Cable Forum - View Single Post

igotdamaged · 07-05-2008, 12:55

Hello all.

First post, but I need some help please

I was originally a Telewest broadband customer who is now covered under the Virgin Media umbrella. I am currently on a "Broadband XL" package and I pay £37.00/month. I have cable broadband that arrives into the house via a Scientific Atlanta Webstar box, and I currently route the broadband into a Mac Airport Express wireless router, and spread the love around the house wirelessly. I use this Virgin Media cable connection solely for the broadband (not TV, satellite or phone etc).

Recently, I have converted our garage into an office, and now I want to extend the home network so that the new building is also covered. This is necessary because the garage is about 30m from the point at which the modem currently sits and the wireless signal is very weak. I tried adding a second Airport Express connection to extend the range of our home network which improved matters, but in all honesty isn't going to be acceptable.

I have come to the conclusion therefore that what I need to do is split the connection before it enters the house. Keep the original line going into the house as before, but at some point (ideally before the wire enters the house, split the cable so that a second wire can be run around the outside of the house and into the garage. At the moment, we have two boxes that are attached to the house (pictured below).

This one sits externally (I took the cover off to peek inside)

This one is mounted to the wall inside the house

So that is the background... my questions are this:

1. Is this going to be possible?

2. Can I split the cable before it enters the house (photo 1), or does it have to go into the box inside the house (photo 2) and then be split?

3. What type of connections do I need to split the signal, what are the bits called and what type of cable do I need?

4. Assuming I can split it, do I need a second “Scientific Atlanta Webstar” box to put in the garage, or are there different types of modems that will convert the cable wire into a traditional network (ADSL) type connection that I can plug into my Airport Express?

Thanks very much

07-05-2008, 12:55	#1
igotdamaged cf.member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 5	Splitting a connection Hello all. First post, but I need some help please I was originally a Telewest broadband customer who is now covered under the Virgin Media umbrella. I am currently on a "Broadband XL" package and I pay £37.00/month. I have cable broadband that arrives into the house via a Scientific Atlanta Webstar box, and I currently route the broadband into a Mac Airport Express wireless router, and spread the love around the house wirelessly. I use this Virgin Media cable connection solely for the broadband (not TV, satellite or phone etc). Recently, I have converted our garage into an office, and now I want to extend the home network so that the new building is also covered. This is necessary because the garage is about 30m from the point at which the modem currently sits and the wireless signal is very weak. I tried adding a second Airport Express connection to extend the range of our home network which improved matters, but in all honesty isn't going to be acceptable. I have come to the conclusion therefore that what I need to do is split the connection before it enters the house. Keep the original line going into the house as before, but at some point (ideally before the wire enters the house, split the cable so that a second wire can be run around the outside of the house and into the garage. At the moment, we have two boxes that are attached to the house (pictured below). This one sits externally (I took the cover off to peek inside) This one is mounted to the wall inside the house So that is the background... my questions are this: 1. Is this going to be possible? 2. Can I split the cable before it enters the house (photo 1), or does it have to go into the box inside the house (photo 2) and then be split? 3. What type of connections do I need to split the signal, what are the bits called and what type of cable do I need? 4. Assuming I can split it, do I need a second “Scientific Atlanta Webstar” box to put in the garage, or are there different types of modems that will convert the cable wire into a traditional network (ADSL) type connection that I can plug into my Airport Express? Thanks very much