A few questions

[csutcliff]

Hi, I'm a computer science student at UEA in Norwich (so by all means get technical in your answers ;) ) and until recently I lived in a remote area with no cable and poor adsl connections so i ahve very limited cable knowledge.

Where I used to live 9 times out of 10 the poor speeds people had were mainly caused by poor internal wiring and low quality microfilters, they make a big difference when the external line is long and quality is poor to begin with).

Now I'm at Uni and in a cabled area I've ordered a Phone M, TV L (with V+) and Broadband XL (might upgrade to XXL depends on how it goes). I'm assuming that the rules are at least similar for it and based on that and what I've read on these and similar forums I have the following questions about installation:

The previous owners of the house had TV over cable and the brown box on the outside of the house is connected to two tv/fm isolators in different parts of the house, one of these isn't required so can it be removed?

Will the old wiring be tested for SNR/Attenuation etc?

Will the old wiring be replaced if its not up to it?

I understand that the phone is actually a separate cable (wasn't installed previously) so will this come in where the old tv outlet was? (so i can route the internal wires to the right place)

Can the old entry point that is in the right place support both the modem and the TV at the same time or does that require two entry points?

Will the installer be happy running cables under the floor as there are no carpets yet (being fitted the day after) and the floorboards are already up?
or would it be better to lay the cables under the floor myself and have the installer crimp the ends on and connect it all up?

If laying the cables myself what cable would you recommend?

Thanks for reading my post, sorry its a long one... I want to make sure this goes smoothly :)

[lsproc]

Hi, I'm a computer science student at UEA in Norwich (so by all means get technical in your answers ;) ) and until recently I lived in a remote area with no cable and poor adsl connections so i ahve very limited cable knowledge.


Hi!


The previous owners of the house had TV over cable and the brown box on the outside of the house is connected to two tv/fm isolators in different parts of the house, one of these isn't required so can it be removed?
There is no particular need to. They will do it for a fee as it is not fault related. IIRC they may terminate any FM sockets with a plug though.


Will the old wiring be tested for SNR/Attenuation etc?

Will the old wiring be replaced if its not up to it?

I would imagine that if the line is rubbish then it will be apparent. You wont get attenuation on the coax bit unless the wire is epically bad. SNR can be tweaked by attenuators and at the cab so no issue there - I would imagine the tech would do this unless you get a self install.


I understand that the phone is actually a separate cable (wasn't installed previously) so will this come in where the old tv outlet was? (so i can route the internal wires to the right place)

A separate BT style phone socket will be installed where you want within reason methinks. Not sure about additional sockets though.


Can the old entry point that is in the right place support both the modem and the TV at the same time or does that require two entry points?

A splitter will be used at the entry point. This will allow both services to be used simultaneously.


Will the installer be happy running cables under the floor as there are no carpets yet (being fitted the day after) and the floorboards are already up?
or would it be better to lay the cables under the floor myself and have the installer crimp the ends on and connect it all up?

If laying the cables myself what cable would you recommend?

Virgin will not support you laying your own cables, and you may be charged if a fault arises from this.

Making their life easier will go down well so the floorboards may help - and they may like something to drink :p:

Hope you have a smooth install.

[virgin_tech]

they wont remove the old isolator, just disconect it from the splitter in the brown box to save snr and db loss..

the isolator that you use should be replaced with a new digital one as the ones with fm ports are analogue..

snr is caused by damaged cables or bad conectors, the contractors will not check this if ther is a signal coming to the house they will just install box n mod, if you get a problem because of snr then you will have to phone in and book a tech to sort it out. if you do have a damaged drop cable they will have to make a nother visit to do a repull, normally 2 weeks.... if your phone line is noisy the chances are the drop is damaged in the garden

they should use new cables in the house so if ther is any old stuff ther remove it, they should not put it under the floor, you shoulnt want it ther either, mice might like to nibble on it ...lol

they should put ur phones master socket where you want it it is a lot easier and better for them to install it right next to the iso box (less wires in the house), just get some cordless phones :)

most installs go well. so dont worry... all services should be working when they leave. do not accept any lies they tell you about phone or modem will be on the next day, or the freezing tv picture needs a day to settle down

[csutcliff]

they wont remove the old isolator, just disconect it from the splitter in the brown box to save snr and db loss..

thats what i was hoping for.


they should use new cables in the house so if ther is any old stuff ther remove it, they should not put it under the floor, you shoulnt want it ther either, mice might like to nibble on it ...lol

currently running cat6 utp throughout the house under floor inside some trunking (so the mice dont nibble ;) ) would it be ok to say buy some WF100 and run it through some separate trunking and just have the installer crimp the ends on? its just its a long way from the point of entry to the tv if you go around the boards + it doesnt look great.

as far as the phone is concerned i have a spare NTE-5 socket and a reel of 2 pair flex, would it be a good idea to install this in the right place (again a fair distance from the point of entry) and run the flex back to it to make it easier for them?

the modem is going to be next to the entry point so no problems there, the router is going at the center of the network in another part of the house (do they even install the router?)

thanks both of you for your help :)

[virgin_tech]

no they really install the router, they get the tick on the modem and thats it, you seem to know what ur doing, i cant see ther will be a problem if you do the work and get them to crimp on the ends.. they will love you for it lol

you could wait untill they are ther and get them to leave enough cable pre crimped and the splitters for you to do it youself afterwards,, saves you money saves them time..

even the master socket could be kroned up and lots of wire left for you to sort after, just get them to leave you a few jellies (scotch lock crimps) you can conect yourself in the iso box