one of these http://www.altex.com/Channel-Vision-28-Structured-Wiring-Enclosure-C-0128E-P146307.aspx and mounted it in the closet and ran all the wire to it before the sheetrock went up. The sheet rockers will treat the box just like an electrical panel and rock around it. After the sheet rock was up I terminated all the connections and mounted all of the distribution panels. I put phone, video and network in this box. If you go this route I would highly recommend getting a larger box and run a conduit with some pull stings in it for future expansion.

If you have any questions send me a pm.


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## capfab (May 21, 2010)

Run CAT 5 cable to all rooms, and two would not hurt. HDMI signals can easily be carried off CAT 5 with converters. CAT 5 is easily the most flexible and inexpensive cable out there that is multi purpose.

And yes, pre-wire for speakers.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

I recommend running conduits as spares in any wall that could need wiring/cabling. An 1 1/2" PVC pipe from about 15" off of the floor up through the top plate and out into the attic space. Mark them clearly on a set of plans. X inches from this corner or door, etc. You can cut a hole and add a cover plate later. A pull string isn't necessary, it can be installed later. For sure one from the outside/garage and or the "service" area where antennas , etc. will be installed to a central "closet" that may hold a modem, etc. Pretty cheap insurance for later. As said above, no way to know today what the cables will look like tomorrow. Might be fiber optics, who knows.


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## jman0328 (Feb 3, 2010)

x2 on the conduit for the tv mounts and the power plug up high behind the tv's. I would skip running cat6 to each room and just run to a few specific locations. The tech trend is towards faster wifi not wired, even cable boxes are becoming wifi. Run cat6 to your office, two to the living room tv, and the rest to any areas of the house you would want a wifi extender or a CCTV cam. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## aggie13_03 (Sep 23, 2010)

Too late JMAN, I already ran the Cat6! Haha 

Thanks everyone for the replies. Now I'm going to have to learn how to wire all this together once we move in.


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